How to reach out to brands as a blogger

A little over a year ago I had my first blogging brand collaboration. I remember it clearly because I hadn’t hit 1k followers yet on Instagram and I was elated that a company actually wanted to work with me. So today we’re talking about how to reach out to brands as a blogger.

How do I find brands to work with?

Sometimes brands will reach out to you, other times you will reach out to them. When I have a specific theme or shoot planned (think Coachella), that’s when I start researching possible brands to work with. Below are a  couple of my favorite tips:

• Ask your blogger friends. I occasionally will as my blogger friends “do you have any recommendations for brands to reach out to for X project? Have you worked with anyone recently you think I would like?
• Do some Instagram Research. After asking my friends, I’ll check out my Instagram feed and see what brands influencers are working with. You’ll usually be able to tell based on the posts that have #ad or #sponsored in them. I’ll also just do some general research to see what boutiques or brands I like before reaching out.
• Follow up with brands you’ve worked with before. If I’ve enjoyed working with a brands in the past, I will follow up with them about future projects.

How do I contact a brand?

The only time I DM a brand is if I under all circumstances can’t find their email address. Keep in mind that when you reach out to a brand you want to be taken seriously – business to business. Sending a DM doesn’t say “professional.”

Finding the email address – I always start with the brand’s website and scroll down to the bottom. There is usually a “contact us” or “affiliates/ fashion blogger” section. If that doesn’t work, I visit the brand’s profile on Instagram and click the “email” button if it’s there. If that doesn’t work, that’s when I default to the DM.

How do I know if a collaboration is right for me?

I wrote an entire detailed article to answer this question. You can read that here. To summarize, you need to ask yourself the following questions before deciding if a collaboration is right for you:

• Does this collaboration make sense with my brand? 
• Would I wear/ use this again?
• How much is this worth to me?

What should I include in my email?

In your email you should include the following:

• Who you are
• What you want
• What you’re offering them in exchange (i.e. X amount of Instagram posts, etc.)
• Your statistics

Below is an example email, similar to the ones I send:

Dear Marketing Director of XX, 

My name is Giulia and I run the California travel & style blog Palm Trees & Pellegrino. I came across (insert brand name here) on Instagram and loved your (insert specific item). I am currently planning a XX shoot for spring and would love to work with you. 

In exchange for two pieces, you will receive

• 1 Instagram Post
• 1 blog post
• 4 high resolution images for use on your social media

 My socials & stats: 

• Instagram– XX followers
• Pinterest– XX followers
• Facebook – XX followers

Looking forward to hearing from you. My media kit is also available upon request.

Giulia

Optional: You can also include your media kit, but I usually list it as optional on the bottom. Typically, companies that want to see it will ask.

What can I expect and what should I negotiate?

Of course what is asked of you and what you can ask for is dependent on a couple of things – mainly following. But it also can include engagement rate and whether or not you have an actual blog. I’ve noticed that some “Instagram bloggers” lose opportunities because they don’t have a standalone site.

There are calculators that can help you determine how much you can charge – Fohr & Social Blue Book are two examples. I have found that having under 5K followers makes it really hard to get paid projects.

For me, a good way to determine if it is a fair deal is to ask yourself the following questions:

• How much is the product worth?
• Would I pay for this myself?
• How much time will I spend creating content?

Let’s say a pair of shoes is worth $200. You might buy them anyways and they’re asking for a blog post and Instagram post. You might pay a photographer $100 and spend about an hour putting the content together. That might be worth it. But let’s say a brand send you a $20 shirt and you are expected to spend a couple hours creating content and then pay a photographer. I’d probably pass.

Other relevant articles you may be interested in reading:

• 5 Tips for Brands looking to work with Influencers
• How to Blog with a Full Time Job
• What you need to know to start your blog
• Tips for blogging without an Instagram Boyfriend

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