So, you’re ready to start pitching to brands and land those collaborations?

I’ve been getting asked left and right for tips about working with brands. When doing research on this topic, we all learn the basics: be yourself, communicate, show interest on their page tips, but there has to be more to it than that, right? RIGHT! I put together a few tips that I haven’t seen discussed much anywhere else that I feel every blogger and influencer should know before sending off their first few pitches.

Grab your notebook, and a cup of coffee (of course), so we can dive in!

1. Send your pitches during “working business hours”

   This mean you should send your emails sometime between 9-5pm their local time. If you are from San Diego, CA and the company you’re pitching is in New York, pay attention to that three hour time difference. If you send your email at 4:30pm PST they’re receiving it at 7:30pm EST and are likely not in office to get that notification! Your email could get buried under other emails before they get in the next day. It’s best to catch a company when they’re at their desk sometime in the morning. What I recommend is scheduling your emails to send or have the pitches pre-written and saved as drafts. You can set a timer on your phone to go off as a reminder for you to send them out.

2. Follow up!

   Whether its following up from an initial pitch or if you and a company were mid-conversation and they “ghosted you”…FOLLOW UP. Don’t take their non-response personally. Brands get so many emails every day negotiating collaborations left and right so it is very possible your email just slipped through the cracks. They are going to pick bloggers that show interest in their company and by you following up, you immediately stand out as one of those bloggers!

3. Email over Instagram messenger:

   If you think your Instagram DM’s gets filled up fast, imagine the Instagram DM messages of a business with amazing products! While I do think it’s possible to pitch to a brand through Instagram, I think going through email is an added perk and shows professionalism. There are going to be countless bloggers, Influencers and people in general on Instagram who just want free products or unsure how to pitch and will message a company saying “Hi, love your products! Let’s collab!” If you take the time to write up a professional email and send that to them, you stand out like the moon among stars, you’re 100 steps ahead of the game!

4. You can negotiate non-monetary trades:

   Don’t worry, I’m not just talking about trading products for posts. We want to “grow out” of those offers to receive payment for our hard work, but what if the brand doesn’t have the budget but you still want to work with them?
   The goal for these collaborations is for them to be mutually beneficial right? We are past the days where free sunglasses pays for your time. Luckily there are so many other options that can benefit you! Here are a few things you can ask if they can guarantee when agreeing to terms of the collaboration:

   • Can they post your photos on their feed?

   • Can they share your blog on their website?

   • Will they allow you to do a story takeover and get in front of their followers?

   • Can they agree to send you a testimonial of their experience working with you at the end of our collaboration? This helps builds a “resume” for when you want to land that BIG DEAL in the future.

5. You have a voice and a choice.

   Not only are brands picking which Influencers they want to work with but you have every right to choose which brands you work with (or don’t work with). If you struggle with “saying no” to companies and you have no idea how to say it without coming across mean, download my templates silly! They’re free! I have 5 different templates that you can use to say no for 5 different reasons.

There you go! Did you learn something? If you’re reading this blog on your phone, screenshot your favorite tip and share it on your Instagram story (don’t forget to tag me @itsmodernmillie for a feature). I’d love to hear what helped you the most!

Follow your joy,

Millie