How brands can collaborate effectively with bloggers. **AD**

Hey readers,

I think as a brand it is really important to think about the way you work with other bloggers to promote your brand.

 Below I have some tips for brands on how to work with bloggers sucessfully.

Top tips on how brands can work with design bloggers and get the best out of the work arrangement. 

1. Selection process.

It is important to think about what your brand represents, you don't want to choose any blogger if they don't fit the brand or niche that they aim for.

The key is to take time your time in the selection process and consider bloggers that are appropriately matched to your brand.

 For example, there is no point in choosing a blogger who blogs about beauty to get to do a review of your restaurant. 

Another research method is to look for bloggers on Instagram. For example, an influencer who is already talking about your product or something similar that they tag in their pictures using.

 This indicates that the blogger is already got an interest in the product so comes across as more sincere than just choosing a blogger with no in the product beforehand. 

Look at the influencers past work and how they write, is it appealing to your brand. How is interacting with the blogger and their audience? These other elements consider when choosing the right candidate for your brand. 

2. Website.

Impressions count and making sure your website is optimised to the best of your ability is essential.

 Making sure that your website is clean and easy to navigate especially with quick load up is vital in getting visitors to your site. 

3.  Pitch perfect. 

Having a pitch ready before contacting a blogger is important. When you reach out to the blogger you want to be precise and clear about what you want.  

It is important, to be honest, as then that provides trust which is fundamental in making a good working relationship be successful. 

Layout what you want from the blogger and what you can offer the blogger in return. Be prepared in making a suitable pitch - be clear about what you want, set a budget and be honest. 

Remember though sometimes bloggers may want to negotiate if it doesn't feel right for them first off. Sometimes you have to work together to come to a suitable agreement so that everyone is happy with what they are doing. 

4. Goals.

Goals are something you should consider with where you want to improve with your brand. Things to consider are what you want to grow in terms of say growing your branded Instagram account, increasing sales of a product or bringing traffic to your website are just a few examples.

 

 There are many ways in which a blogger can offer service when collaborating with your brand. Below are some examples.

1. Guest blogging.

Guest posts are similar to sponsored posts however they are not paid. They normally are written for the blogger to published on their site. 

This is attractive for the blogger as it is high-quality content published. The appeal to the brand is that it gets their name out there and helps increase their SEO along with not having to spend a penny on the advertising of the brand. 

2. Sponsored posts.

A sponsored post is where the blogger writes a blog post all about the product. 

There will be a discussion with the brand to decide on how long the blog post is and what kind of thing they would like the blogger to discuss. 

After the published post and everything is finalised the blogger will get paid a sum for doing the published post about their brand. 

3. Shoutouts.

This tends to be more suited for social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook where the blogger takes a photo of the brand and mentioned them in the post. The incentive will be either the blogger getting a free brand product or get paid for it. 

4. Affiliate posts. 

This is where the blogger writes about the product, then leaves a unique code for that product. It means that if you click on and buy the product the blogger will get say 10% of commissions from the sales of the product if the visitor buys the product through the link.  

5. Interviews. 

This is a more personal type of collaboration as it is about either getting to know the blogger or brand and discussions motivations and the ideas behind the work that the brand/blogger does. 

There are however alternatives whereby you have someone in the middle to help brands connect with the right bloggers for projects in which you are looking for a suitable blogger. 

A brilliant site that is really beneficial for bloggers and brands is called Get Blogged Marketplace. 

I myself have used this platform for me to quickly get connected to brands and work with them. I find it easy to navigate and a great way to connect to brands without faffing with emails etc. 

Using the Get Blogged Marketplace is time-efficient for you the brand so quickly to get access to bloggers. 

The platform is ideal if you don't have a big budget but still want to get quality bloggers that provide good content. 

The good news is that you can get a variety of skills from different UK design bloggers. The fact that many design bloggers return frequently to the Get blogged marketplace site means have been their long term relationship which inturn shows trust and reliability. 

 Using the Get Blogged marketplace for your brand you can grow their backlink score and shareable content. 

Not to mention that using Get Blogged marketplace you grown your SEO meaning that your brand gets seen which is important in growing your business. 

The Get Blogged marketplace allows you to add a free listing to the marketplace with what you are looking for.  

As many design bloggers come to the blogger outreach services daily to check to see if they can apply for opportunities. This is beneficial because it potentially means sourcing a good blogger to help achieve your goal of getting a collaboration. 

Below are my top 5 design blogs that can give you a feel of what good quality bloggers can bring to the table to help enhance your brand promotion. 

1. I love Typothology.

This blog specialises in all things typology with detailed information about the history, to quizzes and new fonts that are on the block right now. 

2. Google Design.

This blog is from Google so there will be a lot of information about Google products and services. However, don't let that put you off as there is a wealth of articles on the world of design such as, 'Lessons From the Scariest Design Disaster in American History'. 

3. Wix Creative. 

Now Wix Creative in its own right is a blog platform but it also offers some really useful information on design. The type of content you will be able to get is inspiration, tips and general information such as how to create an online profile. 

4. It's Nice That. 

This blog hosts a variety of topics from art, illustration and graphic designs. It's Nice That is one of the best sites out there to keep up to date with design information. 

5. Creative Review.

This blog was established in 1980. It is a monthly magazine that covers art and design. You can expect high-quality journalism that offers reviews, news and features from the creative world. 

Hope this has been of help. 

Cheers for reading.

This is a collaboration post. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.