HOW TO FIND BRANDS TO WORK WITH AS AN INFLUENCER

I used to be so scared to approach brands because I compared my worth by instagram follower numbers and comparing myself to other larger influencers. However I remember when I was contacted by an agency to do a photo shoot with Estee Lauder and it was at the moment that my confidence was built. I do have value and worth in this game regardless of the number on my profile page. It was after that humbling and amazing experience that I started to approach brands and pitch myself to them. 

The way my confidence was built up with that one email is the way that I want to build you guys up to be confident to go out and reach out to brands. Here in this blogging tip post I want to share with you guys some tips on how to find brands to work with as an influencer/blogger regardless of your follower count! 

SO READ ON BELOW FOR THE WAY TO FIND BRANDS TO WORK WITH YOU AS AN INFLUENCER:

DONT NEGLECT YOUR HOMETOWN

Local retailers, restaurants and small businesses all are either interested and are understanding the value of influencer marketing. Reach out to a small shop/boutique in our city/town and approach them on a collaboration. Be mindful that they might not be as cultured as larger international brands but this might be a good thing because it allows you to both navigate the situation and be the one in control. 

Try to think of ways that you can bring value to the small business besides just asking for free clothes or a free hotel stay. This is good practice for you when approaching larger brands. You can collaborate on a shopping event with a boutique or help a hotel promote an upcoming event. I love coffee shop shoots so contact them and see if they will open the shop early for photos and in exchange you can include them in an upcoming travel/lifestyle post!

INFLUENCER NETWORKS

An influencer network is a marketplace or platform that brands and influencers can partner in a campaign. Some networks allow you to build direct relationships with brands through their platform. 

I have personally worked on some amazing campaigns through some influencer networks that I truly love to work with. Here are some of my top ones:

ASPIREIQ:

This is a new one but I after doing a campaign with them with buybuy BABY I already love the platform. The platform allows you to connect directly with the brand and negotiate on deliverables and contract terms, money and timeline. You are given more control in the situation and I love that you have an open dialogue with brands to work on forming long lasting relationships. 

COLLECTIVELY:

This is an invitation network but it doesn't hurt to reach out to them and express your interest in joining their network. Again don't be shy! Collectively sends out available campaigns and allows you to submit your interest. The employees that work with Collectively are wonderful to work with. The only down side is that you have no communication with the brands. Collectively is the middle man for all campaigns. But I have landed some great beauty/skincare campaigns with them. 

ACTIVATE BY BLOGLOVIN:

Although I have only worked on a handful of campaigns with Activate but I do love the fact that you have an opportunity to pitch yourself to a brand via their network. IF you have a bloglovin account then you should check out activate. 

CHECK OUT OTHER NICHE SIMILAR BLOGGER'S FEEDS

I have recently started doing this in the parenting/maternity niche. There are some brands that I am really interested in trying out or partnering with and I do some research by checking out if other bloggers have worked with them.  I like to check out the brand's hashtags and by doing so you can see if they have collaborated with other bloggers.

Another great tip is to put into your google search "all opinions are my own [then put in the brand].." The search results will show every sponsored/collaborated blog posts posted with that brand. This is one of my favorite ways to check out what type of collaborations have been done with the brand so when I approach them I will have already come up with a different idea then what they have already done with other bloggers. 

PITCH THEM DIRECTLY

This is where you must tell yourself not to be scared. I used to be so scared to approach brands directly because of fear of rejection. But I look back and think how silly because the worst thing that can happen is they ghost you (has happened to me many times) or they say no. The no doesn't mean forever, so don't take it to heart. It can be for many many reasons that are outside of your control such as budget or timing. 

THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN FIND A BRAND'S CONTACT INFORMATION:

- I have found a lot of success of reaching out to a brand via Instagram. I will find their page and first check their email address. The email address is sometimes a specific direct email but if it says info or customer service I won't use it. When that happens I message them directly with a simple message explaining who I am and that I am looking for someone in their social media / influencer department. 

- Go to their website and see if the brand has a social media or collaboration email address

- Use LinkedIn to search for the brand's social media department. You can look up key words like " social media manager" or "partnership coordinator". By doing this you know the name of the person you are reaching out to and the email can be more personal and direct as oppose to a generic email address. 

I am really excited to keep sharing these type of posts for you guys! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to leave me a comment below. 

Here are more tips articles below:

https://www.thestylebrunch.com/2019/05/how-to-get-noticed-by-brands-as.html

https://www.thestylebrunch.com/2019/01/what-no-one-tells-you-when-starting.html

https://www.thestylebrunch.com/2016/07/blogging-tips-choosing-blog-name.html