Why should you monetize your blog with OpenSky?

Connecting cool stuff with cool bloggers

So here’s our BIG IDEA. There are amazing things being made all over the world right now by people whose businesses are just too small to reach the radar of the big chains. People like Donald from Duluth, Minnesota who makes really delicious almond butter. But no matter how awesome your stuff is, if you can’t find a place to sell it you’re kind of screwed. You don’t need a graduate degree in economics to figure that out.

So while normal people like us can spend our lives searching the web to find this great stuff, once we’ve found it we have no idea if it actually works, explodes in your face, tastes good, or makes your tongue turn blue. But what if that stuff really was great AND you could buy it directly from someone (like an actual PERSON) you could trust who had used it and loved it? Well that’s why God made the blogosphere, because someone has to try all this stuff and report back.

And that, in a nutshell, is OpenSky.

How OpenSky partners with bloggers

We work really hard to find the people who make great stuff and put them in touch with our partners –  actual human beings we trust to review and recommend the things they think are great, and would be using, eating or wearing anyway.

We help Kath of Kath Eats find Donald. And if Kath likes Donald’s stuff and wants to tell everyone about it then we think Kath should be able to sell it herself. And we’re not really concerned about Kath blogging about stuff she doesn’t really like, because at the end of the day the number one most important thing for Kath is making sure that she is a trusted source for information for the 150,000 people who read her blog. Which is kind of more important to Kath than selling 27 jars of almond butter.

In this crazy world we are Kath’s partner. We handle all the complicated secure e-commerce stuff. In exchange, we split the profit, which is the difference between Donald’s cost to Kath and Kath’s price to you. This way Kath can focus on her blog and her getting her masters in human nutrition (go Kath!) and Donald happily ships everything directly from his warehouse. No waste. No extra special boxes or packaging. Just straight from Donald to Kath’s readers.

And that’s the BIG IDEA: buy great stuff you’ll love directly from the people who use and love it themselves.

Selling with integrity with OpenSky

We’re so sure that our BIG IDEA will work that we guarantee everything Kath (or anyone else in the OpenSky family) wants to sell for a whole year. And if you don’t like it for whatever reason we’ll take it back. No questions asked. You trust Kath and we trust you.

So yes, there are going to be glitches. We’re not Amazon. But we don’t want to be Amazon. We don’t have little robot machines zipping around that can make your stuff arrive in 42 seconds. (Not to knock little robot machines.) Instead, we have guys like Barry down in supplier relations working his rear end off trying to get this crazy idea off the ground. We’re people just like you working together with other people (again, just like you) in ways that haven’t really been possible before. And we think that’s kind of exciting!

So when you see the OpenSky tab on someone’s blog, that means that they’ve found unique products that they’ve used and think are great, and that you can buy directly from them. We call this “selling with integrity.” But it also means that you’re helping both Kath and Donald have a shot at making some money doing the things that they are genuinely passionate about. We think this is really cool and worth backing.

So check us out and read our blog. Then ask around and tell your friends. We’re working like a bunch of busy elves to make the whole system better and better. Since the BIG IDEA will only work if people like you are psyched about it, please tell us what you think. And tell Kath and tell Donald, too. We’re all in this together and we’re all listening.

More information about OpenSky

• Sell with OpenSky
• Meet the OpenSky community
• About OpenSky
• OpenSky Mission & Beliefs
• Follow OpenSky on Twitter

And while you’re at it, check out the Mom Central OpenSky shop, too!

Anne-Marie Nichols