Real talk. Do not send COLD PITCHES!
Of course a brand hasn't responded to you...they don't know who you are! There are ways to warm up a brand before pitching and I'm sharing 3 of them with you today! I hope this changes how you think about pitching and how you prepare your content and sponsorships from now on.
This should go without saying, but I know some of you are stingy with your "follows" so it's making the list.
Yes, you absolutely have to follow them on their social media channels before ever reaching out to them.
Follow for *at least* a week before sliding into their DMs. Seriously.
Listen to the episode for my examples and reasoning here!
You should be their biggest fan! Likes and comments on the reg. Whoever runs their account should start to recognize your handle after a week. That's all it takes for them to recognize your name!
I also encourage occasional responses to their stories without being weird or spammy. Don't let your first message be "Hi! I'm interested in..." No ma'am.
The social media manager on that account is the gatekeeper. If they don't like you for any reason, you can forget it.
This was something I had to come to terms with. Don’t be stingy with your tags!
I used to think "well, I’m not going to tag them unless they pay me." You know what, that’s coming from a greedy mindset and you need to flip it and think "how can I serve my audience by sharing this brand or product with them?"
THEN when you do pitch, brands will be able to see tagging history (or you can send them blog posts where you have mentioned them) and they will know that if they pay you/partner with you, your followers will know that it's a genuine partnership because you've talked about them before and that leads to more sales conversions for the brand. Yes, tell them that!
Listen to the episode for my thoughts on "can we use your photo on our website? yes or no?" messages/comments.
After all that...
THENNN you can send your pitch.
Warm leads are better than cold leads. A brand/person who recognizes your name will always be more receptive to your pitch or request.
In this episode, I reference ep. 34: freebie content planner, ep: 38: freebie pitch planner, and ep 30: how to follow up after being ghosted.
If you need more support, but don't know where to start, I suggest a Brand Audit. It's a 30 minute video call with me that will transform your digital channels and get you brand-ready! Check it out here: Brand Audit.
