How to work with brands even with a small following!

Today we’re talking about how to work with brands on Instagram even if you have a small following (less than 10K, less than 5K, even less than 2K!!) Either you’re totally new to the blogging world, or you just can’t quite seem to grow your following as fast as you wanted!

Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post! Meaning, if you click through and make a purchase, I get a small commission (at no additional cost to you!) This helps me to create more great content for readers like you!! So thank you!!

Trust me girl, I HAVE BEEN THERE. Actually, I’ve never left! I currently have a little under 12K followers on Instagram, and yet here I am, getting paid to work with brands! So yes, it’s totally possible! Below, I am giving away my EXACT pitch that I used when I had around 2,000 followers that landed me brand collaborations! Also included in the free download: a list of brands that are known to work with bloggers with smaller followings! (under 10K on Instagram)

If you want to just hop right to it, you can download the free guide below to learn more about how to work with brands on Instagram. BUT if you want to stick around I’ll let you in on some best practices and other ways to find brands to work with!

Now, it’s one thing to work with brands on a gifted basis, and that is SO GREAT for when you are just starting out. But if you’re really not messing around and you want get PAID, I highly recommend this GAME-CHANGING course to land yourself high-paying brand deals. (Even as a small blogger!)

Best Practices For Pitching Brands:

Be professional, but show personality!

You want to make sure you sound professional, but don’t sound too dull or forgettable either. I’d stray away from foul language or anything too inappropriate, BUT make sure your enthusiasm and personality shine through! Feel free to appear excited about their products/brand and the prospect of working together!

Keep in mind normal business hours

These people don’t live and die by their work emails. They have lives! This may be your side hustle or hobby but likely you’re reaching out to someone who this is their 9-5! So try to send your emails during business hours on business days. Also try not send it at 5PM on a Friday or 9AM on a Monday. Late morning/early afternoon Tuesday-Thursday is your best bet!

Don’t be afraid to follow up

If you don’t receive a response, don’t take it personally. This person is likely inundated with emails and other job responsibilities, they may have missed your email or simply forgot to get back to you! Following up shows that you’re committed, reliable and courteous! Wait 2-3 business days before following up.

How To Find Brands To Work With On Instagram:

Sometimes the hardest part about pitching a brand is… knowing who to pitch! You may have a killer pitch template all ready to go, but nobody to send it to or a way to contact them! That’s where these tips will totally come in handy!

Sign up for Influencer Marketing Platforms

These platforms make it easy for influencers to find brands to work with. All are a bit different, but basically you sign up and either get matched with brand campaigns, or have access to apply to brand campaigns that are posted in the platform by brands searching for influencers. Signing up for a lot of these is a good idea, and I would suggest keeping a spreadsheet to track which ones are working well for you!

Some examples: AspireIQ, obvious.ly, Klear, Influence Central, Tribe, Perlu, Massive Sway, Heartbeat, Fohr

I landed this campaign through an influencer platform!

Check out influencers who are similar to you

Notice other bloggers who are similar to you in niche/follower count getting brand deals? Jealousy is the LAST thing you should feel! First of all forget that crap and embrace the community over competition way of life because it’s much better. Second of all, that means that brand would likely be willing to work with you too! Yay! When I see a sponsored post from a fellow blogger I save it to a folder on Instagram labeled “to pitch!” and then reference that when I’m ready to pitch some brands!

Just ask!

If there’s a brand you love and you don’t know if they work with bloggers… just pitch them! The worst that could happen is they say no! It’s really not so bad, I promise. Also, get used to no’s! Learn to love them, because you’re gonna get A LOT of them. It comes with the territory. Don’t take it personally and KEEP PITCHING.