*image from Atlantic-Pacific
As promised, the second chapter of a very long novel — securing more brand partnerships! Read part one here.
Now that you’ve secured a collaboration, it’s important to take steps to make sure you’re exceeding expectations and developing a relationship with that brand. This is not a single transaction; this is a consistent stream of revenue from your favorite retailer and an opportunity to receive some pretty cool perks.
First, it’s important to understand the goals of this campaign. Is the brand looking to drive sales or traffic to its site, foot traffic to a store opening, or social buzz and an increased Instagram following? Each of these goals should be approached differently.
Sales will always be important, even if the brand has other goals it would like to address. For this, ask yourself what has performed in the past. Do items in a certain price range convert better? Are sales and promotions your cup of tea? Are certain categories better than others (dresses, jackets, shoes, etc.)? Focus on what performs for you, and include at least 12 links to that retailer. These should be a mix of text links and widgets, product and category pages. Most importantly, make sure you link to the items you’ve featured in your photographs. Your readers want to wear what you’re wearing!
Your collaboration contract will likely highlight deadlines and deliverables. Standard deliverables include one blog post, one Instagram post, one
Once all is said and done, write a handwritten thank-you note to your contact at the brand. This really goes a long way — who doesn’t appreciate a thoughtful note?
Takeaways:
— Address the campaign goals
— Meet deadlines set by the retailer
— Go above and beyond
— Send a thank-you note
I love the note idea – it really does make a difference!
Lisa
http://www.theeverydayelevated.com
I love the idea of a thank you note. Thank you notes make it so much more personal and is a great way to share your appreciation!
Diana | http://www.thechicdiary.com
The note idea really is great. Thanks! I’m doing one right now and will definitely do that.
In scoring a campaign opportunity you have already established a relationship with the brand. More importantly, Blogger’s like me should continue to be consistent and strategic in the way they write and share content. That’s the way to encourage brands to choose you for more opportunities and a way to continue to build your own brand and reputation as a Blogger.
Hello! It’s Taylor Aube from Stop, Drop & Vogue!
The thank you note is such a wonderful and cute idea! I actually have been having a lot of success when pitching to brands by highlighting every detail about the potential campaign (numbers, stats, blog posts, post length, etc) along with sharing every detail about my blog and the demographics of my followers.
Here is a double question: What if a collaboration is successful in every facet, but sales are lacking? How do you truly judge a successful campaign? I ask this since a consumer may not immediately purchase something from a campaign, but having the brand/image imprinted in their mind makes them come back and shop there, unfortunately that’s hard to track if they aren’t clicking on a directed and traceable link!!
http://stopdropandvogue.com
P.s. I love ShopStyle!
the thank you note!! Yes! I’m always following up with all the links to the PR company to make it easier but hadn’t thought about the TY note, even though I wrote one for everything else. Thanks for the reminder!