Hey lovelies, this was highly requested and since I’ve been done sponsored posts for almost 5 years I thought I’d share everything I know. I’ll be breaking this post up into sections to try and cover everything I know on how to get sponsored work, how to contact brands, media kits and pitching, charging, maintaining your contacts and building your brand. Everything I’ve written is from my personal experience.
What Is A Sponsored Post?
Is My Blog Sponsored Post Worthy?
Brands Don’t Email Me – Where Can I Find Sponsored Posts?
Here I am going to stress the importance of having your email in your social media bios if you want people to get in touch with you. There are a few options for finding sponsored posts.
1) Get in touch with brands yourself
2) Contact PRs
3) Join a network that connects brands with bloggers
4) Look out for the #bloggerswanted on Twitter
Getting in touch with brands will covered later down in the post, so we will skip that here. There are plenty of networks out there that you can join to get sponsored work. I personally don’t use them anymore, I find it much easier to get in touch with brands or pitch myself. But there can be some perks to them if you fit certain requirements. Here are a few I know of
Flyout
When it comes to getting in touch with PRs – I’d recommend joining Grow And Glow they have a PR database with emails for people you can get in touch with. Plus it’s an incredible group and full of so many helpful tips to help you grow across the board.
In averse Twitter can be a gold mine for finding PRs to connect with. The bloggerswanted hashtag can be handy although it often spammed with bloggers trying to promote themselves. Often brands or PRs will post about sponsored content and you can get in touch with them via twitter or emails.
Sometimes your friends might be able to refer you for sponsored posts, but I stress this. Please don’t ask your blogging friends for their contacts, it could result in them getting blacklisted in some instances.
Brands Email Me But Want To Work On A Gifted Basis – Can I Change This?
This again is tricky, can it be done? Yes. Will it always happen? No. In my experience if you tell a brand when they offer you a gifted product that you only work on a paid basis they will either decline on the spot or give you a budget. I have instances of bargaining that price up. If a brand gets in touch with you, it’s normally because they want to work with you, so you have more room to negotiate. If they decline: don’t get disheartened for every brand that declines you there will be brands that accept you.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with working on a gifted basis if you want to, I understand not everyone to make their blog a business and that is also cool.
Sponsored Content Is Great – How Do I Get On Pr Lists?
I feel like if I didn’t cover this someone would ask. When it comes to getting onto PR lists brands will mostly email you, but you can get in touch with their socials if you wish to talk to them about getting on PR list.
If a Brand Approaches Me What Should I Charge?
Charging is really difficult to cover in just a few words. For me charging depends on multitude of things, how many words? How many links? How much time is going to take me to write? How relevant is it to my audience? Something else to consider is what is the brands budget?
I charge anywhere between £100-£400 for one post, and yes I have been paid almost £500 for one post before. I charge differently for pre-written content, and differently for link insertion, because these take me different levels of time, effort, planning etc. I also take into account my DA, monthly views and followers on twitter, Bloglovin and now Pinterest.
When my stats were lower I used to fee anywhere between £30-80. I think when it comes to charging you need to be confident in what price you want for your sponsored posts, and realise that the budget might be subjective to what the brand wants. There aren’t any guidelines for what to charge out there so I know this tricky and working out what your writing is worth is difficult. As mentioned above DA, views, following can be a way to work it out, or ask if the brand has a budget.
When it comes to charging please be savvy. Make sure the brand draft you a contract, or you have some form of way of knowing they will make payment, It doesn’t matter how much money it is, you don’t want them running off without paying. This has happened to me twice, and many of bloggers out there where you get ghosted after the work is complete and no wants that.
Can I Approach Brands Myself?
Yes, I do this often.You always run the risk that the brand won’t get back in touch or they will say no, but really you don’t stand to lose anything. I do want to say please remember when you get in touch with brands think about what you can offer them, obviously emailing a new company or business might get you get a no straight off for obvious reasons. Independent companies are often run by one person and sending out products/paying for advertising is probably a no for them.
I actually know a few blogger who successfully get most of their work with this method, which I think is incredible. Get pitching.
If I Approach Brands What Should I say?
How To Pitch To Brands – Grace F Victory ( this is what inspired my personal pitch)
A Bloggers Guide To Pitching To Brands
Do I Need A Media Kit To Approach A Brand? Will They Ask For One?
How Do I maintain Contact With My PRs?
I’ve mentioned a few times but I mainly work with the same people, whether it be regularly or a few times a year. I make sure to email and check in on them, I make the effort to be friendly and nice, and if I get delayed or something happens like I get sick then I make are to tell them the work will be late etc. If you do the work to the best of your ability and stay friendly there isn’t any reason why they won’t get back in touch with you or work with you on sponsored posts.
Disclosure
If you’re getting paid for it, disclose it. If it’s gifted, disclose it. If it contains affiliate links, disclose them. Check the ASA Guidelines if you need further guidance. If a brand offers you payment but doesn’t want you to disclose it – do not work with them, your blog can be penalised.
I hope that this covers a lot for you, if you have any questions on sponsored posts as always leave them in the comments and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. If you loved this post please go follow my Pinterest Account and pin all my pins, or share this post on twitter.
Great post! Thank you for sharing this! It is very useful for me!
This is such an amazing post Kayleigh, I’ve learnt quite a lot from reading this and I will be saving it to my Favourites for future reference! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
This is super helpful and really thorough advice! I’m not sure that my blog is ready for sponsored posts but if I choose to take my blog in that direction, which would be great, I think this info will really help me understand the process and get me started
Great post! This is some of the most direct and helpful advice I’ve read on this topic and I really appreciate it. I’m definitely pinning and saving for later! Thank you for sharing.
This was a super useful post for me! I work as a blogger and in marketing for a company who works with bloggers frequently. So many bloggers (including me) will find your tips extremely useful, especially regarding approaching companies and the question of payment. xxx
This is such a helpful post, I’ve been on the lookout for something like this for ages! I’ve been struggling a bit trying to know how to go about sponsored posts but this will definitely help! X
This is such a helpful post! Thank you for sharing all your tips with us!
This is such a helpful post for anyone who needs guidance with reaching out to brands, thanks for sharing!
This is a really helpful post; thank you for sharing. It can be often hard to know where to start and you’ve listed some really great tips and included some equally great resources. Will be looking at this in tons more depth very soon, so have bookmarked!
Lots of helpful information in this post. I really appreciate it.
This was a very informative post. I’ve done a couple of sponsored posts, but they were just new affiliate opportunities. I earned about $50 and one just gifted the merchandise, but I get commissions on sales. I’ve backed off spending time finding relevant brands to do sponsored posts with, but need to get back to it.
What a helpful post, thank you. Shared it on my Pinterest.
This is so helpful – I’ll definitely be using the resources! Thank you 🙂
Nice post. I totally learnt a lot from it.
This is so helpful. Although I worked with brands it was only on gift basis. I’ve never had a proper sponsored post and that is definitely something I want to accomplish this year.
Antonia || Sweet Passions
This is so helpful. I have never pitched to brands off my own back but I am working on posts and pitches that I know would suit certain companies and hope to one day pluck up the courage to send the pitches.
I also struggle to know what to charge but your figures are roughly what I charge for my lower DA score as well x
This was so helpful Kayleigh! We are starting to create an introduction email to pitch some brands and was actually looking for some more directions on it. Thanks for sharing all these resources, they will be a huge help!
This is a really helpful post for me as a new blogger. Thank you.
ellesreviews.com
This is so helpful to me as a new blogger! Never tried to have sponsored posts before but hopefully soon! Thank you so much for sharing this.
http://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com
This is really helpful. Thank you! ❤️