Starting to monetize your platform as a small content creator is definitely the goal and, in that scenario, a Brand Deal is the ultimate Holy Grail. We’ve talked to Madison Prettyman to find out how you can get your own brand collaboration in 4 simple steps.
Madison Prettyman is a content creator and social media strategist that focuses on helping small creators monetize their platforms. We had a casual conversation where she shared her best tips on how to score a Brand Deal.
Watch it to find how you can get your own brand deal in just 4 simple steps: Research, Positioning, Media Kit and The Pitch.
Click here to get Madison’s Media Kit Template. Get her special Pitch E-mail here.
Interview Transcription
Inês (00:00)
Hi, my name is Inês and I'm the Community Manager at Fashion Potluck, a platform that focuses on creating a safe and empowering environment for women to share content, ideas and knowledge. Today we are talking about how you can score a Brand Deal as a small content creator. To help with that, we have with us Madison Prettyman, a content creator and social media strategist that helps micro-influencers monetize their platforms.
Research | Part I
Madison (00:36)
When it comes to getting brand deals, research really is important because you really want to know what brand you are working with or what brand you want to work with. And doing research beforehand will just allow you to learn what type of content they want to see, what type of content they are working with when it comes to other user-generated content and it just allows you to become a better content creator when you kind of understand the brands that you love the most.
Positioning | Part II
Madison (01:13)
Often a way that gets you noticed by brands and that allows brands to see your content and decide whether or not it is something that they're interested in reaching out to you for or maybe even paying you for it, which is the best-case scenario. I always say to talk about all of your favorite brands all the time, for free. It's really important to be open to just creating content for your own channel, whether you're getting paid or free product or not.
Make a list of your favorite brands that align with your brand, that you feel you use every day, that you are passionate about. I like to make a list, then go through each one, and try to see which brands are using user-generated content. So are they reposting content from other creators? Are they working with creators? You can look at their tagged photos, you can look at the hashtags and see if they're working with creators. If they are, great. Circle them and put them on your radar. Buy their products, buy their services, start talking about them organically. So then when they do reach out, which a lot of times they will, you not only will be able to perfectly fit and add them into your feed because you've already talked about them organically, but it will just be an all-around good relationship you're building with the brand.
Media Kit | Part III
Madison (02:48)
When it comes to Media Kits, you really want to make sure that you are selling yourself. You want to be able to set yourself up in the best way possible. You're going to be taking all of your favorite stats about your page. So if follow account isn't where you thrive, that's fine. Follow account isn't always the most important thing, anymore. Maybe it's your growth in the last month. If you're seeing green plus signs all over your analytics, take a screenshot, put that in your media kit and that's just a really great way to pitch yourself to brands and show them that: hey, I am worth something.
Media kits are incredible for just having on hand. A lot of times brands will ask for that. I have a Media Kit template that I'm going to be sharing with all of you and it is an easy way to take your best stats, drop it in, maybe put a few sentences about how you work with brands, some examples about past videos that you feel aligned with, how you want to show up online. It’s just an easier way for brands to decide whether or not they should move forward with you.
The Pitch | Part IV
Madison (04:06)
If you are at the point where you want to start pitching yourself, it is definitely possible. I do think that you should try to set yourself up organically first. If you can talk about brands over and over again and they still haven't reached out, but you know that they're using user-generated content, you know that there are possibilities there, then it's time to send an email. And I also have a brand pitch email template that I'm going to share with you guys as well.
But, you want to start off by saying, these are all the times that I've mentioned you guys. I love you guys. I'm passionate about your product or service and this is my audience, they consist of this demographic, and this is why I think that it would make sense for you to work with me. And then, you add your media kit at the end. If they get through the email and then they see that there's a media kit, you're heightening your chances of them deciding whether or not they should move forward with you.
Last Minute Tip
Madison (05:09)
Just the last-minute tip for you guys is to not be afraid to be a consumer. I think that is the best tip I can give because, at the end of the day, you're a content creator. You're an influencer or micro-influencer. You need to provide value to people, and your job at the end of the day is not working with brands, it is to provide value to an audience. So that means being an organic consumer, buying things, giving your honest opinion, sharing anything you possibly can first. Then, down the road, hopefully, those brands notice the good reviews and they reach out to you and it becomes a perfect relationship because it happened organically. It will feel authentic on your page and you'll get a lot more respect from both the brand and your audience that way.
Inês (06:01)
Don't forget to check out Madison’s content at @chooseyoursocial, follow us on Instagram, and sign up at fashionpotluck.com for more amazing content like this!
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