Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
Wanting to take your blog to the next level? This can mean you are ready to start pitching to brands and building business contacts. Pitching to brands can be very daunting at first, but it gets easier. There are no rules to say at what stage you have to be at before you start to reach out to brands.
I was incredibly fortunate to have my first brand reach out to me, but no one says you have to wait for them to come to you. Get yourself known! If you want to reach out to brands, but are not yet confident to do so thats ok, you can do it when you are ready.
Brands are so busy with the running of their businesses, so it is where pitching brands directly allows you to sell yourself and why they should work with you and how it will benefit them to collaborate with you. The more you practise pitching to brands the more confident you will become.
Here are 9 tips and aspects to consider when you are pitching to brands:
1. Reach out to brands that you love
It is important that you are only reaching out to brands you enjoy because that will reflect in the quality of your pitch and the content you create for them. You want to stay authentic to your audience by sharing content that both yourself and your audience can relate to. A brand is also more likely to work with bloggers who use their products and are passionate about the brand.
2. Email the brand directly and not through social media DMs
If you are pitching a brand cold it is important that you find the best PR contact and email them. If possible try and avoid the generic info@ emails. It shows more professionalism emailing the brand rather than messaging on social media. Emailing a brand can allow you to write and send attachments that are easy for the brand to follow and access.
Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
3. Do your research on the brand
Even if you love the brand and have been using the brand’s products for a while, it is important that you research about the background of the company and their mission statement or their values. It will help you tailor your pitch and show them you have put in the extra work and are likely to do so for the content you will create for them.
4. Send your media kit in the email
A brand is going to want to know your statistics and your follower count. With a media kit you will have all your statistics and it is a chance to show some of your photography, other brand work you may have done and even a little bit about you. Using a media kit for all the statistics rather than listing them can make your proposal more professional and allows the brand to keep your media kit on hand in case of further collaborations. It will also save you so much time when writing your proposals.
5. Gather evidence
When you have added your media kit to the email, it can be helpful and effective to share content that has done well for brands on your blog or even testimonials from brands you have previously worked with. This can show how well you work with brands and show how well you work with brands and the quality of the content you create. Positive feedback from brands can be really successful in closing proposals with new brands. If you have done work with other brands asking for feedback or a testimonial is definitely a great suggestion and something you should always do.
Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
6. Be direct in your proposal and ideas
Brands are very busy and will get lots of emails and numerous proposals, so the more direct the email you are sending is the better. Brands will want to be able to quickly assertion what your proposal is and what they will gain from working with you. You will want to pique their attention so they want to learn even more. A lengthy email that is full of extra pitching that is not needed.
7. Do not expect an instant reply
Brands like I have said will receive so many emails and so you should not expect an instant reply. This does not mean you are being ignored or turned down. They may love your pitch but they may have to run it by their marketing team or even check their budget. You have to be patient for a response.
8. Following up is okay
If you are wanting to follow up you can but you have to ensure you are not seen as pestering. Following up after a week or so is good in case your email has been missed. A follow up email can show willing and if formulated correctly. Again, do not expect an instant reply to the follow up email also.
Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
9. Do not take it personally
If you do not get a reply or you are turned down for a collaboration do not take it personally There may be a multitude of reasons why they have decided to turn down your collaboration, could be to do with budget or they have other creators they are working with. If they say no with no explanation you can always ask for feedback, as the feedback could help you grow and learn from ready for your next pitch to a brand. You will have also gained experience in writing a proposal and will help build your confidence when reaching out.
If you do agree on a collaboration it is important in protecting yourself and your content by organising a contract that is signed by both parties. The contract should outline what you are expected to create and if any what the payment is for your content and services.
Working with brands is a great opportunity but it is important that you are ready to do so. It might be a great idea for you to try and contact local companies to do a collaboration. You must always remember when you do work with a brand on content whether that is paid of gifted, you must disclose at the start of any posts or content. This is important to be authentic and transparent to your audience.
Definitely it is not authentic at all
This post is so helpful!
There are definitely brands I’d love to work with but I’m never sure if its acceptable to contact them. Also I don’t have a huge DA or huge following so there’s that!
but this post will be really helpful if I ever feel like there is one brand id love to work with
You never know. Some brands love to work with people who love their brands. Try and see what happens.
Some great tips! Thanks!
Thank you so much for writing this! I have been wanting to take my blog to the next level, as you said but wasnt sure what steps to take or even how. This helped me get a clearer picture of what I need to do.
These are all great tips! It is so important to make a good first impression, so I definitely think these are essential. Thanks for sharing!
Jenna ♥
Stay in touch? Life of an Earth Muffin
I hope they help you if you reach out to brands! Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thanks for sharing Lauren, it is defo an area I need to pull my big girl pants up in! Lol. So reading this has defo been a confidence encouragement, thanks! Helen x
These are brilliant tips! Ive never reached out to any brands before because Ive never really known how to go about it – but these are such a good starting point!xx
Good luck if you do! DMs are open if you would like any help 😊
Great post, I don’t think we are quite at this stage yet where we feel confident approaching brands. However, we got invited along to a new business and got to experience it yesterday which was really cool.
Great informative post as always, we will be staying tuned for the next one 😊
Thank you for reading and commenting commenting.
Great post. Fairly new to blogging and do not have a media kit. You got me thinking now.
Can you link your blog?
This has been super informative and helpful, great blog post – definitely needed!
xoxo Olivia | http://www.oliviaandbeauty.com
Thank you, I am glad it was helpful.
Good tips I have to keep in mind. I haven’t pitched to brands yet since I still want to learn more about growing my blog and being consistent about blogging.
That’s great things to work on. Can you link your blog so I can read?
Hi! I blog over at piecesofliz.com 🙂
It will not let me comment 🙁
This post is so helpful! I haven’t worked up to pitching a brand cold, but these tips will definitely come in handy when I do!
I hope they help you and good luck!
Thank you for reading. If you have a blog can you link your blog?
I hope they help you. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great tips, Lauren, I really need to get better at pitching to brands. I’ve only ever done it twice in nearly 3.5 years of blogging (!) but both times it worked so imagine what I could do if I put my mind to it, haha xx
You definitely should! You have a great blog for brands to work with. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Such good advice! I’m just starting to think about this kind of stuff again. Restarting my blog this time around seems more complicated for some reason. I think my old following and consistent posting made some of this stuff easier.
Definitely going to take this advice to heart and work on a list of places to get in touch with.
Definitely consistency helps! That’s great! I hope it works out well for you.
I haven’t yet reached the point of feeling brave enough to take this step – and I’m definitely not in the position to do so considering I don’t even have a media kit, oops – but this has some fantastic advice on where to start, something which I had no clue about. Great post, thank you!
I have a post on a media kit, I have just posted if you need help with creating one.
Can you link your blog so I can read x
Very useful information, a lot of people should read it.
These are excellent tips. Over the years, I’ve learned to only send my media kit once they’ve asked for it, rather than in my initial pitch email – as it can sometimes come across as pushy or forward. However, I do add the option to request it initially! I *strongly* agree with the tip to reach out to them directly via email rather than over social media DM. DM is a HUGE professional no-no, and it irks me to no end that so many brands still utilize it when reaching out to bloggers! Thanks for sharing this!
Yes some brands use DMs but I feel like you I feel it is so unprofessional. That is a good point. Thank you for sharing your experience!
This was really helpful and also timely because I am working on my media kit. I would like to get a local fashion collab. A company reached out already but then they disappeared when I asked more information. Such a shame because it was a legit company with a budget.
Keep going lovely, you have got this! If I see any online I will be sure to tag you in them x
Thank you so much! That’s so sweet of you xxx
Thanks for sharing your trips, which are good ones, I have had pitched sometimes and never had a reply, I have to move on and expect that 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
This is so helpful. I have not made the leap of contacting brands directly yet but I know I have to put myself out there. I will be taking your advice Lauren, thanks for sharing x
This was really helpful! I definitely want to begin pitching to brands, but I have never done it before so this is useful for me thank you 😊 I would love to work with lush and so many other brands but I think there are some local and small businesses as well that I want to look into xx
Definitely plan and come up with a great pitch idea and pitch to lush. The worst that could happen is they say no for now. Just put yourself out there. You have a great blog 😊 xx
Thank you so much that means a lot! 😘 I think I will just go for it 🙈 xxx
These are really helpful tips. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some great brands but I’ve never really pitched to a brand before.
So glad it was a helpful post. Can you link your blog so I can read?
A very helpful post! I love your insight into this and need to research more what a media kit is! My goal is to get recognized by major publishing houses. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. I have just posted all about media kit and how you can create one. Can you link your blog so I can read?
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for this wonderfully detailed read! 🙂 I’m always eager to learn more about pitching to brands!
I really like your tip on collecting testimonials from brands you’ve worked with in the past. Great idea!
Personally, I’d love to work with Lacoste, Oh Polly and Revolve (future Revolve Girl here, hopefully)! 😄
Bianca xx | http://www.missmonro.com
I’m really starting to explore working with brands now. In the past, a few have reached out to me so I have a little experience, but I’m just now starting to learn the ins and outs of marketing. So this is really helpful. Thanks!
I hope this helps! Good luck for pitching to brands!
Amazing post! Thank you for these tips! They are so useful and I am definitely going to use them!
Good luck for when you start reaching out and pitching to brands!
Great tips! I’ve only reached out to one brand as a blogger but would love to do it more as I grow my blog. I definitely need to put together my media kit – and great idea to include relevant evidence and testimonials.
I hope this post helps you. I have shared a post after this one about how to create a media kit and what to include. Thank you for reading and commenting. Can you link your blog so I can read?
These are some great tips! A while back I had a go at pitching to brands and even though it was scary, I got some great responses back. Definitely an important tip about emailing them rather than going through social media direct messages! I’ve stepped back a little bit from pitching to brands, but this has motivated me to have another go! xx
Definitely give it another go, plus it is all experience whether it goes successfully or not. Thank you for reading and commenting. Xx
This is such a useful post! Pitching to brands can be really daunting, can’t it? but I guess the worse that can happen is they don’t respond or say no.
Thanks for sharing!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
Exactly if you don’t put yourself out there, you will never know! Thank you for reading and commenting. Xx
Personally I haven’t reached out to brands to pitch – definitely would love to just feel like I’m not there yet confidence wise! – but reaching out to brands that you already love is the best way forward for sure! Since you already love the brand, and have potentially mentioned it in passing in a blog post, it wouldn’t be so out there to collaborate and you already genuinely love the brand.
I would think reaching out via email is the best way to go about things- privately messaging on social media definitely doesn’t have that same level of professionalism and definitely won’t be seen by the people it needs to be, and best way to attach a media kit as well is through email!
Definitely think sharing previous client work/brands you’ve personally promoted on your own would be a good way for the brand to see what a potential collaboration would look like.
All great tips for pitching, definitely will save to reference when I get to that point!
Sahara
https://www.saharasdreams.com/
I hope you find the confidence to start soon. The worst that happens if they decline right now, but it definitely helps boost your confidence with writing pitches. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I’ve been pitching to loads of brands this month and had quite a bit of success so all these points are spot on! I think the only okay with DM’ing in when you’re asking for an appropriate email address if you can’t find it on their site. I’ve had to do that a couple of times 🙂 x
That’s definitely true! Thank you for reading and commenting Jenny x
These are all amazing tips for anyone who’s looking to start pitching to brands! Sharing previous examples of organic content you’ve created for a brand or collaborations that have been successful in a similar niche to the brand you’re pitching too is something that I always do when it comes to pitches. It’s a great way to show your passion for the brand!
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Yeah – Most of us just love blogging, but when it comes to the technical staff and business collaborations, I was so clueless. I’ve learned a lot in the process, but this post definitely pointed out a few things I should pay more attention to. Thanks! ❤️
Such good tips. I’ll definitely be using some of these to try and grow my blog. 💜
Thank you for reading and commenting. Can you link your blog.
https://Lifeofacrazymum.com 💜
That’s great! I hope you manage to reach out soon!
Great tips. I am very early in my blogging journey, so I will save this one for later. Thanks!
This was so helpful! It’s something I’ve never done but something I really want to do but just don’t know where to start. I’m going to keep working and hopefully pitch to some brands when I think I’m in a good position.
http://thesydneysider.com/
Definitely it is something you should do sooner rather than later. The worse that could happen is they say no at this time or you do not get a response. But using these tips will allow you to feel a bit more confident doing it. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great tips. Under research it would be useful to talk about the person at the other end. Who’s in charge of the brand? Marketing? Founder? Do research on the individual as well 👍
Definitely a great tip too. Can you link your blog, so I can have a read.
Sure! Check out this article (the only article at the moment). https://inmotionmktg.com/blog/demand-generation-kpis/
Love this post! Im still pretty new when it comes to pitching but these tips really do help!