For many Influencers, the goal is to monetize their influence and in order to do that you need to have brand collaborations/partnerships.
The story isn’t the same for everyone. Other people have to persistently source collaborations while others have multiple brands “knocking” at their doors all the time.
My story went a little something like this…
My first brand deal was a none paid collaboration with Spree back in February 2017 before they merged with Superbalist. That time I was still concentrating on growing my audience and finding my voice and style so I wasn’t looking for collaborations. My 8-5 was sustaining me and I was happy to work with them for free when they reached out to me.
After that first collaboration, my second one was a month later with an Australian brand, Holster. They had just opened a branch in Durban and again this was an exchange because I didn’t have confidence in my work and I was happy to learn while I was reaping the benefits of my then, 2 years of blogging without any recognition. From there, we are here now where I still get brands approaching me but I am also proactive in approaching the brands that I think would be a good fit for my brand and what I stand for.
Let me get into why you are here.
Your Content Is Not Good Enough.
Okay, I wasn’t going to waste time going around in circles, I apologize. We all start from somewhere, but if you are producing the same type of content you were producing 3 years ago when you started off on your Influencer journey, are you really serious about what you are doing? Research is critical. Research isn’t going into your Instagram support pod or WhatsApp group and asking the members there how they are running their accounts. You have google, Youtube, Pinterest, blogs and podcasts that can help you with your content production. If you are serious about what you are doing you have to do the work and not rely on other people to spoon-feed you. Even if other people tell you how you are doing it you are not going to
You Are Not Looking for Opportunity
This topic is somewhat controversial in the Influencer streets but, at the end of the day, you have to treat what you are doing as a business if you want to make any money out of it. If you do not look for clients, none will show up on your door step – simple business 101.
As long as you feel that you have improved your content and you are ready to work with brands, go n and reach out to them. Don’t be afraid to ask other Influencer or friends to review your content before you go out and approach brands. Watch this.
Google Yourself
The same way you are google-searched for an office job, brands will do the same before they approach you for a collaboration. Go to google and type your first and last name. Look through the search results for general, images, videos, and news. All the content on the first page should be created by you or provided by you. If it doesn’t look too good, I will be posting a blog post on how you can control the information Google shares about you. If you are not telling your story, someone else will tell it for you.