Working on a collaboration with another blogger can be a lot of fun.
Not only that, but it’s a great opportunity for both of you to gain more exposure online.
I’ve previously shared seven ideas for blogger collaborations, but once you have those ideas… You need to know how to pitch it to someone.
And guess what? It doesn’t have to be scary! You can reach out with no stress and get a HELL YES in response.
10 Tips to Pitch a Blogger Collaboration
To make pitching a collaboration easier for you, I’ve broken the process down into 10 simple steps you can follow. If you do this every time, it’ll take all the intimidation out of pitching. Of course, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a positive response in return, but it certainly doesn’t hurt!
1. Get to Know the Blogger Beforehand
The first step to help you pitch a blogger collaboration is to get to know the person before reaching out. This one may seem obvious, but let’s be real… There are people and brands who send over that email without knowing a thing about you. You can always spot these pitches a mile away because they ask you to do something that makes no sense. Most of the time, they want you to write about a topic that doesn’t have anything to do with your blog.
Before you reach out to someone, get to know what she’s all about. Check out her website and read through her about page. Scroll through her blog to see what kind of topics she typically covers. You can even see what she’s posting on social media. Once you have a good understanding of who she is and what her brand represents, decide if you’re a good fit to collaborate. If you are, you’re goo to reach out!
2. Show Your Support for What They Do
For many bloggers, they’re a lot more inclined to collaborate with someone that they’re familiar with. If you send over a pitch email out of the blue, she might wonder, “Who in the world is this person?” To prevent that from happening, get on her radar beforehand. And you can do that by showing your support for what she’s doing in the online world.
Interact with her posts on social media by leaving comments. Share her content when she publishes something you love. And leave comments on her blog posts too! It’s a simple move, but it shows that you’re an active supporter of the brand she’s building. That can help win her over when you send your pitch.
3. Have a Clear Email Subject Line
Now, it’s time to start preparing your email to pitch a blogger collaboration. And where does every great email start? With the subject line! The reality is, your subject line can make or break whether or not someone opens your email or sends it straight to the trash. That means you don’t want to use anything that sounds spammy, since that’ll obviously get your email rejected immediately.
Keep it short and simple. And if you can, make it clear that this is a collaboration opportunity. If you’d like to interview someone for your blog or podcast, say “Interviewing You for (insert name here) Podcast!” When you clearly state what the point of your email is, it’s more likely to get opened.
4. Introduce Yourself
Once you’ve moved onto writing the email, make sure you also introduce yourself. If this person already knows you and you’ve engaged on numerous occasions, this likely isn’t necessary. However, if she’s not super familiar with your work, you need to let her know who you are.
State your name, what you do, and include a link back to your website. She’ll likely want to check out your work before agreeing to any collaboration you’re proposing. Just make sure you keep it brief because this isn’t the time to go into your entire life story.
5. Propose Your Idea
The next essential step to pitch a blogger collaboration is to propose your idea. It helps to have an idea of how you’d like to work with someone before reaching out. If someone sent an email to me that said, “I’d love to collaborate with you, but I don’t know what we should do together,” that’s a little off-putting. It would kind of make me feel like they’re a bit disorganized and like they don’t really know much about the work I do.
Clearly state your idea for how you could work together. It could be a blog post, a social media takeover, a webinar, or something else. When you have an idea already planned out, it shows you’re prepared. It shows you’re serious about this collaboration. And that’s a good sign that’s more likely to get you a big, fat YES!
6. Acknowledge the Blogger’s Work
It never hurts to butter someone up when you’re asking for a favor, right? Well, that same tactic can apply here. When you pitch a blogger collaboration, throw in a little compliment and let her know why you’d like to work together. If you can, compliment her on something specific like that blog post she wrote on how to grow your Twitter following. Being specific tells her that you’re actually familiar with her work.
7. State the Benefits of Working Together
No one is going to get on board with a collaboration if they don’t see the benefits in it. As the person making the pitch, it’s your duty to ensure she sees the value in being on your podcast or hosting that webinar together. If she doesn’t, it’s safe to say she’ll pass and then you’ll wind up feeling crushed.
Let her know how this collaboration could positively impact her own brand. Will it help her gain exposure? Is it a great way to grow her email list? Or do you think it might bring her more sales? Tell her all about it!
8. Let Her Know What You Bring to the Table
If she isn’t too familiar with the work you do, it’s also smart to let her know what you can bring to the table. Give her a little taste of your expertise so she knows you’re a great person to work with. For example, if you’re trying to get someone to do an interview on your podcast, share some other big names that have joined you as well. You can even include a link to those episodes so she can check them out.
9. Close the Email
And finally, it’s time to close the email. You can do this simply by thanking her for the time she took to read through your pitch and that you hope to hear from her soon. If this is something time sensitive, make sure you include that you’ll need a response by a certain time just so she doesn’t miss out on the opportunity.
10. Don’t Be Too Afraid to Reach Out
My last piece of advice is that you should never be too afraid to reach out. While it can be scary to put yourself out there because you may be rejected, you can’t let it hold you back. To pitch a blogger collaboration, you have to be confident. You have to put yourself out there and just go for it. It’s as simple as that, so don’t stress about the response you’ll receive.