There’s been a hell of a lot of drama surrounding blogger collaborations at the moment. With people who know nothing about the process piping up and saying some VERY insulting things to bloggers. And then some bloggers saying things that probably didn’t help the situation. Hotels that show just how much of a d*ck they are. And then the media getting involved.
It was a bit of a mess to say the least.
But it got me thinking about collaborations, partnerships and how we do our job. I mean sure pitching is part of the job. You pitch to a brand, a brand pitches to you. It’s just business.
But a major issue with the drama was that a lot of people who chose to stick their nose in were, frankly, completely uneducated on the subject. They knew nothing about the business world and whats more, they just chose to attack anyone with the word ‘blogger’ in their title. But when it comes to collaborating and working with brands, there are some do’s and don’ts from both sides.
From The Blogger:
Be upfront with what you want and what you can offer
If you are choosing to pitch to a brand then be upfront with everything. What you want, what you can offer and how the partnership benefits both sides. An issue with many pitches is that they simply say ‘send me a top and I’ll show it to my 80,000 followers’. No. NO NO NO. Brands do not want to hear this and frankly, I would be surprised if they even reply. You need to sell yourself as a blogger and show them just why they should work with you. Give them a look at your insights, show come previous collabs and even send some stats. The brand wants to know exactly what they are getting themselves into and what to expect from the partnership.
Stick To The Agreement
As annoying as it is when a brand is late in paying your invoice, it is equally as annoying when a blogger is late with their post. There is little excuse for not delivering what you promised (if there is a legit excuse then make them aware and they will be understanding). If you have an agreement with a brand, just fricking stick to it.
Don’t Be Rude
If you are contacting a brand and they have no budget, sometimes they legit have no budget. Don’t be rude. Don’t swear or write back passive aggressive emails. Just simply thank them for their time and walk away. Staying polite and civil will give the brand a MUCH better image of you and, who knows, when the do have a budget they might just have you in mind!
From The Brand:
When it comes to working with brands, there are some things that they hands down just SHOULD NOT DO. Like outing you on social media… But there working with bloggers can still be a tough job to manage. So here are some rules for brands to follow when collaborating.
Don’t be a d*ck
Pretty simple one really. Just don’t be rude. If an influencer or youtuber or blogger is contacting you and you are not interested, then just politely tell them no. Please don’t ignore our emails (because chances are we will contact you again) and please don’t send back rude remarks. Giving yourself a bad name will spread amongst the blogger community (exhibit A- that hotel) and make detract your business in general. Just be nice, be polite and walk away nicely.
Pay Us On Time
Being a blogger is a tough job; you don’t know what your income is going to be daily never mind monthly. So when it takes 6 months (yes it really took one brand 6 months to pay me) to pay someone for their work, it really is just unacceptable. It is THE WORST thing when I have to resort to threatening to take you to court just to get my measly hundred quid that you owed me months ago. The legal thing to do is pay them on time, so let’s keep it real, keep it within the law and pay your bloggers on time, hey?
Do Your Research
There is NOTHING worst than a brand contacting me asking me to review products for oily skin or style a sequin dress when if you had just done a bit of digging you would learn that i have veer dry skin and HAVE NEVER TAKEN A SINGLE PIC IN A BLACK SLINKY DRESS ALL I WEAR IS PJS AND JEANS. Knowing your client will create a much better relationship and may even result in more sales.
… Oh and if you title the email ‘hey blogger’ I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SMASH YOU WITH A FRYING PAN.
Collaborations and partnerships can be tricky within the blogging network. But as they become so much more powerful in the industry, they become so much more essential. As long we as stay nice, work together as a team and just don’t be d*cks, it’ll all work out just fine.
