Collaborations As A Newbie

One topic I wanted to cover today is something that I get asked questions a lot on: How do I collaborate with brands if I am a new blogger / micro blogger / inexperienced blogger. Keep reading for my tips on collaborations as a newbie blogger!

I can testify it’s totally possible to get great quality collaborations as a newbie blogger! I started StyledJen on Instagram in August of 2017 (see my first blog post ever here!) and did not launch my actual StyledJen blog until November. In 2017 as I was just starting, I was able to collaborate with 5 brands by the end of the year. To date, I have collaborated with over 100 brands (holy cow I can’t believe it’s been that many – this is the first time I have actually counted!).

There are two ways to get collaborations as a newbie blogger:

1. Through platforms

This is the easiest option to get collaborations as a newbie blogger because you don’t need to seek out brands and all the leg work is cut out. You just log in the website or app and browse the available collaborations. Each of the platforms have their own separate requirements that you will need to dig into to see if you qualify for signing up. Influenster is a great one for brand new bloggers. My favorites that I use are:

Octoly

Influenster

Ambassadher

Glambassador

Heartbeat

Apexdrop

2. Directly with the brand

When you are just starting out, platforms like Influenster should be your go to for experience. The more experience you get, the more brands will want to work with you. I hate to say don’t be picky, but in the very beginning of building that experience, take on as much as you can. Think of it like beginning a new career, where you just need to get as much experience on the resume as possible.

If you decide you want to work directly with brands, here is my approach:

1. Wait for them to contact you (which a lot of them actively search for bloggers and do reach out)

2. Make a list of brands you would love to collaborate with and then go follow them. Start to comment and like all their photos for some period of time (i.e. a few weeks).

Get a feel for if that brand even collaborates with bloggers by clicking on their tagged photos or hashtags. It becomes pretty obvious when you do a little digging if that brand tends to collab or not! After a few weeks of activeness on their page you might receive some correspondence with them. If not, then go ahead and send a message asking if they collaborate with bloggers and if they would want to work with you. The worst they can do is say no!

Is there anything you have coming up that might entice them to work with you? “I would love to shoot your bathing suits in 2 weeks while I am vacationing in the Caribbean” might sound more enticing to a marketer than “Would you like to collaborate with me?”

Questions to Ask When Initiating a Collaboration

Is there a due date?

What medium are you interested in (i.e. IG post / IG story / blog post / YouTube video etc)? Or a combo of a few of those?

Is there something my post should revolve around (i.e. maybe they are having a Memorial Day sale etc)

Are there certain tags or hashtags you would like me to use?

Is there a coupon code I can share with my followers?

Do I need any pre-approval on photos or caption?

Go above and beyond

You never know who knows who. One marketing contact might be in charge of several brands or they might know someone who works somewhere else etc.. Make sure you leave a great impression by giving them quality work and doing so in a timely manner.

Always follow up the conversation after you fulfill the requirements of the collaboration with the links to the posts or screen shots if it’s video related. Ask if there is anything else they need from your end or anything that needs to be changed in your post!

If you are working on a ton of collaborations at once, it is possible you might miss a hashtag or something else….. Which leads me to my next point – make sure you have a system in place to track the requirements and your progress. I am an Industrial Engineer so this comes very naturally to me. If it does not come naturally to you, then break down the best method for yourself to help you remember your deadlines and requirements. Is that a calendar? Excel sheet? Find what works best for you! I will share what works best for me in a future post if you guys are interested. I have a pretty elaborate spreadsheet lol. If you know me, you know I have a burning everlasting love for Excel spreadsheets.

One finishing touch I like to leave is a folder of all the edited photos from the collaboration. That way they can re-post high resolution images that will make you look your best rather than having to use the lower resolution photos from your IG page or blog post.

Sizing reference: I am 5’4″ and typically XS in tops and 25 in bottoms.