How Nigerian Entertainment Blogs Engage Audiences and Make Money[edit]

Introduction[edit]

The rapid growth of the Nigerian entertainment industry in the digital space over the past few years has allowed for numerous advancements. In a bid to engage Nigerians in the occurrences in the entertainment industry, journalists, influencers, and even regular social media users have taken advantage of digital media in promoting Nigerian creatives, trends, and lifestyles. Before exploring the strategies that Nigerian entertainment blogs use to engage audiences and generate revenue, the key terms in this essay topic will be broken down.

Firstly, the art of blogging has been in existence since 1994, with the very first blog created being “Links.net” by Justin Hall, a Swarthmore college student ^[1]. Blog ^[2], a short form for Weblog, is simply a regularly updated informational website run by an individual, a group, or an organisation that expresses and shares their thoughts in written, photographic, or any other mediated form, mostly in an informal style. In the recent past, the art of blogging has significantly evolved from an online journal to a rapidly growing industry that provides vast opportunities that individuals could leverage to earn a living^[3]. Nigeria offers opportunities for aspiring bloggers to make money blogging^[4] through some essential strategies and tips^[5]. However, blogging only started gaining popularity in Nigeria in 2007, thanks to Linda Ikeji. Nigerian entertainment blogs are digital platforms that provide text, video, and photo content that relates to various aspects of the Nigerian entertainment industry. They cover a wide variety of topics, such as music, lifestyle, fashion, film, events, trends, and celebrity news^[6]. Their goal is to entertain and inform their audience through the delivery of relevant content. Examples include Linda Ikeji Blog, Zikoko, Sisi Yemmie, Instablog9ja, Naijaloaded, and Bellanaija ^[7]. Ikeji is the first popularly known Nigerian entertainment blogger. She began her blogging career in 2006—to date. With blog posts surrounding controversial gossip, entertainment, social media trends, and others^[8], The Linda Ikeji blog served as a template for the inflow of Nigerian entertainment blogs to come. Uche Pedro, the creator of Bellanaija, also launched her blogging career in 2006, covering news from television, style, and fashion, and has become a household name in Nigeria ^[9].

Moving on, audience engagement is the extent to which viewers of a specific medium feel connected with a brand, thus prompting them to interact with or respond to whatever content or message the brand puts out ^[10]. For blogs, this can present itself in the form of comments, likes, post shares, and participation in polls. Many blogs have taken over the social media space, using apps such as Instagram, formerly Twitter, and Facebook to reach and mobilise audiences easily. Generation of revenue refers to the process of earning income through primary organisational activities. In the case of Nigerian entertainment blogs, income is often generated through on-site advertising, affiliate marketing, premium memberships, and brand sponsorships ^[11]. Due to market saturation and other challenges, many Nigerian entertainment blogs have been forced to become creative and innovative with monetization strategies.

Just like any other mass media, Nigerian entertainment blogs serve as dynamic platforms with the ability to reach various niche audiences. They serve the functions of entertainment, education, mobilisation, and surveillance ^[12]. For these blogs to effectively carry out these functions while remaining profitable, they employ various strategies to captivate audiences and sustain revenue streams. Through the use of audience engagement strategies (multimedia content, content variety, interactivity, and personalisation) and revenue generation strategies (advertising and sponsorship, premium content, and membership), Nigerian entertainment blogs actively chase this goal. In the paragraphs that follow, the different approaches used by Nigerian entertainment blogs to engage audiences and generate revenue will be discussed.

Audience Engagement Strategies[edit]

As previously mentioned, audience engagement refers to the level of connection a brand fosters with its audience, enabling them to engage with and respond to its content or message. There are several strategies adopted by Nigerian bloggers to actively engage with their audience; however, this article will explain four strategies, which are content variation, multimedia content, personalisation, and interactivity.

Content Variation[edit]

Nigerian blogs have mastered the art of balancing and creating engagement through content variety. They have become an essential part of getting entertained and have evolved through the variety of content produced. Often times, people wonder what makes Nigerian blogs, especially entertainment blogs, have a large and loyal audience. It is their ability to create content ranging from celebrity news, music, and movie reviews to fashion and lifestyle. Diverse content formats are a major strategy used by Nigerian entertainment blogs to engage with their audience. Offering a mix of textual, visual, and audio content, these blogs are able to provide content for a range of consumers and cater to their different consumption styles. This builds a great form of engagement, which comes in as revenue in the long run. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme; you have to work hard and give it your time. That's why you should be consistent and deliver good content because content is king ^[13]. Bella Naija, Pulse Nigeria, and NotJustOk are some examples of successful Nigerian entertainment blogs that are known for producing other forms of media to complement their write-ups. Because they are able to keep their audience engaged on multiple platforms, they can maintain and gain new viewership, which leads to more monetization opportunities in the form of attracted advertisers, sponsored content, and brand partnerships.

Textual content like news updates, interviews, celebrity news, and articles makes up the majority of entertainment blogs. For example, Linda Ikeji's blog has different content, which has made its engagement level grow continuously. It is popular for its thorough writing and timely news updates, which cover a lot of topics, from political developments to celebrity controversies. Readers who enjoy in-depth analysis will find this content engaging and enjoyable. This blog's capacity to deliver a variety of information has caused its engagement level to steadily increase.

Another way to keep your readers hooked is through visuals, such as videos or pictures. Bloggers need to include high-quality images, memes, infographics, and galleries. In this regard, BellaNaija shines since it consistently publishes photo galleries from red carpet events, weddings, and fashion shows. Visual content works especially well on social media, where visually appealing posts can encourage readers to visit the blog. Pulse Nigeria is another example of a blog that utilises visual content and mostly embraces video content. There is an increasingly growing trend of online video consumption, and this entertainment blog offers such in the form of vlogs, music videos, and behind-the-scenes videos. The blog's reach has increased through the sharing of videos on social media sites like YouTube and Instagram, and more recently, TikTok. In recent times, podcasting and audio interviews have grown in popularity. It serves as a means of consuming content while on the go; for instance, YNaija draws listeners who prefer audio content over reading. They are able to use podcasting to talk about current events and pop culture discussions. Blogs like Ndani TV record various podcasts discussing entertainment news, celebrity interviews, and hot topics.

Nigerian entertainment blogs' content strategy heavily thrives on social media integration. To stay relevant, these blogs have been able to learn how to use social media to drive traffic and build up their consumption growth. By utilising social media sites like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, these blogs increase their audience reach and provide them with real-time interaction. In the long run, they are able to build their community of consumers. According to Oyejobi^[14], understanding your audience would help you determine which social media platforms are most relevant to them. Utilising short, engaging content, like Instagram stories and reels, would easily capture the attention of the audience. Including user-generated content promotes a sense of community. This is a very strong way of using social media to build engagement. Nigerian blogs have understood the art of using controversy, insider information, humor, and interactive content to attract their audience, they do this through the help of social media integration. Controversial content and public call-outs are two main ways Nigerian entertainment blogs attract their audience. Nigerian blogs do not hesitate to publish thought-provoking articles and videos that criticize public figures and celebrities. This method sparks a lot of conversation and it increases audience participation. An example, Instablog9ja regularly shares images of celebrities in potentially embarrassing circumstances, which ignites intense online debates.

One of the main attractions for audiences of Nigerian entertainment blogs is exclusive and sensational gossip. Blogs such as Linda Ikeji's Blog have built their reputations by publishing stories on celebrity relationships, scandals, and personal lives. Because it offers insider knowledge that readers cannot obtain elsewhere, this kind of content is in high demand. Linda Ikeji's blog covers high-profile events, like celebrity weddings and breakups, is consistently strong.

Personalisation[edit]

Another strategy employed by Nigerian blogs is personalization. It refers to the act of identifying your target audience and catering your content to their interests and demographics, which directly influence their consumer behaviour ^[15]. It is a strategy that ensures that viewers and consumers are able to get the most out of their content, which in turn ensures that entertainment service providers have returning consumers. There has been a rise in digital media and online streaming services through situations like COVID and the rise of the Internet 3.0. Consumers have had to adapt to new means of accessing entertainment through platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and their counterparts. As such, they have more devices linked to these accounts that allow for the “AnyTime, AnyWhere, Any Device” (ATAWAD) operation, which makes digital platforms the preferred choice ^[16]. This leads to the unfortunate realisation that numerous things are competing for customers' attention.

Within the Nigerian landscape, it is important to recognise how large a market is being operated there. As of January 2024, the population of Nigeria was 226.5 million people. There are 103 million internet users, but only 16.2%, or 36.75 million people, use social media at all^[17] . Despite this, marketers and business owners know that within the mess of the millions of pieces of content available on the internet, they need to be able to carve out a distinct niche and reach their target audience—those who will meaningfully engage with their content^[18]. Nigeria is a land of diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. To allow for there to be content that speaks to the people that they are meant for, you need to take a look at the environment and generate content that is appropriate for such areas. Blogging platforms can tailor the content they put out to ensure that they cater to what their core audience is looking for. In some instances, the platforms can censor the information that reaches certain parts of the country according to their religious and societal beliefs. BellaNaija’s audience is not the audience of a YabaLeft or Instagram blog. BellaNaija’s audience is more fashion and lifestyle-oriented, while YabaLeft’s audience is more relaxed, like content, mostly comedy, and other “hot gossip” topics.

Interactive content are those pieces of information or material online that allow for users to be actively engaged in a voluntarily participatory experience, rather than just passively and subconsciously taking in content. User-generated content refers to content that is generated by consumers themselves, that is, content gotten from people who are considered consumers like themselves ^[19]. This guarantees authenticity and gives other consumers a common ground between them and the product because it is used by someone who is able to relate to them. The rise of people like influencers and the way in which they engage with their online community are able to generate consumers for particular products, shows, items, etc. Platforms like YabaLeft online are prime examples of this phenomenon. On many of their social media platforms, they key into social media trends or drop their own questions that enable their audience to drop their own input. Other sites with similar operations include Instablog 9ja and Gistlover. They also make use of platforms like Telegram that allow users to upload their own stories, allowing for deeper and more personal interaction between consumers. Those platforms also set up anonymous posts, which allow users to put up their own stories and thus generate more traffic to their page by allowing other users to leave comments on some of these seemingly outrageous stories or drop their own experiences.

Interactivity[edit]

In today's digital era, where attention spans have drastically reduced, capturing and maintaining your audience's attention is crucial for the success of any content, be it written or video ^[20]. For Nigerian entertainment blogs, this means moving beyond one-way communication to foster active participation and engagement. But why is interactivity so important? It builds trust with your audience^[21]. The more people interact with your blog, the more they see you as a trustworthy source. It also enhances brand recognition^[22]; people are more likely to refer to you in the future if your content is interactive and engaging. As mentioned before, interactivity involves the exchange of information between two parties, which can be between individuals, the audience, the media, or users of technology ^[20]. For Nigerian entertainment blogs, there are several strategies used for interactivity in engaging an audience:

Firstly, incorporating social media content into blog posts can significantly increase interactivity and audience engagement ^[23]. Embedding content from platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook makes the blog more visually appealing and engaging. This approach is effective not only for sharing population data, videos, audio clips, or other multimedia content but also for enhancing content marketing performance and attracting more viewers. For example, a Nigerian blog such as Linda Ikeji’s Blog, known for entertaining content like celebrity gossip and news, can embed tweets and Instagram posts from those involved or from fans. This real-time integration makes readers feel part of the conversation and keeps them returning for updates. For instance, during a high-profile wedding, embedding live tweets and Instagram stories provides readers with instant access to reactions and photos. Additionally, adding embedded videos to blog posts can break up long texts and make the content easier to consume. Videos are useful for explaining, complementing, or highlighting information. Long blocks of text can be daunting for readers, especially in an age where digital content consumption is characterised by quick scrolling and skimming. Embedded videos can break up lengthy articles, making the content more digestible. For example, a blog post on 360Nobs discussing the latest trends in Afrobeats can include video clips of popular music videos, interviews with artists, or behind-the-scenes footage. This not only breaks the monotony of the text but also provides a richer, more engaging experience for the reader. Videos encourage interaction and audience engagement, as readers are more likely to leave comments, share the post, and stay longer on the page if the content includes engaging videos.

Moreover, surveys and polls are effective tools for capturing readers' attention and collecting valuable details about their preferences. For Nigerian blogs like SisiYemmie, which cover a diverse range of topics such as food, motherhood, relationships, career, and beauty, these interactive elements can significantly enhance audience engagement ^[23]. By using tools like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, and WPForms, bloggers can easily integrate surveys and polls into their content, providing insights that allow for better-targeted posts and improved reader interaction. For example, conducting a survey targeting mothers and asking them about their biggest obstacles in parenting and lifestyle can guide SisiYemmie to create content addressing their concerns, thereby creating helpful and engaging content for her target audience. On the other hand, polls can help determine what mothers are interested in, ensuring that the blog provides readers with valuable and engaging content. Quizzes are another powerful tool for engaging audiences, encouraging them to spend more time on a blog, and offering personalised experiences ^[23]. Bellanaija, a popular Nigerian blog focusing on entertainment, fashion, and lifestyle, can use quizzes to boost audience engagement. For example, a fashion quiz can encourage readers to explore related articles on fashion, increasing the time they spend on the blog. Additionally, engaging quizzes often lead to social sharing, as readers are likely to share results with friends, driving more traffic to the blog. Furthermore, gamification involves adding game-like elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards to blog posts. This strategy creates a rewarding system for readers, encouraging them to return and engage deeply ^[23]. Using tools like Google Sheets to create leaderboards can help readers see current scores and leading competitors, fostering a sense of competition and achievement among readers.

Finally, giveaways incentivize readers to take actions such as participating in surveys, joining email lists, or sharing content on social media. They can reward loyal readers and promote products or services. When running a giveaway, it is crucial to define goals, rules, and deadlines and to track results to adjust strategies as needed. Giveaways increase engagement, improve the user experience, and collect valuable audience data. For instance, SisiYemmie could offer a giveaway where readers who complete a survey on parenting tips stand a chance to win a baby care package. Another example is a giveaway where sharing a blog post on relationship advice can win a date night package. These are effective strategies for increasing audience engagement ^[23].

Revenue Generation Strategy[edit]

The emergence of social media and the dynamic digital landscape have created a unique entertainment experience in the production, distribution, and consumption of media-related contents. This has gradually become an avenue for revenue generation for social media users, including bloggers. This section of the article will go over two revenue-generating options for blogs: advertising and sponsorship, as well as premium content and membership.

Advertising and sponsorship strategies[edit]

Although this approach is tailored to a high level of sophistication in terms of brand development and building, advertising strategies are mostly effective when they are creatively planned and cautiously crafted to attract companies for sponsorship deals due to the traffic on a blog website. The most effective measure of advertising strategies and sponsorship deals is reach. Many companies tend to reach out to blogs that they believe have a lot of traffic on their website.

An advertising strategy is a comprehensive and creative plan that is used to convey specific messages to a target audience in the most appropriate and effective medium ^[24]. The various types of advertising strategies include digital advertising, social media ads, email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC), and display ads, which are specifically effective strategies for blogs. Furthermore, there are significant elements that make these strategies impactful, and these include emotional appeals, which entail writing creatively to compel the emotions of your audience in order to attract traffic to your website and further open sponsorship deals and endorsements for you; testimonials and reviews are also important elements in advertising strategies, which would be used to secure the trust of your readers as well as increase brand patronage; and humour, which is written to impact, educate, inform, persuade, and entertain.

Making money from advertising strategies is a lot easier if you understand the importance of building your brand. A successful blog ought to be sophisticated before companies will reach out for endorsements. It is highly important to target the right audience, find your niche, be consistent in your messages, and optimize the use of AI and other computer-related technologies and software, like SEO. In addition, some relevant ways to make money with these strategies includes, affiliate marketing, which involves recommending a product or service via a customize referral link and once a  purchase happens, you get referral commission; AdSense, this adopts the pay per click technique where online service providers pay you when consumers click on the advert you placed on your website, although this can be alternated with direct Ads, where brands simply pay you for placing their advert on your website; sponsored posts is another important way to make money, whereby brands pay you to create a blogpost centered on their product or service. Although, this is more effective when your blog has attained a high level of authority and ranks; Paid Reviews are written by brands who promote their product or services on your website, and often seek the blogger’s assistance in acquiring a high reach.

Furthermore, these strategies are mostly adopted by Nigerian bloggers who are regarded as the driving force of this new economy, cutting across multiple niches, mainly technology and entertainment blogs, making millions of dollars. Additionally, Nigerian bloggers are becoming creative icons through their unique platforms adopting these solid business models that would penetrate across Africa and gain recognition globally and so, learning and gaining insights form the top 20 Nigerian bloggers^[25] is a beautiful start to begin your success journey in blogging, and these includes, Ademole Ogundele, the founder of “Notjustok” in 2006, which is a Nigerian music download blog and is said to have acquired over 1.2million page views per month. Also, it is highly rated as one of the most visited website in Nigeria by Alexa rankings. Again, Ayeni Adekunle Samuel, who has over 415k followers on Instagram and 45.9k followers on twitter, has successfully accomplished his career as a news blogger of the popular “TheNet,ng” and he is also the publisher of Nigerian Entertainment Today, amongst other brands under his watch, which includes Black House media and ID Africa, a PR firm and digital marketing agency, respectively. And so, optimize this new economy opportunity created by the Nigerian blogging systems and make an impact while blogging. 

  Premium Content and Membership[edit]

For blogs, generating premium content and offering membership plans has never been more profitable, making it an increasingly popular revenue-generation approach^[26]. This approach is not only a good means of generating revenue but also helps in fostering a deeper connection and sense of community with the readers, who value exclusive and high-quality content. Premium content can be defined as any exclusive content that is only available to subscribers who are willing to pay for such content^[27]. Essentially, premium content offers higher quality and more detailed content in comparison to the free alternatives. It can serve as a way for blogs to offer exclusive value to the consumer and generate revenue. Membership, which can also be known as a subscription, involves a member or subscriber paying a recurring subscription fee to access premium or gated content and additional benefits. Premium content is then the exclusive content that is only available to subscribers willing to pay for it.

Global blogs like The New York Times, The Guardian, and Bloomberg are renowned for implementing the premium membership model. The New York Times blog adopted the digital subscription model in 2011^[28]. Since then, it has gathered a large base of digital subscribers by offering its readers access to a limited number of free articles each month and demanding a subscription for full access. This allows them to fund the multimedia material, investigative journalism, and creative storytelling methods in the services offered, guaranteeing a consistent stream of good content that makes the subscription cost worthwhile. Bloomberg^[29], on the other hand, has additionally implemented a strategy for premium content, targeted at professionals who require credible financial news and analysis. There are various levels of access available with Bloomberg's levelled membership programmes, ranging from basic news to in-depth reporting and unique data services. This strategy targets a variety of audience demographics, making sure that industry experts and casual readers both get something valuable out of their subscriptions.

As of May 2024, there are no major Nigerian blogs that adopt this model as their means of generating revenue. There are numerous reasons that should encourage Nigerian blogs to adopt offering premium content and membership, considering factors such as the fast-expanding Nigerian digital space and the growing number of internet users who seek quality content. By adopting the premium content model, Nigerian blogs can capture a dedicated audience and build a community while maintaining a sustainable revenue stream.

Adopting the premium content and membership model can create a reliable revenue stream for blogs beyond advertising on blogs. Most Nigerian blogs, such as Naija360, the Nigerian Mirror, and Universal Reporters, rely on advertisements as their primary source of revenue. This can be limiting, as blogs may refrain from certain topics and issues due to pressure from advertisers or sponsors. Premium memberships can help by offering a way to monetize blog content directly, reducing the dependence on advertisements. The premium and membership model helps Nigerian bloggers invest more resources in creating high-quality content due to the security the guaranteed revenue from subscribers offers. Nigerian blogs can diversify their content options by providing exclusive articles, special reports, and personalised content. This higher quality and niche content would then translate to attracting more visibility and, in turn, more subscribers, who find value and are willing to pay for such content. This would lead to growth and improvement for the blog in terms of finance and community. Also, by implementing membership models, blogs can create a community of subscribers who are dedicated and willing to pay for premium content. This leads to higher engagement and loyalty among subscribers. This tends to create committed members who are united on a common topic and are willing to contribute to the growth of the community.

Challenges Faced by Nigerian Entertainment Blogs When Generating Revenue[edit]

Generating revenue for Nigerian entertainment blogs is quite challenging due to a variety of factors. This section of the article seeks to explore several key challenges blogs face in the Nigerian entertainment industry when generating revenue. To curb the challenges stated below, there will need to be continuous learning, intelligent planning, development in knowledge and skill acquisition, breaking down of your audience and market dynamics, full adaptation to the changing digital landscape on a regular basis, and most importantly, diversification of revenue streams.

Several entertainment blogs all have the same objective and common goal, which is to stand out amongst their competitors, attract visitors to their pages, and retain the interest of key audiences ^[30]. However, the Nigerian entertainment blogging space is highly saturated, and as a result, key blogs that want to stand out and attract a significant proportion of the population find it extremely difficult. Additionally, content theft, distribution of unauthorised content, and plagiarism (publishing or using someone else’s work without the consent or awareness of the original author) prevent the real creators of Nigerian entertainment blogs from having full control of their work, getting the credit they deserve for their hard work and effort, and limiting the potential revenue to be generated. The enforcement of copyright laws is an important element for the future growth and development of the Nigerian entertainment industry. The Nigerian Copyright Commission should advocate for copyright laws across the country and foster a good relationship with other development agencies like UNESCO and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) ^[31].

Bloggers often quit blogging due to a lack of revenue. This challenge is often compounded by the fact that advertisers often go for the big fish, leaving the small bloggers with low rates and fewer opportunities. Also, traffic is low, and with the prevalence of ad blockers, ad views and revenue are equally affected ^[32]. Bloggers often panic as their traffic and money drop. Also, monetizing content with subscriptions, sponsored posts, and products is challenging, and the more traditional ads yield more. In addition to that, keeping viewers and readers engaged and interacting with them through continuous content creation and innovative posts can be time-consuming and resource-intensive and can significantly affect the generation of sufficient revenue and the number of visitors that visit your website. All these challenges combined make it hard for Nigerian entertainment blogs to stay afloat and build their revenue streams.

Conclusion[edit]

In conclusion, Nigerian entertainment blogs employ a variety of strategies to engage with their audiences and generate revenue. They explore diverse monetization strategies, such as subscription models and sponsored content, although these require continuous refinement and adaptation to be fully effective. Though entertainment bloggers have made significant advancements in the Nigerian entertainment industry, unique challenges such as market saturation and content piracy, amongst others, still serve as setbacks to revenue generation and audience engagement. However, the adaptability and innovation showcased by blogs in this digital age show prospects for more growth. By understanding and making use of consumer trends, emerging technologies such as SEO and SMM, and digital marketing, Nigerian entertainment blogs can solidify their significance in the entertainment industry. In addition to that, by focusing on creating high-quality, engaging content and utilising innovative revenue generation methods, Nigerian entertainment blogs can enhance their financial sustainability and growth potential in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.

Reference List[edit]