As a food blogger, you might be interested in spreading your wings and make an earning from your website. There are many different ways to make money from blogging, including affiliate marketing, advertising and online stores, but today’s article focuses on sponsored posts: how to reach out, and how to pitch to brands.
This post is the third in a series about Partnering with Brands, by regular contributor Jenna Urben who blogs at The Urben Life (clever name!). Jenna’s background is in marketing and advertising and she’s worked with a whole host of big-name brands – so she knows what it’s all about!
You can read the other posts here:
#1 The Anatomy of a Media Kit
#2 How to Land Sponsored-Content Work as a Growing Blogger
#4 Best Practices when Partnering with Brands
Thanks, Jenna, for this extremely useful series!
I’m a food blogger too, and most of my sponsored-content opportunities involve product reviews and recipe development. This is my favourite type of advertising on my blog because it is honest, transparent, and fun! I personally don’t believe there is any “right time” to begin pitching to brands. Some companies only want to work with big-name bloggers, but as long as you can prove value to a brand, you have a chance at getting their attention.
Reaching out to brands as a blogger doesn’t have to be scary. Remember that the marketing/press contact you’re emailing is a person too. You want the partnership to be valuable to the brand, your readers, and yourself – always remember that!
Find the correct contact
Usually, you can find the marketing or press contact on the brand’s website. Other times you can reach out via Twitter or Instagram. I have actually secured a handful of sponsored posts via Instagram DM. If you’re lucky, find a generic email and send your pitch to them and maybe your message will get forwarded to the right person.
Keep your email short and sweet
Of course, include the contacts name if you have it. Throw in a pleasantry, then get to it. Jump into your quick bio introducing yourself and your blog. It’s nice to include your URL or social handles, impressive stats, then get to your pitch.
If you’re a total beginner with no impressive stats or previous brand work, don’t worry! Explain that since you are new to working with brands, your readers fully trust your opinion and authentic voice. Highlight your monthly increase in followers and page views month over month. If you really want to put your mind at ease and boost your confidence, just Google “micro-influencer” and see how many studies have shown that accounts with smaller followings actually have higher engagement. Confidence is key here; remember your value!
Related: 5 Ways to Deal with Imposter Syndrome
Time for the pitch
Your pitch can go one of two ways – specific or vague. I believe that you should be as specific as possible, yet remain flexible. For example, rather than simply asking if a brand is interested in partnering with you for a sponsored post, include some ideas. Perhaps you’re wanting to feature a few gluten-free brands on your Instagram. Let the brand know your intentions and ask for feedback. They might be figuring out their Q4 marketing strategy and this exposure fits right in with their vision and budget. On the flipside, the brand may have something else in mind and this is where you remain flexible and determine if it’s still a good fit.
Have your media kit updated and ready
Once you click send on your pitch email, go update your media kit. They may or may not ask for it, but how awesome will it be when you can respond promptly with your fresh media kit when they request it! Make sure it’s tailored to the brand and accurate.
In fact, you can get my free template for a media kit right here!
Related: The Anatomy of a Media Kit
Follow up
If you don’t hear from the brand within a week or two of sending your initial pitch email, try following up. Nothing overbearing, just more of a reminder and bringing your email back to the top of their inbox. If you don’t hear anything, jot them down on a list and reach out with fresh ideas at a later date.
Over to you
Have you clicked “send”? Did the brand agree to partner with you on an upcoming project? Yay!! Now it’s time to learn best practices when working with brands as a blogger.
And don’t forget to comment and tell us how your partnerships with brands are going!
