TIPS TO COLLABORATE WITH BRANDS AS A BLOGGER.. AND GET PAID!!
Let me start off by saying that this has been my most requested blogpost- HOW TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING! Today is the day.. I’m spilling the secrets on how I started making money by blogging and getting PAID by the brands that I love for with..
As a successful blogger, I always get SO MANY questions from other bloggers about how much money you need to invest in order to create a monetized blog as a professional business. Honestly, you shouldn’t really be spending money, especially when you are starting out, except for getting a web hosting package. Or, even better- You can just start off by being an Instagram blogger. There are so many bloggers who host their site for free by using various platforms such as blogger/wordpress and as they start seeing some return on the investment of their time, they switched to a website they can call it their own.
HOW I STARTED MY JOURNEY AS A BLOGGER
First of all, I own an Interior design company known as Lone Star Elements in Texas, which I started in 2012. Since then, I wanted to share my ideas for home decorating, staging homes and event decor. So I decided to start a blog. And I was SO glad that I decided to have my own site- FashionBeautyDecor.com. After a little research, I bought a web hosting package, back in 2015 & built my own site using free templates. A year later, I started to see traffic on my blog and my Instagram page was growing slowly, yet steadily! This was before Instagram went through a lot of changes, BTW.. And when I started generating income out of my blog, I hired a professional web developer to help me with graphics and make it look professional.
Today, I’m sharing exactly what I did in order to move from one-off paid-to-post content to long-term, big bucks brand collab. So, if you have you ever wondered how DO BLOGGERS & INFLUENCERS GO FROM THE WALKING INTO fall in my new OOTD, or getting ‘FREE PRODUCTs’ to POST on their social and blog & attending FANCY events for F.R.E.E. or maybe even better- getting PAID to PARTNER with brands and events?!
There are a few ways how you can create a successful influencer business. And if you’re a blogger who is just starting out, or even if you have been blogging for a while, yet struggling on how you can build strong sustainable brand partnerships and getting paid by doing what you enjoy i.e. blogging for a living! And IF YOU’VE EVER FELT FRUSTRATED TRYING TO LAND PAID CAMPAIGNS AS AN INFLUENCER…Or even confused with HOW to get out of the affiliate income & connect directly with brands in the first place…LEAN IN FOR A SECOND. Let me tell you it is possible. BECAUSE YOU CAN DIVERSIFY YOUR INCOME WITH BRAND DEALS and YOU DON’T HAVE TO necessarily JUST DEPEND ON AFFILIATE SALES.
When I started blogging, back in 2015, my intent was to dedicate my blog to being a source of inspiration for women and young girls who love fashion, beauty, home decor and family life. I share ideas and tips on how to bring beauty into your everyday life! Quickly, I started to be noticed by major brands & then http://www.FashionBeautyDecor.com went from a hobby to a business and I feel so blessed that it has become my full-time blog for almost a year. And I’m truly LOVING it. And yes, I still enjoy decorating, but now we have figured a balance between my blog and Interior design business.
HOW TO SECURE BRAND DEALS:
There are SO many ways to generate income blogging, and secure brand partnerships, which I’m going to dive into it by dividing the 3+ years of my blogging journey into 3 phases, since it took me over 3 years to get to a point where I’m today! But that’s because I did it all on my own, without a mentor/coach to guide me. I want to share my tips to my followers/readers who have been thinking of starting a blog or already have a blog and wondering where to start. By reading this article, you maybe be able to speed up your journey, and if you find my tips helpful, please don’t forget to comment down below and let me know, so other bloggers can learn from your experience as well..
PHASE 1. AFFILATE INCOME & PRODUCT EXCHANGE COLLABS:
The first year of blogging typically is spent on building your blog readers and social media followers. And you may now wonder how you can make it all happen with the algorithm changes, and the competitive world on social media. Well, here’s how to crack the code.. Consider your blog or social media as your baby. Just like you have to feed and nourish your baby every few hours, you need to really invest your time to let your a happy and healthy baby grow! Works the same for you readers and followers on social media and blog. If you constantly update fresh content on your channels (social or blog), you will surely see the results. But don’t expect overnight results!
Affiliate Income: Now while you’re creating great content to share with your audience, whether it is a recipe that you cooked for dinner or it’s your outfit of the day, or your beauty regimen, you can start generating small income using affiliate links by being an affiliate partner with brands.. Results may vary. Some full-time influencers generate 90% of their income using affiliate links where as some make full-time income via brand partnerships. But is a great start towards monetizing your blog in the first year of blogging journey. And eventually you will realize, which route you want to move forward. A great start could be: ShopStyle or RewardStyle!
Product Collabs: In the initial phase of blogging, it is a great way to start partnerships by building long term relationships with brands and the way to go is by creating content in exchange of products. If a brand decides to send free products to you, thats great! because, there are so many just struggling to get gifted products from brands, so you can share with your audience. Not that you can take your eyeshadow palette that you purchased a couple years ago and share on your social, but is it still in trend? Your audience is looking forward the NEW trends, rather than the 2 year old eyeshadow palette that they’ve already seen a thousand times on commercials or social media or even in the stores.. So it is always a great idea to get a fresh new product delivered to you as a gift from a brand. And be true to yourself- test the product multiple times before you share a review. For example, if you received a pair of complimentary shoes from a brand and if they run big or small, share that experience with your audience that you Love the style and the comfort and that you would size up! Be a trustworthy person for your audience! That will help you grow and sustain your audience.
PHASE 2. USING INFLUENCER/BRAND PLATFORMS
This is the key to success and the most crucial phase of your blogging journey. Here’s your time to rise and shine! Whether it is a paid partnership with a brand or a product gifted partnership, this is your time to impress the brand. But the question is how do you partner with the brands. It’s a simple rule of thumb- use a partnership platform to connect with brands..
Here are some of the platforms, I started my career with and still actively work with them till date. I’m going to share TOP 5 blogger platforms that I started my journey as blogger and trust that is a great start.
1. Pinch Me
Let me share a little more about this.. HERE IS HOW IT WORKS. You can select your a box of free product/samples delivered to your door every month, your following may not matter, but you need to be able to create good content for the brands. This is a great way to get noticed by brands. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.
2. Influenster
Once you sign up for Influenster here, you will be invited to take a survey based on your profile once every few weeks, and if you get selected/matched with a brand, you receive a box of goodies home. They have all sorts of brands from drugstore brand to premium products. Click here to sign up!
3. Cohley
I mostly see paid campaigns here.. And a great headstart to working with brands. You can select which brand campaigns you are interested and can apply to be selected. Not sure what criteria is applied for the selection of bloggers, but I know some bloggers with a smaller following are getting paid campaigns too! Click here to join Cohley
4. Octoly
Octoly is another platform to start working with brand and start building long term partnerships by receiving premium brands products to Review for FREE. The best part is you can choose upto 5 full sized products from the hottest brands to create authentic reviews. It’s a great platform for Instagram as well as YouTube (and also Instastories). Apply here.
5. Heartbeat
This network has both paid as well as unpaid campaigns. Click here to join!
Wondering how to exactly impress the brand?
All content requires good planning strategy. First of all you need to invest your time in planning your content, and then working on the execution of the plans. I couldn’t have done without the help of a planner.. Here is my favorite planner that keeps me super organized and is a GAME CHANGER for planning my content. And is currently on SALE!!
Once you plan your work, execution becomes super easy. And you can avoid making mistakes by going back and forth with the brand. The brands like the ease of working with you and thats when they want to work over and over again..
Here are few helpful tips..
– Just follow the posting rules requested by the brand.
– Post in a timely manner.
– Bring your best face forward.
– Be creative.
– Post quality content.
There is a long list, but this a great way to start working with brands, building relationships, getting paid and eventually getting onto their PR list where brands start reaching out to you..
PHASE 3. BRANDS REACH OUT TO YOU
Yes. This is possible and it is always a great experience of removing overheads and working directly with brands. It took me about 3 years and after posting 100s of sponsored content is when I actually have brands reaching out with collaboration opportunities everyday. And some point of time, I have to reject the opportunities by sending sincere apologies. My planner that I use actually helps me prioritize and narrow down by having a mapped out plan to follow and it removes a lot of stress and overwhelming situations and help me decide where to focus.
There are a number of things to consider when you are running an infuencer business. Like, how often will you publish new content? How will you connect with your audience? How will you get more people to
your site? How will you keep building your site up and keep people coming back?
Final Thoughts
Creating a successful infuencer business can be super rewarding. Creating a business where you are the
boss can give you a freedom that no other job can. It can also be stressful because you may feel like you work all of the times. If you’re thinking of growing your business as an influencer, THIS is the method I used to get plugged in and
moved forward FASTER.
Do you have any tips that you would like to share with other bloggers? Are there any Blogger networks that you have worked with as a blogger and want to share your experience with others?
Comment below..
XO, Avani
17 comments
These are all such great tips! I have used Erin Condren planners for years and they are my absolute favorites!!
xoxo,
Kim
Thats great Kim! Thanks..
Thank you for sharing your journey and these great tips Avani! I still think joining SC was my best move yet!
These are awesome tips babe! It is such a great feeling doing something you love, and having the opportunity to get paid for it as well!
Kileen
cute & little
This is such a great post for those that want to start a blog.
I totally agree with doing product exchange partnerships when you’re just starting out. I think so many girls start blogging and just expect the money to start rolling in – but it takes time and quality content to build those relationships!
xx Mollie
http://www.molliemooreblog.com
Thanks for sharing these great tips! I’m like 3 years in and still have lots to learn! Always appreciate hearing from other bloggers about their journey and it’s so nice when they’re like you and willing to share what worked for them!
Xo, Steph
It’s always so fascinating to me to read how other bloggers make their income. I’ve been at this for over 3 years now but there’s still so much left to learn from everyone else. Sounds like you’ve really got a handle on the business aspect. Love it!
These are all helpful tips especially for bloggers just starting out! I love hearing your story!
These are great tips! I love hearing what other bloggers have learned or what other tips and tricks I can implement into my own blog.
I just started blogging 2 weeks ago and it is a sharp learning curve. I appreciate the tips. I am an instagrammer widening my reach..hopefully. .
Such a great post! I agree with all of these tips but I’m still learning more all the time!
Great post enjoyed reading it
such great tips and tricks!
Great post babe, thanks for sharing all the tips here.
xoxo,
Rachel
Thank you so much for this advice! I definitely needed it.
such great tips!! thanks for sharing!