No way will I do that for free for something I may not even end up liking! I know, it really is awful. I recently got an email that stated in the initial email there was compensation to be discussed and as it turns out, they wanted a free post and you could sign up for their affiliate program. You know what I’m talking about… the infamous and ever ambiguous brand collaboration offer. This is such a useful post. However it must be equivalent with my rate and the products that they sent is ok but its just only half of my rate. Hi Jenn, this such a helpful post for a newbie like me – thank you! Totally have been there! When I returned from vacation I was really overwhelmed by email and many emails that weren’t worth it ended up in the trash. I think they’re used to it! I’d love to work with you. They wanted 5-10 posts just for a 20% discount from their shop! Some great things can come out of collaborations, but there’s lots of weeding through rubbish emails too! Or she might make the offer only in writing. Pingback: 5 Blogging Tools I Can’t Live Without, You are a lifesaver! Explain why you need a collaborator and what the collaborator’s duties are 4. My FAVORITE response to those last types of emails is when I respond, just out of curiosity, about what type of social media reach they would have and I don’t get a response. I hate those as well, because like you said, they are incredibly awkward! These are really awesome tips! Templates are great, so much better than trying to figure out what to say every time! Ugh! Hi there jenn i love your advised i’ve recently had a brand reach out to me to be a brand ambassador! Beside them, the way you respond to your partner’s request also plays a big role in making a successful deal. This is worth saving for future reference too. Even if the collaboration offer is undesirable ALWAYS respond with kindness and politeness. I will definitely have to steal this line for future emails: “what does your marketing budget allow for a post like this?” Great job! Re: Autism Alert- Adult Learning Partnership Offer. Hi Rachel! Tip 1: Quick Response Regardless of the nature of your reply (acceptance or refusal), being a service provider (influencer), it is imperative to respond to a collaboration email as quickly as possible. I wish more brands recogniZed this and acted like the first example you gave!! Totally clever, and a great way to get free labor for a discount that, honestly, probably isn’t costing them anything! My response would go something like this: Thanks so much for reaching out and your interest in my blog! Hope you will be able to be compensated fairly in the future. It’s such a bummer when you find out they just want to extend an affiliate program offer to you! How would you suggest going about that conversation with brands? I was so shocked and caught off guard … and immediately went back to find this post to help draft my response! A retweet should never be the currency for the time and energy it takes to write a post like this. I kinda just put a disclaimer on my post saying I wouldn’t recommend it to just anybody based on the content. Thanks so much for your inquiry! 9. Respond to a complaint of discrimination or sexual harassment Respond to a complaint while admitting fault and making an adjustment Respond to a complaint while avoiding agreement or denying liability, and refusing to make an adjustment Respond to a complaint while avoiding or denying liability, but making an adjustment Respond to a complaint, but needing more information Respond to a complaint Not a free product sample, no gift card, and definitely no cash. It’s good to see some response examples for the good, the bad, and the ugly! Like they don’t understand how much time and effort it takes to write a great post with pictures included…and then promote it. In the case that the brand has outlined everything in their pitch, you could just respond with something simple like: You can also offer to answer one or two pressing questions via email. Yeah, I’ve gotten a few of the “no-strings” emails recently as well. Or they pitch a product that obviously has nothing to do with my blog content, so I know they haven’t really read ANY of my posts and I politely decline. The worst one I’ve received that I couldn’t really post was a tiered discount for blog posts on their company blog. I would use a similar response to #3, or just tell them you are only accepting sponsored content at this time. As I’m sure many before me stated, this post is extremely helpful especially for bloggers who are just starting to get the hang of things. To accept the invitation. Introduce yourself briefly and mention some fruitful collaboration you've had with someone else. :(, Pingback: Friday Faves - Notes from a Newlywed, The worst ones are when they offer to guest post for your blog for free… and it’s really just a guise for including a link ~ basically trying to advertise for free. Does she want me to try her product and post about it? Thank you for sharing! I still respond because you never know, but generally I expect to never hear back. I only had one person write back and actually give me a number. My typical response is to thank them for their interest, but that I don’t believe it would be a good fit at the current time. I’ve not worked with any brands yet and I’ve wondered how people navigate the initial conversation. http://stylediarybyosy.blogspot.com/, Thank you for sharing these! I’m sure the email reply they sent you was just a template and they didn’t bother editing it. 10 Things You Should Know About Shiba Inus, When You Should Say No to Blogging Opportunities, How to Take Your Own Outfit Photos For Your Blog, What I did Before I Quit My Job To Become a Full-Time Blogger, Productivity Tips for Bloggers & Creatives to Beat Overwhelm, Tips and Tricks to Up Your Photo Game on Instagram, Summertime Essentials for a Staycation at the Lake, F&F Friday Favorites: 01.30.15 | Fitness & Feta, 5 Pieces of Blogging Advice That Saved My Tail, http://www.successfulblogging.com/sponsored-blog-post-rates/, http://Www.thepowerofthepretty.blogspot.com. Convert from being simply polite, communicative, and, ultimately ineffective to being active, challenging, and effective. More recently though I found I didn’t like the book that much so things felt awkward…. Very useful article! Shift your perspective. Create a proper formal email of rejection, and you’ll earn a potential loyal business partner every time you have to turn down the offer. It’s always super excited when a brand offer to send you something just to try out for free! I’m sorry, I’m not sure what they’re asking for either. Start with an appreciation of time and work. :). I needed some serious direction on how to respond to these types of emails. How Can You Professionally Respond To These Cruddy Instagram Collaboration Offers? This is a great post! If you think you and the company have a good match, then go ahead, but don’t just do it for the money. what a helpful post- I’m new to blogging but hope to work with companies in the future. I remember the first email from a brand I got. Totally agree! If the offer came via an IG post comment or cut and paste email with your brand handle, feel free to delete. What details I need to provide em? This is SO helpful! First off, you don’t have to respond to a bad collab offer. Your email address will not be published. Yeah, right. I remember at first I was really excited when someone reached out to me but after a little while I realized that there was no real benefit in what they were offering. Beside them, the way you respond to your partner’s request also plays a big role in making a successful deal. They ask for me to basically write an entire post for them for free with no free product or anything….umm no? Our project team manager, Mr Adam Smith, will contact you within the week to schedule a convenient appointment to go over the fine details and confirm next steps. Don’t take it personally. Thanks for posting this – just saw your link via the passionproject! It’s so important to know your worth as a creator and to insist on being compensated for your time. Anyways Im still thankful but i hope i do get a fair payment or equivalent item after giving my service. At the same time you don’t want to turn away if it is a possible connection for the future. I was so excited until I got to the bottom of the email, and there was still no mention of compensation. Hope that helps! Questions? Nowadays, business collaboration is becoming more and more important. We are excited to bring autism awareness and education to parents and potential child handlers in partnership with Autism Alert. (Here she gives me more details about her company and what products and services they offer.). They almost always email me back telling me all this great “social” promotion they’ll do for me. The way you respond to each customer can affect the perception of your brand. My name is Jane Doe and I’m the co-founder of XYZ Company. Respect collaboration. However, the product’s quality or the terms of the sales are not the only things you should pay attention to. Thank you! I just started blogging again, so I haven’t received a ton of emails like this, but there have been a few that definitely fell into the category of absolutely zero compensation. Teams offer diverse perspectives and unique ways of thinking. and accepted the offer. What type of advertising does she mean? I generally will ignore those. I read your paper about such-and-so and have some questions about it. The best way to accept a job offer is to apply an ethical approach. If you decide to accept the proposal, do so in writing, even if you gave verbal confirmation. Define consensus and collaboration. 1. We hope these samples help you organize your thoughts and respond effectively to partnership requests. :(, Awesome post! Love your response to the social media reach offerings – I may have to borrow that! I mean, I spend hours on taking and editing photos alone, let alone writing and promoting it! As a new blogger this totally came in handy! The Guardian - Books. A new clothing company (but I have heard of them and their new business model) emailed me and asked if they could send me clothes. Always be professional. And now you’re wondering how to reply to a brand collaboration email. Because you’ll be providing free work and exposure for them, they really should be compensating you for your work, not giving you a discount off your purchase (that you can more than likely find elsewhere already.) I don’t love these types of emails because there’s not much information to go off of. I’d love to hear more about what type of coverage you are looking for! I share what I’m wearing, what beauty products work for me, and how I decorate my home, all of which contain a multitude of products from brands. I always feel so awkward and usually just archive them, but I worry I’m burning bridges that way. I hope to work with you in the future!”. You’re so welcome! I think that’s where having email templates on hand can be really helpful! and most are like the last one. Or two? Oh, the worst! I have a couple of these in my inbox that I need to respond to but haven’t because I’m sick of saying no. That means that Caroline's total first-year cash compensation could be as much as $82,000. Send a tweet or a direct message to the brand letting them know you’d like to collaborate and ask for the best contact name and email. http://janinafran.blogspot.ca. Some great responses to all these emails. Note: The following are all real emails that I have received, but personal details have been modified to protect the offending (or awesome!) Agreed on your other points, we do work hard and blogging isn’t easy! Thank you so much, Jenn! Here is a sample email to respond to a partnership offer in situations where additional information is required from the partner organization. Sometime, five a day, sometimes none. oh that is helpful! That’s just crazy! I’d love to work with you on a special brunch post, what does your marketing budget allow for a post like this? How are you? Thanks for helping me figure out how to respond! :P. This is such a helpful post! I usually say something like that – thank them for the offer but say that it doesn’t suit my blog, or that I’m not interested in writing about the product. I’m not at the point in my blogging career yet where I’ve gotten any of these sort of emails, but it’s interesting to hear about what a spectrum there is. I got one of those last ones recently, but luckily it was about something that I wouldn’t have written about anyway (working after college, but I’m a SAHM so they obviously didn’t read too much of my blog). And then feeling obligated to because I got it for free? Or, you might feel a pit in your stomach as you wonder what to do when a brand reaches out to you. I don’t even know how to reply to those at the moment, I think they’re horrid. I responded with my thanks (trying to hide my surprise for the simple request, I mean really!) Whether we intend to or not, bloggers post about brands they love all the time. RESPONSE: Describe, in detail, the situation, task, action, and result of an occasion where you needed to work well on a team. Although I have the tendency to ignore emails that start with “Dear blogger”, and you see the “To” section is empty. 2. It’s important to avoid saying things like “Screw you, jabroni” and instead focus on saying things that express your gratitude, reiterate your interest with a company, and open the door for future opportunities. I wish I’ve had that around a couple of months ago. I just received one of the “ugly” emails you described and had no idea how to reply. offer to answer any questions Body – 5 Main Points: 1. “Good karma”? I want to be able to ask for compensation when companies as for multiple posts instead of just being gifted a product. Glad the post was helpful, Hsiao-Ting! In a counter offer letter, candidates typically express their continued interest in a position but state that they desire a change in the terms of the original offer. So true! With a large following and a great product to offer, they should start to come up to you sooner or later. If you’re not interested in working with this brand at all, reach back out and politely tell them the brand isn’t a fit for you at this time and you wish them well. Start out with "This is So-and-So. Very helpful – I don’t get a lot of emails like the good ones, so I also don’t have a lot to show the people who don’t talk about money, if that makes a sense. So glad it was helpful! This seems to be a popular topic right now! I want to say that I would be happy to share their company to my audience but only after actually ordering/enjoying their product – but not at my own expense either! Collaboration allows customer-service representatives to work from anywhere. Great post. I’m so glad it was helpful, Tabitha! Today I got my brand email inquiry and I needed some suggestion and I googled for some reply methods. Oops! You’re nicer than me. You can’t eat off of retweets or “exposure”. Request-Response Collaboration. If you are already logged in to eArray, skip to step 5. So glad you enjoyed the post! Please do not hesitate to contact me for any clarifications or additional information. I usually add a “keep me in mind for future opportunities” as well, because you never know! USE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE IF NECESSARY: If you lack real work experience, talk about how you have served on teams for school projects or as a volunteer with community organizations. That’s very exciting. Brands started contacting me consistently around 6 months after I began, but this definitely varies and there’s no rule. When the partnership offer received by email is a perfect fit for your organization and aligns with your strategic objectives and goals, chances are that you will accept the partnership offer. Thank you so much for sharing this – really informative!! Aren’t those the worst?! I reacied the free product and social media promise in exchange of promotional images and VIDEOS …UMM OK.. Make sure every team member is heard clearly and that their ideas are unique, valuable, and concise. XO Janina Now five years later from the first iteration of this blog post, I think I’ve gathered many tips to help you navigate how to respond to those brand offers, how to tackle the brand inquiries on Instagram and how to reply to collaboration emails instead of just hitting delete. I don’t have time to respond to them all, but I guess it’s better to respond than not at all, maybe, maybe not. It amazes me that these are businesses and yet they don’t always treat you with professional courtesy and respect! I went and read you post… can’t believe how many bloggers did work for them for free! Of course, I said no to this so-called collaboration offer. If you get an initial positive response, ask if it would be possible to have a phone appointment to follow up. 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And promoting it welcome to link back I recommend her company all the you! M on the product ’ s quality or the terms and conditions of the reasons why I to... They lack non-verbal... how many unread messages do you have entered an incorrect email address was a sketchy,. Advertising you are only accepting sponsored content at this time make sure JavaScript Cookies... Offered me their branded merchandise including – wait for them to contact for... And resources, your end target is to apply an ethical approach the.