Working With Brands | My Experience So Far, Contacting PR's & Red Flag Collabs

So I'm just going to start this by saying I'm not writing this post to brag or anything like that. I'm really grateful for all of the brands that I've worked with and who have sent me products. I am also not saying that I'm a pro at working with brands and know all the ins and outs of how it works either. It's just my take on working with brands and what I've learnt so far. Also, I'm going to write about my experience with contacting PR's and red flag signs of dodgy brands. So if you're interested then stick around.

First of all, I would say the main three questions you should ask yourself are:

Do you have a good amount of followers? 
There's no right or wrong amount of followers but obviously, if you only have about 50 followers and you're contacting a brand with thousands of followers then they more than likely won't reply.

Is the brand someone you're actually interested in?
Is the brand a brand you would consider buying from or have bought from before? 

Have you got time to review, take photos and write about this product/item? 
Blogging/reviewing is very time-consuming, people who don't blog don't understand how time-consuming it really is. So make sure you have enough spare time to review, take photos and write about the product/item.

If the answer is yes to all of the above then here are a few tips to get your first brand collaboration.

Social Media

I find in general when looking for brands wanting bloggers to feature/review their products on their blog that twitter is the best way to do it. Search #bloggerswanted, #bloggersrequired or #prrequest and you will more than likely find a brand looking for bloggers to feature and review a product or item which will suit your "niche".

Also searching instagram is another place you can sometimes find brands looking for bloggers too. Brands seeking bloggers usually say  "please DM/leave blog link and email address below" or something along those lines. 

Reaching Out

This is kind of a hit and miss kind of subject and some people in the blogging world think it's a big no-no but I've personally found that emailing brands/PRs isn't as scary as you think and is also a good way to make you and your blog known, I've also been added to some PR lists this way too which is fab! As long as you're not rude about it and basically beg for free products lol. Obviously be polite and approachable in the email and say how you're basically a new blogger on the block and how you would love to be considered if they happen to be looking for new bloggers to work with or add to their PR list.

So the next thing I'm going to briefly touch upon is brands which you shouldn't collaborate with...  

If a brand/PR pops into your emails offering you a percentage off on their products in return for a blog post, 9/10 times it's not a good idea to accept. Just because they're making a profit out of you and basically will get free advertising from your review/feature blog post too, so really you're not getting anything out of it yourself. Whereas if you are sent a gifted item then that kind of compensates you for the blog post and also being able to test out a new product. 

Sometimes if you do get offered a promo code, it may be worthwhile if it's a product that you would love to review and is something you would've spent your money on anyway. So far in my 'blogging life' I've only accepted 2 blogging opportunities when I have to put money towards the product(s) to review. One was a 50% off code for a bag which I still love and use to this day and the other was also a 50% off code as well as free delivery on a subscription box. Both of which I loved and definitely don't regret putting money towards. I guess it's up to you but if you feel pressured to buy something from a brand then just don't. I know that it may sound a little contradictive lol but basically, if it doesn't seem or feel 'right' and the item/product isn't something you would really usually buy then don't accept I guess is the best way to put it.

~

I hope this has been a helpful post to any of you who are just starting out blogging or planning on trying to bag your first collab. Like I said at the beginning please don't give me hate or think I'm bragging on this post because I'm not at all. I did a poll on twitter about which blog post you want to see on my blog soon and "Working With Brands" got over 60% (which I was shocked by) so here it is. Also sorry that my photos kinda suck on this blog post, I had no idea what my photos should focus on etc lol.

follow me: twitter / instagram