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Bournemouth Girl

Planning the life you want

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4 Tips For Working With Brands

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.

a planner open on a desk with glasses, a candle scissors, tape and a plant pot.

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!

What tips would you give to bloggers who are wanting to work with brands? I’d love to hear in the comments.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. molly rose says

    This was such a helpful and informative post, thank you! I would loveeee to work with brands in the future so these were all such great tips to keep in mind. I didn’t really know you could search those kind of hashtags on twitter so I think that will be my first step in delving into the world of working with brands! xx

    Reply

  2. Sophie Harriet says

    I’ve only worked with one brand so far (PMD Clean) and they reached out to me when I commented on another blogger’s review of their product! So that’s another way to find opportunities. But I’ve never reached out to a brand myself. I am hoping to work with more brands in 2020, so these tips will be really helpful for me, thank you!

    Reply

  3. clairelomax2018 says

    Brilliant post. I’ve just had my first sponsored post after they contacted me, it’s very exciting but now I need to make moves to gather more income from my blog.

    It’s quite a daunting task x

    Reply

  8. mxrshmallowqueen says

    Working with brands can be daunting but this post is definitely full of information to help you through. I think that they most important thing about working with brands is remembering not to sell yourself short. Always remember your worth! ♡

    Reply

  12. Lisa's Notebook says

    Love this post, Lauren, it’s so helpful. TBH I’ve never cold pitched a brand. I’ve applied for opps on Twitter or Facebook but I’ve been very lucky to be contacted directly for my brand collabs. It makes me wonder what I could achieve if I actually screwed up the courage to pitch directly now – I mean, you’re right, they can only say No or ignore me! But my favourite tip is to know your worth. Brands aren’t in business for peanuts and neither are we. Our time is valuable too. Great post, lovely! Lisa xxx

    Reply

    • bournemouthgirl says

      I have cold pitched a few times and been so lucky for them to agree. But previously they would contact me or I find them online too! You should give it a go! You are a successful blogger and they would be silly not to work with you! Definitely knowing your worth xxx

      Reply

  18. themagicballproject says

    This is a super helpful post, I’m new to blogging and working with brands is a little scary but this really made it simple and easy to understand!

    Reply

  19. Rachel Laws says

    This is a super helpful post! I’ve never worked with a brand and don’t think I’m anywhere near it – but I’ll be keeping all of this in mind <3 x

    Reply

  20. Jaya Avendel says

    A helpful post! Tips of all kind make for learning opportunities.
    I think making a list of the brands you have in mind is a great idea; it helps you stay focused. And, of course, nothing is better then reaching out to people! I never regret it.

    Reply

  21. ktkinnes says

    Brilliant post, with what are probably the 4 most important pieces of advice for reaching out to brands/companies.

    It’s been that long since I tried, but recently the hashtags on twitter have become saturated with bloggers promoting their own content. Now instead I go to the blogging groups on Facebook where many PRs post opportunities they have going.

    Reply

  23. laurabooksandblogs says

    Thanks for reminding me about the hashtags. I’m clueless as to which brands will accept a blogger with my daily views and experience. So, looking for brands who have already put the word out along with those guidelines might be a little easier than going in blind.

    Reply

  26. Kayleigh Zara says

    I couldn’t agree with you more here especially on the second tip, reaching out to brands has got me some of the best opportunities that I’ve had so far in blogging!

    Reply

  29. a Life on a Dime says

    Thanks for the tips! I feel like I’ve stumbled upon my few collabs at this point. I need to be more active in seeking them out.

    Reply

  33. nortoncharity says

    These are all such great tips! I love working with different brands, but I need to be better about reaching out myself through email to companies I really want to work with.

    Reply

  35. Sarah Mark says

    This post was so informative and helpful! Thank you so much! I have only posted my first ever post a few days ago but this post is super helpful if I decide I want to start working with brands!

    Reply

  36. Darina says

    I am new and now learning about blogging. Slowly j would like to be able to reach out to some brands. I will follow your suggestions. Thank you so much for sharing your tips.

    Reply

  38. Marina says

    This is such a useful post! I’m about to start contacting brands for collabs, so this was great to read. Really great tips, the hashtag one was my favorite! 🙂

    Reply

  40. The Starving Artist Blog (@StarvingBlog) says

    This is an awesome post! I don’t yet have the audience to reach out to brands, but my blog is growing every day, and I hope that I’ll be able to reach out with brands for sponsorship opportunities. This is a great guideline for a new blogger like me, thank you so much!

    Reply

  43. lindapurcell724gmailcom says

    Thank you for this post. I’m pretty new to blogging (six months). This is something that I want to be involved with. Great suggestions.

    Reply

  44. Lisa Alioto says

    Great article! For me it’s all about having the patience and perseverance! Not so easy at times. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  46. cgscomputers says

    I’ve only ever had brands reach out to me for collaboration. How do you normally go about even finding a contact email for the brands you like outside of the standard “contact us” page?

    Reply

  47. A Cup of Wonderland says

    One of my main blogging goals for 2020 is to have a brand collaboration and this post was super helpful for me. I already have a list of ideal brands – some are really ambitious and some are more reasonable but I need to work on my media kit for sure before I start emailing out but I am really excited now to start trying. Thank you for a really informative post.

    Reply

  49. Sahara says

    Working with brands is something I’m trying to navigate through myself now, so this post definitely came at the right time! I have been thinking what brands I would like to work with, but I feel like all the brands I do know are all the big name ones so have to think a bit smaller. Twitter is a great place to search for opportunities – though the hashtags can get a bit clogged up sometimes but they’re great. This was a super informative post!

    Sahara
    https://www.saharasdreams.com/

    Reply

  50. katelyn | embark to explore says

    such a helpful post – and its really helpful especially to someone like me whos just started out with blogging! i really like the tips you give! thank you!

    Reply

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