Influencer Marketing: if you are new to this concept, you might have mistaken it for a celebrity title.
However, this is not necessarily the case because you can be an influencer and not be considered a celebrity.
Influencer marketing is built on mutual partnerships between influencer and brand.
It involves you as a blogger or someone with social media influence to get deals with brands which will mean promoting their products or services.
It may also be as simple as seeking brand recognition or exposure by letting your audience know about them through sponsored content.
Simply put, an influencer is someone that has an online following, and the audience you have is what a particular brand will be interested in presenting its products or services.
As this is a mutual partnership, it turns out to be not just a win for the brand you’re marketing as an influencer; it also means that you’ll be paid based on the agreement.
However, influencer marketing is one of the most lucrative methods influencers monetize their audience.
Incredibly, it all starts with one of these ways:
1. Firstly, Let the brands come to you.
2. Secondly, reach out to them yourself.
Let’s take a closer look at the two ways you can secure brand deals and make money through influencer marketing.
First, let’s take a look at how you can attract brands that are looking for influencers.
1. Have a Well Defined Niche
Regardless of your Niche, many brands will be willing to work with you for their marketing campaigns.
In addition, the more clearly defined your niche is, the more likely you will attract specific brands.
Your audience will be highly targeted, which will mean better conversion opportunities for your sponsors and more revenue.
You see, narrowing down your focus through defining your niche increases engagement and traffic and helps you get the most conversions when monetizing.
2. Have a Decent amount of Audience that is Engaging
Attracting brands as influencers is to give them the impression that you have the capability, and one way to achieve that is by having enough followers or audience.
Furthermore, your audience needs to be engaging and as highly engaged as they are, which will also encourage brands that come through your blog or page to consider a partnership with you.
In a nutshell, you need audience and engagement to gain the most consideration.
3. Network with Other Influencers
Networking with other Influencers has so many perks, including being able to be referred to some brands.
You must connect with other influencers, attend events, meet them in person, or participate in influencer communities.
There are different ways to network with other influencers, find more of them, and explore as much as possible.
4. Be Good with SEO
Another way to get noticed by brands is to leverage SEO to keep afloat in your space.
On social media, use keywords and hashtags to get better exposure, and with your blog, do well to leverage various SEO strategies, including blogging on guest sites.
After looking for ways to make brands notice you for offers, let’s go a little further this time by reaching out to the brands ourselves.
I consider this the best as it gives influencers the choice of initiating communication for deals with the brands they aspire to work with more.
Pitching to brands also gives you the chance to present your offers to those that may not have the chance to reach you at all in the first place.
5. Find Your Brand of Interest
Your first step to pitching to brands for sponsorships is by doing your research on the right ones to promote.
No matter what niche you are, countless brands can fall under your radar, but just as they have their requirements, you must also have yours.
You may want to associate yourself with businesses whose quality of products you’re familiar with or those you believe in, because you will be endorsing them to your audience.
You will not want to promote brands with dubious intentions or deliverables.
6. Your Audience must match their Buyer Persona
Another factor to consider when deciding on brands to pitch to is the type of brands your audience will likely buy.
Brands will likely invest in influencers with their prospects, and when you pitch to those brands, they’ll have more reasons to work with you as they are likely to make sales.
7. Know Your Point of Contact
Depending on how large the brand you’re trying to reach out to, they might have different departments where reaching out to the right contact will make the best shot.
You can contact their marketing team or someone in charge of their digital presence.
Depending on the brand, your work might prove easier or a bit difficult, but with some research, you must be able to send your proposal through.
7. Let them Know You Can Deliver
Brands will love to see how much you can deliver, and your website or social media metrics say a lot about your ability.
That’s why it’s essential to include a portfolio of brands you’ve worked with, if available.
That will not be an obstacle, even if you have never worked with a brand.
Attach your analytics data, such as the size of your audience, site traffic, engagement data, and other essential information that will be helpful.
For this purpose, you can attach all this information to your single-paged media kit.
Make sure to customize your pitch to respect the different brands you’ll be approaching so it can have some touches of being personalized to them and not look like you’ve been sending the same proposal to multiple brands.
You can use certain influencer agencies to find brands to work with.
Final Thoughts
Brands will always want to work with Influencers, and as we noted earlier, you don’t need to go viral or be a celebrity to become one.
There will always be a place for you.
Moreover, as your influence and audience increase, your worth in terms of the audience’s size and earnings will also grow.
It’s all about taking the first step into influencer marketing, and if brands don’t come to you, don’t be afraid to go to them.
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