Blogging is a really interesting career. It’s full of ups and downs: sometimes, you land a deal with your dream brand, and other times, you get rejected when you pitch someone. The one thing that this industry has taught me is how to develop a thick skin.
Why does a brand choose one influencer over another for a campaign? Sometimes, brand partnerships are entirely out of your control. Other times, there might have been something else you could have done to land a partnership. While you shouldn’t beat yourself up for not getting selected for a campaign, here are a few things you could do to land those next brand partnerships!
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS: WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
Your Pitch Wasn’t Detailed Enough
I work with a couple of networks that require you to pitch an idea that grabs the brand’s attention to be considered for a campaign. When I first started using Social Fabric back in the day, I’m pretty sure I sent the worst pitches ever. They were vague, I wrote them very quickly, and I didn’t add a personal touch to them.
While pitching your idea, be as detailed, yet concise as possible: talk about the products you want to promote, how you’re going to tell your story to your audience and mention why your audience is the perfect fit for the brand. No need to send an essay by any means, and don’t share every aspect of your idea — keep a few details to yourself!
You Don’t Normally Cover A Certain Topic
When I first started to travel blog, I got denied…a lot. The transition from fashion blogging to travel blogging is odd: while I already had an audience built up, I didn’t have a travel “portfolio” to send brands while I was pitching on specific brand partnerships, and it was hard to share my vision with brands without having previous examples to reference.
After that, I started to produce travel content on my own. I didn’t partner with any brands, CVBs or hotels: I would book a vacation, pay for it myself, and create my own travel guides. Once I had a portfolio of work, that’s when I was finally able to start partnering with travel brands. If you want to expand into a new vertical, you might have to bite the bullet and eat some of the costs yourself in order to build your portfolio.
Your Photography Style Might Not Be A Fit
For some brands, how an influencer tells a story visually is the most important thing to think about when selecting someone for some brand partnerships. Sometimes, brands have super strict guidelines for photos: some prefer professional photography only, others like selfie shots, etc. I was selected by a campaign from a beauty brand and honestly? I’m not 100% sure why I was chosen for the campaign. In their guidelines, they stated they liked minimal, neutral shots and included a lot of close up selfies in the campaign briefs — which is NOT me.
A brand might have a specific style of photography that they want for a campaign, and it might not mesh well with your style — and that’s totally ok. Don’t feel the need to change your blogging style in order to suit a campaign.
There Are Other Factors Out of Your Control
Honestly? There might be other things involved in brand partnerships that aren’t under your control. Perhaps they’re looking to target a particular age group, or maybe they’re only looking to advertise in one geographic region. At the end of the day, you really can’t beat yourself up for not getting selected for a campaign — sometimes, there are other deciding factors that you’re unaware of. It’s a little unhealthy to compare yourself to other influencers and wonder why someone got selected for some specific brand partnerships when you didn’t. Don’t get hung up on things you can’t control!
