Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
For a lot of bloggers being able to work with brands they love is a goal they would like to achieve. If you are new to blogging or haven’t worked with brands before it can be daunting and you can be left confused as to what your first step should be.
I have been extremely fortunate to work with some incredible brands and I am more than grateful. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been turned down or had e-mails ignored before. It unfortunately comes with the territory.
It has only been in the past year that I have started reaching out via e-mail and social media to brands I would like to collaborate with. As previously brands would contact me, or I would find the opportunities online. Networking is definitely key to successful collaborations. I have had my email passed to other PR consultants and found collaborations that way also.
I have recently had a lot of comments on my blog and Twitter asking how can I reach out to brands, what should I say and where can I find blogging collaboration opportunities. The 4 tips I have written have been working well for me so I wanted to share these and maybe they can give you the boost of confidence you need to reach out.
1. Make a list of all the brands you would like to work with
Writing a list of the brands you would like to work with in the near future is a great start, it means you can do some research and see if you can establish a contact or a contact e-mail. Carrying out research on the brand, finding the brand’s message means you can tailor your e-mails to them. Brands appreciate you making the effort. Some companies will get hundreds of generic emails sent to them, make yours stand out!
2. Reaching out to brands via e-mail
When you have established a contact e-mail, there is a list of things you want to make sure you include:
- A mini introduction including who you are and why you are contacting them.
- Links to all your social media platforms as well as your blog.
- Your statistics, monthly views on your blog and follower count for all your social media platforms.
- Any ideas you want to put to them about possible collaborations.
If you have a media kit already designed then you can attach that to the e-mail if you prefer. In the next month or so I want to allocate time to designing my media kit to use in future e-mails to brands.
Photo by STIL on Unsplash
3. Searching for brand collaboration opportunities online
You do not need to reach out to brands if you are not confident in doing so, you can find great opportunities online. Twitter has so many different opportunities that bloggers can get involved with. Brands will often use Twitter to reach out as they can reach a wider audience. I have found several opportunities through Twitter. If you are wanting to look for opportunities, searching for #bloggerswanted #bloggersrequired and #PRrequest, will provide you with the latest tweets requesting work with bloggers from brands and other bloggers. Respond to the opportunities you want and put yourself out there.
4. Patience and perseverance
With any task or project it takes time and doesn’t always work out first time. Blogging is no exception! Many people will openly say blogging is easy, we both know it isn’t! Sometimes you may be turned down or not have a reply to your e-mail, but keep going, it will happen!
If you do work with brands, make sure you are declaring your content. It is important your disclosure is clear to your audience. These are just a few tips on how to find brand work. Just make sure you work honestly with the brands. But also remember do not sell yourself short! Know your worth, some brands will expect something for nothing. You don’t have always say yes!
Thank you for reading and commenting! Aww you are so sweet! I love your posts xx
These are great tips Lauren. I remember when I first starting pitching to brands and how scary I thought it would be. But I quickly found it’s not as bad as I thought, and I’ve gotten some great collaborations. 🙂 It’s definitely worth it. I usually use Twitter or Facebook groups to find opportunities too.
This is a great post full of very helpful advice. I think pitching to brands by email is one I really need to take on. Thanks for your advice 🙂
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! Good luck when you do reach out. Can you send me the link to your blog xx
I do agree completely that it’s 100% worth searching for brand collabs online, twitter is great for that! x
Soph – https://girlvsworldblog.com x
Definitely! Thank you for reading and commenting x
These are really great tips! Will be referring back to this when I decide to send some emails!
That’s awesome! Good luck for when you reach out x
Super helpful post! I’m not new to collabs but I am hoping to put myself out there and pitch more this year. I think making a brands to work with list is a great motivator too x
Sophie
Definitely get yourself out there! You have a great blog x
I’ve never had the opportunity to work with a brand so far, but I hope that some day when I progress more I can have that opportunity. Really helpful tips great post 💗
I hope it goes well when you do reach out! Xx
Thank you!
I hope it goes well when you decide to reach out. Thank you for sharing!
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Oooh! I want to start working with brands. I like the tip about listing all of your information upfront so you can cut down with the back and forth. I totally agree with having patience and perseverance. It takes a while before getting some bites. YESSS on not selling yourself short!! I had experiences where brands wanted $15 for a post with so many requirements – not worth the hassle. Know your worth queen!
Nancy ♥
Yes know your worth! Your blog is amazing, so don’t settle for sure! ❤️
You’ve compiled a list of some really useful tips here. I should really use Twitter to find some collaboration opportunities – it’s something I haven’t really done before. Thank you for a really useful post xxx
Definitely check it out xxx
Definitely! I hope you find some great opportunities! I hope it goes well! Thank you for reading and commenting!
Very helpful for ‘newbies’. Love my years of working with sellers, and groups.
These are some very helpful tips Lauren. I have worked with some brands who reached out to me. But have never had the strength to pitch brands. Will keep this in mind. It’s been a while that I went of twitter. 🙂
Via | https://glossnglitters.com
Definitely give it a go! The worst that happens is they decline. X
Such good info! Its bits that would take a long time to work out, thanks for sharing!
Thank you. Can you link your blog
I haven’t yet taken this step but I’d love to work up the courage to do so one day in the near future. These are some really useful tips, especially for beginners in this area – thank you!
I will be writing a post soon about how to approach brands and what to do so I hope that helps x
These are great ideas and I’ll definitely try them.
Thank you!
Some really good tips here… well written and good read.
Thanks
Thank you for reading and commenting.