How do you keep brands coming back to you, instead of going and trying out other bloggers.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a few brands that you love that also adore you, and you could just write for them for regular pay. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to not have to hunt down new opportunities all the time because your old opportunities just won’t let you go?
Here are some tips to help you wow a brand and continue partnering together.
Related: Listen to this week’s podcast about not missing out on sponsorship opportunities.
Over deliver – the goal should be to over deliver on your contract every single time. They ask for 2 images? Give them 3 or better quality ones than they were expecting. Throw in a short video for free or do some extra promotions. Go the extra mile to show the brand and your readers that you truly care about the product you are advertising. When brands see that you are willing to go above and beyond, they almost always will want to come back to you with more money to see what you will do for them next time.
Be on time – this is something I can’t stress enough. Be on time for every client, every time. Brands notice, brand reps notice and the people choosing whether or not to hire you for a sponsored post next time…they notice! Be on time, and whenever possible turn things in early. A lot of bloggers don’t turn things in on time or don’t turn them in all together. Prove that you won’t be one of those people by getting things up as soon as possible. This helps put the brands at ease that you will deliver on what was promised, and make them want to work with you in the future because you make it so easy. In fact…
Make it easy for them – Yep, that’s our next point! In every interaction with brands look for ways that you can make their job easier. Make sure you are using campaign hashtags correctly and communicate times with them as much as possible. If I’m not able to get a post up the day it’s accepted, I message my rep and let them know when it will be going up, even if it’s not due for several more days. This let’s them know I’m on top of things, willing to communicate, and gives them some peace of mind that I won’t forget them or leave them hanging.
Ask questions – Don’t be afraid to talk an idea over with a brand to see what they think. Sometimes their vision of what they think they need and your ideas about what will resonate best with your readers aren’t exactly in line. Have a conversation up front about how you can bring their needs and your readers needs together to make every one happy. This works best if you are working with a brand you pitched on your own. Learn how to pitch brands here.
Say thanks – Show some appreciation for the opportunity to work with the brand, or if there is a PR firm or go-between company, be sure to thank the rep that chose you for the job. There are thousands of bloggers out there that they could’ve chosen from but they chose YOU.
Ask for critiques – If you haven’t gotten any jobs from a particular site or brand don’t be afraid to shoot them an email and ask them why in a polite manner. Almost every time I’ve done this I’ve ended up getting more jobs by the end of the week. They appreciate being sought out and usually like your willingness to ask if you’ve done something wrong or if there is an area you could improve in for future campaigns.
Remember there are real people behind each brand and campaign, just like we are real people sitting behind our blogs. Going the extra mile to do these things will take your business relationships to the next level!
It’s good to keep in mind how large our industry is, there are a lot of people trying to make money blogging these days, which is wonderful. It just means we have to work a little bit harder to stand out from the crowd. With that extra effort, you will get more jobs and more return jobs than ever before!
Don’t forget to check out this list of my favorite networks to find sponsored work for my blog.
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