Speaker 1: What's up, y'all? It's your girl, Asa, and if you are new to my channel, make sure you go ahead and press that subscribe button. We are back with another video, y'all, but this time we're talking about how to pitch yourself for paid partnerships. Now, I know, I already know, this video is long overdue because I have tons of friends in the influencer industry, including myself. I'm a content creator, and I work full-time now in influencer marketing, and people are always asking me, like, Asa, you have so much creative real estate in your mind. Can you please put more content out there about this? Y'all, I had to pray on it, and I had to come up with a lot of strategy and ideas, and here we are making the first video. So make sure you share this video with anyone. If you find any good tips in this video, make sure you share it with somebody, your mama, your cousin, your auntie, your manager. I don't care who it is. Share it, okay? And let's go ahead and get into the meat and potatoes. Now, quick disclaimer, I do work for a influencer marketing platform, and I do also work with a lot of different places corporately when it comes to my nine-to-five. I just want to make sure I say it here and say it now. All of the comments and things that I share in this video are my own opinion and not the opinion of the brands that I work for or partner with, and I just want to put that out there, which is actually 10 times better because I get to be 100% real with y'all and show y'all and give y'all all of the advice and tips that I've seen for myself. Let's get into it. All right, y'all. So let's just get into it. Let's get into it. Let's get into it. Let's get into it. Let's get into it. Let's get into how the influencer marketing industry is projected to value at $24.1 billion by 2025. Okay, where the money resides, it is at influencer marketing. Okay, it is within influencer marketing. I don't care what anyone says. Influencer marketing is that go-to marketing strategy that most companies are going to. If you are a content creator or you're someone who's just starting out, don't be afraid to create. Don't be afraid to create. Don't be afraid to create out of the fear of if this could be a true lucrative industry or lifestyle or paycheck because it absolutely can. I'm a content creator myself, and I've definitely seen moments where I've been able to pay my rent with one post. And I live in Los Angeles, so y'all know rent is expensive out here. But I'm saying that to just let you guys know that it is very possible to live as a full-time influencer now. It is going to take time over time to create that status, to create that credibility, to have that consistent income coming in. But you absolutely can be a full-time influencer paying all of your bills, doing it on time, and living your dreams. Okay, so let's just put that out there. I say that so you guys can understand how much money is truly in this industry. I know that things online look super pretty and glitzy and glam, but there are really people out here who are making tons of money by just showing up consistently in front of the camera, and you could do it too. So when I'm having most conversations with different content creators, something I know is that I'm going to be able to do it. And I'm going to be able to do it. And I'm going to be able to do it. And I'm going to be able to do it. And I'm going to is that everybody wants to be a content creator, but a lot of people don't know where to start. They are just truly really creative. They can make bomb content that can get all of the likes and engagement that can even convert sales, but they don't understand the business side to it. And that's not a terrible thing, right? Because most of us are creatives. That's what we're here to do. We don't always understand the business and the technical side of the influencer industry. So I'm here to share five things that are going to help you guys better pitch yourself to brand and to be able to land that paid partnership. I'm even going to share a template that I used that helped me land my first four figure partnership. That was one of my biggest partnerships as a content creator that I landed. I just woke up one day, put together a pitch. I did so much research online, asked a lot of questions to people I knew who were already doing what I wanted to do. And I sent this pitch y'all and I actually got a response. Okay. It was insane. I remember like being on top of the world and just being like, Oh my God, I just landed this big campaign with this brand that everybody knows. And like from there, y'all, it's been nonstop. So I'm here to share those five tips with you guys that helped me. And of course, if there's anything in this video that you guys just want more elaboration on comment below, I can make videos around them, or you can contact me at hello at Asa Duggar, and we will connect with you and figure out how we can get on a strategy call or talk more about building your brand. I always say this to people who ask me for advice or for clients that I have before, if you're pitching yourself, you need to be creating organic content. You need to already be creating the content that you want to be booked for. If you want to be a beauty influencer, go into your bathroom, choose three beauty products that you love and start creating content with those products. Absolutely. Like don't use a paid partnership hashtag or a sponsored hashtag if it's not, but just go ahead and start creating content with the products that you already have, because that's going to put you out there and show these brands that you actually have an interest in. And being an influencer, a beauty influencer. Now, whenever there's a brand that I want to get the attention of before I create content for them first, I go to their Instagram and I even check like, honey, do I even be doing influencer marketing campaigns? Because if they don't got budget, I don't really want to hear none. Not me. No, we hear when I'm back. But sometimes I'll go on the Instagram of the brand. I'll scroll on their page. I'll go to their tag photos and I'll see like, are there other people talking about this brand? Are they doing influencer campaigns already? Like, do they even have budget? Are people saying sponsored versus paid partnership? Like, I'm looking at all of the facts because I want to know before I put my time and effort into creating this content, you got budget to even consider me. Okay. I also pay attention to things like, do they have diversity? If it's a brand that talks about diversity, but they do not post creators that look like me, nine times out of 10, they just chat in and they're not really about it. So I'm not going to go out of my way to pitch myself to that brand. I'll probably keep an eye on the brand and see if they're going to, you know, I'm going to be able to do that. I'm going to be able to do that. I'm going to eventually incorporate some diversity on our page and in their partnerships, but I probably won't pitch myself. Just, that's just me personally. Child, do what you want to do. Is your brand your business? I also want to say this. When you're going through the page, pay attention to what the brand is engaging to. If they're engaging to reels more than static content, then you probably should create a reel with those products you chose. Make sure that you're just paying attention to what things that you are seeing on the page and like, what type of captions do they like? Do they like UGC content? Do they like editorial content? That's going to help you put together a strategy to know how to get the brand's attention. Now let's talk about how to find contacts because that is one of the hardest things to do when pitching yourself to brands. When it comes to pitching yourself to brands, I first say, start with making a list of about seven brands that you want to work with, right? After you've made this list of those seven brands, go on Instagram, see if they have influencer partnerships already. If they do go on LinkedIn, go on Google, go on Instagram and try to look these people up to find emails, to find their personal pages that you could pitch to. Of course, always keep it professional and kind and just pretty much put yourself out there. You absolutely will have to do the research, but you guys would be surprised at how much information's out there that people aren't using just because they're afraid to even look and just feel rejected. Just try, right? Look up, if you find a name of someone who's on the social media team or on the influencer team, look them up on LinkedIn, shoot them a message on LinkedIn, ask for their email, pitch the brand via DMs. Guys, do not sleep on pitching via DMs. Don't sleep on it because I have landed my highest paid campaign this far was definitely from me pitching them via DM. Now, of course, you're not going to put all your business in a DM. You're just going to say, hey, I've been using this brand for a while. I absolutely love it. I'm interested in working with you guys in a partnership. Here's some content that I've shot before for you guys. My audience loves it. Do you mind sharing it? Email someone who's on the influencer marketing team. That will help you get the email to then send your full pitch over to then have another conversation. And when I say it works, it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you won't get a response. Sometimes you'll be left on read, but hey, it works. So try it, be consistent and keep going. Also, if you're not on an influencer marketing platform, I highly suggest you to get on these platforms. Influencer marketing platforms are platforms that help like manage and create influencer partnerships. These platforms are looking for influencers to pretty much be in campaigns. Now, I will say that pay is a lot lower on these platforms. And I would say that these platforms are great if you're just getting started, but they absolutely will put you in touch with like what different brands are looking for, what brands are having campaigns that they're looking for influencers. And it's good money if you're starting out. I remember that I partnered with a very big beauty brand from connecting through like an influencer marketing platform. So I'm going to go ahead and put some names in the comments because I can't think of any names that I'm going to put in the comments. I can't think of all of them off the top of my head. I've done research on them. Some of them work, some of them don't. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I just put my information in there and I make sure that like I'm on the platform because then brands sometimes will reach out to you directly, even if they're not reaching out to you directly through the platform. But it's just good to have your information on those platforms and to pretty much just like just be in the mixes. Okay, boom. So I know y'all like, okay, girl, now we got all of this. Now, what do we say? And when do we say it? All right. All right. Let's get into the bag. Let's get to it. Come on. Come on. Come on. Get closer. Get your notebook. Girl, what? Go get your jargon. Dang. All right. So when it comes to what to say in a pitch and when to say it, I have a whole strategy that I use. Now, I don't know if I'm going to be sharing my little strategy on the internet. Okay. Because that's money. Okay. I got a master's degree in strategic communication, baby. And it ain't cheap. Okay. So I don't know if I'm going to share the strategy, but I'm going to share you a little something, something. Okay. Okay. I created this strategy called the ACES strategy. Funny, right? It's my name, but seriously, it works. Okay. A is for being authentic and pitching with your real tone of voice. S is to keep it simple and creative and be very clear on what you're asking for. And A is actionable. Make sure that you include your media kit, your deliverables, and ask for what you're asking for. Like, don't just say, oh, I have an idea, da-da-da. Say no. Valentine's Day is coming up. I want to do this. I want to create content with my boyfriend to do X, Y, and Z with your product. I can deliver the content by this date. Be very clear and simple on what you can do and be actionable. Let them know that, like, you're really about it. If you don't know what a media kit is, I'm going to suggest you to go to Pinterest or look up some YouTube videos on how to create a media kit. You can absolutely create your own free media kit on Canva. Y'all, I love Canva. It has saved my life and helped me make so much money. Canva, if you've seen this, you need to sponsor your girl because y'all, for real, for real, like, I really be out here with Canva. And I be telling all of my clients, like, y'all need to be on Canva. So hit me up. I'm a mess, y'all. No, but seriously, y'all, if you need to create a media kit and you don't know where to start and you don't want to pay somebody a whole bunch of money, go on Canva. If you type in media kit in a search bar, they have templates that are already there for you. All you got to do is just plug in the information, plug in your handle, put your analytics and your insights in, and you are all set to go. Okay, so let me read. My first pitch, y'all. This isn't my first pitch, but let me read the pitch that helped me book my first four-figure campaign. Okay, because your girl thought she was balling. I thought she was going to hold you, like. I thought I was balling. And to be honest, that was a huge win for me, y'all. And shout out to, like, content creators who are out there who are willing to share information, y'all. That's another thing. Like, if you need access to figure out, like, who to contact, how to do it, don't be afraid to reach out to people that you're already following, do, because there are people out there willing to share information and give advice. I won't name any people, but there are some true gems out here who really are willing to share their knowledge and help Black creators, help creators of color. Y'all already know that I stand for Black creators everywhere. I want to make sure that we not just have equality, but equity in the creator economy, and I'm all here in standing ten toes advocating for our community. So there are people out there who are willing to share that information. I want to make sure that we have equity in the creator economy. So there are people out there who are willing to share that information. Don't be afraid to reach out and ask questions. And if somebody sent you an invoice and, like, you can't afford it, let them know, hey, I can't afford it. Is there something that you can share for free? Or, you know, ask them, like, hey, can I circle back at another time? Like, y'all, seriously, use the resources that are around you. There are people here who are willing to help. Okay, let's read the pitch. And for the sake of this video, I'm going to use the word John Doe. I'm not going to share the name of the person I contacted or the brand, just so you know. I'm not going to share the name of the person I contacted or the brand, just so you know. I'm not going to share the name of the person I contacted or the brand, just for privacy purposes. Let's read it. Let's read it. Let's read it. Let's read it. Ah. Y'all, this is like a moment for me because I have not read this email in a really long time. And to just see, like, the faith I had then and how it got me to where I am now is just like, thank you, Jesus. Like, thank you, Lord. Okay, let's get into it. So my subject title was influencer intro, and then I put the brand's name, and then I put my Instagram handle. Then when I got to the body of the email, I said this. Hi, John Doe. I am Asa Duggar is where I share my zest for life and love of fashion and beauty. I was told that you oversee the influencer strategy for the brand account, and I'd love to talk to you about possibly collaborating. I would change that word of collaborating to partnering because collaborating has, like, it insinuates that it's something for free. Put partnering because you want the bag, sis. I have content plans for the fall and winter that might be of interest, so I've attached my media kit for your reference and would love to talk about the current campaigns in the pipeline and how we might be able to work together. So I'm going to go ahead and get started. Let's get started. in the future. Talk to you soon, Asa Duggar. I also linked my Instagram and then I put my media kit attached, and this was sent on October 19th, 2020. OMG. So use that template that I just shared with y'all. If it works, if you hear a brand get back to you, please, please, please tag me, DM me, comment below. Let me know what success you've had with this pitch. It's worked for me a few times, and it's also not worked for me. Sometimes like, I'm going to just keep it real with y'all. It doesn't work every time, but for the times it did work, it hit. Okay. God is faithful. That's all I'm going to say. Now, this is something that you need to keep in mind when pitching. You always want to be mindful of where that person is located. And this is why I say, do your research, find where that person is located. If they are located in New York and you're in LA, you want to be mindful of the time difference, holiday weekends. You want to be mindful of different like religious practices. So you never want to like send a email on the week, or during a holiday weekend, you always want to be a step ahead and make sure that that email lands at the top of the inbox of the person you're sending it to. I would even say get specific and send emails around the time of when holidays are happening. If you know Valentine's day is coming up or Christmas is coming up, make sure you pitch for those holidays because usually brands want to sell products during holidays. And that's just a little sprinkle bonus that you get. Okay. My next tip is to be consistent and do not lose heart. Y'all being an influencer is hard and expensive. You spend a lot of money buying content, doing your hair, doing your nails, getting on camera to create content. And honestly, it's hard. Like I don't know how else to put it, right? So I would just say, be consistent and don't lose heart. You may not hear back from every brand. The pitch might not work all the time. Let's just keep it real. It might not work for you and that's okay, but keep going. I will tell you guys that like, there's so many times where I'd be like, I'm not going to be consistent. I'm not going to be consistent. I'm going to do this no more. I'm going to quit. And my friends and my boyfriend be like, girl, you don't get up. Like we're going to let you cry and roll over and all that stuff, but you've got to get up because it's just a season. This season will pass by. Okay. And then when in due season, you will see all of the fruit that you desire in your heart. So just make sure that you're consistent and that you just continue to press on. Even if you don't hear back, even if the brand don't respond, keep creating content for them y'all because this is a lot of brands that I feel like I get the attention of when I was like, when I had like 3000, 4,000 followers, there was a lot of brands that I was trying to work with that like, they wasn't paying me no mind, but baby they pay my now. Okay. They pay my mind and my bills per. No, but I'm serious y'all like just be consistent. Um, always be respectful. Always be kind. Don't be disrespectful. Don't harden your heart because a brand didn't respond. Um, and just be persistent. And my final tip is to be ready to deliver. If you pitch to a brand and say, Hey, I can create content for three months for this rate. Make sure that you have the capacity to pitch and to do that content, make sure that you are going to deliver at the best of your ability, because you want that brand to come back around with another bag. Okay. Make sure that you can deliver on what you're offering. And, um, I would say to make sure that you're building relationships with these brands outside of just what they can do with you. I always send emails throughout the year, checking in saying, Hey, what's up? What's up with the holidays and just being kind. Because at the end of the day, these are people behind these brands y'all, and they have lives and feelings too, um, that would get you a lot further than someone who just is looking for a partnership. If you need help with learning how to price yourself as an influencer, if you need a little bit more elaboration on some things that we talked about in this video, that's totally fine. Make sure you go to my website, aceofduggar.com or email me at hello at aceofduggar.com. And we could maybe set up a strategy call or even do one-on-one influencer coaching to really get you build out a strategy that works for you and your audience, if you even need help with pricing yourself as an influencer, then go ahead, shoot me an email and we could set something up because pricing is a whole nother ball game. I don't even know if I can make a video about it because there's so many different things that come into play when it comes to pricing. I don't know. Let me know what y'all think. Do y'all want a video on how to price yourself as an influencer? I can maybe do something for influencers who are just beginning and I can maybe do something for influencers who are like, they've been doing it for a while, but they know that they're underpricing themselves and they just need a little help. Let me know what you guys want to do in the comments. I'm Asa Duggar. Thank you for watching. And if you're new to my channel, girl, go ahead and subscribe. You done got the gems, child. Stay a little while. Love y'all. See you.