How to land sponsored content work as a growing blogger once you have established yourself and gained the trust of your followers.
Once you have established yourself and your blog and gained the trust of your followers, you may be wondering how to land sponsored content work as a growing blogger. Here are a few tips that have helped me in my blogging journey!
Before you start, you will need to determine what type of partnerships you're interested in – blog or social, brand ambassadorship, product review, etc. From there, you will need to figure out your rates and if you're open to accepting in-kind compensation.
What's in-kind compensation? Google will tell you it's "compensation provided in the form of goods and services of value, rather than in cash format." Some examples include products, food, hotel accommodations, airfare, memberships, and subscriptions.
PUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BRAND OUT THERE
Seems simple, right? It may prove to be a little harder than expected. This means go to large expos and attend local meetups. I didn’t start doing this until I was almost already two years in. It’s not always easy finding events and if you can find them, sometimes the date or time doesn’t work for you. I encourage you to really try everything you can to attend these, they’re so enriching and will help you grow immensely. Also, invest in business cards and hand them out like candy. Fun fact: I attended 1 expo and now I’m connected with 4 brands I met there!
TAG BRANDS YOU USE AND LOVE ON SOCIAL
Well duh, right?! I actually didn’t do this for maybe almost a year though. Maybe it’s because I was afraid of being “too small” but whatever my reasons were, don’t be like the old me. Tag all the brands!! Love those frozen veggie tots? Tag. Baking with that well-known flour brand? Tag. Drinking yummy tea? Tag. Most accounts will give you a “like” or leave a comment, and sometimes even share your photo on their page.
BE NICE, RESPOND PROMPTLY, AND FOLLOW UP
You can do everything Google and Pinterest tells you to do about securing sponsored work, but if you’re not nice to work with, your less-than-desirable reputation will precede you. Remember that the marketing/press contact at your dream brand is a person too…so be nice!
CONCLUSION
I hope this helps you take the first steps to get on your favorite brand's radar! Check back for how to pitch brands as a blogger, the anatomy of a media kit, and best practices when partnering with brands. If you liked this post, you'll probably like Why You Need a Content Calendar and How to Create Your Own and How to Optimize Your Instagram Bio! What else would you like me to share? Please let me know in the comments and if you've had success securing any brand partnerships + any tips you have 🙂
