5 Tips On Approaching Brands And PR’s…

Sharing my top tips on how to contact brands and PR's within the blogging industry!...

I wrote a post similar to this a couple of years back but thought it was time I wrote an updated version, I used to work in beauty PR for 18 months, having seen how blogging works from the ‘other side of the fence’ I can honestly say it’s perfectly fine to contact brands and PR’s re. working with them, I used to find that in my role as a Digital Assistant I could only spend a certain amount of time looking for new blogs and talent, it’s impossible to keep tabs on what everyone is doing and looking for new talent, that being said - I think it’s a great idea to reach out to companies and be like ‘Hey boo, just wanted to introduce my blog’. I was a BIG fan of people reaching out as it meant we could work with new content creators, BUT, whilst I’m an advocate for contacting brands, there is a way of contacting them.

I’ve put together my top five tips on how to reach out to brands and PR companies and wanted to share them with you guys in the hope that it will help you when constructing your email. That being said, some people don’t want to contact brands for work, and that’s perfectly fine too; we all work differently, which is why we run our own blogs and are unique. If I’m having a quiet bout I’ll reach out to brands and pitch ideas, but likewise it’s great to just introduce yourself, because a few months down the line then might have a brief that’s the perfect fit for you, there’s no harm in making yourself known amongst brands and their employers.

Let’s kick off with my top five tips…

1.) Don’t ask for something - I HAVE to highlight this point first because it was the most frustrating thing to receive on email when I worked in the industry, sometimes I’d get an email like ‘Hi there, I know you look after X, Y and Z brands, please can I have…’ and just send me their shopping list. That’s not cool. Don’t ever ask for anything on your initial email, simply introduce yourself to the brand/PR, let them know you’re a huge fan of their brands/what they do and that you’d like to possibly be considered for any work in the future. The only time I’ll ever ask for something is if I’m working on a post that requires a specific product, i.e like a great dry shampoo, then I might email brands/agencies that have a good dry shampoo, and just say ‘by the way I’m working on this feature, please let me know if you’d like to be featured’ - there’s a way of saying things, don’t ever just send over a list of products that you’d like.

2.) Sell yourself - If you’re going to contact a brand in the hope of one day work with them; then be sure to sell yourself, focus on your strengths, the amazing brands you’ve previously worked with, and what you think you can offer said brand. If you don’t give them a reason to work with you, then don’t expect them too. Some people find it hard to pick out their strengths (it’s one of those cringe things none of us ever really want to do), some maybe ask some blogger pals or close friends to help you out and name a couple.

3.) Pitch your idea - For me, the time I usually reach out to brands is when I have an idea in mind that I would love to work with them on, for instance if I’m going on an adventure/hiking I might think of a great brand that would match this and reach out to them. 9 of out 10 times people are really excited that you’ve reached out and pitched an idea - this way it means you’re doing something a little different to what everyone else is working on too!

4.) Attach your bio - Make sure you break everything down in your email, add in your stats, followers, brands previously worked with and your social links. BUT, remember numbers aren’t everything, brands are becoming more and more clued up to this too. I was doing a talk at a bloggers event a few months back and one girl approached me and said that she didn’t think she had enough followers to contact brands, my advice was that an engaged audience is worth more than numbers these days, it doesn’t hurt to introduce yourself so send the email and see what they say!

5.) Do your research - It’s SO important to do your research when emailing brands, don’t just send blanket emails starting ‘to whom it may concern’, it’s lazy and you probably won’t get a reply. Look on the website or social media to see if you can find a name of the PR contact, and make sure the email is detailed around the brand; maybe talk about your favourite products of theirs or their latest TV campaign so the brand knows that you’ve actually done some research and are specifically talking about them rather than sending a blanket email to a tonne of brands.

Anddddddd that’s a wrap guys - my top five tips on how to contact brands and PR’s! I really hope you found this post useful and it’s inspired you to reach out and taught you how to construct and email. Do let me know if you'd like anymore tips! <3