How to Land Your First Brand Deal
When I first started blogging I always saw so many other influencers working with brands and promoting products. I knew that was what I wanted to do as well but had no idea how I should go about it. That’s when all the questions started to set in.
“Where do you start? Who do you email? What if they say no?”
Google became my best friend and I remember searching high and low for all of these answers and any tips I could find on how to land those brand deals. Obviously you can take it into your own hands and reach out to the brands that you are interested in working with. There are a few other options that make sealing a deal a little easier though!
Octoly has a “Free Store” as they call it, where you can browse through categories such as fashion, cosmetics, fitness & nutrition, hair care, etc. and place an order for the products you are interested in reviewing. This platform doesn’t pay you but gifts you free items. You must have at least 5,000 followers on Instagram to join but, once accepted your account is given 5 tokens to shop with. Each order is worth one token. You redeem and get back your used credits once you upload a review of the product you received. Upon arrival you have 21 days to post your review or your credit expires and you won’t get it back. Even if you are only interested in doing paid collaborations I still recommend you to use this site. In the free store they offer so many products that I actually already use day to day. For example, I’ve ordered my Laura Mercier Translucent Powder (which is usually pretty pricey), Urban Decay Setting Spray, my go-to self tanner, and countless other items that I would’ve ended up buying at Sephora or Ulta anyways. You do have to be accepted by the brand but most acceptance rates are pretty high and usually there is no issue.
If you’re interested in joining you can use my referral link: https://www.octoly.com/?cref=hbo0w which gives me 20 points and you 5 points after you post your first review. (The points can be exchanged for giftcards to various stores once you get enough.)
I’ve been using Cohley since they first started last year and they have really evolved! You must apply to be a creator but as long as you post consistently you should be accepted. They have added a lot of brands to their directory and offer paid opportunities now which is awesome. They even offer some big brands like Kohl’s, Adore Me, and just added Kleinfield for all you bride-to-be’s! A lot of you loved the super cute workout set I promoted awhile back from Wolven Threads and this is the site that sealed that deal! They have some really fun brands to work with and I like how it gives you an entire directory of brands to go through and choose to send a collaboration request. It makes the process and that contact super simple. Although not every opportunity is paid other than receiving free product, it really helps to build your portfolio in the beginning by posting and gaining experience working with a company so that you are prepared once payment becomes involved in the future.
I don’t use this platform as much as I do the previous two, but I have worked on a campaign or two through them. Brandbacker doesn’t offer as many opportunities in my opinion but one big brand they do work with a lot is Neutrogena. You can browse campaigns and if you click on one it will show you the campaign overview, compensation, about the product, and requirements when it comes to posting. From there you can request to join and see if you get accepted. This site usually does have you publish your content for review before posting and tends to be more strict about what you create.
Tips and lessons learned:
– Always have your email address listed in your Instagram bio. A lot of companies find influencers directly on Instagram and will shoot you an email from there if they’re interested in working together.
-Don’t accept every single offer presented to you. I made this mistake in the beginning and ended up being overwhelmed and getting a little burnt out. When you first start blogging it can be super exciting getting recognized by companies and wanting to do everything but try to refrain. Plus, your audience will be able to tell and it could ruin your credibility.
– Create a content calender to keep you on track and your dates in order. I am still bad about this and sometimes end up waiting until the deadline to create which causes stress and usually results in not your greatest work. Anyone else need to work on procrastination?!
-Know your worth. As you begin growing your brand you need to make sure that your time is not being taken advantage of. You need to figure out how much time it will take to get the content depending on what a company is wanting. Do you need props? How many pictures/videos are they wanting you to send over? Do they want a blog post? Instagram post? A story? It all varies. If a company I’m interested in messages me, many times I will follow up stating that I would love to work with them but I’m currently only accepting paid collaborations right now. Then I’ll ask what their budget is or something along those lines to get the conversation started.
If this post helped you at all be sure to share it below, or if you have any other questions feel free to let me know! It’s the best feeling knowing people got use out of your content! Goodluck and happy blogging! 😉
-XO Megan 💋
