Collaborating with brands is one of the most exciting aspects of blogging, but it can be so hard to find opportunities, especially as a small blogger. Over the course of the past year, I've found myself working with a lot more brands and I have the following 10 tips to thank. So as per, I'm going to share them with you in the hopes they might help others out too!
Media kits
Media kits have been all the rage in the blogging world recently, but if you're new to the term then lemme quickly explain. A media kit is a visual overview of your blog's analytics and niche as well as your social media presence and previous work with brands! Brands get contacted by so many bloggers so you want to make sure that you stand out - what better way to do that than to send a creative CV? If you google 'media kit', I'm sure you'll find lots of examples, but if you would like to see ours then just drop me a message on Twitter or Instagram.
Up your content!
Collaborations have to be beneficial both ways, for the brand and for you. You can't expect a brand to be gifting you or/and sponsoring the post if it isn't beneficial for them. By 'beneficial', I don't necessarily mean an increase in their sales, but just a general improvement of their brand image. Brands want to work with bloggers who are going to feature their products in eye-catching, quality articles which means lots of images and an investment of your time into writing a unique piece.
#bloggerswanted #bloggersrequired #prrequest
If you want to start working with more brands, then Twitter is the place to be! I look through the top tweets on the above hashtags almost daily, making sure to reply to any opportunities I'm interested in. With such a large amount of bloggers interested in collaborations, it can be quite competitive so don't be disheartened if you aren't accepted for most of them... we certainly aren't! Just keep at it and you'll be accepted for the ones that suit your blog and readership best.
Influencer marketing sites
Influencer marketing sites are usually free for bloggers and super easy to use. All you have to do is sign up then wait for brands to contact you (or search through the campaigns listed). There are absolutely tons and tons of these sites so I've linked a few of the ones we use below:
> Buzzoole
Previous brand work page
Creating a previous brand work page is something you might want to think about if you want to work with more brands. It's something you can refer to brands to when applying for a collaboration opportunity, but it's also a page that will attract brands that come across your website. Obviously, you can do this in other ways too; you could add the logos of all the brands you've worked with on your 'contact' page.
Grow your social media presence
I hate to say this, especially since we all know how much Instagram hates us bloggers at the moment, but we gotta face facts - brands like followers numbers. If you have more followers, brands are more likely to want to work with you. I did a whole blog post on Instagram growth so definitely give that a read if you're looking for some tips. Obviously, followers aren't the only thing brands look for though and engagement is just as important. But more followers = more engagement, right? Unless you've bought your followers... in which case, bye.
Promote yourself on Twitter
Yes, Twitter is great for finding opportunities advertised by brands and PR companies, but you can use it to attract brands too! Every so often I like to send out a tweet promoting myself as a blogger looking to work with brands. Add a few photos that you've taken, your blog link and an email; it's worth a shot.
Contact brands yourself
I won't lie, generally, most of the brands we have worked with have either contacted us themselves or found us through our twitter reply to an opportunity. We do contact brands ourselves too though and, every so often, we will get a positive reply. The way you pitch to brands is really important. As said before, brands get contacted by a LOT of bloggers. Make yourself stand out. Share your media kit, a post idea and most importantly complement the brand!
Keep track of current blogger collaborations
I'm sure that as bloggers you spend a lot of time reading other blogs and scrolling through Instagram. A good way to find brands to contact is to keep an eye out for brands other bloggers have collaborated with. I keep a little list of brands that I like the look of and send an email out to one of them every so often.
Contact PR management companies
This one is the last point for a reason... I haven't actually contacted any PR management companies yet. HOWEVER, I am planning on contacting one soon since they seem to be doing wonders for my blogger friends in terms of blogger collaborations. Again, I have a list of PR managements that I have found out about through other bloggers so keep an eye out for information about that too when your next scrolling through your Instagram feed.
Do you contact brands yourself?
