Helpful Tips For Collaborating With Brands As A Blogger

In this post, I’m going to be talking about blogger collaborations! Every blogger or influencer will collaborate with one at least once in their lives. I asked my Twitter followers if they wanted some tips about this subject and you said yes, so I made it happen. Remember, I don’t have all the answers. All I am going to do is share what I’ve learned in my 5+ years as a blogger…

Create a memorable pitch because when you apply for a job, you wouldn’t use the same CV or Cover Letter would you? Recruitment experts recommend tailoring both documents to show prospective employers that you are qualified enough to do the job being advertised. The same energy goes for securing collaborations as a blogger. For example, if you pitched a brand for a travel opportunity, it wouldn’t be wise to talk about a Revlon campaign you worked on.
Here are a few tips for creating a memorable pitch:

• Share article ideas, not names (Do not fall victim to this! However amazing the brand is)
• Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through
• If there’s something about the brand that you admire, be sure to let them now. If not, then don’t force yourself to.
• Keep your pitch short and sweet. Try not to exceed one and a half paragraphs. Impressions are made within a matter of seconds and bear in mind that brands and agencies are most likely inundated with requests from influencers and other creatives.
• Hyperlinking (if you can) makes a pitch look so much neater
• Make sure you have updated your media kit (especially if your stats have changed dramatically or you have learned a new skill, for example: Photoshop)

Engagement is essential. Once you’ve written the post and you are happy with it, don’t be afraid to share it on social media. Use the post to start conversations with your followers or even share a few interesting facts. In my most recent post about PMS (which wasn’t sponsored), I mentioned in a tweet that alcohol can make PMS symptoms much worse. Quite a few of my followers weren’t aware of this so education is a great USP for any blogger or influencer. With the amount of time we all spend on social media, who wouldn’t want to learn something new in the process?

Understand what works for your blog. Kelle’s Space isn’t my first blog. My first blog was called Fashion, Love and Life and I ran it for just over three years. Understanding your niche is one of the best things you can do as a blogger. Live and breathe your stats. Which days is your blog read the most on? What was the most read blog post of the month? How many impressions did you receive when you started a conversation related to one of your posts? These are all questions you should be asking yourself. For me, snack reviews perform terribly on IKS, so I’ve stopped doing them. However, beauty reviews and relationship posts perform well on the blog. Last year, I took a bit of a risk and did a few restaurant reviews and it paid off. Once you know what your readers want, you are invincible. Try new things as far as your content is concerned but know when it’s time to accept that a certain direction may not be meant for you.

A media kit is the most important aspect of self-promotion. In a page, you can tell brands, agencies or anyone else what they need to know about you. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just started out or you are full of experience in the blogging world, your media kit will be your best friend. As mentioned earlier, don’t forget to update it when key information changes, such as your stats. I used Canva to create mine and I haven’t looked back since. There are so many beautiful designs you can use to really stand out. My one media kit tip is: highlight your achievements and make sure you have a brief yet engaging bio!

Think about the kinds of brands you would like to work with – Every blogger has a goal. We all want to work towards something. Take a look at your blog and think about brands who would fit in perfectly with its purpose. One brand I would just love to collaborate with is The Spa Company. I’m always rambling on about self-care, so I think a spa review would be great for IKS.

Share content with collaborators before you publish it – Brands are inundated with blogger requests day in, day out so in order to keep that relationship strong (and fruitful), do send them a link of the content you have created before it goes live. On WordPress, bloggers have the option of making a post private and protecting it with a password. If you do this, you’ll be able to change the settings once you are ready to hit ‘publish’. Sharing before you publish shows the brand that you take your work seriously. Also, whoever is proofing your content will be able to make any necessary amendments. When it comes to SEO, keywords always must be spelt correctly.

Stay true to yourself – The creative industry is probably THE most competitive industry in the world. I am in shock at how many YouTuber’s, Bloggers, Photographers etc there are! I’m sure a new creative in each field pops up on a daily basis so there can be a great amount of pressure to fit in. Staying true to your brand is essential – don’t do things you wouldn’t usually do. Be consistent and value your audience. As mentioned in an earlier point, there are ways you can increase engagement and, scheduling tools exist for a reason! So, make sure you use them.

Compensation is something you should always have! If you are a creative, you should be paid. It doesn’t matter where you are in your journey. Look for a way to turn your hobby into a side hustle. Speak to people around you, follow industry pages/people, attend events etc. If you are serious about what you do, make it pay. As a blogger, I can only let a fee go if I am receiving products. This may sound crazy but think about it this way, most of us spend about 30-45 minutes writing a blog post a day. Your hard work should never be in vain.

I hope these tips have helped you all, especially if you are new to the blogging or influencing game.
If you have any questions or comments, then please don’t hesitate to leave them below.
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Kel xo