How I’ve Landed All of My Brand Collaborations

I get questions all the time about how I connect with brands and book work, especially being a “small” blogger or “micro-infleucer” (my least favorite word, honestly). Since these are the blogging-related questions I get asked the most, I felt dedicating a post to it was the best way to answer your inquiries. Today I’m sharing how I’ve landed all of my brand collaborations and how you guys can do the same.

First and foremost, below are some posts that are really going to help you out. I know it’s a lot to read, but if you’re serious about blogging, these are all of my best tips condensed as much as possible and organized into categories to make it easy to retain information.

• Why You Should Prioritize Your Blog Over Instagram
• How to Price Yourself as a Blogger
• How to Actually Book Work and Make Money Blogging
• How to Embrace Your Brand as a Blogger/Creative
• How to Stand Out as a Blogger
• What You Actually Need to Include in Your Media Kit
• How to Work With Brands as a Blogger
• How to Establish Your Legitimacy as a Blogger

“HOW HAVE YOU WORKED WITH THESE BRANDS?!”

This is by far my most frequently asked question. It seems like everyone breaking into the blogging industry wants to immediately start working with brands and take the easiest and fastest route to do so. The blogging industry is about SO much more than that, but I won’t harp on that in this post. The biggest thing I want to stress, as I’ve said many times, is that it happens differently for everyone. For instance, I’ve been blogging for 2.5 years and didn’t started working with brands until one year into it. That was with posting no less than twice a week during my entire blogging career, so needless to say I was pretty committed from the start, and I think that helped. However, this wasn’t why I started my blog whatsoever and is not something I pursued. It just kind of fell into my lap as I got deeper into it and became something I really enjoyed, and I think coming from a place of genuine passion is what’s going to last you in the long run.

To keep this short, sweet and to the point, 99.9% of my brand collaborations come from brands reaching out to me. The may be surprising to some of you based on my social media following, but it’s the truth. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve pitched to brands over the last 2.5 years (I probably should be doing this more) and I’ve been blessed to have been approached by some real great brands that I’m proud of.

For reference, some brands I’ve worked with include TJ Maxx, Wantable, Serena & Lily, Franco Sarto, Dr. Tavel, Carousel Bags, Basic Invite, Dry Bar, Warby Parker, Capital Grille, Modern Map Art, Midori Linea, Gordmans — all of which reached out to me via email after seeing my blog and/or Instagram, which I couldn’t be more thankful for. Let’s get into how that happened.

“HOW DO YOU GET BRANDS TO NOTICE YOU?”

How, you ask? Of course it’s hard to say since I can’t see their side of things, but I can promise you that posting consistent, high-quality content puts you on their radar. I’ve come to realize that a lot of brands care less about how many followers you have and find much higher value in the quality of your blog and your online voice. You can have 50k Instagram followers and look really successful on the outside, but if you post on your blog once a month and none of your followers actually care about your blog or anything you promote, is it really worth anything? Remember what really matters, and that’s your WORK, not just your numbers. With that being said… be you. Be unique. Stick with it and do it for the right reasons.

Another big tip is to always treat your blog like a hobby, especially in the beginning. This is how you’ll establish your legitimacy, put out posts that you’re truly passionate about and gain interest by doing so. When appropriate, then treat your blog 50/50 like a business too. This will help brands take you seriously and know that you’re a reputable and professional person to work with. No one will take your brand seriously if you don’t.

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I know this is brief and to-the-point, but this is my truth and I hope it’s helpful for you. Like I said, my other blog posts I linked will give you tons of further insight. If you have any other blogging posts you’d like to see, please leave them in the comments. Thanks for being here & I wish you the best of luck on your blogging journey!