how influencers make money
how to get brand deals
How I Bagged My Brand Collaborations in 2018.Practical, Factual, With Proof!
11:00Lade Ibikunle
When I started out blogging about 2 years ago, I wished I had posts like this to guide me through my journey. A lot of bloggers nowadays are hush about how they get brand collaborations/brand deals, maybe so they can keep all the money to themselves. I don't know.
But I am not about that life. I am going to help you all in all the ways that I can so we all can secure the bags together!.
All of the tips I will share today are tips that I have tested and has worked for me. I will be making specific examples within the blog and on my Instagram so Y'all know this is legit.
That being said, I have not started making all the money in the world. In fact, I did not start making money until the second quarter of this year. I guess the beginning stages are like that. Brands need to see that you are committed to the craft and you have something to offer. So do not expect to be making money from your blog after putting 5 posts up, It may not happen.
Let's get into the matter, shall we?
THE MAYBELLINE COLLAB
Remember this youtube video where I did a full face of Maybelline products? Well, let me give you the full gist. Although this collab wasn't a paid one, I'm just glad I got to work with Maybelline at all. The bag of goodies I was sent to film the video should be worth N50,000 by my rough calculations. And this was how it started. I put out a post on my Instagram highlighting the foundations (which included the Maybelline fitme foundation) I use regularly and I asked people to tell me which one they'd like a video/wear-test on.
Majority of you guys asked for a video featuring the Maybelline Fitme. And that post did so well that it caught the attention of Maybelline and they decided to send me a box of goodies to shoot my video. See? Sometimes you have to pour water ahead to step on cold ground (it's a Yoruba proverb).
This collab just goes to show that consistency + great content pays. If I did not put that post up, I would not have gotten this gig. Of course, I did plenty giveaways of this product cos I had a looooot. If you're not following me on Instagram or Twitter, you are missing o.
THE JUMIA COLLAB
I am a major consumer of Youtube content and I noticed that all of the fashion/beauty hauls on YT do not feature Nigerian sites like Jumia, Konga and Nigerian Instagram stores. So I decided to fill that void by shopping with my money on Jumia and doing a video about my experience.
That video had just 481 views but little did I know that the Jumia marketing representative was part of my viewers.
Fast forward to 9 months later (talk about gestation!!!) I was contacted by jumia to do a fashion haul for them and everything I featured in the video was sent to me free and on top of that, I got paid cash!!!
This just shows to prove that people are watching you. You might think only 50 people are seeing your posts and blah blah. But what is it's the right 50 people that's seeing your post? Your next collab might just be in that 50 views. So don't stop creating. Also look for gaps to fill in the industry. That might just be how you’ll blow!
THE TRAVELSTSTART COLLAB
In case you did not know, yes this post was a paid collab with Travelstart. And I got this gig due to my interest and reportage in Travel. This just goes to say that if you have an interest in something, document it. Your interest might be cooking or cats. It's alright as long as you document it. That is what creating a niche is about. And it is with this niche of yours brands will be able to reach out to you when they need your kind of service.
I hope that you are finding this post helpful so far. I know it’s not one of those post where the blogger reels out 15 steps to making it as a blogger, no no no. I wanted this to be very practical with proof. Now if your strategy is going out of your way to pitch to client, and that works for you, by all means continue doing that. But it doesn’t hurt to add these strategies to what you already do.
Personally, sending out pitches to brands has not worked worked for me, they just never reply the mails. Maybe they think I’m begging or something. So I stopped! What I do is to buy their stuff, create some content with it, make sure to tag them and before you know it, they are all up in my DM and Email 😄. Reverse psychology!!! This trick works for me all the time, all!
I’m going to stop here for now. But please I need you all to interact with this post in the comment section.
If you are a blogger, share your tricks and strategy on how get brand collaborations or how to make money off blogging, especially in Nigeria. Share them in the comment section so we can all learn. And if you are a brand, how would you prefer that content creators/bloggers reach out to you? What exactly will make you want to work with them? Please, Please share.
Till next time😘
26 comments
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being open Lade. I've taken notes and I'll not stop creating content because I don't know who's watching or reading.
ReplyDeletewww.sincerelychi.wordpress.com
You are more welcome Chidinma. Indeed we have to continue. If not for anything, for the love we have for the craft. I think most times we allow making money rule our love for creating. Then we get frustrated when the money is stalling.
DeleteI saw this on twitter. It's so helpful thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sophie, glad you found this helpful
DeleteYour content is always dope! constantly looking forward to your social media post.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Lade, major congrats on all your success this year. Kudos to you for being so open. For me personally this was the year of more paid opputunities. And my last collab happened liked play like play. I bought items from the brands last year, styled it and tagged them all the times I wore the brand. Then they contacted me to send free stuff but not payment, I said yes as I admired the brand. Then the next time money was involved and girl it was the most I've ever made, I never expected it! I just asked for their budget and it even exceeded even my price point.
ReplyDeletePrincess Audu
Yes Sarah! Congratulations. I think we've found the formula really. Nigerian brands need to see what you can do before they actually trust you with their money. Cos running a bisiness in Nigeria is not easy at all!
DeleteThanks for this sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Opeyemi!!!
DeleteThanks for sharing Lade. Enjoyed the read!
ReplyDeleteChroniclesoftej.com
thank you so much Tejiri. Glad you enjoyed it
DeleteJust stumbled on this post and girl, so honest. So far, in all my blogging years I have only pitched once and the brands response wasn't so encouraging and I told myself that's the last I'd ever do.
ReplyDeleteSo far, what i do is just be myself, write honest content about brands I love and tag them, even when they do not reach me themselves, other related brands in that niche will do. And most of these offers come with free items and cash.
So far, yes, the reverse psychology works every time.
www.debwritesblog.com
Thank you so much Abosede. The Nigerian market is tricky. You just have to find what works for you and I'm glad you did
DeleteHi Lade, nice read. I am with WeMove Technologies Ltd.(www.wemove.co) and we have an offering for pro bloggers like yourself to re-sell tourism packages for a percentage fee using your online mediums. All required platforms and tech tools are up and functional including the trips gigs
ReplyDeleteI'm open to discuss more on 08137769105 if this is an avenue you are willing to explore.
Thank you Chima. We can talk further. My email is ladesblog@gmail.com
DeleteWonderful!!!. You are blessed. You rock!!!!!.
ReplyDeleteThank you 🙏
DeleteFirst of all thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Yup you're so right, you have to give first to get something. The traditional method of reaching out to big brands hardly work any more because their DMs/Emails are saturated. You have to show proof of what you can do first and then it's only a matter of time and they will be after you!
I did a free video for a brand called 'The Republic' and in turn they styled me for free to Lagos Fashion Week.
The Republic Video - http://tlmurban.com/watch-independence-day-at-the-republic/
My Outfit to Lagos Fashion Week - http://tlmurban.com/my-outfit-to-lagos-fashion-week-2018/
Yes, unfortunately, it's give and take with Nigerian brands and you kind of need to show proof that you can add value to their brand. Money is scare in this part of the world!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am loving your hair everywhere. The last dress is good.
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meet and greet Luton
Thank you!
DeleteThank you Lade for being honest and always sharing. I will put these tips to test and leave a feedback
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Chika
DeleteYour comment means a lot, kindly leave them and be sure I'll attend to everyone of them