
For many marketers, influencer marketing is a new concept. They might be familiar with the term, but not so much with the actual outreach and collaboration.
Following a previous blog post, where we learned how marketers who work closely with influencers make first contact with influencers, we decided it’s time to hear the other side of the story.
We reached out to 5 bloggers who are influential in food, fashion and lifestyle. We asked them a simple question:
“A company approaches you and offers to collaborate. What would it take for you to say yes?”
The bloggers’ answers were honest and straightforward. Here are the blogger outreach tips they’ve shared with us:
Learn How to Communicate with the Influencers
“I think great communication is the key to keeping everyone happy. There’s nothing worse than sending an email, and not receiving a reply for several weeks. If both parties are communicative, everyone knows where they stand and things run much more smoothly – and with a lot less frustration!” (Becca Pusey, Amuse Your Bouche)
“The pitch from the brand has to be personal. I like to know that the person has clearly done their homework and knows at least a little about me and my blog. Their email addresses me by name, might mention something they like about my blog, audience, content, etc. I just want to know that they actually care and it isn’t a canned pitch. (Molly Stillman, Still Being Molly)
Takeaway: Before reaching out, be proficient with the influencer’s content. Know what they publish, and later be friendly and communicative.
Make Sure It’s a Perfect Audience Fit
“In order for me to say yes, the post would first have to be relevant to my blog and audience.” (Kait Hanson, CommuniKait)
“It has to be the right fit. If the brand isn’t the right fit for my blog, audience, or demographic, it doesn’t matter – I won’t do the campaign. I have had that mantra since I started and will always keep that mantra.” (Molly Stillman)
Takeaway: the influencers know their audience. So should you. Use audience demographics data to know exactly who are the people who are part of the influencer network, their age, country, gender and content preferences.
Be Transparent about Compensation
“I would say yes to a brand who is paying money for a collaboration and is a good fit with my audience. “ (Heather Mann, Dollar Store Crafts)
“$$$: While certain campaigns can be done for “trade,” when a company respects the fact that my blog is my full-time job/business and that I do charge for certain things, I really appreciate that. It has taken many years to grow my audience, create my content, etc. and I work hard and I really appreciate that brands treat partnerships/collaborations like any other type of advertising and respect when it costs money. “ (Molly Stillman)
Takeaway: the bloggers put a lot of time and thought into their content. They need to be fairly compensated for it. Be transparent about it and figure out what’s the right model for you both.
Visualize any Potential Content
“Before saying yes, I research the brand and their products to visualize any potential content.” (Romy, Ymor Beauty)
It is time consuming (reading reviews, brand philosophy, product ingredients, etc…), but if explore the potential content before even agreeing, I can then imagine what type of work I can create. I need to have a clear picture and a clear direction of how I can integrate the brand into my personal brand before saying yes.“
Takeaway: help the influencer understand the brand’s visual guidelines and style on social media. Share examples from previous campaigns you’ve ran or choose a post by the influencer that reflects the brand’s style.
Go the Extra Mile
“I like it when brands are willing to do something more personalized and customized to best fit BOTH our audiences… it makes it more fun and that much more engaging!” (Molly Stillman)
Takeaway: You’re probably not the first one who has reached out to the blogger, so why should they choose you? If an influencer is going to invest time in your brand, then you must show them that they are appreciated as an individual and not as a marketing tool. Be unique or offer them something special. Keep in mind what’s in it for them.
Conclusion
One answer we’ve got just had everything in it. It concludes all of the takeaways above together. Here, read carefully Emily’s answer:
“I say ‘yes‘ to brands who offer me something that I feel is a natural fit for my blog, and is valuable to me.
If a brand reaches out who doesn’t fit with my blog then the answer is always no.
If a brand reaches out and their message or product is a good fit for my blog, then it’s still just a ‘maybe’.
If a brand has a message and product that I really believe in, and fits my blog, but they aren’t willing to send me product or compensate me in a way that makes it worth my time to write about them, then I will still say no.” (Emily, Emily Reviews)
If you’re a marketer looking to form close relationships with influencers, following these blogger’s answers can help you better understand their points of views. It will be hard to please every influencer or perfectly meet each of their requests, but taking their needs into consideration will give you a better chance of acquiring influencers.
After all, a good partnership takes understanding, mutual respect and close care. Listening to the influencers needs is a good place to start.
Need Help Reaching Out to Influencers? Meet Klear:
Thanks for including me!
@disqus_H6vtkshvdT:disqus Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us! (and hope to see much more positive posts on your blog soon…)
Greetings! Yuval Maoz. If you could write a more clear and detailed article about the influencer, majority of common-man-persons like me would be benefited in understanding the power of an influencer!
Thanks @mbbsmdms:disqus! Collaborating with influencers is an exciting way to do marketing. I’ll try to share more about it here on our blog. Thanks for stopping by!
As a brand, I am not going to reach out to a blogger who wants compensation from me. It’s too commercial. I understand it’s how some bloggers make their living – paid reviews. The few times bloggers have reached out to me, its felt unsavory. They just want my product for free. I don’t feel like I need them.
That said, I am at the top of the first page on most of my main keywords so I am not needing them to help with ranking.
Compensation can be tricky. I’m fond of the idea of compensating influencers for their time and work. But when it feels inappropriate, go with your gut feeling.
Yuval, great points. Adding value to Influencer’s work is another great thing one can do to connect and build a relationship with Influencer. For example, I created infographics out of a published article and shared with that blogger. He liked the infographics and shared it with his audience which in turn gave exposure of my business to his followers. http://www.urbantimer.com
Great article. Giving me a real good insights in the head of the bloggers. Maybe readers of this blog that like this discussion like the group that we just started as well. We started an influencer marketing group on Linkedin and we are growing fast. If you would like to join here is the link -> https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13511056
Awesome roundup Yuval. I recently created an influencer marketing guide to help people to understand it better. It is on my blog – https://fortunelords.com/influencer-marketing/
Let me know what you think about it!
Thanks for sharing this informative article.
Will it work for the newsportals too?
https://www.dutimes.com/