How to pitch yourself to brands for collaborations

After doing blogging for a couple of months I have been extremely lucky to have been added to some companies PR lists, I thought I would help you out and give you my tips and tricks on how to be gifted some products for free. 

I know some bloggers are against reaching out to companies yourself but I'm not,  can you imagine how many bloggers there are? companies won't know every single blogger and it would take so much time to find bloggers that would be best suited for them. 

Your working for yourself which means YOU have to find the work. Most of the products I have been gifted I've reached out to the companies. 

1. Grow your audience 

Growing your audience is really important because a company doesn't really want to work with someone that has 0 followers in saying that you don't need to have thousands and thousands of followers to reach out to brands. 

As long as your audience has been growing naturally and organic and is engaged with you then the brand doesn't really care about the followers. 

2. Do your research 

Okay, so you have found a couple of companies you want to work with but make sure they are the right fit for you and your brand. You don't want to be promoting something completely out of your niche because your followers will notice and won't be happy, you need to gain their trust. 

If you are a bit confused on what to research when you think you have found the right brand make sure you have covered all of these steps.

• Stalk their social media (To see what they are all about and to see if they are a real deal and ain't a scam) 
• Read their customer reviews (You don't want to promote a dodgy company) 
• Read their about page (To make sure you have the same interest and so you know what you are promoting) 
• See if they have worked with any other bloggers. 
• Read the reviews!!! (because other peoples experience is also just as important but also make your own mine up by taking time to work with the products they have sent you.)  

3. Find the right contact

Most of the time on the website they won't have the PR/Press contact on their website and if they do always email that department. If they don't have the Pr/Press contact they most likely will have a "customer service" email which I mean you could email them there but I highly doubt you will get a response. 

If they don't have any contacts try finding it elsewhere. This is where Google will be your best friend search the companies name then type "pr contact" It may come up with the PR agency they are working with and if they do then contact the PR agency. 

Another tip I like to add in is LinkedIn will also be your best friend there are so many professional contacts on there that will help you to get in contact with the right department.

• Linkedin 
• Pr agency 
• Find the pr address on the website 

4. What to include in your email 
Your email is what sells if your email isn't catchy then I don't think the company would be interested. Just like an interview, you have to sell yourself to get the job well this is the exact same just for free products.

• First, introduce yourself  I always start with "To whom it may concern my name is Jess Coleman and I'm the beauty blogger behind jesscolemanmua.com" something along those lines. 
• I then continue on with what I blog about  I usually say "I blog all about beauty and different makeup techniques I have learnt in my makeup courses" I like to add that in because then the companies know that I am serious about this and I know what I am talking about. 
• I like to keep my emails short, at this point I will end my email saying "I have added my media kit which includes all my Pinterest stats and blog stats" and make an attachment. 
• I end my email off with "I really hope we can get the chance to work together and have a professional relationship"  
• I then  sign off my emails with "Jess Coleman IG: Jesscolemanmua" 

For each section of your email only keep the sentences to roughly around 1-2 lines, brands don't have time to read a long email so keep it sweet and short but make sure all the important information is included. 

5. What is a media kit and what do I include? 

What is a media kit? 

Think about a resume well a media kit is the exact same thing as that but for all your online success. It tells a little about you and your brand and shows what you brands you have previously worked with and also shows your stats which is the main focus. 

What do I include?

I created my media kit through powerpoint but there are a lot of cute templates to create yours on if you don't have powerpoint. 

• If you have a brand logo then make that your first slide. 

• Create an about me slide 

• Include your stats 

• Include your working with brands experience if you have any 

• End off your media kit with a get in touch slide with your email address & Instagram 

That is basically what you put in a media kit, Its something that the brand you want to work with needs to know it's all the basic information about you and your brand, include everything that you think brands would like to know.




I hope that this blog post covers everything you need to know. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to contact me on Instagram :)

Jess Xx