Embarking on the journey of growing your audience and establishing successful brand partnerships as a content creator can be both exhilarating and daunting. This 4 part blog series will contain detailed advice on setting up yourself for success with outbound emails, including (1) how to qualify brands; (2) how to find the right person to reach out to; (3) where to reach out to them; (4) how to write email; (5) how to get your first 5 customers; and (6) how to grow and sustain from there.
I am going to start with a quick intro. My name is Jaclyn, I am a tech entrepreneur and previously led brand partnerships for an app with over 300 million users. I’ve closed large brand partnerships with companies like Sephora, H&M, Shopify and Victoria’s Secret, and have sold over $3 million dollars in revenue for my past startups.
I had no network or previous experience in sales, and, as an introvert (in my early twenties trying to sell to much older folks), I had to learn a ton of hacky strategies along the way to help me get results (and quickly!)
I’m excited to share my learnings and strategies with those who are ambitious and entrepreneurial at heart. My experience in brand partnerships and selling to businesses is well aligned for content creators looking to build their brand and revenue by engaging with brands. Recognizing the unique challenges and opportunities in this space, I think it’s critical that content creators adopt a similar sales method as tech entrepreneurs today - that is, a scalable inbound and outbound sales motion that focuses on both generating new customers and retaining existing customers.
Note: For the context of this guide, we will primarily focus on revenue earned from Sponsored Content and User Generated Content (as opposed to affiliate marketing or Ad Revenue generated from platforms like YouTube, TikTok etc.)
To start, it’s worth acknowledging that “sales” is a scary word. When I think of sales, I often think of that untrustworthy car salesman who is trying to get every penny out of your pocket. But over the last decade, through all of my sales experiences, I’ve come to realize that the best type of “sales” is actually “partnerships.” They are partnerships between two parties that benefit from the relationship. Oftentimes, people think that if someone is paying you for something, they are getting the shorter end of the stick. But this doesn’t have to be true.
When you think about a problem that you have- you want to buy a product that solves for that problem. If I have a headache, I’ll happily pay $20 for a bottle of Advil.
For a company that is looking to work with content creators- these brands have a problem to solve around brand visibility and reach. They already want what you are selling. So keep in mind, there are people out there that want what you are selling. You just have to find them.
The first few 'no’s' will surely be the most difficult, but I’ve found that two perspectives really help with the disappointment: 1.) The 'no' is not personal. It might be due to bad timing, an inappropriate budget, a misaligned problem-solution, or simply the wrong person; and 2.) If you can learn from every 'no,' then it can be a win. It’s rare to succeed on the first attempt in sales, but it’s through the process of learning from every rejection that people eventually find success. When you reframe sales as something to 'figure out' through trial and error, it can actually become a fun game.
There are 3 straightforward ways to sell: outbound, inbound and upselling:
A successful business implements all three sales tactics into their strategy. Typically, when you’re just getting started, outbound sales will be the most important. As your brand and credibility grows, having a streamlined inbound process becomes increasingly important.
As it relates to content creators, what this looks like:
The cornerstone of an effective sales process is a clear, specific understanding of your audience. For a startup selling a tech product, this means knowing who faces the problem your product solves. For content creators, it involves understanding your followers' demographics, like age and location, as well as their tastes and interests. This knowledge is crucial in determining what content they engage with and why. Such insights not only shape your content strategy but also help identify the most suitable brands for partnerships
Read on in Part 2: Start Selling
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