If you are a blogger who has decided that you want to start
reviewing products on your blog, you are probably wondering how to reach out to
companies so you can review products that you are actually interested in. As
many of you know, I review a decent amount of products here on my blog.
Therefore, today I will be discussing
how to pitch brands to review their
products.
Step 1 – Create a
Media Kit
Before you even think about reaching out to brands, it is
important that you have a
media kit available.
Your media kit should include the following:
-
A brief description of your website
-
The types of opportunities you have available
for brands
-
Your social media profiles/stats
-
Your accomplishments/brands you have worked with
There are other things that could be included, such as rates
and your review policy, yet the above are the main things that brands are going
to want to know.
Step 2 – Create a
Pitch Letter
The next step is to create a
pitch letter. This letter
should be a template that can easily be customized to target each particular
brand. You should begin the letter by addressing the PR rep by their name and
continue to tell them a little bit about your blog. Include why you think they
would be a great fit for your readers, tell them a little bit about your
readership base and include a link to your media kit. It is suggested that your
pitch letter is short and to the point as PR reps have many messages that they
have to read each day.
Step 3 – Make a List
of Prospects
Make a reasonable list of prospects that you want to reach
out to about advertising on your blog. When making your list keep in mind that
you want to reach out to brands that have worked with bloggers in the past or
are ideal for your readership range. If you are a new blogger and do not
receive a lot of traffic or have many social media followers, it is ideal to go
for brands who other bloggers have worked with in the past. A large brand is
not going to want to do business with you because your audience is just not
large enough to be able to provide the results they desire. As your blog grows,
update your list of prospects appropriately.
Step 4 – Send out the
Letters
When you made the list of prospects, you should have already
seen how to contact the companies. Now, it is time to customize your pitch
letter template and send out your letters to the desired companies. Keep in
mind some companies will say yes, others will say no, and some will not respond
back at all. Regardless of the response, keep a spreadsheet of the letter sent,
the date sent, and the response so you can monitor which companies you have
contacted and which ones you will need to contact in the future.
Are you a blogger? How do you pitch to brands?
Thanks for this Louida! Fantastic advice :)
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips! Pitching brands has been in the back of my mind, but I just realized from this post I should make a media kit before I do anything! Thanks for the advice!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gina! I use to pitch without one and I didn't get as many reply backs as I would liked. Once I have created my media kit I noticed a lot of brands taking me seriously and wanting to work with me.
DeleteGreat advice Louida! BTW...Your media kit is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Ashley. The one on my blog is a bit different than the one I send out. The one I send out to brands has more information on it.
DeleteThank you so much for the advice. This is something I need to work on!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Paris! Yes, work on a media kit and you'll see a difference with your blog and start getting into more campaigns with brands.
DeleteVery good tips!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks girl!
DeleteExcellent advice as usual!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much sis!
DeleteThanks for these good tips. Pinning to my Blogging Board. I need to act on some of these.
ReplyDeleteThank you for pinning Shirley!
DeleteThis is next on my list of To-Dos to grow my blog. I'm pinning this to remember. Great tips!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rebecca for pinning. If you have questions just let me know.
DeleteThese are very informative tips! As a blogger who is working to increase my traffic, the tip about making a list of prospects that other bloggers have used is helpful! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMaking a list of prospects really does help. I check out who sponsors conferences, meet ups, blogs, etc, and contact the ones I would like to make a connection with.
DeleteCreating a Pitch Letter was the best thing I did! I have received more review oportunities through that than I can count. Great post and great tips!
ReplyDeleteNow that is really awesome MrsTee!
DeleteThanks so much for this article-- I've done a couple of sponsored posts, but I really want to pitch those products I love that I know my readers will love too-- I've looked all over for help/tips and couldn't find it, so THANK YOU!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Mitzi! Doing product reviews with products that you know you'll love and your readers would love really helps writing up a product review. I only do product reviews that fits my lifestyle, it makes it easier for me to write about it.
DeleteThis was so helpful! I needed this ! Thanks for the inspiration !
ReplyDeletewww.theprettybrownbride.com
You're welcome Marquita!
DeleteGreat tips!!! I have to pin this. I have never tried to pitch a company, but I will use these tips when I do.
ReplyDeleteStart pitching companies Sonya, especially since you talk about different brands on your blog anyway. You'll be amaze how your blog will start growing.
DeleteHi dear...i'm julia from Malaysia, really glad to read all about your tips, thanks god!...follow u dear...hope we can keep in touch always. See ya!
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia and thanks for following me!
DeleteTruly fabulous, & helpful tips!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanae!
DeleteI'm new to blogging, so I greatly appreciate this. I'm saving for reference once my blog is ready for this stage :). Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Jinny!
DeleteThank you for this wonderful advice/ tutorial. I have pitched very few brands and have just been "winging it" since my blog is not a review site. I'm pinning this to refer back to and I'm going to get started on making my list of potential brands to work with!
ReplyDeleteThese tips Jen can be used for more than just trying to get products to review. Thanks for pinning my post and letting me know it was useful for you!
DeleteThank you so much for sharing this. I've been looking for tips like this.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Katherine!
DeleteThanks for the tips! I've recently started my own review blog and this is very helpful!
ReplyDeleteI have dibbled and dabbled in Product Reviews and most have been products that I had around the house or purchased myself. In 2018, I plan to go full on with my product reviews. Thanks for the info. I'll let you know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
ReplyDeleteHey as I'm a new beauty blogger do I have to take permission from the brands before reviewing their products?
ReplyDeleteNo you don't need permission if you purchased the products yourself. That's how I started as a review blogger, by reviewing products that I bought. Just make sure you take your own pictures.
Delete