How Do I Talk to Brands?

As an affiliate marketer, you will need to engage and communicate with the brands you want to work with, but how exactly do you do it? How do you talk to brands? Maybe you are struggling with this or looking for the right thing to say in certain situations or don’t know what questions to ask or don’t even know where to begin.

It’s become second nature for you to create content that your followers enjoy and by now you’ve figured out how to use comments and other methods to interact with your audience and establish a dialog that ultimately leads to posts with stronger engagement.  You need to apply these same strategies when you talk to brands.

Your success as a social media Creator didn’t happen overnight. There was a period of trial and error and maybe even some growing pains along the way before you felt in tune with your followers. It was hard work but the end result was worth it. Creating successful outcomes with brands also requires hard work, but read on, we have a few ideas that might help.

Be curious about brand’s background and products

Brands might reach out to you first. Before you respond and blindly say “yes!”, do some research on the brand and their products. Check out any posts from other Creators that have worked with the brand in the past.  Knowing what a brand wants from you as a Creator will help inform your response. If you have a question about why they approached you, don’t hesitate to ask this in a response email. Having a question is also a good reason to approach a brand first. A good brand manager knows their product inside and out and should answer almost any question you have.

Be professional as a Creator

Emails and messages with brands should be considered business correspondence and your format, wording, and style should reflect that. This includes instances of you reaching out first or responding to a brand’s initial query. Make sure your text is free of typos. Keep the emojis to a minimum. Be short and sweet in your asks or responses. A yes or no answer or asking for next steps will suffice in most cases. Try to send or respond to emails or messages during normal business hours. Your followers may know you as a “night-person” but brand managers will appreciate contact at times when they are in work mode.

Be clear in your pitch

If you are reaching out to a brand for the first time, you should have a clear and concise pitch. You’ll want to include your vitals/metrics that give the a sense of who you are in the social media world. This includes age, gender identity, platforms you are on, follower numbers, topics you are interested in, and so on. Your pitch should also include specific products you are interested in and a brief plan on how you will incorporate them into your posts.

It’s also advisable to attach a media kit that provides more detailed metrics. A Google search can help you find some examples of different styles of media kits. Don’t be discouraged if you get a lot of “no’s” at first — just use the rejections to adapt your pitch emails/text. It can take time to find a pitch that works so stick with it.

Be consistent with correspondence

Reply to correspondence as quickly as possible. Even if you don’t have the answer to the question or you’re late with a post, reaching out will let them know you care about the issue. When you talk to brands, you show them they are important to you. Consistent communication is a great way to earn trust.

Be honest with brands

Don’t over-promise on things you can’t deliver on. Also, be upfront if there is a request you have a question about or makes you feel uncomfortable. Open and honest communication will lead to better outcomes over time. Brands want to work with Creators who help them sell products but they also want to work with people who are reliable.

As you become more successful with your affiliate marketing efforts, you may turn the job of correspondence over to a talent manager. When this happens, be very clear about how you want to be represented in all correspondence because it still reflects on you and your personal brand. 

Through Captiv8’s dashboard, your ability to talk to brands is a streamlined process. You can reach out to brands and brands will also be able to contact you directly.

About Captiv8

Captiv8 is the premier creator marketing platform that harnesses the power of AI. Captiv8 connects creators to their favorite brands and allows you to take ownership of your career. With a diverse suite of tools on the creator dashboard, you can construct a unique profile and get discovered. Using the creator dashboard’s intuitive workflow, you can join campaigns, manage offers and deadlines, track payments, and streamline the brand approval process. Through the dashboard’s audience insights, you get all the metrics and data necessary to elevate your personal brand and maximize your earning potential.