1. It’s About Delivering Value To Companies That Want To Reach Your Audience:
What brand would want to work with you? A company that feels their product would be well received by your readers. They’re basically paying you to advertise for them and promote their products, but in a way that’s more personal than an advert on TV.But here’s the key: The more successful you are at proving the value you can provide, the more your campaigns will be worth to your brand partners, and the more you’ll be able to charge in the future.
2.Smaller Companies Can Be Fabulous To Work With: Look for opportunities to find a brand that’s an ideal fit for your readers regardless of the name recognition the company already has. You’ll find that you can work much closer with that company (you may even have access to the person who owns it!) and can be creative in the way you bring value for them and for your readers.
3. Engagement Matters:
When you say or do something on your blog – or on other social media outlets – how likely are your readers to do something about it? That’s called engagement. You can measure engagement any number of ways – comments on your blog, comments on other social media outlets .
4. If You Loose Readers Trust You’ve Lost Everything:
Do you know what’s at the heart of what you bring to the table when you work with brands? Trust. You’ve built your blog to be your reader’s go-to source for information or inspiration on a certain topic. Hopefully you’ve been intentional about building relationships with your readers. And just as you’re more likely to buy an outfit that a friend says “would look so good on you” than you would by just seeing it in a catalog, your readers trust your judgment and bring your suggestions when they’re ready to open their wallets.
5. Brand Work Can Be Hard Work And You Need To Be Compensated:
If you’re new to working with brands, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of writing a post in exchange for a free pack of diapers, or a N5000 Voucher to a restaurant. But be aware that if you’re not charging what the advertising campaign is really worth – both for the benefits the brand will receive AND for your time – you’ll find yourself frustrated, burned out, and deciding it’s not “worth it” in the long run.
Respect your readers (and your own time!) enough to turn down offers that aren’t really a good deal for all the work that’s involved.
6. The Most Successful Brand Partners Are Long Term Relationships:
There’s an old rule of thumb in marketing that says the average person is exposed to a product seven times before deciding to buy. Catch the vision for working with brands who are looking for a long-term partner. You’ll be able to provide much more value to them via a long-term relationship than by a single month of advertising, and it will be less overall work. Over time, you’ll discover that working with more companies doesn’t mean more money. A better long-term strategy is working with a few companies that you can bring higher value for, and get more in return for the work you put in.
7. You Don’t Have To Figure It Out Alone:
When you’re just getting started with brand partnerships, every step in the process can be intimidating. From deciding which brands will be a good match for you, to actually making the pitch, to running the campaign and reporting your results, there are lots of obstacles for a blogger to overcome.
Luckily, there are bloggers who have lots of experience working with brands who are willing to lend a helping hand. If you know an experienced blogger personally, then open up and ask them all the hard questions! At the very least, you could buy an hour of consulting time from them and have clear direction for your own brand partnership program.
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