Sponsorship: How To Get Sponsored

Hello! Ever since I started writing reviews, I've gotten questions about how I got sponsored, so I thought I would help out some of my fellow bloggers by dumping what I know about sponsorship in this one huge post. The tips I will be sharing come from personal experience and the perspective of a store owner who cooperates with sponsors on a daily basis.
Grab a snack or a cup of tea because this is going to be a longgg post! Enjoy, and I hope this helps you!

SPONSOR VS. AFFILIATE

Online shopping and online marketing have grown exponentially over the past decade, and companies have begun utilizing the power of social media to promote their products. As a blogger you may have the opportunity to establish a business cooperation with a store, either through sponsorship or affiliate marketing.

If you are a beginner blogger and/or don't have a large following, stores will typically be more open to an affiliate cooperation with you. As an affiliate, you will earn a commission on every sale you bring to a store. The store will usually give you a unique tracking link, and every time someone clicks your link and purchases something from the store, a certain percentage will be paid to you (commonly between 5%-10%). Affiliate programs usually require more marketing work (posts, edits, etc) on your part, but they are not limited to beginner bloggers. If you are a popular blogger who is persuasive and great at marketing, then you can earn a substantial amount of money from affiliate marketing.

SPONSORSHIP: GENERAL INFO

Before you apply for sponsorship, you should be confident in your ability to effectively promote a store on your blog/social media and own a high-quality camera. Most stores have specific requirements for sponsorship since they are essentially sending you free product(s) to review on the basis that your marketing is able to bring them customers and make up for the loss. Compared to affiliate marketing, a sponsorship usually involves a closer relationship with the store, as you will be interacting with them directly and giving them feedback. However, although stores want you to be honest when you're reviewing their products, be aware that you have a business agreement with the store and you are a promoter; the company is not paying you for bad press.

FINDING A STORE

Storenvy is a great place to find shops with sponsorship programs. However, note that because most of the stores on Storenvy are individually owned instead of large companies, the sponsorship will most likely involve you making sales for the store before they sponsor you a free item. Nevertheless, it's a good starting point if you're trying to venture into the sponsorship realm because most Storenvy shops are open to new bloggers. Bigger, more well-known stores are usually more selective with the bloggers they sponsor and may require you to have past review experience or a larger following.

For a list of stores with sponsorship programs, go here

HOW TO APPLY

OK, so you know what sponsorship is, and you've found a store you're interested in. How do you apply?

Often times, if you've established your reputation as a blogger, stores will contact you directly through a Tumblr ask or through email if you have your email on your blog. Otherwise, you're free to contact a store yourself and apply for sponsorship. Most stores that have sponsorship programs will have a page detailing their requirements and application information. Look for pages with the key words "sponsorship" or "fashion blogger." Please check their sponsorship page before you contact them! Honestly, not taking a moment to read the sponsorship page that they created for you reflects quite negatively on you as a blogger. I would also recommend exploring their products and site thoroughly before you decide to make a business arrangement with them. If they do not have any information about sponsorship on their website, I would NOT recommend asking them about it unless you have seen multiple other bloggers cooperating with them.

Stores typically sponsor bloggers with 1,000+ followers and Tumblr/social media accounts with 5,000+ followers, but this varies store to store, which is why it's important to research the sponsorship program of the specific store you are interested in working with. If you meet their requirements, it's time to send them an email!

CONTACTING A COMPANY

Always follow the guidelines provided by the store for what to include in your email. If the store does not request any specific information, here is a general outline:

Introduce yourself: full name & country of residence
Introduce your blog: blog link, blog type, follower count (attach a screenshot for proof), weekly/monthly visitors
Explain why you're interested in cooperating with their store (be specific!)
Tell them why they should sponsor you/ how you can promote them: link to past reviews, example of promotional posts/edits

Remember that this is a business email, so it should be written in a formal email format (not a list or bullet points!), and you should use proper spelling and grammar and keep your tone polite. Be sure to express your interest and your ability to promote them well because they want to know that cooperating with you will be beneficial to their store.

DO be selective with the stores you choose to work with. Consider the store's reputation, customer reviews, pricing, web layout, etc before jumping into a sponsorship with them. While you may think that there's no harm in getting free items, the quality of your review and your relationship with your followers may suffer if you don't have a wholehearted interest in promoting the store. A good gauge is: if you would not use your own personal money to purchase from store, then don't promote it to your followers.

DON'T send a store multiple emails! Be patient when awaiting a reply and keep in mind that stores get many emails every day, including questions from customers/ potential customers, which have priority. Give them about a week (7 business days) to reply to your email, and if you still have not received a response, then they are most likely not interested in working with you at this time.

However, don't be distressed if you are rejected! If you have no review experience, a good place to start is purchasing a product with your own money and reviewing it. At the very least, you will have review experience to show future stores, and if the review is impressive then it greatly increases your chances of landing a cooperation with a store in the future ^^.

Good luck, bloggers!
Feel free to leave any comments or questions below or on my Tumblr. I will do my best to answer all of them!

xo, Hime