Collabs 101: How to Get More Collaborations

The question I get asked the most frequently is about how to get more collaborations. Bloggers of all sizes say brand collaborations come in waves. Some weeks you’re up and other weeks you’re down. And though I’m not a huge believer in relying on brand collaborations as your main source of income, it does seem like the easiest path for a lot of bloggers, especially for beginners so I’m going to share how to get more collaborations today. P.s. You can make a crap ton of money from collaborations so don’t be fooled!

email brands yourself

Emailing brands may seem a little bold, desperate, and pushy at first but one of my favorite sayings goes, “Sh** or get off the pot”. So, what that means is you can sit there expecting brands to know who you are and contact you once you’re “discovered”, or you can take action and go after collaborations yourself. The choice is yours.

If you do choose to wait for brands to contact you, don’t you dare complain about not getting contacted immediately. You are choosing to take the long road, which is fine, just don’t complain about it. If you choose to take action and reach out to brands yourself, odds are you’ll get more collaborations than you would if you did nothing. You have nothing to lose Once you do get a response from a brand via email, it may be tricky getting them to pay. If

Once you finally do get a response from a brand via email, it may be tricky getting them to pay, since you’re asking to work with them, not the other way around. However, it still puts you on their radar for future collaborations.

If you’re on the fence of taking that first step in emailing brands for more collaborations, do it during the holidays or big events because brands need all hands on deck during those times.

Did the brand just launch a new product? Are they having huge sales for Black Friday or the holidays? Do they have a special offer happening? If so, you should do your research and make your email as personal to each brand because that will increase your chances of getting more collaborations.

ask for referrals

Once you establish that initial blogger/brand relationship, you can ask the current brand(s) you’re working with for referrals. Referrals in any business are what will make you successful. Word of mouth is extremely powerful.

Plus you never know who the parent company of the brand you’re working with could be. Gap is associated with Banana Republic, Intermix, and Old Navy. If you get a collaboration with Old Navy you could ask for a referral to Gap, Banana Republic, or Intermix. And from those brands they might have other connections in the industry they could set you up with. It’s a domino effect.

The worst that could happen is the brand says no. And then you’re no better off or worse off than you were before. There is no harm in asking.

get testimonials

Testimonials are like a forever referral. Once the brand/company/blogger gives you a written testimonial about your product or service, you can share that information with other brands or companies that want to collaborate with you for an added bonus. Like, ‘Oh, by the way, Chanel said I was the best blogger they’ve ever worked with… see for yourself here!’. (Hint hint, Chanel I’m ready for a collaboration when you are!)

I digress…

Think about what you do before you buy anything – you check the testimonials or read the reviews, right? The business of blogging is no different.

People want to see what they’re getting into before they commit to working with you let alone pay you their hard earned marketing dollars. Brands have budgets just like any other company so they want to make sure they’ll get a return on their investment. When you get a testimonial from a reputable brand, company, or fellow blogger, you get a nice shiny stamp of approval.

Testimonials are really an integral part of any blog/business. Whether you’re trying to get more collaborations, grow your following, or gain clients/customers, testimonials will help a ton! The fashion industry is small, so the more testimonials you can get the better.

tag brands on instagram

Tagging brands you want to collaborate with on Instagram isn’t the most professional way to get their attention, but it works. You definitely want to tag the brands you’ve worked with in the past if you’re wearing something from them, so you’re fresh in their minds for future collaborations.

You can also tag brands you’ve never worked with but you want to work with. In this case, you need to stay consistent so the brands get familiar with who you are and what you’re all about. Tagging brands on Instagram will only work if your content is high-quality.

No matter how consistent you are or how great your captions are, if your photos are blurry (and I don’t mean bokeh blurry), distorted, and just all around not good, you will never be featured or asked to do a collaboration by any noteworthy brand. It’s harsh yes, but someone has to say it! We shouldn’t be quiet about these things. That doesn’t mean you need to go out and hire a photographer and buy a DSLR, there are plenty of great photos taken with iPhone. You just need to have an eye for a great shot, or at least be abl

What last minute questions do you have about collaborations before we wrap the series? Comment below or shoot me an email brittany@notanotherblonde.com! 

xx

want more?

Here’s what you missed/what’s to come:

Week 1: How to Prepare for Your First Collaboration

Week 2: How to Get Brands to Notice Your Blog

Week 3: How to Price Yourself & Your Work

Week 4: Secret Negotiating Tricks No One Talks About

Week 5 (this week): How to Get More Collaborations