Have you ever wondered how your favorite bloggers find sponsored campaigns and make money from their blog, Instagram, etc? While some of them will find opportunities through email, many of them use influencer platforms such as the ones I’m going to mention in today’s post. Regardless if you’ve been blogging for years or a few days, influencer networks are the best ways to connect with household brands and get paid to work with them.
What are influencer networks?
Influencer networks are one of the easiest ways to connect with brands for paid content campaigns. These websites will post new opportunities regularly featuring the campaign brief and what audience they are trying to reach. Some will say that they are trying to reach “millennials between 25-35 who are vegan or like to shop sustainable” while others will say “mom bloggers with kids between the ages of 2-5”. There are tons of websites out there if you go looking for them, but I found that only a few of them have worthwhile ones.
How do campaigns work through influencer networks?
The biggest difference between working with an influencer network vs the brand itself is that you don’t get to talk with the brand directly. You work with a brand manager who is basically the middle man between you and the brand. This of course can make it hard to build a relationship with the brand itself, but you can become friends with the brand manager. You’ll receive all communication from the brand through this brand manager including feedback, updates, and anything else that you may need.
How much is compensation with influencer networks?
Compensation is very different on all of the platforms. Some of them allow you to input your rates while others will give you a suggested rate based on your following. It really depends on the platform, which is why you should check how much the campaign is offering before applying to it.
10 Places for Influencers to Find Campaign Opportunities
Social Fabric
Social Fabric is probably one of my favorite places to find paid collaborations. There are always plenty of options available, especially for food or hair. On the website, it gives you like a rating and a suggest price range for the trier that they’ve put you in. Some campaigns come with a set pay already set while others you can insert your prices. Besides the fact that they offer higher paid campaigns, the brands usually have the option to pay you for your pictures too! I’ve worked with Sam’s Club, Listerine, Palmolive + Scotch-Brite through them.
Ahalogy Muse
Another platform that you need to sign up for today is Ahalogy Muse. It’s one of my favorite networks to work with because they are so easy to work with, and they allow you to type in what you want to be paid. Then the campaigns that you receive will match the pay that you requested so you never feel like you’re been shorted. They have ton of campaigns with plenty of variety to choose from. I’ve personally worked with brands such as Maui Moisture and Borden with them.
Aspire IQ (Formerly Revfluence)
Aspire IQ was one of the first influencer network platforms that I signed up for when I was a baby blogger. I find that the platform is very easy to use, and there is an option to find both unpaid and paid campaigns. Even though it’s been a while since I’ve last used this platform, I do remember them having more unpaid campaigns on there. When applying for a campaign, you do have the option to type in your rates and bypass their suggested rate that they give you. On this network, I’ve been able to work Yoga Club and Coastal Glasses through Aspire IQ.
Clever
Clever is slowly becoming one of my favorite platforms to use because they have higher paid collaborations. I’ve only gotten one campaign with them, but I’m excited to keep pitching through them this year. It was this one with Lexington Law! All of the campaigns listed on Clever are paid!
Blog Meets Brand
Blog Meets Brand is another influencer network platform that I like to use to secure brand collaborations. The nice thing about this platform is that you get sent emails when they are new campaigns that they think that you may be a good fit for, similar to Ahalogy Muse. On Blog Meets Brand, you do have the option to negotiate your rate within a certain range per campaign. I’ve worked with the USO and Kohl’s with them, and they were very easy to work with!
Cohley
Cohley is a new influencer network for me, but they offer unpaid and paid collaborations as well as gifted opportunities for reviews/feedback. I haven’t done anything with them yet, but I find that they have a wide array of options to choose from.
Activate
I’ve only recently signed up for Activate, but you can find plenty of unpaid and paid campaigns on there. This one is great if you are into mom life, beauty, food, and animal niches. I haven’t personally gotten any campaigns on Activate, but I’m excited to keep trying this year.
Sway
Sway is another platform to find paid campaigns on. I will say that I generally see more campaigns for mom bloggers, but I do see other niches on there such as lifestyle, beauty, and finances/college on Sway. I’ve personally worked with Tampax through Sway.
InfluenceHer Collective
InfluenceHer Collective is more of a community filled with like-minded females who are usually in college or have just graduated from college. Once you’re a part of the community, you have access to all of the free information, people to connect with, and campaigns! They offer gifted, paid, and unpaid collaborations with some large household brands. You’ll get emails from them when they have available campaigns to pitch for. Through InfluenceHer Collective, I’ve worked with brands such as H&M and more.
Heartbeat
I haven’t personally gotten any campaigns through this platform, but I’ve heard great things from others who have used the platform, especially for beginners. One thing that I do like about Heartbeat is that they track the performance of your sponsored content, which allows you to use how successful the content was in terms of likes and engagement. Note: they do tend to be on the lower spectrum of pay which is why it a great option for beginners just getting started.
This is by no means an all-exclusive list. There are a ton of influencer platforms out there, but these are the ones that I’ve used before and would recommend you signing up for. As you grow as an influencer, I’m sure you’re going to one day learn how to make money blogging and working with brands is a great option! Working with influencer networks get you comfortable with working with brands and pitching your value to them as well.
You may also enjoy: 8 Tools that I Invested in Grow and Manage My Blog, 14 Ways to Refresh Your Blog for the New Year, and 6 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging
