BLOG TIPS: HOW TO START A COLLABORATION?

So how to start a collaboration? Should you approach the brand yourself or should you wait until they approach you? How to ask for a fee and what are the unwritten rules? I chose to write it down from my point of view…

Collaboration: YES or no?
Like I wrote in my previous blogpost one should always ask his or herself what the business proposal makes you feel like. Is it a clear “OMG, yes, I wanna do this!”-kinda feeling or rather a “Hmm… it could be ok…”? In the latter case, listen to your heart. I know this may sound tacky, but it’s important. If you are not sure about a collaboration it will show and that’s not a good thing for none of the parties involved. When it comes to this matter there are a few do’s and don’ts.
DO: try to find a balance between feelings about the collaboration and realistic considerations about how it will work out…
DON’T: work with brands that don’t match your style. Branding and identity are important keywords here. Working with just anyone doesn’t help.

To approach or to be approached?
One of the first questions that pops up in mind is whether or not to approach brands yourself. Ofcourse, there are a lot of bloggers who send out emails to all kinds of brands for collaborations, but personally, I prefer not to for several reasons. The first one is easy: I get a lot of business inquiries on a daily basis, which is why I simply don’t have to reach out for partnerships myself. If I would do that, I would be too busy. Another reason is business wise: If I reach out to work with a brand, it doesn’t feel right to then ask a fee for it. It would be like asking your friend: “Hey, do you want a cookie?” “Ahw, yes!” “That would be 5 euro.”
DO: make a list of brands you’d like to work with if you are a beginner. If there are brands you already wear a lot (still buying it yourself) it’s always good to let brands know that you are interested and at the beginning it could actually work to approach a few brands, for other brands to see that you are becoming a well known partner in the field.
DO: think of creative ways to work with brands. Not approaching brands, doesn’t mean that they have to come up with the complete idea. Instead, it makes a great impression if you have new ideas.
DON’T: throw around prices like you are on a market. Business should be fun and decent.

Fee or freebie?
Hmm… You’ve been blogging for a while and collaborations seem to come more and more. When should you start asking for a fee and what amount of fee could you ask? Well, most bloggers I know aren’t very keen on telling everyone what their usual fee is and I think that’s ok, because in the end it doesn’t matter what one is asking. Every blog is unique and so are the amount of followers and thus the fee. Like I wrote in my previous post, it’s important to think of your value and then, just go ahead and try.
DO: always ask for some sort of reward, whether it’s a free item or a fee. Unless it’s a friend of yours of course, working together means working together, not one for another.
DON’T: be afraid to start asking a fee. Blogging is fun and please don’t forget why you started, but you are in fact providing a service, the service of publication. Doing people favors by shouting out every here and there is cute, but shouldn’t necessarily be done for free.
DO: try out different amounts of compensation when you are just starting, to find out the value of your blog and get to know the market. Ofcourse it also depends on the brands and their budget, but in the end it’s really up to your blog what brands are willing to blog so there are no real guidelines.

What do you think of these matters? Curious to hear your thoughts. Also, feel free to tell me what other information you’d like to know more about…