Q: I've worked with a few brands so far but I've only been able to receive gifted products or services. How do I transition to getting paid in cash?
A: First, it's great that you've already built up a little library of sample sponsored posts through these non-paid brand deals. But now, it’s time to start getting paid!
When you’re first starting out, one way to start getting paid brand deals is by applying for campaigns through influencer dashboards. These are companies that create and manage influencer marketing campaigns for brands, but rather than doing it in a more hands-on way, how full-service agencies would do it, influencer dashboards use a semi-automated process.
They have influencers apply to be part of their influencer database and then they post campaign opportunities to this database, giving influencers a chance to apply for them. In this way, creators don’t have to go searching for paid opportunities. They’re all in one place!
Let's be clear: You’re not going to get rich off this approach. These campaigns tend to have very low pay, but they are usually for big, reputable brands, so it’s a good way to get your foot in the door, get some practice, build your portfolio and start getting paid.
Just don’t stay in this world for too long. Use it as a jumping-off point to show brands what you're capable of.
I don’t really work with dashboards these days, so I’m not up-to-date on this side of the marketplace, but here are some of the companies I used to work with in my early days as a creator:
- Social Fabric
- Popular Pays
- Clever
- Sway
- IZEA
- Blog Meets Brand
- Muse Ahalogy
- Influence Central
- #paid
- Cirqle
- Activate
Once you’ve landed some paid campaigns through influencer dashboards, the next step is to reach out to brands directly and introduce yourself.
The goal is to get on their radar, not to pitch something specific. This is because brands usually already have specific campaigns they’re launching and they’re looking for creators to add onto those existing campaigns. It’s not the norm that they will randomly want to do your idea with just you, so the goal is for them to keep you in mind for their next campaign.
You’ll have to do some research to find out who the right contact is. Usually a good place to start is to Google the name of the brand and media contact. For example, you might search “Neutrogena media contact” or “Adidas media contact.” Since influencer marketing, even for paid projects, often falls under PR, you can also try to find press releases for that company because they will often list a media contact there. Trying to find the right contact person is often the hardest part. Just be persistent and expect that you won’t always get the right person right away.
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Take care,
Carmen Sognonvi
