Blogging 101: How I Choose Who To Collaborate With

When I got my first collaboration it really validated me as a blogger. I was three months into blogging and I felt that I had met this huge benchmark – a benchmark that I didn’t think I would meet in my first year. I was approached to not only promote through gifted product, but they were also going to pay me. Granted, it was $15, but to me, it felt like so much more.

That collaboration was the first of many. In 2019, I had five paid collaborations – three of which included gifted products as well – and then 18 gifted collaborations. Of those 18 giftings, eight were through Influenster. It was a BIG year! It was an exciting year! And it was a year of a lot of growth.

In the beginning…

One of the big things I learned as the year went on and more invitations to collaborate came through my inbox was to be more selective with who I work with. In the beginning, I was accepting all collaborations without hesitation – without consideration for whether I would actually purchase the product myself. I was just excited by the idea that I was a “successful” blogger and that I was getting “free” stuff.

I put quotes around successful because being paid in product or with money should not determine your worth as a content creator. And I put quotes around free because the product wasn’t free – I was being paid for my time, effort, and platform with the product.

As time went on…

As time went on, I gave myself more time to respond to brands. During this time, I weighed their offer, researched the company, and thought about the time and effort I would have to put in to showcase their product. Sometimes it was worth it – I believed in the product. Other times, it was not worth the effort. For example, one brand offered to let me try out three of their skincare products in exchange for a dedicated post on Instagram, a blog post, and five-star reviews on their website. For reference, that is a lot of time and creative energy they are asking for. I countered and said I would do the Instagram post and review them honestly with the stars I thought they deserved. They did not respond to that and so the collaboration did not happen.

What I am looking for…

When I work with brands, I look to see if they are valuing me. For a good chunk of my first year blogging, I sold myself short. I didn’t take into account how much time and energy I was putting into collaborations in comparison to what I was being paid or the price of the product. Basically, my thought process was “I’m new to this and I don’t have a large following.” That mindset has shifted. I’m still not that big of a blogger, but I do value my engagement, content creation process, and time more, therefore, I want those I work with to value me as well. However, I would not change my first year of blogging because it taught me so much.

It has taught me to:

See if their email – their first impression – is uniquely tailored to me. I will ask myself, have they seen my Instagram and blog and do they know what I’m all about?

Consider what they are asking for. If they are asking for a dedicated blog post, Instagram post, and IG story in exchange for a $15 gifted product, I’m not going to take it. It’s not worth my time and creativity.

Ask follow up questions. A lot of the time this is countering the offer or asking for the deliverables to be reduced to just an Instagram post. I have learned that it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have a budget. If the brand really wants to work with you, they’re not going to be offended by you asking to be paid. And while some brands have not been able to pay me outright, they have allowed me to become an affiliate and make a percentage off of people’s purchases.

Look into the brand. Do they test on animals? Where are their products made? What kind of chemicals are used in the formulation? What do they stand for? By just doing a little bit of research you can learn a lot about a company and depending on your values what you find may seal the deal or break it.

It’s still really earlier on in my blogging journey, and I still have so much to learn, but my first year has already yielded me so much more knowledge and confidence. I know as I continue on I’m going to learn more about collaborating with brands, but if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them.