Friday, 11 October 2013

How to build relationships with brands

As your blog gains momentum it’s only natural to become keen to work with brands.  Whether they're new brands you're just discovering, or big brands you've loved and admired.

I've been thinking about writing this post for a while but I've been a bit hesitant because I don't want it to be perceived as a way to get free stuff, because that’s not what it is, it’s a guide on how to build genuine relationships with brands that will hopefully stretch for the life of your blog.

Social media
Start interacting with the brands on social media (Twitter/Facebook/Google+), make sure you follow them on all those platforms too.  If you see tweets you like, favourite them or even RT them if you want to make sure your followers see it too.  Add them to your circles on Google+ and +1 their posts, even comment on them :)

Reviews
Write honest reviews on the products of theirs you love, don’t be afraid to put negative comments in about a product too, every brand will expect a balanced point of view picking out both positives and negatives and positioning it on how it’s worked for you, and your skin type.

Email
Drop them an email to say Hi – Don't email them saying ‘Hi I'm a blogger and I want free stuff’ as that'll get you nowhere other than the Deleted Items folder.  But don't be scared to email them to introduce yourself and your blog, and ask to be added to their mailing list ready for when they send out PR’s for new products.  On the back of that, when they do send out a press release to you for a new product, consider publishing one of them on your blog from time to time to help create awareness – just make sure it’s something that genuinely interests you.  Don’t feel you'd have to copy & paste it either, perhaps take points from it, dates, times, product details and write your own post about it.

In the email you send to them, make sure you are yourself, and keep in touch with them regularly. Over the last 1-2 years I've built up some great relationships with brands just by being my normal chatty self with them on email (like Ginvera – that’s an easy one though, Jan is so lovely!).

Keep in touch
At the time, the relationship may just be you saying 'Hi' every now and then, and them sending you a press release on a new product that’s coming out, but somewhere down the line you never know what opportunities that could bring.  So always be yourself, be nice and always polite.

This isn't about getting free stuff, that should never be the goal. It’s about networking and building up genuine relationships with PRs and brands.  If you have a strong enough rapport with the person on the other end of the email, they may even contact you when the move on to new brands and roles, and in some cases, you might make a friend out of it too :)

So don't be afraid to be the one to contact them, they're people just like you and me, and some are even bloggers, just don't go asking for things.  If they think you're a good fit for their brand, they'll approach you when the time is right :)


This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jess from Coffee Cosmetics

 
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19 comments

  1. That's a great and helpful post :) Thanks for sharing!

    Laura
    http://pinkfrenzymissl.blogspot.be/

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  2. Great post Georgina! I've never thought to actually email a company and just talk to them, in fact.. I've never emailed a company at all! After reading this though, I'll definitely be giving it a shot. Thanks for the tips!

    - Leanne x

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  3. Aww... Thanks for writing this post!

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  4. Fab post! Very helpful :)

    Laura x
    www.laurasallmadeup.com

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  5. This is really useful, thanks for doing this post :)

    Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

    xx

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  6. Fab post thank you. Always helpful to read how other bloggers go about interacting with brands xo

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  7. Great advice! This really helps me understand the PR world! xx Rena Kiss and Make Up

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  8. Great post! Definitely agree with the fact that PRs can be like friends, which was something I didn't expect! xx

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  9. Thanks for the tips! I also feel that just saying Merry Christmas or something similar goes a long way. It takes only a few minutes but the impact sure is great. =)

    International giveaway here: http://eljovenlector.blogspot.com/2013/10/raisie-speaks-october-giveaway.html

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  10. Great ideas... I do some of these but not all. I will def try being more proactive. xxx

    MISSY IN THE MIRROR

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  11. What a great & helpful post :) I've never thought about getting in touch with brands like emailing them, I've only done it by twitter but if i were to send them an email, this has given me a helping hand :)
    thanks for posting this :)
    xxx

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  12. This is a really helpful post. Thank you for your tips! I would love to turn my blog into something more than a hobby one day. I'm working on building my blog into something that I feel comfortable with at the moment though. Thank you!

    Yazzy
    www.yazzyscorner.blogspot.co.uk

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  13. I think this is really good advice, even simply emailing a company/attending some sort of event to ask questions about product is an awesome idea to educate yourself. I once went to a group interview for The Body Shop & while I didn't get the job, I did find out HEAPS about their awesome products. Things I didn't know, like their fair trade schemes, & organically sourced ingredients. It's so worth making enquiries into companies :)

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  14. This is something that I have started to think about recently.

    As a fairly new blogger, (my first post was back in July), when would you think that I should start approaching Brands, is it better to have been blogging for say a year/18 months before sending emails?

    Many thanks for your help :)

    Paula at Beauty Lover

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    Replies
    1. Hi Paula, that's really up to you. I think I started when I had around 350 followers, when I felt like I was starting to build an audience that I could share press releases and information with :) I think at that point, I'd been blogging for about 8 months or so :) Hope that helps!

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    2. Thank you Georgina, that makes sense, and yes that helps :)

      Happy new year!

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  15. I know this is an old post, so sorry to bother you, but do you have any tips on how to word an email to a brand to start a relationship and get added to press release lists? I've never done anything like it and I'd hate to come across as rude or pushy, especially as I'm not a confident or chatty person in real life.

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