How I get blog collaborations with major brands

I’ve worked on some amazing campaigns during my blogging career. Some of my favourites have included working with brands such as Epson  on their projector, DFS and Uncle Bens. They’ve allowed me to stretch my creativity and gain some awesome exposure both for their products and for my blog. Although I’ve been at it on and off for nearly a decade, Circus Mums is far from a household name. My pageviews or number of Instagram followers is unlikely to land me my own tv show or book deal. But the people who read this blog and who connect with me on social media are ride or die. They are loyal, they interact with the content and ask questions. They can be a brand’s dream base.

I’d like to share with you how I came about working with some epic, big name brands, even though I don’t get millions of page views a month. Yes, there are brands and PRs are so heavily fixated on numbers and only wish to work with bloggers who generate tens of thousands of pageviews each month. Yes, I have been turned down by brands I’ve pitched to because I was “too small a blogger” their words, not mine. But, and here is the big but, there are many wonderful brands and PR companies who have seen the value in my blog, Circus Mums and have collaborated on some fun campaigns. 

I want to let you know how I have managed to work on campaigns such as this one where DFS sent me my gorgeous Dillon Sofas in return for imagery and blog posts. I hope that in me doing it, other ‘small blogs’ will know that you too, are worthy of pitching yourselves. 

So anyway, let’s spill the tea already. 

I comment on other blogger-brand collaborations

You need to not only be your own biggest cheerleader but cheer others too. I’m in many blog groups on Facebook and some allow you to share your latest blog posts. I try to comment on blogs as often as I can, particularly brand collaborations and sponsored posts. These seem to be the ones people shy away from commenting on, unless its to say something awful about the blogger selling out or posting too much sponsored content. Mean ass people right?

So it’s nice to bring some positivity to these posts. It also allows the brands to get to know your name. Most blogs allow hyperlinks from the commenter’s name to their own blog or email address. If you say something lovely, and leave a meaningful comment, not just “that’s nice”, chances are people will click on your hyperlink and get to know you. I know for a fact that I’ve been introduced to new PRs and brand reps through this method. 

I reach out directly to brands with pitches

So the way that the majority of my big collaborations took place is because I asked for them. Now, I don’t do this very often as I’m crap at selling myself. But once in a while I’ll throw caution to the wind if I have an idea for something I’d really like to review or a brand I’d really like to work with. 

I do my research on the company, find out who the best people are to reach out to are and then I email them directly. The key here is to keep it short and sweet. Who you are. Why you would like to work with them. What it is you have in mind. Done. If you have a media kit, include it here. If you’ve worked on something similar, attach it here. 

SELL YOURSELF. Even though I’ve said there are brands that look past page views, you still need to let them know why they should work with you. Tell them what your unique selling point it. Tell them how great your interaction rate is your followers. Let them know how many thousands of pageviews your Pinterest pins receive. Now isn’t the time for modesty.

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear back. I use the boomerang extension on my emails and reach back out to those companies who don’t respond after a week. After that I tend to see it as a lost cause. More often that not, brands just ignore you rather than say ‘no thank you’ which isn’t particularly kind nor polite, but hey ho. You gain a very thick skin when you are pitching work, much in the same way as if you are pitching your book ideas. 

I get recommended and I recommend others

Sometimes people have to pass up on opportunities due to time constraints, conflicts of interests or it not being a good fit for their blogs. What’s good about the blogging community is more often that not, if a campaign isn’t a good fit for one blogger, they can recommend a handful of people who it may be good for. This allows brands to get introduced to bloggers they may not have had on their lists yet with the added bonus of them already being personally vouched for by another blogger they already like. This is such a wonderful feeling when you are introduced to a brand by another blogger. I always recommend other bloggers for campaigns, PR lists and what not because it’s not enough to gain a seat at the table, you should always try to pull out a chair for other bloggers too.

Being on blogger lists / Blogger Groups

I am a member of sites such as  Black British Bloggers, Tots100 and  Britmums Professional. Sometimes brands will liaise with them directly to find blogger for campaigns. If something suits, I’ll always apply. Sometimes they will come directly to you too, without the need to throw your hat into the ring. I’ve had brands be on the look out to bring diversity to their campaigns and use lists such as my list of black bloggers or list of black travel bloggers to find suitable blogs to contact. Some have stumbled on this list during their Google search and then contacted me for campaigns too!