As a blogger, working with brands you love is not only a great way to earn an income, it’s also a fun way to build relationships, grow your audience, and share useful products and content with your followers.
But how can you successfully work with brands as a blogger?
I get this question quite often, and rightfully so — there’s not a whole lot of information out there about how to spark collaborations with companies. Whether you run a small, growing blog or a thriving powerhouse, this step-by-step guide on how to work with brands as a blogger will help you land more partnerships, make more money, and position yourself as a pro. Ready? Let’s get started.
1. Grow your blog + focus on creating an engaged audience.
Before you can begin collaborating with brands, you will need to grow your blog to have some sort of audience. Yes, it gives you more leverage if you have a large audience, but most brands also look at engagement — not just numbers. Even if you’re still working on your first few hundred followers, you may be appealing to brands if you can show them that your audience — while small — is engaged. This generally means that they leave comments — on your blog, Instagram, or anywhere really.
It also helps if YOU are engaged. If a brand clicks over to your Twitter and only sees a list of automated tweets, then it will look like you’re not trying to engage with your audience yourself. Being engaged creates engagement.
With all that said, in my opinion, you’ll need to have at least 5,000-10,000 pageviews per month on your blog to effectively collaborate with brands. If your pageviews are less than that, you’ll want to work on growing your audience and producing incredible content before trying to monetize your site. For example, I didn’t monetize my site until I was receiving about 15,000 pageviews per month.
Also? I have a FREE Blog to Biz bootcamp training you can get fo’ free… right here, which will help you grow your audience and create a profitable and popular blog:
2. Create a media kit.
A media kit is a document which shares everything a potential sponsor or marketer would need to know about your blog. It’s essentially a resumé, but for your website. A media kit should list a variety of things, such as your blog’s topics, statistics, collaboration options, and more. It is essential for making a good impression and landing more (and higher paying) collaborations.
Don’t have a media kit? You’re in luck! I wrote a post all about what to include in a media kit right here.
3. Make a list of companies or products you love + that fit your blog’s theme.
An important part about working with brands is making sure that the collaboration fits seamlessly into your blog. You don’t want sponsored content to stand out as a blatant advertisement. Ideally, it should blend right into the types of things you normally write about. That way, you’re still delivering the great, relevant content that your audience comes to you for, and you’re marketing the brand and their products in the most effective and organic way.
Awhile back, I did a sponsored post for Sharpie where I shared “20 ten-minute tips for your blog or business.” The post felt natural and fit into the theme of my blog, but also organically wove in Sharpie highlighters. Though it was sponsored, my readers loved it — the post received over 75 comments and was a hit in terms of how much traffic it brought my site. When creating your own list of companies and products, incorporate this same idea. Which brands would your readers LOVE to learn more about and why?
Also, keep these things in mind when making your list of brands or products:
- Think outside the box. You may feel inclined to want to reach out to huge, national brands. However, there are plenty of smaller brands or up-and-coming brands that would love the organic exposure that a feature on a blog can offer. I’ve found that these types of companies are easier to partner with because there is less of a chain you need to fight through to find the right person to contact.
- Don’t forget digital companies and products. Your first thought may be to reach out to brands with brick and mortar stores, but digital companies need exposure, too! For example, companies that sell plugins, apps, web graphics, or software are ones you should consider (if that fits your niche).
p.s. Not sure which brands to contact because you don’t really know what your blog’s niche is? I wrote a post about narrowing your blog focus and selecting a niche, which I think might help.
3. How to find their contact info
Once you’ve made a thorough list of brands and products you love (and that fit your blog), it’s time to finally reach out! When I attended the Alt Summit blogging conference in 2014, one of the brand representatives said that she gets hundreds of emails a day. What stands out to her in an email?
When someone addresses her by her actual name.
Not only is it just good, polite practice to use people’s names, but it also makes them care a whole lot more about your email. Few brands will list their marketing rep’s name on their website, so you’ll need to do a little sleuthing. The best way I’ve found to do this is on Twitter and Instagram. Send a tweet or a direct message to the brand letting them know you’d like to collaborate and ask for the best contact name and email. You may not always get a name (though sometimes you do — yay!), but most brands will respond with, at least, an email address you can contact. Boo-yah!
If that doesn’t work, then you can simply try reaching out using the contact form on their site. Options, my friends!
4. What to include in your initial email
Finally, how do you get the collab going? Your initial email is fairly crucial, especially because many brands receive plenty of these types of emails each day. My best advice? Keep it short, descriptive, and to the point. Don’t add entire paragraphs about your blog or a three-page collaboration idea that they have to download as a Word document. Rather, keep your email to a few sentences. Try this format:
- An introduction of yourself and your blog/blog topics (1-2 sentences).
- Why you love the brand or their products (1-2 sentences).
- A mention of the fact that you’d like to collaborate and why it would be a great fit (1-2 sentences).
- A call to action, such as, “would you like to hear the ideas I’ve thought of?” (1 sentence).
- Lastly, you’ll want to share your blog’s media kit with them, too. I recommend uploading it as a Google Doc and linking it in your email somewhere.
Altogether, your email will be about 5-7 sentences. Short and sweet, but enticing and full of good info.
Give the brand a week or so to see if they respond. If they don’t, try sending a follow-up message. Most brands will at least respond to your initial email. If they do, and they’d like to hear your ideas, then you have the opportunity to send a longer email with your specific collaboration ideas and why they’d be a great fit for you and for them.
Keep in mind that it may take time before you find a brand who is interested in collaborating with you. Try not to feel discouraged — companies all have different goals, budgets, and opinions. It’s just a matter of finding the ones that are a great fit. Send out several emails and keep at it until you’re able to land your first collaboration. After that, it will be smooth sailing. 🙂
Related: How to Earn Money as a Blogger
Got any questions about working with brands? I’m happy to answer them in the comments!
p.s. Interested in more resources for growing your blog or business? Sign up for my free Blog to Biz bootcamp!
Thanks for the tips! I hope to work with brands some time down the road. I’m still working on step number 1 though since my blog is still fairly new!
– Lauren Schroer // http://www.laurenschroer.com
That’s great, Lauren! I think it’s really important to focus on #1 before moving on to anything else. 🙂
I’m rebranding my blog early next month (read your post on that, too!) and it’s my goal to hit the ground running and take it to the next level. This is SO helpful and it’s just what I needed. You rock.
Natalie | CincinNatalie
WOO! Awesome to hear that, Natalie. We are so SO glad to help. Looking forward to seeing your re-brand, too!
Great tips! My main problem is that a lot of brands are willing to let me review their product but won’t pay for the collaboration. Do you have any advice on that?
GREAT question, Ashley. I think I could write a whole blog post answering that (adding it to my list right meow!). It’s hard to give you specific answers because I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but I’ll try! 😉
First, are these brands that are contacting you to give you free (but unpaid) product? Or are you contacting them and getting those answers in response? If the former, I’d recommend reaching out to some brands yourself.
I also think it’s about how you brand yourself and how you “sell” the collaboration to them. I’m not sure if you have a media kit, but I would definitely create one, since it shows that you are more professional. You can even attach a “case study” of a previous collaboration, to show what kinds of results previous advertisers received and even a testimonial if you can get one. Basically, showing the brand that you are WORTH paying for because of what you offer.
Lastly, I’d try reaching out to more brands — eventually, someone will see your value. Once you land a couple collaborations, you can use those to show future advertisers who you’ve worked with. 🙂
Wow this post is all kinds of awesome, I already have all your other tabs open ready to read! Thanks a lot!
Hanh x | hanhabelle
Aww YAY! So glad to hear it was helpful, Hanh. 🙂
Ohh I love this post! I love how you go through and say how the email should be when you first connect with a brand! This is extremely helpful. I’ve been wanting to start this process of reaching out to companies, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet. Hopefully within the next couple months! 🙂 Thanks Melyssa!
SO glad to help, Gina. 🙂 Good luck with your first collaborations!
I love your advice about making a wish-list of brands that actually fit with your blog. So often, bloggers lose readers because they partner with the first person who’s willing to pay and end up losing a lot of their authentic voice in the process. Any advice on how to nicely say no to a brand who doesn’t fit or isn’t offering a quality partnership?
Incidentally, LOVED the Sharpie post! 😀
I’m not Melyssa, but personally, I just keep it simple and polite. I thank them for reaching out and offering, say something like “unfortunately, I’m going to have to pass, as I don’t feel it’s quite the right fit for my audience”, and then wish them good luck. IMO, you don’t really owe them an explanation, so “thank you but no thank you” is all you need. (Side note: if you feel like there’s some merit to what they’re doing and you want to go the extra mile, you could also refer them to a blogger friend who might be a better fit.)
Thanks, Suzanne! I think you’re absolutely right – simple and polite without overdoing the excuses. I like the added referral, though! That’s a great way to still offer value to a quality brand that isn’t right for you.
I think Suzanne’s answer is perfect! I’ll also add that if it’s a brand you’re interested in working with, but it sounds like it might be an unpaid collaboration, then I sometimes even send my media kit in my response to show them that I am serious about a professional partnership.
I often do this and add a little note like, “here’s my media with my options and rates!” I like to draw attention to the rates part – it may be cynical of me, but I think some people hope you’ll do the post before anyone discusses compensation so they don’t have to outright tell you they’re not going to give you anything in return until you’ve already done the work. It feels a bit like trickery.
That’s a great response, too!
Great tips here, Melyssa! I get solicitations from random brands sometimes, and a good litmus test for me is brands that don’t bother to find my first name (it’s easy to do), so I agree with that brand rep from the other end too. 🙂 I’ve been wanting to branch out and do different kinds of collabs (so far all I’ve done is product reviews) and to do them with different kinds of brands, so this is useful for getting back to basics and giving me a bit more confidence in reaching out. You’ve actually been a big inspiration for branching out! (e.g., your recent apartment posts)
Another great tip I saw recently: if you write a post that mentions a brand, reach out to that brand with a quick email to let them know they’ve been mentioned. That personal touch can go a long way in endearing yourself to a brand you love since it shows good will without necessarily asking for anything in return.
I’d love to see some posts that go a little bit more in depth on brand partnerships. For example: which kinds of collabs you should and shouldn’t consider charging for (obviously this varies, but I feel a bit clueless as to what’s expected and of course I don’t want to undersell myself since I have a large following). Also: how you’ve nurtured relationships with brands you especially love and taken your collabs to the next level. P.S. Sorry for the novel-y comment, lol.
I totally agree, Suzanne! When I get emails from random brands that don’t use my first name, I am MUCH more likely to qualify them as spam and move on.
I love that tip about reaching out to a brand you’ve mentioned in your post! I definitely think that could foster a positive relationship and help with future collaborations together.
And those are great suggestions, Suzanne! Will definitely think about those for a future post. 🙂
This is such a great post full of amazing information!
So happy to hear that, Jordyn! 🙂
Thanks for these tips!
I’m actually currently working with a brand on a sponsored post, and I’m having some issues with negotiating the price. They told me that they would give me a certain amount based on my google index number. When I looked into it, the number was actually 4x higher than they cited, and I sent them screenshots of my findings. They responded back with a screenshot of the google search (site:mydomain) with the same number they initially told me it was, but when I do it (by leaving off the “www.”), it’s still the higher amount. Should I ask them about it again, or just continue with our agreed upon terms?
Kristi
beloverly.com
That’s a tough call! I haven’t heard of a brand going by a Google Index Number either! If you feel like your number really is better than what they’re telling you, then I’d try to continue the negotiation so you don’t feel like you’re getting “robbed.” Maybe you both are really seeing different things because of the way the URL is being typed in? Maybe you could see if they will adjust the pay rate based on something besides your GIN, like pageviews, Google Page Rank, etc.
This is a great summary of how to get involved with brands, thanks for putting it together!
monica-galvan.com
You’re welcome, Monica! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This is a great guide, Mel! I use a lot of these tips when I’m working on collaborating with vendors for a styled shoot, too. 🙂
Glad you like it, Stacia! And interesting point! I didn’t take into consideration that it could also be applied to other fields, too. 🙂
It’s really amazing how many things are transferable across businesses.
SO true!
Wow this is very informative. Thank you Mel with all these advices and details. I have downloaded your media kit, but I wonder what to put inside when you have zero collaboration experience?
meilijourney.blogspot.com
Glad to help, Vanessa! For your media kit, I’d recommend adding information about your blog, you, and your statistics. I’d also think of a few collaboration options and add them into your kit. It’s totally fine if you don’t include anything about other brands you’ve worked with if you haven’t yet. 🙂
I really second the advice re: having a media kit. I’ve been designing them for people for over a year and didn’t realize how helpful they were until I finally got off my ass and made my own in January. Brands and PRs are a lot more likely to take me seriously and not try to negotiate rates with me now, it’s fantastic. I have my media kit uploaded to my server and link to that, but a google doc is a great idea too.
I totally agree, Lix! And I do almost the same thing, just uploading it to Google Drive and linking to it in my email. Works really well! 🙂
Wonderful advice, Melyssa! I think it is really interesting that you firmly believe in doing free collaborations at the start. That seems like a topic that many bloggers and freelancers are strongly divided on. I think I am going to try compromising – now that I’ve done a few free collaborations, maybe I will start asking for a small compensation while my following grows. I’d love to hear your thoughts! My hesitation is that it may come across as underselling myself…anyway. I would also really love to hear your thoughts on different types of collaborations that you do and how much you ask to be compensated for them and if there are any that you still do for free! Also, what the compensation for a longer term partnership looks like…so many questions! Thank you for all of your great resources 🙂
Glad you enjoyed this Faye! 🙂 I actually don’t really recommend doing free collaborations (I don’t think I said that? haha). It may help in the very beginning to do unpaid collaborations if it’s a brand you absolutely LOVE, but otherwise I don’t think they are really worth it. I think that if you’ve done some free collaborations already, you can definitely start charging for them. 🙂 And thanks for those other great questions! Will definitely keep them in mind for future posts. 🙂
You’ve nailed it again, Melyssa!:)
Everytime I come to your blog and digg into articles like this one, I find myself realizing I am doing this and that right, and grabbing some tips for improvement! Thank you so much, again and again!:)
Oly | TLV Birdie Blog
http://tlvbirdie.com
I am beyond happy to hear that, Oly! 🙂
great advice, the only thing I’d suggest is if a brand indicates they’d like to hear more, pick up the telephone and/or face to face if you can! Even though the medium is the internet, people still like to see you and hear you before doing business with you.
I definitely agree and have done both telephone and in-person meetings with brands — they definitely do help! Great suggestion, Annie.
Thank you so much! I’ve had some doubt regarding this topic. I saved this post for the future 🙂
-V
That’s great! Hope it helps, V. 🙂
This is the article I’ve been scouring the web for haha! Thank you, once again, Melyssa. One more question though – how would you recommend approaching a brand with the intention of wanting to work with actual “products” so to speak, rather than money? For example, receiving jewelry or accessories in return for a product review. Is this a good thing to bring up in the initial email; how would you let them know?
Hi Emily!
So glad to help. 🙂 And I think the process would be almost identical. You could bring it up in the initial email (especially if you’re to receive something that’s relatively inexpensive — they might be likely to just say yes immediately), but you don’t have to. Either in the first or second email would work great. Just make sure to let them know everything they’d receive in return. 🙂
I love this post so much! My blog is just starting to grow and this is such a helpful post that will come in handy when my audience has grown a bit more!
Thanks so much! xxx
So glad to help, Heather! Best of luck. 🙂
What an amazing blog!! I should have been in bed hours ago, but I just can’t get enough of TNC 😀 Thank you so-so much!
AW! Best comment, Anastacia! So glad you’re finding useful info here. If there’s anything you’d love to learn or read a post about, please let me know! I love creating posts that I know people need. 🙂
You’re blog is amazing!! Super useful, thanks for sharing all these tips for all us bloggers out there with tons of doubts about what to do or where to start! 🙂
– Gaby
I’m so glad to help, Gaby! And thank you for your sweet comment. 🙂
Love this! I am currently in the grow my blog stages. I’m almost to 20,000 page views a month, but I have no idea how to go about how to charge rates. I can’t seem to find much info on rates for social media promotions or posts. Do you have a post or advice?
Y’know, I had trouble with that, too. I guess I would just say, how much is your time worth if you were charging an hourly rate? And how many hours would it take you to complete the post? That should give you a starting point.
To give you an idea, when I worked with ad networks, I would receive around $200 for a sponsored post when my pageviews were around 50,000. I think that with almost 20,000 pageviews, you could charge a similar rate. 🙂
Thanks for the advice! I think with what you’ve said, I now have a solid starting point.
Wonderful! Glad to help, Joanna. 🙂
Really great tips that I’ll definitely put to good use!
I am curious what you would say about brands who want you to do a “sponsored” post without pay. For a smaller blogger is that a starting point or just a scam?
Great question, Anna. I wouldn’t say it’s a “scam,” but I would say that sometimes brands try to take advantage of bloggers in that way (it can be really annoying!). My advice is that if it’s a brand/product you actually love and would have an easy time promoting, then try it out 1-2 times, so long as you get a free product or something in return. That way, you can turn to brands in the future and say, “I worked with XYZ brand,” which will make you more appealing to brands who are willing to pay for sponsorship. But be wary — I feel like there are plenty of brands who will say something like, “if you write a blog post about us, we’ll promote it on our Twitter!” with that being the only form of “compensation” or exposure. Meanwhile, their Twitter has 52 followers. No bueno.
I don’t think I’m at a stage to follow your steps right now.But this post gave a goal in the way I should improve my blog!Thanks for your guide!
You’re so welcome, Scylla! 🙂
Hi! This was a very helpful post! I was wondering how do you ask brands to give you things/cash in return? I fear that if I reach out to a brand, they might think the sponsorship is for free. I wouldn’t know how to address that.
Hi Karen! I would always go into the partnership assuming that they will pay you and being very casual/professional when the money chat happens. Assume you are a business (you are). You’d never go into a business deal ASSUMING that the other party doesn’t plan to pay you. I think when you shift that in your mindset, it’s a lot easier for that to be your “default setting” when you chat with potential sponsors. If they DO assume you’ll be working for free, just through something (confidently) into an email that says something like, “I’m excited about this potential partnership together! Here are my rates for what we’ve discussed and agreed upon…” The more confident you are that your work is worth paying for, the more the brand will view you as a professional. 🙂
Hi Melyssa. Great article as usual. Thank so much. I have a question to working with brands. I am very passionate about writing on my blog and sometimes I have an urge to write about a certain brand because I truly like their work and writing about them provides enriching content for the blog readers, how to stay passionate but also benefit from blog partnerships and not blog, making just free pr for all? here is an example situation: I wrote to a company who’s work i really praise a short email exactly like you suggest in point 4 in the article. They answered that they really love my blog and would love to collaborate but they do not pay for it. They don’t really need PR because they are successful and featured in many blogs and magazines. They ask me if I am still interested in collaboration. But how can I also benefit as a blogger, what could I ask for return for my time and effort? Do you have an article about this blogging dilemma? So how to benefit from partnership which don’t pay? What to ask besides a sponsored article fee (and besides free products)? Thank you so much. Valerie
This is so fabulous Melyssa and so very helpful..thank you!!
I’m so glad Valerie! Thanks a million for taking the time to comment. Have a super day! 🙂
Awesome advice here. I just sent my first pitch email! I think I’ve going to be nervous all day!
Good luck, Brittany! I’m sure it’ll be great 🙂
Love the piece. Great information!
Thank you so much, Brandie! 🙂
Hi,
I have been reached out by a company to do a sponsored blog post. It is my first one so all the terminology is a bit confusing. 🙁 Would really appreciate your help
Thank you
Hi Stephanie! Which terminology specifically is confusing? I’d actually suggest joining my private Facebook group with 10,000 bloggers and entrepreneurs. It’s the perfect place to ask questions like this. 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/groups/blogandbizbffs/
Hello have you tried fawour.com to collab and grow together?
No I haven’t yet but thanks for sharing and I’ll be sure to check it out later!
Thanks ! 🙂
Hey Melyssa.. This is a wonderful article. Thanks for sharing it. Would you mind sharing the format or sample for a follow up emails too?
Hey Melyssa,
Than you for sharing this post its so helpful to me as a newbie blogger. Please may you help me, what is the best way to respond if a brand approached you. Do you send them a media kit if they didn’t ask for it? I asked the question of the BFF Facebook Group but haven’t received a response. Thank you for your time.
Hi Melyssa,
Great post as usual, it’s been so helpful. I’m not quite at the 5,000 mark yet but I’ve been trying to grow my list of potential brands that I can start engaging with now and approach working with them at a later time. So far I’ve been struggling with actually finding these brands! I don’t want to immediately jump into big name brands as I’m still a small blogger and want to support small business anyway, and I’d prefer to expose my audience to people they might not have been familiar with before. How do you go about finding brands to work with?
-Lots of Love, Lola
I would look on Etsy for shops your audience would like, as well as researching your audience and seeing which brands they talk about or tag on social media. You may also want to look at blogs in your niche to see who they have collaborated with. If a brand has already collaborated with a blogger, it’s likely they would be willing to do so again!
Hi Melyssa – great post! I’ve worked with brands before and I’m starting to grow my blog and begin reaching out to brands personally. At what point should the topic of money come up? If they’re interested in the ideas I have, how does one bring up payment whether monetary or product? Thank you!
It depends on what niche your in and what brands you’d be approaching but generally the topic of money should be presented in the very beginning by you – some bloggers even include their pricing in their media kits. Good luck!
Hello Melyssa,
very nice post.I’m new to blogging world so it would mean a lot if you could check my blog out.Thanks 🙂
http://badassvampire.blogspot.rs/
Hey Melyssa, Great post! As usual. 😀
I was wondering, if I want to partner with brands in the future, but maybe don’t have the following to do so now, should I do a few posts featuring their stuff on my site now? Honestly, there are a few brands I just LOVE their stuff, and want to tell people how these products have helped me in my life. However, I don’t want that to affect potential partnerships down the line.
What do you think?
Best,
Emily
Hi Emily!
I think that is an AWESOME idea, especially if you work hard on the posts and add some extra creativity to them. You could honestly even just create one post like that for one brand (rather than a different, free post for every brand) and then just show that post to a bunch of different brands. The reason for doing it that way (as opposed to creating a ton of posts for every brand you love), is because brands just want to see your creativity, so if you have an example of the kind of creativity you would share in a sponsored post, then one post is enough to share that. 🙂
I’m the owner of world fastest, india number one, and world top ten blogspot. I need help…
Hey….melyss, my alexa rank is still better than, you even i discontinued blogging and just make my blog world top 10 and india first, and all over alexa rank is 25 k with just 76 posts within one month, which brand will work with me….i am getting late to my flight..bye reply me taurenidus@gmail.com, i don’t please, not ego…i just have some silly questions for you…the uk girl
Thank you for this information! I just started my blog a couple weeks ago and it sure is a learning process! I really appreciate all of your information. So much to learn and grasp!
Best,
Tovah
illhavewhatsheswearingblog.com
There’s a lot to learn but hang in there! You’ve got this, Tovah! 🙂
Hello Melyssa.
I started my blog like 2 weeks ago. I am working on the right content and writing about things I love and so far I am getting 100 views per day, not so many followers though. If this goes by plan and my views will increase hopefully, is it smart of me to contact small brand companies? Or should I wait until I gain more followers?
Thank you!
Hi Miha! You can start reaching out to smaller brands if you like but you will have much more clout if you grow your numbers first before reaching out. If you think about it from a brand’s perspective, they want to work with bloggers who have lots of followers so you’ll have a better shot once you grow your following. Good luck!
Hello Melyssa. I have my own blog and i have a couple collaborations. I tried to make a collaboraton but i can’t find an email for contact those sites. How to find email for collaborations? Waiting for your response. Thank you.
Hi Anastasija! You can usually contact brands through their website by finding their “Contact” page. There you can find an email address or contact form to get the ball rolling. Good luck! 🙂
Hi, Melyssa! I’m working on launching my company and want to work with bloggers and people in my industry. This article gave me a really good idea of what influencers are looking for, but do you have any tips for brands to bloggers? It’s new, so we’re building our audience now… Should I wait until I have a larger following to begin reaching out?
Thank you so much for this awesome, informative post. I just searched google “email information for bloggers working with brands” and this was soooooo helpful and saved me lots of time. THANK YOU.
Awesome! I’m so glad this was helpful for you, Chelsea. 🙂
Thank You Melyssa! I think I can spend a whole day on your site. I have been blogging for long and yet when it comes to writing to brands I go blank. This is a very informative post. I think I should go about in a more organised manner from now on to get more brands and better proposals.
Awesome! Good luck, Menaka! 😀
Hi melyssa.
I don’t have a blog but I do have an instagram that is health and beauty related. I do mini reviews and all of that on there. I currently have over 5000 followers and have a steady amount of likes and comments on my posts. I see a lot of others who also don’t have blogs but have big followings on instagram working with brands and pr companies, so do you think it’s still okay to use what you said above but apply it to my instagram, and contact brands?
Sure you can! Every brand will value the various platforms differently but you can certainly get by with just an IG account. I will say though that having your own website gives you more credibility when pitching to brands.
Hi Melyssa, you’ve made some great points here with some fantastic advice! As a digital marketing manager I agree with everything you’ve said here and I think more than anything it’s really important that bloggers only work with the brands which they truly care about and want to associate with. I literally just posted a similar set of recommendations on my blog however from a more technical perspective relating to website metrics, how brands work and why people aren’t being contacted for collaborations – http://lifeofman.co.uk/2017/01/how-bloggers-can-collaborate-with-brands-from-a-digital-marketing-manager/.
Thanks for sharing, Nick. 🙂
Hey Melyssa! I recently found your blog after taking your free Pinterest strategies webinar a few nights ago. You have GREAT advice! I started my blog on December 22 and am currently in the middle of my second month. While not Earth shaking numbers, I reached almost 7k pageviews in my first month and managed to monetize my blog (not much at all, but a few dollars still counts, right?!). Which surpassed the goals I had for myself. Thanks for sharing more useful blogging tips to help me put into action this month! I have been hesitant to reach out for sponsored posts because I felt like my pageviews were too low (I was waiting to hit 10k). Thank you for this insight! -Leah
That’s amazing to hear, Leah! Great job and keep up that momentum! 😀
Hi Melyssa! This has been very helpful, thank you! What is your take on requesting a brand to share your post on their social media as a means of compensating you for writing the post? As a very new blogger, this seems like a potentially good start for me, especially with smaller or online companies because they may not be receiving as many requests as other companies, and their share could drive traffic to my blog and give me the experience of an actual collaboration.
Thanks!
Sena
That might be a good idea if you’re just getting started and need the exposure! At the same time, make sure not to devalue your work as I’m sure you have lots of great value to offer brands. 🙂
Hello Melyssa. I am kinda new at blogging but my numbers are growing rapidly (yay me)!! I need to ask you what is best to put in the subject line of my emails for my pitch letters to companies for possible product reviews? I have been using “Easter Gift Guide” or “Mother’s Day Gift Guide”. What would you recommend? Thanks so much!!
That’s awesome to hear, Yvette! Great job! I’m not familiar with your audience so I wouldn’t be able to give you good advice here but it sounds like those two subject lines are for different holidays so be sure to use the one that is more relevant. 🙂
Hie,
I did get many small brands to collaborate with my blog, but they mentioned it clearly that they won’t give me any money for it as I have a new and tiny blog. I had no other choice but to accept their terms.
That’s okay – you’re building up your portfolio and brand for now. Keep up the good work, Jeet! 🙂
HI
I love this blog. very informative.
http://www.fleuryogi.com
hie melyssa 🙂 im tiya from india . im a fashion student nd i always wanted to b a fashion blogger /stylist. but have no idea how to start it with… im planning to give a start to my blog in this summer vacations only.. if you have something to guide me up? ill b thankful . nd yes these guidelines above are so helpful for others god bless u . you doing a great job .
Hi Tiya! Thanks for your comment. Over the years I’ve published a lot of blog posts about how to start a successful blog/online business. Click around the blog and read the posts that stick out to you. Be sure to take action on the things you’re reading though. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Melyssa,
I am a freelance sports journalist and I’ve had my website (www.shaheemsutherland.com) for over a year now. I am in the process of getting ready to reach out to brands and ask them to sponsor me. When reaching out to a brand/business, is it okay to also offer my services as well in the same email?
Best,
Shaheem
Hey Shaheem! I’m not very familiar with your industry but I would definitely share how big your following is and also write in a way that makes it about them and not you. If that includes writing about your services, then throw it in. Good luck!
Wow! Thank you so much for your post! It helped me a lot. I have a blog about style (nath.stenbo.dk) and beside it’s very new (it’s only 6 months old), it’s growing very fast. ????????
I’ve been talking with an agency but I feel like starting up slowly and by own. Just to see what I can do.
I had few questions about how to contact a brand and you simply answered those questions in one post.
It’s very well written and elaborated.
Success and congrats on the blog!
I’m so glad this post was helpful for you, Nathalia! Wishing you the best of luck and please keep me posted on your progress. 🙂
Hi folks, just to add my two cents, I just started my travel blog/website 2 months ago (March 2017) and I had less than 1,000 views for the month of May 2017, but I still managed to get my first affiliate marketing partnership a few days ago, super stoked! I signed up to ‘Rakuten LinkShare’ (weird name I know), filled in some basic details about my site and chose a few companies to pitch to, hey presto!
My point being, that it is possible to make partnerships in your first few months blogging if you ‘put yourself out there’, it can be a little soul destroying in the early days to hear that you need thousands and thousands of views before anyone will be interested.
Melyssa is probably right in the grand scheme of things, but I thought I could add some encouragement to the rest of us ‘newbies’ (me included!) that a little bit of ‘hustle’ can go a long way! 🙂
p.s. my blog/website is ‘Action Sports Nomad’ if you’re interested ;P
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome tips with us, Jon! Keep on hustlin’ and please keep me posted on your progress. 😀
This was super helpful! Thanks for the post! My problem now is that I have been approached to do a partnership but not exactly sure what to ask for in exchange for my services. I.e. writing a blog post about a product. Any advice as to how to know what to ask for in exchange for a review etc? Thanks for your advice !
I’m so glad this post was helpful for you! 🙂 Congratulations on the potential partnership. If the company is sending free product in exchange for a post, consider what the product is worth, and how much time and effort will be involved on your end to try the product, write a blog post, take pictures, promote the post on social media, etc. Even if you have a smaller, micro-following, it is worth it to be compensated for your time, especially if it is not an expensive product. Good luck, and keep me posted on how it goes! 🙂
I think this is a great post, I am wondering do you have any resources for once this initial part is passed? Outline for what to include or ideas? Something along those lines?
Hi, Christine! I don’t have any specific resources, but I recommend creating collaborations that excite you and are worth your energy and effort. Make sure you are compensated fairly for your time and based on the size of your audience. Don’t be shy about reaching out to brands and suggesting different types of collaborations. And strive for something more long-term if you can! Good luck 🙂
Great info! Pinning fo sho!
Woo hoo! Awesome, Amanda! Thank you for reading and sharing 🙂
I got an email from a PR company about posting a couple of guest posts from a company VP. Should I request payment for these blog posts. I will still need to adjust the title and styling to match my blog. Along with creating graphics for the post itself & social media.
I just don’t know how to go about asking for payment in return.
Hi Andolina! This is a great question 🙂 You want to make sure you carefully evaluate the offer. If this has the potential for credibility and traffic to your site, it could be worth accepting this opportunity without pay. But do consider your time and the benefit it has to you. If there is more in it for the PR company and you know it’s going to take you a few hours of work, you are well within your rights to request payment! 🙂
Great tips! Structuring the e-mail is something I struggle on so this is very useful.
http://www.upyourvlog.com
Happy to help, Natalie! 🙂 Thank you for reading and keep me posted on your progress!
I just found this post and it’s seriously SO helpful! I’m only 3 weeks into my blog, and need all the tips I can get. You’re so inspiring! : )
Aww that means a lot, Hannah! 🙂 Thank you for your support! The blogging journey is a fun one and there is always room for growth and improvement! 🙂
I am a small business and have had a few influencers/bloggers contact me to collaborate. They have mentioned they love my brand etc but they are not following my label on any social sites nor have they ever engaged with me. Personally, if someone says they love my product I would expect to at least see them following me on Instagram. Is this the norm? I don’t want to ignore their messages but I am not sure how best to respond. Any tips? Thank you
Hi Caroline, that’s a great question. I would think if they were passionate about your brand, they would at least be engaging with you on social and following your accounts. I’d be a bit leery; it’s possible they are reaching out to several other brands with a similar message, and that you’re one of many. In any case, don’t feel pressured to work with anyone if it doesn’t feel like a right fit 🙂
I am new to the blogging world and found this article very informative and love the way you went over what to address in the email to companies you want to work with. Thank you!
That means a lot, Sara! 🙂 So glad to hear this article was useful for you. Best of luck on your blogging journey 🙂
Hi Melyssa
Great article, very helpful. I’m running a small business, and am trying to understand it from the other side, though – how do startups early in their journey actively go out and find bloggers to partner with using affiliate opportunities? Is there a central resource where we can find bloggers who might be aligned with our values?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Rafe, I am not familiar with any specific resources, but I know there are many agencies that partner with bloggers and high-level influencers and some tools that pull data which can make the researching aspect a lot easier. If you’re searching from scratch, I’d go to Instagram first and seek out influencers with a highly engaged following (a good like/comment ratio compared to the number of followers they have). Send a customized email tailored to them and what you can offer them. Some micro-influencers will create content for free in exchange for product or commission, but those that treat their blog like a business will likely have greater demands.
Hi Rafe. Please get in touch. greta@healthyliving894.com
Hi there!
I’ve had several brands reach out to me and I have enough following to ask for a payment along with the product for a sponsored post. Do you have advice on how this works? Do I use PayPal? Do they pay first or do I create my content first? How do I make sure they don’t rip me off? I can’t find anything on these specifics and I’d love some info! Thanks so much <3
Hi Allanah! This is exciting that you have reached this point with your blog 🙂 Most brands will have a basic agreement for you to sign off on, which will state what they will provide, and what you will offer in return. If the brand doesn’t come forward with an agreement of some sort, you could look for templates online and create one yourself. I think it’s helpful to have something in writing, so no lines are crossed and it’s clear what everyone is responsible for delivering.
PayPal is a commonly accepted form of payment, but some brands will pay by check. Most of them will pay you after you’ve created the content, but the agreement you have will protect you and ensure you receive payment! 🙂
The blogging/influencer world can be a little bit like the wild wild west. There aren’t any set guidelines and it’s a new world, so I think a lot of people (brands and bloggers alike), are learning as they go.
hi Melyssa!
I’ve recently had a company blog on instagram that reached out to me to join their collaboration for their sunglasses, the whole process went well as in they gave me option on which sunglasses i wanted for them to send me and promote for them but i got the product for more than half off & i still had to buy the product… is that them ripping me off or? I’ve been wanting to look for small companies to collaborate with and maybe an income with it but I’m not sure how all that works?
Hi Marlenee, If you had to purchase the product, that doesn’t seem like a very balanced collaboration. In most cases, influencers don’t have to pay for products that they promote – they receive them for free, and sometimes receive compensation on top of the free product!
You can definitely make an income – just prove your value, come up with creative ways to collaborate and present your ideas to brands that you’re passionate about and excited to work with. As much as I hate to say it, followers and numbers can sometimes play a factor into these types of things, but just be yourself and produce great work and it will all work out! 🙂
So random but just couldn’t leave without saying it. I adore how humble and supportive you are in the way you respond back to comments, Melyssa. God bless you.
That is so sweet, Hamz 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Melyssa! I have been a blogger for almost two years now. I have done lots of collaborations where I do like a product exchange. I’m a travel blogger, so I’ve stayed a few places for free and have gone on some tours in exchange for blogging. These all came about because I reached out to them with my media kit.
I really would like to transition towards seeking out sponsorships because my end goal is to really monetize my blog. I have given thought to reaching out to smaller businesses and brands within my niche about paid collaborations and advertising on my site. I feel like it wouldn’t hurt if done the right way. Basically the idea that if I want things to happen, I can’t just sit around and wait. Do you think I should do that?
I love this idea, Nina, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. Especially if you can turn a short-term collaboration into a long-term project. i.e. Instead of offering to create 1 sponsored post, maybe you set up a quarterly project, and set a flat rate for completing all 4 posts/initiatives. This way, you can stay connected to the brand throughout the year. This approach may work best if you approach a brand who has already sent you a free product, or whom you’ve worked with in the past, since you’ll already have established that trust 🙂
Yeah that’s kind of what I was thinking. Like offer packages as well as individual things too. For example, I would make a package for like a post, Instagram shout-out and banner and price it a little lower than all those combined would be. I also like the idea of a long-term partnership. And starting with people I’ve worked with before is perfect!
This was such a great and helpful article! Thank you so much 🙂 how do you recommend being a part of a social media agency where you can look at campaigns and see what best fits for your Instagram?
Thank you
Hi Melyssa, thank you for such a detailed and helpful advises!
I am just starting to expand my Instagram and gain more followers and obtain more sponsorship, in the luxury lifestyle sphere .
check out my instagram: @billionairelistingsofficial and let me know what you think!
I havent started actual blogging or using twitter actively since I am mostly focused on Instagram, and software issue with Wix doesnt really allow me to blog well from Iphone, those technicalities will have to be sort out asap.
But let me know of pros et contra from Twitter influence over Instagram!
thank you,
you rock!
Hi Milan! Instagram is definitely where it’s at from an influencer standpoint right now, so you’re in the right place 🙂 I also think it helps a lot if you have a blog in conjunction with an active Instagram page. SquareSpace and WordPress are the two platforms I recommend. Twitter is not necessarily a dying platform, but there is not as much conversation there as was the case a few years ago. If you see brands you are interested in partnering with, I recommend suggesting a specific type of collaboration you are interested in, and emphasizing the value you’ll provide to them, and what they will get out of partnering with you 🙂
Heyya!! melyssa, great writeup.. helped me a lot..very informative.. ive recently started a travel blog by the name of http://www.merrygoworld.com ..can u tell me personally how to get this blog on top..cause now ive even expanded it to fashion and food blog as well..i want to collaborate with brands too..and make this blog successful..plzz help me in this..thanks
Hi Mitali, I love the name of your blog! 🙂 While some lifestyle blogs do really well, I actually recommend keeping your focus to one key topic. This is how you built expertise in a niche and keep people coming back. I expand a little more on this here: https://melyssagriffin.com/blog-guide-narrowing-focus/ I hope this helps 🙂
Thanks 🙂
I just found you melyssa and I LOVE YOU SO MUCH ALREADY.This article was absolutely wonderful and informative.A new subbie here!.A jewelry company made me an offer that if I bought 1 item I would get an extra free and they would give me a discount code for my followers.Does that sound like a good offer?
Hi Shakira! 🙂 Thank you for your kind words. I am not sure how I feel about the fact that they are asking you to purchase something (I feel like they should offer you free product, at minimum), but there are many factors to consider. Do you have a small following (this could be a great collaboration if you’re just starting out). Is the value of the jewelry worth it in exchange for what they are asking for? Good luck 🙂
Hi Melyssa, thank you for this article. My personal finance blog is new to the market and I am working hard to add content, and not thinking about monetising. I however got an email from a media company that liked my site and asked me how much i charge for sponsored posts and text link placement in an existing post. I don’t even have a media kit! What do i do?
Hi Kendee, I think the most important thing to assess is whether the relationship with this potential company is worth it. I receive lots of offers as well, but I am very selective, and as of now, I don’t even allow anyone to place text ads on my site. You don’t need a media kit, but you’ll want to have stats on your traffic and come up with a price point that feels good to you. And don’t feel compelled to say yes to any offer, as placing a text link will divert users away from your site.
hey Mellysa griffin great advice on how to connect with other brands. i have a friend who has been blogging for a year and a half now his photos are spot on his content is amazing and looks like someone who could rlly have a big audience in the future but when I asked him how many people view ur posts, he said rarely maybe a phew like 3 or four why is that. is there any tips that u can give me to tell him.
Great question. Is your friend distributing his content on social media, and creating a community around what he writes about? These are two very key factors in growing an audience. You can also point him to this library of resources: https://melyssagriffin.com/topics/blogging/
Hi Melyssa!
Thank you so much for such valuable information, I have a food blog, and i have been blogging for more than an year now, i am working hard to post amazing content so that people can benefit from it. i would request you to kindly provide tips for my blog in order to bring in more traffic and also the monetization part .Also visit my blog for some savory food recipes. http://gourmetcravingsblog.com
Thank you for sharing your blog! 🙂 Continue to do what you’re doing – providing amazing content, sharing quality images, and promoting and marketing your content on social media. It takes a lot of work and dedication 🙂
Hi Melyssa! Do you have any advice regarding growing your audience from the perspective of getting comments on you blog posts?! I do okay with comments on my Instagram, but struggle with comments on my blog posts and really want to grow this organically! Thanks in advance. Love your blog – always so helpful!
Ooh, that’s a tough one Elaine. I’ve found that comments were so much more ‘a thing’ back in the early days of blogging. One thing I like to do is add a question at the bottom of my posts to facilitate conversation. There are also Facebook Groups that have threads where everyone leaves a comment on that person’s post. Ultimately, think about your ‘why’ behind getting more comments. Is it to facilitate more community on your blog? Good luck 🙂
My ‘why’ is definitely to grow my community, which is why I’m unsure whether a Facebook Group is a genuine way to do that!
Thank you so much Melyssa for this post! 🙂
It was very helpful. ♡
starshinebeauty.blogspot.com
You’re welcome, thank you for reading 🙂
Hi Melyssa your article was really very helpful!! Had a small question I am an fashion illustrator and i recently opened a blog section on my portfolio to get more audience to my website. My contents range from self improvement skills like productivity, helpful articles for other designers, and book reviews of various books on fashion. Do you think all these are not much relevant to my website? Or is it okay ? Thanks Lot!!
Best regards
Afsana.
http://www.afsanaparvez.com
Hi Afsana, this is wonderful that you’re adding more content to your website. I always recommend niching down and just focusing on 1-2 key topics if you’d like to establish an audience of raving fans 🙂
Hi Melissa, thanks for sharing your post! I was wondering if companies are contacting you (i.e gives you discount to check out their product) is this a collab or do you have to ask to clarify what they want? Thanks!
Hi Teevu, if a company is asking you to pay to check out their product, this isn’t what I would consider a win-win or a valuable collaboration. I would recommend making the partnership more balanced and asking for compensation, as there is a lot of work that goes into crafting content for a partnership (potentially a blog post, photos, photo editing, writing, social media promotions, etc.) I hope this helps 🙂
hey malissa! i really liked your post. please share some more.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Melyssa!
Great post. I have a new but growing blog- theglamshack.ca. It focuses on Home Decor, seasonal decor and party decor. I am looking to establish partnerships, but since my blog is still so young, and I don’t have that wide of an audience yet, I am wondering how much I should be asking for from these companies? Do you have an outline or guide you use on what blogs should be charging based on followers? Thanks!
Hi Jessica, I will say, it’s tough to establish pricing! In all honesty, there is no ‘set guideline.’ I would factor in the amount of hours it will take you to craft the elements of the partnership – the back and forth emails, the content, the photography, etc., and set a rate based on that, to start. As you grow and your influence grows, you can charge even more. Work with brands you’re passionate about, and don’t be afraid to pitch them if you have a nifty idea 🙂
That helps a lot, thank you so much for the guidance!!
Hello Melyssa!
Great post! This is very useful. I have been a follower of this blog since I started blogging over a year ago and been receiving newsletter updates from you that are very useful.
I just have few questions here tho.
In my case, a certain brand wanted me to become one of their influencer. Main role is to spread awareness to my followers that the brand existed here in my locality. The brand is asking for a proposal on what I can do for them. Basically, I know what to do, it’s just that I don’t have the proper template to be used for the proposal, and the contract as well.
Do you have a free proposal and contract template that we can use to send out to brands after reaching out to them?
Your response is greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much!
Regards,
Wellbein
Hi there, Wellbein 🙂 I do not have a template for a proposal, but I’m sure you can find some online and create your own! Ultimately, your proposal should highlight 2 things. 1) What the brand is going to do for you (will they give you $100 in free product, a 2 week trial of something, an overnight stay, etc.), and then 2) What you propose to do for the brand in exchange (get specific with how many social media posts, if they will receive a blog post will it contain original photography, a video, etc.)
Hi Melyssa,
Thank you so much for this! This is duly noted! ????
Continue sharing useful tips!
Regards,
Wellbein
You’re very welcome, Wellbein! 🙂
I am so excited to be learning from you! I have been trying to grow my following “naturally” and it has brought me thus far but now I need to put a little bit more elbow grease into it and learn strategy!
Absolutely, Francesca 🙂 Excited to see you apply the strategies in this post. I also have a lot of free resources for bloggers throughout my website. 🙂
I’ve been approached by some bloggers and I would like to know if you typically give all of your items to the bloggers? Or do you mail them some pieces and they talk about the items and send them back? Just trying to figure if this is worth it.
Hi Regina, I’d very carefully determine what you want to get out of the partnership and go from there. To make the process easier, I’d simply send them an item with no expectation of them returning it, though if you do wish to have items returned, I’d make sure you have a collaboration agreement in writing, that you both sign off on (I’ve heard horror stories of bloggers receiving items and then not following through).
I’ve been trying to grow my blog and Instagram for about two years now and haven’t had much luck. I’ve only been able to get up to 137 Instagram followers. Any tips on how to boost my social media? I always post a picture on Instagram after I post on my blog and I use hashtags.
Hi Alison. 🙂 You’re on the right track using hashtags. Are you using more niche hashtags, not just large ones where you’ll get lost (i.e. you don’t want to use heavily populated hashtags with millions of photos in them, as it’ll be harder for your photo to get seen). I also recommend engaging with people in your target audience, even if they aren’t following you. It’s a great way to build connections with others who are likely to enjoy your content. 🙂 Good luck and don’t give up!
Hi, I found this blog post really helpful but I do have a couple of questions. I’m not actually interested in blogging myself but I am interested in the roles and departments within companies that reach out to bloggers and organise events for the influencers they work with. I know very little about the business industry so I figured a good place to start would be to ask a blogger. You referred to brand reps and market reps in your post – Is this typically the job title for people responsible for handling collaborations with social media influencers? Would you say these roles were part of the PR or Marketing departments for most companies? Or a different department entirely? I realise that you may not know the answers to these questions but any advice or insight you may have would be really helpful! Thank you!
Hi Hannah, great question! 🙂 In most cases, the people working directly with bloggers and influencers will have a variety of titles – they could be social media managers, marketing managers, influencer managers, brand reps, etc. Most likely their role will function within the marketing / PR department. 🙂
Thank you this was very helpful. Cant wait to start reaching out to companies.
Yay, good luck, Jayah! 🙂
Thank you for this Fantastic post. It gave me the ideas I needed to help formulate my response to a company who wants to work with me. The out of the box comment spoke to me and made me laugh. I was “awarded” the most out of the box blog by member of a forum I participate in. I wrote a blog about toaster ovens. At first some members where like what do toaster ovens have to do with pets? Once they read my blog, toaster ovens without teflon coating are safer for pets, they understood. lol.
P.S. I completed the sign up in the header and requested the media kit. However it is now a few hours later and I still have not received anything. I thought I would mention in case it is automated and there is an issue going on. 🙂
Thank you so much for connecting, Srena! 🙂 If you did not receive the media kit, I recommend contacting my team so they can sort this out for you. The email is hi@melyssagriffin.com. 🙂
Hi Melyssa… something I’ve been wondering (basically because I’m so new to everything >.< ) is how those companies actually verify that you are promoting their brand? Let’s say the collaboration is set. You got them. Now you have to start let’s say promoting them on your IG or Twitter or Blog… How is your promotion of their brand actually verified by them? Just curious.
Hi Larissa, this would generally be something they would handle on their end, but I recommend providing a ‘wrap up’ email or report to them as soon as your collaboration ends, to showcase your posts and content. They’ll love and appreciate this – it’s a nice touch, and will make you stand out among influencers who don’t take the time to do this. 🙂
hi melyssa
i am new to this world of blogging.
i have started writing blogs but just do not know what to do next. i am attaching the link of one of my blogs. need your guidance over that.
http://mylness12.blogspot.in/2017/10/we-slobbers.html
Great post! Some stuff I was not aware of became absolutely clear from this one post; Amazing!
Yay, I love hearing that you learned a few tips from this post, Joleisa. 🙂
Hi Melyssa, thank you so much for writing this post, it is super helpful! I have been blogging for about two years now (www.clubparaisotravel.com) and I haven’t collaborated with any brands yet. However, I recently received a proposal from a company that would like me to include their travel guide in my blog content. They did not mention what the compensation would be and since it’s my first time being asked to collaborate, I’m not sure what’s the best way to respond and negotiate. Any tips?
Congratulations on the opportunity! I’m sure it will be the first of many requests that you receive. 🙂 I recommend carefully considering any collaboration opportunity. It can be tempting to say yes to everything, but I’d suggest only collaborating with brands/companies that are in alignment with your brand. I’d recommend seeing the travel guide they are promoting, to see if it feels like a good fit and a product you’d stand behind.
Compensation is a definite must for an arrangement like this, as it doesn’t seem that they are offering you any free product of substantial value in return. Consider how many pageviews and traffic your site gets, and whatever you do, don’t charge anything less than $100. 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hi Melyssa, thank you for writing this post! I enjoyed it so much. My question for you is if approaching a brand would I use the general email on the site or am I searching for a specific persons contact info. This question especially pertains to larger brands like North Face, Patagonia, Chaco, for some examples. Thank you!
Hi Madison. 🙂 I generally recommend locating a specific person’s email address – generally speaking, it would be the PR company representing those brands, or the marketing manager, influencer manager, or social media manager. You could use LinkedIn as a starting off place, or visit various PR agency websites to see who they represent. You could also search “North Face press release” – they’ll often list a press contact on their press releases.
Wow, you’re so insightful! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Melyssa!
My mobile jewelry studio is hitting the road again in June & I want to be the most prepared to help it boom! Check it out on my IG @vancraftedstudio if you’d like :)!
Thank you so much for sharing this post! It was exactly what I was looking for and answered many questions that I had whizzing around in my head.
Love hearing this, Jemma. 🙂 Thank you for reading and good luck with all of your collaborations!
Your blog has so many helpful tips, thanks! I really want to get started working with brands, but I still need to grow my blog’s following. I see now that I really need to increase the time I spend on engaging with others so they can find my blog and hopefully engage with me too. -Aisha
Absolutely, Aisha. 🙂 So much of a blog’s success comes to not only the strategy, but the community, and engaging with all of them as often as possible. 🙂
We an online boutique currently looking for new Social Media Influencers. Message us if interested! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @elliechainz
please check your email
Hello there
One of the best site i came across. I need little help. When i contact the brands they ask me to send a contract !! and i dont have a contract. When i tell this to the brands mostly they do not reply back. Please can you help me with this. Thanks
Hi Rebbeca, I recommend looking for a basic influencer agreement template online. This can be super basic. It should include: a list of everything you are doing for them (i.e. 1 blog post, 3 social media posts, etc.), and a list of everything they are providing to you (i.e. free products, compensation, etc.) This should also include a list of due dates for all of the deliverables. Then leave space at the bottom for each of you to sign off on it. You can create this in something like Google Docs and save it as a PDF!
Any tips on what the subject of the email should be? SUPER helpful info so far!
So glad this has been so helpful for you, Carmen! 🙂 A good subject line is to the point and piques their curiosity – so you could use something like:
– Potential Collaboration with BLOG NAME
– Interesting Idea for Blog Partnership
Something like that 🙂
Perfect! Thank you so much!!
Hi Melyssa,
This was a really helpful read. I was wondering what happens if I work with a brand exclusively on my instagram account and not on the blog and while, the products are fine, they don’t exactly fit in with blog theme. Again, I’ll do a post for them on instagram and not my blog. Do you think that matters?
Hi Krati! It’s so important to maintain integrity with your blog and social media platforms. If you work with a brand that you wouldn’t put on your blog, it may not be a good fit at all, and in this case, I would pass on the collaboration. Any brands you partner with should be reflective of you, your values, and your brand and feel like a mutually good fit. 🙂