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This is a very popular session this morning. As Kelby just said, “Nah, I don’t like money…said no one ever.” Our speakers are Roo Ciambriello, Titania Jordan, and Kelly Whalen.
Negotiate Your Rates
“We’re all here to perfect our craft and make some money, preferably a lot of money.”
We have a real, live case study that happened last night with Megan. Megan was conversing with a brand about a series of three posts for which she was going to ask $600 for the whole thing. After talking with Roo about her numbers, Roo suggested she ask $2,000. Megan sent out the email this morning, asking instead for $1,800. She got an almost immediate response saying, “I’ll write up the contract.” No negotiation. She totally could have asked for more.
Know Your Value
What do you have to offer other than pageviews?
- Beautiful pageviews?
- An engaged audience?
- Incredible writing?
- Creative ideas?
- A bangin’ Instagram again? #sup
Some brands still have the perception that the bloggers who write for him for free are “just moms” for whom “$50 a month will help pay for dance classes for their kids – what else could they want?”
Do the Math
- Monthly pageviews should not be your only barometer for setting sponsored post rates.
- What’s your low number and your high number?
- What’s the current market value?
- What does the project offer you outside of $$$?
Even if you have a smaller blog, you have something unique you can offer to brands who are looking for someone just like you.
Show Your Experience
- Are you on LinkedIn?
- Do you have a media kit?
- Do you have a portfolio?
- Can you send over case studies?
- Got a brand who will vouch for you?
Professionals look prepared to take on new work. Make it easy for brands to see what you’re about and that you have good ideas. Ask brands you’ve worked with for a quote or recommendation. Have a good headshot. You don’t have to spend $100 to get one, but make sure you’re putting your best face forward.
You Can Say No
Just know that if you say no, everyone will hate you forever.
Kidding! It’s okay to say no.
Evaluate the opportunity cost of any brand campaign. How much time will something take away from your family, your other work, or your valuable leisure time?
Things to Think About
- Consider your overall workload
- Recommend others.
- Ask for recommendations.
- Don’t eff up those deadlines.
- Be polite.
- Don’t ruin it for everyone! [stares at you]
- Say thank you. 🙂
Roo never asks for a brand’s budget. She says, “This is how much something of this scope costs.” Kelly, however, is willing to have a conversation about their budget.
Conceptual work is hard to quantify. An hourly rate doesn’t make sense for this type of work, because you shouldn’t be penalized for working faster than others. Per project is a better way to price.
A picture speaks a thousand words, so put the logos of the brands you’ve worked with on your media kit.
If things happen, and life gets in the way of a deadline, communicate with your brand contact to let them know what’s going on. Try not to just flake out. Be up front about any roadblocks that pop up. (I had to do this with several brands over the summer after my dad died.)
Q&A Points
Put your numbers in your media kit or press kit. If you don’t provide them, brands and agencies will look for them on Quantcast, Compete, or other wildly inaccurate data sources.
If you have a lot of engagement on Facebook or Twitter for some of your sponsored posts, provide that info to interested brands. Take screenshots when you have that one post that gets 100+ Facebook comments or a ton of likes.
You’re going to need to do a lot of hand-holding for companies that are new to the world of social media. You can adjust your rates upwards accordingly.
Roo deletes any email that starts with “Dear blogger…” You can’t educate everyone.
Use Canned Responses on Gmail. (These are super helpful!)
DO NOT STOP WRITING YOUR OWN FREE CONTENT. Do not write only sponsored posts. If all you do is sponsored content, brands are going to stop wanting to work with you.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
