Tired of working for peanuts on creating sponsored content? Want to work with the brands that you know, use and love? Today I’m sharing exactly how to attract your dream sponsors all while getting paid what you’re worth.
IE 42: How to Attract Your Dream Sponsors & Get Paid What You’re Worth
Today we have a bit of a different episode than what I usually do. It’s actually an interview that I did with Angel Clark of Craveable Content and we are talking about attracting your dream sponsors and earning the money you are worth. I hope you enjoy it!
Why sponsored posts, Jenny? Why not ads or affiliate marketing like so many bloggers?
Both of those types of income are affected by page views, which unfortunately are affected by social media algorithms. Because you have zero control over those algorithms, you can’t control the number of eyeballs that your content gets in front of, and without traffic, you can’t achieve any kind of financial stability through ads or affiliates.
Not only does this affect your income, but with sponsored posts, you are able to tell an authentic story without being spammy and just throwing in a bunch of links. You can just share the products that you know, use, and love. You are able to come to an agreement on the amount of payment you will receive for your content instead of waiting to see how much traffic you have and what income you receive from it.
With ads, you are literally paid pennies for either each person who comes to your site or how many people actually click through an ad. You are left to chase those page views in order to keep those pennies coming in and make an income from them. Whereas with sponsored posts, you are paid the full amount by the brand 30-60 days after you post your content. No more counting pennies and hoping they add up to the income you need and depend on.
If you pitch yourself the way I learned to do and the way I teach, you end up creating a relationship with the brands which can lead to long-term opportunities instead of just a one-and-done campaign. That is not only better for you but better for the brand and for your audience as well.
What’s the secret to getting paid sponsorships with the big brands like Sara Lee, Glad, Neutrogena, etc?
There is no secret. It’s simply that I am not sitting around in a network of bloggers waiting to get picked by these companies. These networks are not bad by any means, but they do limit your chances of being contacted to do sponsored work.
When you reach out to the brands yourself, you have the ability to show how you stand out from the crowd and create a much more personal pitch. You can play to your unique strengths, whether that’s a strong Instagram presence or a huge Facebook following. This allows you to show the brand that you are worth whatever initial leap of faith it takes them to work with you.
How do you decide which brands to approach?
This is the easiest part of the whole process; you simply start with a brand that you already know, use, and love.
Why not pick a brand that you think has a bigger budget?
You want your content for your sponsored posts to be authentic. It’s much easier for you to talk about brands that you use and love. This creates more engagement with your audience because they can see that you know, use, and love the products.
What do you do before you contact the company?
Before I ever contact anyone at the brand I want to work with, I do my research. I research their mission and any products that they may be promoting. This shouldn’t take you longer than about 15 minutes to go to their website and see what their mission is and what they’re promoting.
How do you get their attention and make them want to work with you?
One of the most important and first things I do is make sure to tell them and show them that my audience, no matter how small, is their target audience. You make it about them, not you. Show them how you are invested in their business and how your audience is going to apply to their target market.
Do you need a certain number of pageviews before brands will consider working with you?
Absolutely not! So many people believe this but it’s simply not true. It really comes down to the amount of engagement that you have with your audience. If you have a small audience but they are always super engaged with your content, it doesn’t matter if it’s a smaller audience.
The thing is, if you have great audience engagement, you really know your audience, so you can tell the brand with confidence that they will enjoy this sponsored content and will support that brand.
What if a company wants to pay me in product?
This is such a hot-button topic these days and I really wish it wasn’t. I’ve heard bloggers say, “I can’t pay my mortgage in blenders”, and they insinuate that nobody should be accepting product as payment.
First of all, bloggers need to stop worrying about what other bloggers are doing about this. Your bottom line is not related to somebody else’s bottom line. You need to know your rate + your “hate-rate” in order to set your prices for campaigns. Go to Social Bluebook to get ideas on setting your rates.
Wait…what the heck is a “hate rate”??
Your “hate rate” is the rate you will not go below. There has to be a number in your head that, when a brand comes to you and wants to work with you, you would absolutely hate yourself if you went below that rate. Because of the low rate, you would have trouble delivering on the promises you made for the campaign.
Once you have your rate and your “hate rate” determined, decide if you would normally spend money on that product even if it weren’t given to you. Would you buy that blender that won’t pay your mortgage, but will make some yummy smoothies for your family, anyway? If so, maybe you are perfectly happy to be paid with that blender instead of cash.
We are all in a different spot on our journey and we need to stop judging those that are either further ahead or further behind us. If you have a much larger reach with your blog, it’s very likely you won’t, and don’t have to, work for product.
Wait…I have a million questions about sponsored posts…
Awesome! Because I have an event just for everyone who wants to know more about how to walk through this process step-by-step.
Starting on Monday, October 30th, I am doing a 5-day series on Facebook Live on how to find the perfect brands to pitch and exactly what to say when you do. This series will not be a hook to get you to buy something from me. It is truly a learning opportunity.
As a former teacher, I am very strategic in how I present my lessons. I present the material and then I give you the opportunity to actually do the lesson and get feedback from our community. You get a workbook to fill out and the opportunity to join our Facebook community where you can network, get accountability from others, ask questions of Pitch Perfect Pro alumni who are in the community, and continue to grow as you learn the process.
But what if I can’t attend the live training?
No problem! Every session is recorded, so you can access them later on when you have time and still comment on them and ask any questions you may have.
What is the end goal of these trainings?
By the end of these 5 days, you will have the confidence to attract the brand that you want to work with and get paid what you are really worth!
How do I sign up?
If you go to Jenny Melrose, you can sign up and you will be notified when the class begins.
If you are ready to start making a full-time income with your blog, be sure to sign up today!
Don’t Forget:
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