How Sneaker Bloggers Make Their Money

Image via Complex Original

To clear up any misconceptions, the first thing that is important to look at is the distinction between staff writers and freelance writers. A staff writer is someone who shows up at a publication every morning, whether it's a blog or a magazine, sits down at a desk and writes. Some staff writers write about sneakers and their names will be familiar to you, but they're probably also writing about other things. The majority of sneaker bloggers aren't staff writers; most of them are freelance. They work from home or a few days in the office, writing assignments or stories that they pitch to the editors. Being freelance means that they don't have a job at that publication. Instead, they write the stories you read and once the story is published (and the writer is paid) the relationship is over until the next piece.

Each of these set-ups has its benefits. Staff writers must constantly come up with ideas and prove their ability to bring readers, but they usually have a consistent salary and some benefits. Those benefits include getting invited to parties, receiving product, and meeting others in similar roles who they can network with. And, oh yeah, health insurance and maybe some other bells and whistles. Freelancers can write whenever they want, maybe only writing about things that they're super passionate about, which keeps the job fun and easy. But if they don't have any ideas for a minute, they're not getting paid. And there are also no benefits. As a freelance writer you can get the product and the invitations, but you have to make it happen for yourself. And you have to show up.

This is the biggest hustle for sneaker bloggers; this is the blogging. But it’s not very lucrative, even for the most in-demand writers. They’re probably doing other things.

Being on the writing side of this industry can put you in contact with a lot of brands, while you’re seeing how each publication chooses what they run as a story. The convergence of PR and product is crucial for the success of a brand or a boutique, and smart brands are hungry for this information. There's an easy way for them to get it: Hire sneaker bloggers as consultants. Consultants can help brand and boutique owners make decisions geared toward PR in ways that only someone with that experience would understand. Being in editorial meetings and observing the responses to dozens of articles gives a behind-the-scenes look into what readers and consumers are looking for, and what the market demands. This information can be utilized and transformed into colorways, teaser photos, or launch experiences. If a brand has a release coming up, sneaker bloggers are uniquely positioned to understand what kind of an announcement will get an editor's attention, and what kind of content is bound to be shared the most. They know how to get eyes on a project, which is often the most important thing before a project drops.

Consulting is tricky because it requires spot-on information, extensive industry experience, and a certain degree of showmanship. It’s not a sure thing, especially for introverts.

As a form of consulting, sneaker writers are uniquely positioned toward asset creation. Blogs, magazines, brands, boutiques, and collaborators all need an ever-growing collection of photographs, video, and copy (words about their projects). This can involve shooting the official photography for a particular sneaker's release, writing or filming a teaser video, or helping shape press releases to be angled toward editors who will take notice. These are primarily execution-geared gigs. The hiring editor or brand manager already knows what they need, and the blogger uses their skills to create it. Depending on how successful someone is at asset creation, they can turn this into their main source of income because assets are often the most important aspect of a brand’s identity. Creating those images are (almost) invaluable. More often than not it's good photography that sells hundreds of shoes, not the colorway.

This is not as collaborative of a situation as straight up consulting, but it does leave the opportunity to work closely with people in a different part of the industry. It’s also a thrill to see the assets you create be the default identity of a shoe. It can be lucrative, but even when it’s not, it’s cool to leave some kind of mark on a project that you’d otherwise just be reporting on.

For some sneaker bloggers, writing is only half of what they're doing. Making money by contributing to the culture can happen in the form of traditional media like writing for publications, which is what bloggers are already doing. But in the era of YouTube, fanatics can also make money on social media. The mostly direct correlation between YouTube views and cash means that an entrepreneurial blogger can turn on a camera and make videos, often using advanced knowledge. They can't break embargoes (dates when publications are allowed to run certain information), but they can write, shoot, and edit their videos so they're ready to go up at the same moment. If they build their following on Instagram enough, they may get paid by brands or collaborators to post pictures or short videos of shoes. If they have enough Twitter followers, they can engage their connections to get into affiliate marketing through release links, taking a percentage of each sale for certain sites. The social media landscape is rich for plunder by sneaker bloggers, but it takes a totally different kind of work.

This is not reporting or copying and pasting, it’s directly engaging an audience and turning it into money. But if an outgoing blogger can work in this way, it’s an incredibly valuable possibility.

Similar to consulting, focus grouping and wear testing includes being involved with brands in a less forward facing way. Brands need to understand user experiences and will sometimes create groups of people they can look to, to see how successful they are. A focus group will come in and give a brand their thoughts on an upcoming season—often paired with copious amounts of free stuff. Wear testers get to break in new models of shoes to see if they fit right and give the customers what they want. Early pairs that you can't show others will be the instruments, and you let your contact know how you're experiencing them. This is crucial for brands that are exploring new options and need to make sure they're going in the right direction. It’s similar to consulting, but from the other side of the table. You give them the same information but don't really help with solutions, and it’s nice to be relieved of that responsibility. Your advice can't fail, if you're not giving them advice.

This is probably the most shallow way you can work with a brand; coming in quickly to give some thoughts and then fly away without the onus of solving any problems. It’s fun and quick, but very inconsistent. Enjoy it while you can.

Since most sneaker bloggers aren't staff writers, the best way that sneaker bloggers can make money is doing literally anything else. Most sneaker bloggers you know do other things. The lucky ones do something they love, whether it's writing about other subjects, playing a sport semipro, or working in another area of the industry (like retail). Others go to work like everyone else, clocking in and out with the cool weekend gig of writing about LeBron and Yeezy teasers. Your favorite sneaker blogger may be a high school math teacher or a botanist. The only way to know is to ask. You’ll probably be surprised.

Although few want to admit it, a lot of sneaker bloggers will engage in reselling under the right conditions. Since there’s not a ton of money for most in the profession, it’s important to use the perks that sneaker blogging does offer. Those perks are mostly just access to shoes. The ability to get rare shoes, along with a constant inflow of gifted products, means that sneaker bloggers often have more shoes than they could ever need—and sometimes more than they could ever want. For some, this cache of potential profit is just too lucrative to sit on, so they’ll let them go if the price is right.

This is not the main hustle for any sneaker blogger because it can work against the most important aspect of sneaker blogging: consistent, trusting relationships with brands and boutiques. But when a blogger has a rare pair sitting around that they just don’t want, it’s a nice way to pay a few bills.