Brand Partnership Newsletter: June 5 Edition 🤑

Author

Ashleigh Warren
June 05, 2023

We’re doubling up on brand partnerships this week

! I took a much-needed extended weekend vacation to Miami, and now I’m back and ready to talk all things partnerships with you guys!

But before we do that, I want to share something I was thinking and writing a lot about over the weekend: why we giving up.

I hope reading this inspires you to press on in this space when you feel like nothing is working.

🌊 Riding The Wave: A Message to Content Creators on The Edge of Giving Up

1. The Journey is Longer Than You Think

First off, remember that content creation is a marathon, not a sprint. Have you ever heard of the term 'overnight success'?

It's kind of a myth. Most 'overnight successes' actually involve years of hard work, trial and error, ups and downs, before finally breaking through. Every it person who’s made it will tell you that.

2. Growth Isn't Always Linear

Another crucial thing to remember is that growth isn't always a straight upward line. Sometimes it's more like a rollercoaster ride, with plenty of dips and turns along the way. And that's okay. It's all part of the process.

When you hit a plateau or even find yourself losing followers and partnership opportunities, it's easy to think you're failing.

But remember, progress isn't defined by constant winning. It's about learning from your losses, picking yourself up, and moving forward.

3. It's Okay To Feel Frustrated

You know, it's absolutely okay to feel frustrated. In fact, it's a sign that you're pushing yourself, that you're striving for something more.

It means you care about your work, and that's important. But don't let this frustration consume you.

Take a breather. Step back. Use this time to reflect and reassess. What's working? What's not? How can you innovate and evolve your content?

Remember, frustration is often the birthplace of creativity and innovation.

4. You Are Not Alone

Feeling like you're the only one struggling? Trust me, you're not. Every creator, big or small, faces similar challenges.

The beauty of the internet is that it brings us all closer together. There's a whole community of creators out there who understand exactly what you're going through.

Reach out. Collaborate. Share your experiences and learn from others. Not only will this help you feel less alone, but you might also pick up some tips and tricks along the way.

5. Remember Why You Started

Finally, when you're deep in the trenches, it's easy to lose sight of why you started this journey in the first place.

Take a moment to reconnect with your initial passion, the spark that ignited your desire to create.

Was it to express yourself? To inspire others? To share a unique perspective or talent?

Reconnecting with these fundamental motivations can help re-energize your content creation journey and remind you of the value you're providing to your audience.

So to all you hardworking creators out there, I know it can feel like you're up against a giant wall sometimes.

I know that wall might seem insurmountable. But remember, every wall has cracks. And through those cracks, opportunity shines through. Keep searching for those cracks, keep pushing, keep creating.

And most importantly, remember to enjoy the ride. You're doing great, and your time is coming. Don't give up now, the world needs your unique voice and talent.

Stay strong, creators. You've got this!

Today’s Brand Partnerships 🤑

Brand: Turo

Partnership: Spend Summer with Turo US! Turo US invites YOU to share your Summer Travels About This Campaign: Turo is looking for creators who love to travel, road trip and adventure with their family and friends to share content about how booking cars through Turo enhances summer travel experience.

Compensation: Your Quote

Niche Fit: Lifestyle, Travel, Adventure, Family

Brand: Scentbird

Partnership: Looking for creators to promote products! Scentbird is a fragrance subscription service with a mission to empower each and every person to express themselves through scent. We're a vibrant community of fragrance aficionados & beginners, storied fragrance houses, and up-and-coming perfumers-all brought together by our belief in the power of scent.

Scentbird is your fragrance destination-a single place to discover, explore, learn about, and experience scents just for you. Scentbird is a fragrance subscription that lets you choose a new designer fragrance to try every month, for just $17.

Every month you get to pick what you want to receive so there are no surprises.

We have over 600 perfumes and colognes and a lot of unisex options. Scentbird carry such brands as Gucci, Prada, and Versace!

With each fragrance, you'll get a 30-day supply so you can try out fragrances before committing to a full-size bottle (that can cost over $150 and some are even $300-$500!


Compensation: Your Quote + Free Product

Niche Fit: Fashion, Lifestyle, Luxury, Beauty

Brand: Mood

Partnership: Free Gummies from Mood! Mood is a legal cannabis company that ships high quality legal THC products through the mail to anyone in the USA - no medical card needed.

We're the best online dispensary for Delta-8 and Delta-9 flower, pre-rolls, concentrates, edibles and vapes. It’s 100% legal thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill and delivered right to your doorstep.

Our Delta 8 and Delta 9 gummies help relieve stress, calm the mind & body, and are great for chilling with friends or unwinding from the day!

You'll choose two packs of our signature gummies.


Compensation: Free Product

Niche Fit: Cannabis, Lifestyle, Health, Wellness

Brand: Design Public

Partnership: We are looking for partners who are either revamping a current space or starting a new home styling project from scratch, who can speak to the advantages of having authentic, quality designs vs. the knock-offs. If you are passionate about interior design, we would love for you to consider becoming a Design Public partner. You'll share your newly designed spaces across a variety of social media platforms to help inspire others to discover and create unexpectedly beautiful design.


Compensation: Your Quote + Free Products

What niche is this great for: Lifestyle, Home Decor

Brand: SHARK

Partnership: We have an exciting opportunity for a select number of partners to test out the newest Shark cleaning product. Though it won't be launched to the general public until later this year, we want to partner with you to be one of the very first to try it out! You’ll use the product, create social-style content for internal brand testing, and provide first-hand consumer feedback pre-launch.

Since this product has not yet been announced, you will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to proceed with the partnership. Until an NDA is signed, we are not able to reveal any information about the product but are confident you would be excited/passionate about the opportunity.

Deliverables:

- Two TikTok/IG Reel-Style Videos: Create (2) fun videos using the product as if you were sharing with your audience (NOT to be posted to social)

20-45 seconds in duration

Full creative brief to be provided prior to content creation

- Participate in a (1 hour) Feedback Session via Zoom: Share first-hand insight and feedback with the product development team stemming from your experience with this brand new product

- Survey: Complete a quick digital survey after completion of this activation

Timing:

Both videos to be delivered on June 6th (feedback session and survey to follow; timing TBD)

Compensation: Free Product

Niche Fit: Family, Home Decor, Lifestyle

Be on the lookout for more partnerships this week! There are some good ones you don’t want to miss!!

✅ PITCHING TIPS

Aim to pitch packages that include high-priced items like videos (Reels, TikTok, and stories). Never just pitch a single feed post.

When pitching, go HARD on the specific value you will add to the brand with your content, engagement rate, experience, and community. Not necessarily your follower count.

Always try to stay in line with your niche, and when in doubt, ask your audience in your stories! "Hey guys, would you be interested in brand x? "Do you like brand x?"

Do a poll and let the numbers speak for themselves! That would be great data to share with the brand you pitch as well—a screenshot of the poll results in their favor.

Check out this article here for some general information on how to create a media kit if you don’t know how and you definitely want to continue reading my emails. We’re going to break down how to create a media kit that actually attracts brands real soon!

As a baseline, the industry standard is $100 per 10,000 followers. This basic formula does not take into account video content, your engagement rate, niche worth, usage rights, expertise, or the time it costs you to put the deliverables together, all of which should be factored into your pricing.

Be prepared to negotiate, and always push for a little more than you think you can get.

Most 4-figure plus deals are landed on calls with a brand, not back and forth via email or DM, so always offer and encourage a meeting with the brand to discuss their campaign vision and current marketing goals.

Let your personality, readiness, creativity, and professionalism shine through.

You will get the best offer that is reflective of your current content quality, engagement rate, AND the strength of your pitch.

Don’t let this newsletter be your only source of opportunity. You should be actively looking for brands relevant to your niche and consistently pitching yourself every 4–8 weeks to these brands.

And remember if a brand says no, it's not a forever no, it's just no right now :)

I cannot tell you how many clients over the course of my career told me no/not interested during my first pitch.

I also cannot tell you how many creators I know who have landed pitches that the brand originally said no to.

The power is always in a well-executed follow-up and being able to prove your worth.

Don't wait for money to come to you, go to money.

Have an amazing day!

Ash