Sponsorships are about a relationship between you, your blog and your sponsor and can cover expenses like your ticket, accommodation and travel.
Go through the list below and think about what you want from your sponsor and what you can provide.
Step 1. Figure out how much you’d like the company to sponsor you for. You want to go in with a money amount and then a list of what you can provide and all the terrific value they’’ll get out of sponsoring you.
Step 2. Start with companies or brands you have already worked with. You can also look at other blogs and see which brands are active with bloggers. Or pick a brand that you think fits your blog and ethos.
Step 3. Send an email with an initial pitch that requests a phone call or a meeting with the brand to have a more detailed conversation. The purpose of the phone call or meeting is to tell them all the value they’ll get out of sponsoring you, your blog and your audience.
The initial pitch should be a brief message that tells the brand about your blog, its editorial focus and your readership. If you’ve just started and your stats aren’t high, mention how you’re creating relationships in the blogging community – blog hops you join, conversations you start on BritMums, guest posts you’ve written, and so on. Traffic IS NOT everything, and things like engagement in the community are important too. A blog that has lots of thoughtful comments on a relevant topic can be just as important to a brand as high traffic that is not as engaged.
Then tell them you’re looking for sponsorship to attend BritMums Live!, the biggest blogging event of the year devoted entirely to a parenting audience and run by the UK’s largest parent blogging network of more than 4k influential and engaged bloggers. (There’s strength in numbers baby.)
Tweet your request and copy us in (@britmums) and we’ll RT to our network of 13k+ followers, which includes lots and lots of brands.
Your checklist – what to include:
* Why they should sponsor you
* The value of the brand being involved with you and your blog and respective audience
* The importance of the conference (BritMums Live! will attract 500 attendees and is the only conference dedicated entirely to the parent blogging audience)
* Include your contact information
Step 4. Remember: Of course on the day you can wear a badge and inform people who ask that you were sponsored by company X, but the real value for the brand is the longer-term relationship with you and your blog.
Recommendations for attaining sponsorship
- If you are interested in working with a brand and becoming a sponsored blogger to attend BritMums Live! it is advisable to negotiate all aspects of sponsorship (i.e. what you will agree to and what your sponsor will be responsible for) well in advance of the days of the conference. Agree to your terms and conditions and uphold your responsibilities in order to maintain a positive relationship with your sponsor.
- You may want to prepare a “media kit” or blog CV to promote your blog and yourself to potential sponsors. Sponsors may request stats and/or blogging achievements/rankings. Make sure that you have access to this type of information to speed up the process.
- When looking for potential sponsors, look to brands and/or PR’s who represent your viewpoints and values and for whom you will feel comfortable representing both on your blog and in person at the conference.
- Consider what costs you will have in order to attend BritMums Live! Will you need only the cost of your conference ticket covered? Or will you need transportation and/or accomodation as well. Be as specific as possible when estimating the costs involved when you are pitching to a sponsor/brand. When an agreement is entered into, be sure to work out whether the sponsor will be paying you for your expenses up front or will expect you to submit invoices and/or receipts for reimbursement.
Good luck and we look forward to seeing you at BritMums Live!
