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5 Reasons Why Influencers Struggle with Growth

5 Reasons Why Influencers Struggle with Growth

The Influencer Marketing industry is on track to be worth $13.8 billion in 2021. Along with the rising value of the industry on the brand and agency side, comes the desire for new influencers to step into the game, as well as current influencers to up their game. This proves to be a challenge for influencers in various ways, and as a result, we notice influencers struggle with growth.

Whether they are trying to grow on social media and stay on top of popular platforms and trends, they’re trying to get their foot in the door with their favorite brand, or they’re trying to create multiple streams of income, there always seems to be a roadblock to encounter.

Then, you have those creators and influencers who makes it look easy peasy.

How? What are they doing differently?

Well, we can answer that. Here are 5 reasons why influencers struggle with growth.

Influencers Struggle with Growth Because…

They don’t have an established influencer brand

One of the first rules you should learn when it comes to being a creator or influencer is that your content needs to provide value. To be able to understand what value you are providing to your audience, you must first establish your brand.

Ask yourself,

  1. WHO am I?
  2. WHAT value do I provide?
  3. HOW do I want to showcase that value?

These are but a few of the questions you will answer when establishing your brand. Once you are able to successfully establish your brand, will you be able to work on growing it.

They are not actively & consistently seeing social media and/or website growth 

You’re posting consistently on your social media profiles because it’s what you were told to do. By your industry peers, by industry leaders, by your audience, etc.

It’s true.

You should be active and consistent on your social media, as well as your website if you have one.

But, are you actively and consistently seeing growth?

Influencers struggle with growth because they are following the advice only halfway through. If you’re consistent with your posting but you’re not consistently seeing growth, there’s a deeper issue to explore. With a solid foundation of branding, strategy, implementation, and review, you will then be able to actively grow your following, income, and brand.

Influencers struggle with growth b/c they are following advice only halfway. If you're consistent w/ your posting but not consistently seeing growth, there's a deeper issue to explore. W/ a solid foundation, you will be able to… Click To Tweet

They have not leveraged important relationships 

Relationships are key in the Influencer Marketing industry. Relationships with your audience, relationships with brands and agencies, AND relationships with platforms.

56% of brands and agencies prefer to work with the same influencers. Working with the same influencers allows the brand to build relationships with their influencers, and allows the influencer to build their brand loyalty and establish brand expertise with their followers. Additionally, it’s more likely for an influencer to secure a multi-month partnership with a brand if they have already worked with them in the past.

Think back to Reason #1 and how we discussed establishing your brand. Once you have established your brand, you will begin building relationships with your audience. Relationships that will span across platforms – thus building a multi-platform audience.

The relationships that you build will take you far.

They do not understand the influencer marketing industry

The Influencer Marketing industry has parallels to the advertising, journalism, and marketing industries.

Whether you are drafting a pitch (journalism), participating in a campaign (marketing), or creating content to post (advertising), you are a part of this industry.

Where influencers go wrong is that they do not understand the Influencer Marketing industry, and as a result, don’t act accordingly.

Their pitch process is non-existent, their content is missing the mark (for themselves, brands, and their audience), and their knowledge of how brands and agencies manage campaigns is lacking.

Once you learn how to successfully navigate these avenues, you can move forward with creating a brand that is built for longevity.

They have not created a foundation for longevity 

And that leads us to our last point – longevity.

After implementing the 4 steps above, you will have created the foundation for longevity.

You will have:

  • Established your brand
  • Learned how to consistently grow your following and/or website/blog
  • Built (and leveraged) important relationships
  • Understood how to industry works – and used it to your advantage

Once you have done that, you will have built that foundation for longevity.

You can look up and comfortably say, “Here’s where I’ll be 5+ years from now,” and then create the plan that will get you there.

Whether you choose to become a part-time influencer or a full-time influencer, the goal is to create a brand (and stream of income) that can keep you going.

These 5 reasons why influencers struggle with growth will help separate yourself from those who continue to struggle and join the ranks of those who begin to see consistent growth.

If you’re struggling with growth and you’re ready to get over that hump, check out our admissions page and get started on an actionable, accountable game plan today.

Pitching to Brands: 10 Tips to Try

Pitching to Brands: 10 Tips to Try

10 Tips for Pitching to Brands

As an influencer, there are a few things you need to consistently have on your to do list in order to be successful. One of the most important things on that list is pitching. We discuss pitching a lot here at The League, because it is one of our 5 education pillars (Influencer Branding, Social Media Growth, Blogging, Monetization & Brand Deals). Being on the brand side of Influencer Marketing has been extremely insightful because it has given us first hand experience with dealing with pitches from influencers. We know what our client wants to see from influencers, and we know what we want to see from an influencer, in order to receive a response. The difference between a response and being ghosted are these 10 tips for pitching to brands.

Align Your Content

The FIRST thing you should do when wanting to pitch to brands is to make sure your content aligns with their brand.

When scouting for influencers for a campaign, we always have to keep the brand first in mind, and find influencers who fit well with the brand. It’s easy to skip over an influencer whose content doesn’t feel like the right fit. One of the most common reasons an influencer can not feel like a “good fit” is their lack of relatable content.

If you’re a fashion influencer but your content is comprised of mostly selfies and makeup looks, it can be hard to gauge whether you will be a good fit for a fashion campaign.  For example, if Olly is scouting for influencers for a new campaign, they are going to be searching for fashion, beauty, lifestyle, health & wellness influencers to promote their products using the #happyinsideout tag. These type of influencers are likely to consistently share content that is high-quality, bright and fun. They also smile. A lot.  Pitching to Brands So, take a good look at their content. What type of content do they share on their social channels and does your content align with theirs? Pro Tip: The best way to gauge whether your content aligns with their brand is to check out other influencers they work with.

In your pitch, be sure to include an example of a previous post of yours that aligns with their brand. 

Write an EFFECTIVE Subject Line

People who run influencer campaigns get tons of pitches in their email on a daily basis. Because there are hardly any set rules to follow when pitching to brands, this part can feel a bit overwhelming. Unlike digital publications, most brands do not openly have submission guidelines for influencers to follow.  When deciding on an email subject line for your pitch, you have 2 options:

  1. Keep it short & sweet
  2. Make it fun & engaging

Email subjects that are short & straightforward are easy to recognize in a cluttered inbox.

As an influencer marketing manager, it’s easy to see when a new email is from an influencer if it is titled, “Influencer Collaboration Request.” I can set aside time during my day to open those specific influencer emails.

The other route to take is to make your subject fun & engaging. Try making it intriguing enough to where the receiver feels like they HAVE to open it to know more.

For example, “130 hours, a dog, a toddler & a Toyota Highlander” is a lot more interesting than, “Influencer collaboration with Toyota.”

HOWEVER, “[Influencer Name x Toyota Collaboration] WILL suffice.

The choice is yours, so don’t fret! Try AB testing your subject lines. If you are pitching on a weekly basis, try sending half of your emails with a straightforward subject line, and the other half with a fun subject line. Keep count of which pitches you receive responses to the most.  

Know WHO You’re Pitching

Do Your Research! The most common advice when it comes to pitching to brands is to send your pitch to a “PR person.” This advice is faulty for numerous reasons:

  1. If someone works for a PR agency that runs influencer campaigns (in addition to 10 other services), everyone in the agency is a “PR Person” yet not everyone runs influencer campaigns.
  2. Everyone who DOES manage influencer campaigns DOES NOT have the title of “PR Person.” The titles very GREATLY. Some titles do not have the word “influencer” in it at all.

Secondly, if you send your pitch to a general PR email address, then you risk it not falling into the right hands.

The larger the brand, the more likely they use multiple agencies for multiple retailers. For example, the agency that runs campaigns for Pampers at Target is NOT the same agency that runs influencer campaigns for Pampers at… Click To Tweet

Research the brand and try to find out if they run their campaigns through an agency, or if they keep everything in-house, then find the format of the company emails. They are usually along the lines of name@company.com or JDoe@company.com. If Jane Doe worked for a brand, her email may either be JaneD@company.com, JDoe@company.com or Jane.Doe@company.com.

Know WHAT You’re Pitching

WHAT do you want to promote for the brand of your choice? 

Nothing is worse than receiving an email from an influencer & it simply says, “I would love to work with your brand. How can I do this?”  There’s no backstory, no brand affinity established, no products mentioned, and no mention of WHAT they influencer wants to do.

Do you want to create a blog post? YouTube tutorial? Share a static post on Instagram? If so, what will it be about? Think of that key factor that is going to set your idea apart from everyone else. If you know exactly the product you want to promote, or you have organically promoted the brands products in the past, include a description of the product in your email. 

Typically, a campaign brief includes key messaging that covers the product description. 

For example, if you plan to pitch a clothing brand, say to them, “I would love to create a clothing haul on IGTV titled ‘5 prints you MUST own this Summer. I recently purchased this top and shared it on my Instagram (include screenshot & link to post). This top is my favorite because of the cotton-blend material, and how easy it is to wash!'”

Explain how the Brand Will Benefit

Just like with the art of negotiation, you should NEVER be the first to mention how you will benefit from this partnership. It comes across as if you are reaching out to the brand with the intent of being compensated, and not because you are an avid supporter and fan. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t benefit as well. It simply means that you will introduce your rate AFTER you’ve received a response from the brand.  When pitching to brands, make sure it’s clear that they will benefit from this partnership. Key metrics that brands look for are:

  • Engagements (Likes, Comments, Shares)
  • Reach
  • Impressions
  • Link Clicks
  • Views 

What can the brand expect as a result of partnering with you? Prove that by providing screenshots of your most recent (relevant) posts or stories. 

Media Kits

Are they necessary?  Yes & no. Depending on who you ask, a campaign manager may not ever take the time to check out your media kit for a number of reasons.

  1. Media Kits are not 100% trustworthy and need to be constantly updated
  2. Larger brands typically use influencer databases where they can vet an influencer, review their stats, and see their previous brand deals.
  3. If they’re receiving numerous media kits per day, it can be difficult to keep up with everyone.

Outline everything clearly in a short, concise email (3 SHORT paragraphs MAX) instead. If the campaign manager is truly interested, they WILL want more information, so use that second email to send your media kit over! 

However, it never hurts to send your media kit in an initial email. Instead of adding it as an attachment which could potentially be blocked, add a LINK to your media kit to the email. 

Follow Up – But Don’t Blow Them Up

It is a best practice that after you submit a pitch, to follow up with the person you emailed within a week. If you still do not hear anything after you have followed up, then they probably do not want to work with you at that particular time. That DOES NOT mean give up on pitching. Double check that you are sending your pitch to the correct person & try again in a few months.

For example, an influencer sent a pitch to a brand manager one day. No response. Instead of giving up, she sent a follow up email 8 days later, and immediately received a response. 

The follow up email does not need to be anything fancy. Simple reply to your initial email with a quick check in along the lines of, “Hi! I hope your day is going well. I’m sending this email as a follow up to the email I sent last week. I’m eager to work with and I look forward to your response. Please let me know if there is any additional information you need from me.” 

PROOFREAD

This is one of the most important tips! If you have typos, spelling errors, etc. in your pitches, you risk it going ignored. If you cannot submit a simple pitch without errors, then it will be hard to be trusted to complete the sponsored posts without the manager having to do some serious editing on their part (which is more work for them). There have been times where my influencer team & I have decided not to work with someone again because of the minimal attention to detail they gave their assignment, their captions, and their blog posts. 

Write concisely

Make the pitch short and sweet. As I mentioned before, people who run campaigns get a lot of inquiries. Make a large statement in a few words. Review this thread on how to format your pitch! 

 

If your Pitch is Rejected, Build a Relationship, Pitch Again Later

Just because one of your pitches does not get a response, does not mean your others will not.

Before you pitch, make sure you have a well-crafted message, your content is relevant to the brand you are pitching, and you have found the correct contact person.

If you’re really passionate about working with this particular brand, try to provide your idea from a different perspective or different angle. If you get rejected, re-evaluate your pitch, and make necessary adjustments so that you are ready to pitch again in a few months. By following these tips on pitching to brands, you will be well on your way to scoring the collaborations of your dreams!

The Do’s and Don’ts When Working With Brands for Influencers

The Do’s and Don’ts When Working With Brands for Influencers

The Do’s and Don’ts When Working With Brands for Influencers

So, you have secured a brand deal with a brand you really want to work with! What’s next? Typically, the next step in the process is to sign a contract, review the campaign brief, purchase (or receive) the product, and get to work creating your content! Once you start working with a brand, there is a set of rules that comes with it that influencer should be aware of. Keep reading to find out the Do’s and Don’ts when working with brands for influencers so that you can make a good impression and build a solid relationship! 

working with brands for influencers

Do: Effectively Communicate 

In my experience with working with influencers, there are many things that stand out to me, as well as my clients, the most. One of those things is effective communication. When managing an influencer activation, time is of the upmost importance. From the time a strategy is completed, all the way to end when a campaign report is completed and sent to the client, timing is important. Therefore, when communicating with an influencer, the timely response from influencers is the difference between us wanting to want with them again or not.

When working with a brand, the most important thing you can do is COMMUNICATE. It is the brand’s job to communicate certain details such as timeline, product, messaging, etc. However, it is your responsibility as an influencer to stay on top of your emails, reach out to if you are having timing issues, or if you are unclear of the messaging. 

Don’t: Ghost Your Campaign Manager 

It has happened time and time again. An influencer has agreed to participate in a campaign, and ends up ghosting in the middle of the campaign. No explanation as to why. If the relationship between you and the brand is important to you (which it should be), then NEVER ghost. 

If you have agreed to participate in a campaign, and something comes up where you can no longer participate, then you should let the campaign manager know immediately, so that they can relay that message with their client, and possibly replace you. 

There are times where campaigns have a certain number of influencers that the client wants involved. They are likely to have a “waitlist” or “stand-by” list of influencers they can choose from, should a space in the campaign opens up. 

So, be mindful of your manager, as well as other influencers who would like the opportunity. 

Furthermore, if you have been gifted an item as a part of compensation for the campaign, then you could possibly be responsible for returning the product as a result of your removal. 

Do: Ask for a Contract 

Never enter a partnership without a signed contract. There are plenty of things that could go wrong without a contract in place signed by both parties. 

Contracts not only protect the brand, but they protect you as the influencer as well. 

The contract covers clauses such as:

  • posting timelines
  • compensation & payment terms
  • content guidelines
  • FTC laws 
  • Usage Rights 
  • Exclusivity 

This is an extremely important note to make when working with brands for influencers. 

Don’t: Expect a Verbal Agreement to be Enough

Depending on the size of the brand or agency you are working with, they may not offer a contract. 

However, a contract gives everyone involved a sense of security. 

A simple agreement via email is not enough. 

Do: Negotiate Your Rate 

In our textbook, The Unrivaled Guide to Elevating your Influence, as well as our course, #InstagramGoals, we go into depth regarding how to negotiate better rates. 

The main point to know is that campaign budgets vary from brand to brand, and agency to agency. 

The bottom line is, you NEVER know what is available for you in terms of compensation unless you are willing to ASK, and not being afraid to negotiate. 

Don’t: Accept a Rate You are Uncomfortable With 

In the negotiation stage, try not to be the first to throw out a number. Instead, ask “what is your budget for these deliverables?” 

You never want to walk away feeling like you did not receive a rate that you are satisfied with. 

Do: Send a Follow-Up Email 

Once the campaign is complete, send a follow-up email to your campaign manager. 

While it is more than likely the manager has seen your stats for your posts, it’s always a good Idea to reach out to them with a recap of your own. 

In the email, include things such as: 

  • Likes
  • Comments 
  • Reach
  • Impressions 
  • Shares 
  • Saves 
  • Snippets of comments from your followers. 

Let the manager know how much you enjoyed working with them and that you hope to work with them again in the future. 

Once the campaign is complete, send a follow-up email to your campaign manager. While it is more than likely the manager has seen your stats for your posts, it's always a good Idea to reach out to them with a recap of your own. Click To Tweet

Don’t: Let the Relationship Get Stale

Now that you have finished the campaign and you have a new brand contact, you need to do a couple of things. 

  1. Add the contact to a pitch spreadsheet. This pitch spreadsheet should have all verified contacts from brands and agencies with which you have worked with in the past. 
  2. Send an email every few months, checking in with them. This email will include a recap of some of your recent campaigns, and updated media kit if your stats have changed, and the interest to work together soon. 

If you did really well in your campaign with the brand, you will want to continue to water this relationship. 

Do: Encourage your Followers to Engage with your Posts

As soon as your sponsored post is live, make sure you share the news with your followers! Get them involved and engagement. Ask for their feedback and/or their opinions, so that you may share that with your campaign manager.

Don’t: Purchase Fake Engagement 

As tempting as it may look, NEVER use fake engagement on your sponsored posts. It is illegal, for starters. It also skews the campaign results, which can hurt the brand, as well as your future engagement.

Now that you’ve read this list of Do’s and Don’ts of Woking with Brands for Influencers, let’s get ready to pitch!

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