4 Game-Changing Platforms to Help You Land a Paid Campaign

You’ve been creating content for a while and you’re ready to take it to the next level. You always hear how people monetize their brands but you’re not sure where to start. Does this sound familiar?

Figuring out how you can land paid collaborations can be daunting. Some influencers aren’t comfortable sharing how they make money. While others require you to purchase a course before they show you how. While I’m not knocking digital products, I love to share quick tips that can help you guys be successful.

I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about how I’m able to monetize my blog. So today we’re going to talk about 4 platforms that you can use to land paid collaborations.

Ahalogy

This platform by far is my favorite to use when reaching out to brands. Ahalogy makes the pitching process so simple! Once you sign up or are referred, you will fill out a profile. This profile will highlight your social media and blog analytics, rates, and content interests. Ahalogy then uses this information to match you up with possible collaborations.

When you find a collaboration that you like, you can pitch your content idea to the client. I’ve recently raised my prices again on Ahalogy and I just landed a collaboration at my new price. Compared to the other platforms that I’m on, Ahalogy pays the best and has amazing clients. So far I’ve worked with brands like Clorox, Neutrogena, and Chinet.

AspireIQ

The team at AspireIQ strives to build the best content marketplace by focusing on the content that we all love. The set-up process is pretty similar to other influencer marketing platforms. However, AspireIQ allows you to host your media kit on the site. For those of you who don’t know what a media kit is, it’s pretty much like your blogger’s resume! A media kit gives brands a chance to get to know The Strong Suit aside from an Instagram feed.

On this platform, I can also choose to highlight my favorite projects and achievements I’ve made with my analytics. I’ve done one collaboration with AspireIQ so far and there’s another in the works. The pay is honestly decent, but it’s led by the brand instead of my rates.

Activate

I’ve been on Activate social longer than any other platform that I will mention in this blog post. I just landed a collaboration through them. It was probably due to inconsistency and the lack of pitching. However, I’m determined to apply to every project that I qualify for from now on. Activate was connected to Bloglovin which allowed bloggers and your audience member to follow your blog.

Since then, it’s become a platform that prioritizes real relationships, real results, real scale. I have yet to land a paid collaboration through Activate, but I did get to work with Michael Todd Beauty and Artis on a recent campaign. The teams were amazing. You get to “make your bid” on activate and negotiate with brands on your rates, which I personally like.

Heartbeat

I have not personally landed a campaign through Heartbeat but my girl over at Sequins and Sales raves about it in her blog post “The Number One Campaign Platform for New Bloggers.” What I like about Heartbeat is that they track the analytics of your sponsored posts which helps with seeing how successful you are when it comes to engagement and likes. While I heard that Heartbeat pays lower than most, the brands they work with are amazing!

Now that you know where to find paid collaborations, how should you contact them to let you know that you’re interested? The way I pitch to brands on influencer platforms is different than when I reach out to them via email. Don’t be afraid to switch it up! If you’re struggling to find out what you should say or how you should convey your content idea here’s old examples of mine.

Bullet Pitching Template (Informal)

Content Idea: Blog Post
Brand: Beauty and Wellness
Product: Toothbrush

Message Pitching Template (Formal)

Content Idea: Summer Fashion Blog and Social Posts
Brand: Fashion
Product: Clothes

Hello XYZ,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Angelica and I create content that helps women look at feel their best! I love to inspire women to go confidently in the direction of their dreams and I think the story behind XYZ is a testament to our brand stories. I would love to collaborate with XYZ and I have a few content suggestions!

The Must-Have Outfit of the Summer
3 Must-Have Pieces for your Summer Wardrobe
2 Comfy & Casual Looks for Summer

If this sounds what XYZ is looking for please let me know how I can make this collaboration successful!

Best,

Angelica

For this pitch, I added a personal note that focused on the origins of the brand. This company was a little smaller so I wanted to tug on the heartstrings and let them know I supported their mission and that we shared commonalities. I also went ahead and gave them several content ideas to choose from. While I didn’t go in-depth for this pitch as I did in the bullet format, it gave the brand a chance to choose products they would like me to highlight.

In the end, you always want to show appreciation for chatting with your brand contact. A nice gesture to let them know you’re willing to put in the work can go a long way.

With all of my pitches, I do my best to paint a clear picture of what the brand can expect with the content they desire. Add as many details to your pitch as possible. My go-to tactic is throwing in a branded quote or slogan that will resonate with the brand. Implementing these personal touches are always a plus when pitching.

Well, I hope this was helpful you guys! It’s important to understand that you can reach out to brands and start the initial content to land a paid collaboration. While this is completely different than email pitching, it will get you comfortable with the idea of making the first move.

You don’t always have to wait until brands approach you! If you have a creative idea for one of your favorite brand’s products, reach out to them, and see what they think. The possibilities are endless!

What do you struggle with when it comes to pitching campaigns?