How To Get Paid Partnerships On Instagram

So you are scrolling through Instagram and see #ad or perhaps “paid partnership” in bold writing above the Instagram photo.  You are intrigued and want to know how these influencers land these paid partnerships.  Maybe you are new to the social media world and this is your goal.  Or perhaps you’ve been doing this for some time and can’t land a paid partnership.  This is known as influencer marketing and this is how influencers get paid to post on Instagram, keep reading.

What Is Influencer Marketing?

It’s simply a social media marketing strategy used to create brand awareness and product placement through influencers.  This type of marketing has proven to be so successful.  The word gets out a lot faster when you have a community built around you that trusts you.  If you trust someone and they promote something, there’s a higher chance of purchase.  In turn, this bodes well for the product or brand you are representing as an influencer.

According to digitialmarketinginstitute.com, 57% of companies now use influencers as part of their marketing mix while 21% are planning to add this to their strategy in the coming year, meaning this is the perfect time to jump on this as a way to monetize your blog or Instagram page.

Why?  Because it works!!  The best part is that you don’t have to have 20K+ followers to start getting paid partnerships on Instagram.

So you want the scoop right?  Like HOW do you get started working with brands and getting paid campaigns and paid partnerships on Instagram?  Well, my friend, keep reading.

Pitch It!

Even as a small influencer with a small following there is no harm in trying.  Find products or brands that you use in your everyday life that you could work with and reach out to them either via Instagram or find a contact to reach out to.  I would encourage you to veer from sending your entire pitch via Instagram direct and rather use something like this:

“Hello ________

I was wondering if you are working with influencers right now or have that as part of your future marketing plan?  If so who could I speak to about a potential partnership?

Our family has been huge fans of your ________.  This product helped free up my hands so that i could multitask which has been so helpful as I am a busy mom of two.”

Something as simple as that for Instagram will capture their attention, and you will get the immediate marketing manager’s contact.  Once you have that contact, send out a detailed pitch via email to the marketing team explaining who you are, why you want to work with the company, why you think you are a good fit and what your going rates are.

If you don’t get a response, set up a LinkedIn page just for your blogging business and try and find a connection on there that is either the sales team or someone who can lead you to the sales team.

Influencer Marketing Sites

This is the real nitty-gritty of starting to get paid partnerships without a PR manager.  Here we go!  *UPDATED LIST AS OF OCTOBER 2021*

Peersway

If you are a micro-influencer and want to start getting paid and building up your brand resume, use Peersway!  You can sign up at 1000 followers and it’s super easy.  I got so many paid campaigns through them at just 3K followers.  Because it’s for micro-influencers, you usually only get paid around $60 per post.  This isn’t bad though when you are first starting.  It’s also a great way to start getting noticed by other brands.

Note:  Peersway is a Canadian influencer marketing company only.

AspireIQ 

This one is my absolute go-to.  Some people say they have a hard time getting well-paid campaigns through them, but I love them because you get to set your rates.  On top of that, you submit a really simple proposal and that immediately starts the communication between you and the brand.  This allows lots of back and forth in terms of negotiating and I have only had great experiences with the paid campaigns I got.

To be approved with them you need the following:

Instagram: You must have at least 2,500 followers, a minimum of 50 posts, and an average of 400 engagements or more per post for your last 50 posts.

YouTube: You must have at least 3,000 subscribers, a minimum of 20 videos posted, and an average of 2,500 views per video.

Blogs: You must have page traffic of at least 3,000 views per month, a minimum of 10 blog posts, and 1,000 or more followers.

Learn how I shifted my focus to Reels and 2x my income

CLEVER

The signup process for this is a little different as it’s not so much follower-based as it is content and quality-based.  Clever wants their influencers to be highly engaged with, to have 50% of their page NOT be sponsored posts etc…

They have really good paid campaigns often, some that start at $1,200.00.  The only issue I usually have with them is most campaigns are for US residents only and I am a Canadian.  But if you reside in the US this would be a great fit for you!

#Paid

You need 5K followers to sign up with them, but they are a lot like AspireIQ.  They pair you with different campaigns going on, you apply to the ones you feel fit and then they narrow down their search.  You will receive an email usually that states you’ve been selected as the top 50 going throughout of 20,000 applicants and from there you confirm your application and if you want to proceed and confirm your rates.

SwayGroup aka Massive Sway

They work with a lot of high-paying great brands!  It’s a little more difficult to land a campaign with them but I never stop applying for them!  I believe you need 10,000 followers to join their program, but I would just register and see what happens.

Activate

I don’t recall if there is a minimum number of followers you need to sign up with activate.  When in doubt, just apply to be a part of the program and see what they say!  Once approved, the database selects campaigns that would fit your profile and then allows you to apply for them.  I find Activate and SwayGroup to be similar in the sense that they are a little more difficult to land a paid partnership with, but I don’t give up trying and applying!

Cohley 

You need to apply to be a creator, and you can do this with the creator application.  Before applying, make sure to read through all the baseline requirements to ensure you meet them.  If you are starting new as a creator I would say this is a good place to start.  As you start building your resume up in working with brands, then I would suggest moving to a different influencer marketing site that pays better.

IZEA

Create a profile and once approved get started right away.  You will have a dashboard with different campaigns to apply to.  Izea takes a bit of patience as you have to bid on each campaign and some brands are willing to pay the big bucks, and others are not.  Because of that, it can be a little inconsistent.

Obvious.ly 

This site doesn’t pay well for campaigns.  However, if you are new to Instagram or Tiktok, it’s a good place to start building that resume up.  For instance, I don’t accept Instagram work on this platform, but because I am new to Tiktok, I want to start building a resume of brands I have worked with on TikTok, so this is where Obviously is good for that!

Fohr

Fohr is a difficult one to land partnerships with I find, but this could also be because I am picky with my campaigns and only take on paid partnerships.  I find Fohr has a lot of gifted campaigns but this can be good to apply to again If you are new and are just trying to build up a resume.  You never know what opportunities will fall in your lap so my suggestion is just apply to it and see what comes of it!  No harm, No Foul!

Email PR Companies

Emailing PR companies is a great way for future paid partnerships to land in your lap.  PR agencies usually get a request from a brand that they would like X amount of influencers to cover their marketing budget.  That PR agency either has a team of influencers that already works with them OR does the search work themselves.  I have personally have had some of my biggest partnerships through cold-call emails from a PR team.

If you can get your media kit into the hands of a PR team, then when something comes up that fits your profile, they will be more likely to reach out to you.

Don’t Give Up!

Sometimes you will feel like you are just applying and applying and seeing no real follow-through.  Remember to not get discouraged!  It will happen for you over time.  The more you start working with brands and products the more others will start to notice you.  Once a partnership is completed I would make sure to add them in your media kit to the brands you have worked with.  The more you can build up that repour the better.

Pro Tip:  ALWAYS ask for a testimonial on how you were to work with.  Make your testimonials visible.  People and brands want to know these things about you and the more rave reviews you have, the better!

Think about it this way, when you want to go to a new restaurant, do you go online and read reviews first?  Probably!  And the ones you end up picking probably have the best reviews!  The same goes for brands looking for creators or influencers.  They want to pick ones that are known to be good to work with and produce results.

Getting paid partnerships takes time and effort.  Most people find it takes YOU working at finding these campaigns, rather than them falling into your lap.  Be prepared to do a little hustling!

*Notice on my highlight reel I have a “testimonials” highlight.  If a brand finds me through Instagram, they can read my testimonials straight from my page*

If you have any other suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment box!

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Xo, Asia