I often hear creators worrying “Oh I don’t have enough followers to get brand collaborations” or “I’ll never get paid for my work.” Well, no. Not with that attitude!
The big question these days is: “How big of a following do I need to score brand collaborations?”
The answer might not be what you want to hear, but there is TRULY no magic number. In this post I’ll discuss, where to get your start with brand collaborations, how I got my start and how I grew my collaborations from $0 in 2017 to 5 figures in 2020, and how things have changed in the industry since I started. Then, I’ll provide some actionable steps to get you started on your brand collaboration journey.
Let’s jump in!
Where to start:
Brand collaborations come in all shapes and sizes; whether it’s an ambassador program, affiliate networks, sponsored Instagram posts, blog posts, Youtube sponsorships, etc. A collaboration I may have taken on in 2017 when I first started is likely VASTLY different than one I might opt for today.
We all start somewhere. What I will say is that you should not expect to start working with brands until you are a bit more established as a content creator.
What do I mean by this?
You’ll need to make sure you have a strong Instagram bio and regular, consistent posts, a media kit CLEARLY defining your brand mission, and maybe an established blog or Youtube channel if that is your thing. You need to be clear with what your brand’s mission and audience look like. After all, if you don’t even know your own brand, how can you ask another brand to work with you? In my Pitching Guide, I explain that one of the key ways to stand out when pitching is to define your personal brand and niche.
It also helps to have some analytics to show when you reach out to brands. In this recent post about Pitching to Brands Over Email, I discuss some of the key things I include in every SINGLE pitch email – with ANALYTICS being one of my major areas of focus.
Early steps in my brand collaborations journey:
Let’s rewind to 2017… I started collaborating with brands almost right away once I established my account.
But, no, not my *DREAM* brands or brands you and I hear of regularly. In the early days, I would reach out to boutiques with a similar follower count (or less) to mine and ask if they’d trade product in exchange for social media promotion. This gave me the confidence and skills I needed to start reaching out to larger brands. I learned how to provide quality content and how to be a good partner when working on brand collaborations in the future.
I would definitely recommend trying out this strategy when looking to gain confidence when pitching to brands for brand collaborations.
There are a few things to watch out for when working with brands at first. I rounded up 4 mistakes to avoid when working with brands. One I see often is brands asking YOU to pay (in the form of shipping, they give you 50% off, etc.). I promise you, this is a SCAM. Brands should be compensating you for your work, whether it is with a free product or a predetermined rate.
If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I was ready to start collaborating with these small businesses when I did. I was consistently posting, but I was often sharing random content. My goals were nonexistent and I wasn’t clear at all on my niche. I did not have a schedule of blog posts like I do now. My website design wasn’t anything special. I shared blog posts at random, without any strategy.
Brand collaborations platforms:
Soon after I started working with smaller boutiques and businesses through Insta DMs, I began applying to collaboration platforms and picking up brand collaboration work there. Two of the platforms I started with were Statusphere and Obviously. With both of these platforms, you can apply for product-trade collaborations. I started with product-trade only collaborations at first while I was still building up my “branded resumé” if you will.
Another platform I didn’t hear about until later in my career is Octoly. I would highly recommend this one to any influencers just starting out as well, as it is mostly product-based. Nowadays, some of my favorite influencer collaboration platforms are Cohley and AspireIQ. With both of these, I regularly apply for paid collaborations, where I can share my rates and brands can bid if they are interested.
Using these types of brand collaboration/influencer management platforms allowed me to build up my “resume” a bit. This has translated to a key brand partnerships section of my media kit. Here I display the logos of the brands I’m most proud to have worked with. I also have an area on my blog where I list out my past collaborations, provide photo samples and links if available.
So what was my big break?
After quite some time working on product exchange collaborations with boutiques and smaller businesses through influencer collaboration platforms, I finally got what I consider to be “my big break” in March of 2018, almost a YEAR after I started my blog.
One day I was scrolling through my emails on campus when I saw one come in from Sephora. I literally almost deleted it by mistake thinking it was a spam email about a sale or something like that! But nope, it was FOR REAL! One of my favorite brands, Sephora reached out to me for a product exchange collaboration on Instagram (click here to see the original post!). It was truly a dream come true for me because I had gained the recognition of a reputable brand that I knew and loved.
Keep in mind, this was just a product exchange collab, as was my next “big break.” My next “big break” came when I was offered a $1000 gift card in exchange for an Instagram post and a blog post about The Container Store. This was another amazing opportunity! Once I realized I could gain the attention of two international retailers without having to pitch myself, I started pitching to brands on my own for $$$. I also began seeking out and applying to brand collaborations through various platforms, including new ones I hadn’t used in the past!
At the time of this “big break”, I had about 10K followers, for reference.
My journey
For a long time (and I mean, a LONG TIME), I was totally comfortable with purely product-exchange based collaborations. In 2018, I started picking up collabs with TINY budgets (maybe $25-50 per post). However, most of my work was largely unpaid, product-based collaborations. And that was totally okay with me! It helped me to build my portfolio and later get the attention of brands.
It wasn’t until I graduated college in 2019 that I started to take my platform a little more seriously. However, with a demanding full-time job and the tough adjustment from post-grad to adult life, I was still putting my blog and Instagram on the back-burner. In fact, I took almost a month off in December of 2019. I was debating if I should even continue because I wasn’t seeing any return. My growth was stagnant, I wasn’t bringing in any revenue, and I was discouraged.
2020 was a HUGE turning point for my business. This year, I have worked hard to negotiate with brands when offered product. I did a full website overhaul. Now, I dedicate time to content creation and managing deadlines, keeping track of business revenue and expenses for the first time ever. Each day, I spend countless hours on Instagram content planning, caption copy prep, and engaging when the posts are live. It is true what they say, “You get out what you put in.”
In my opinion, starting out by partnering with smaller local businesses and working my way up gave me the confidence and led me to where I am now, in 2020, making five figures from content creation and blogging and truly doing what I love!
Instagram Then Vs. Now
Keep in mind, I got my start in 2017. Things have REALLY changed around here and it ACTUALLY benefits the microinfluencer. WHY? Well, back then brands were looking more at follower count than anything (in my experience). Now brands are diving deeper and looking at ENGAGEMENT RATES, which are typically higher on smaller accounts! Use this to your advantage and START PITCHING once you have a clear vision and established your accounts. Don’t let your follower count keep you from your potential!
Here’s Your Homework:
Pre-Brand Collaboration Checklist:
- Consider your niche and target audience – get super clear here!
- Create a media kit!
- Consistently share to your social media accounts each week, providing quality content
- Build and engage your audience
- Check out Social Blade and Instagram insights to gain an understanding of your analytics and audience
- Sign up for some brand collaboration platforms
Get Started
- Develop some pitch templates and research brands
- Pitch to brands over email using your media kit – check out my tips for three items I include in every pitch email!
- Apply to brand collaborations using influencer marketing platforms
Let’s Get Paid!
- Determine Your Rates if you are looking for paid partnerships – try a few product exchanges first to get your feet wet!
- Begin negotiating with brands when they reach out to you – here are some topics that might come up when doing so!
- Make sure you are reading contracts carefully – just because you are getting paid doesn’t mean you should sign your life away!
That’s it – I’d love to hear about your brand collaborations journey! Let me know what has brought you success. Share any horror stories from your early days as a content creator. Share your biggest success or your “big break” moment!
