The union between technology and marketing strategy is crucial in establishing a successful referral program. 

The core of any referral program relies upon a few key elements—an attractive reward system, a focus on new customer benefits, and a robust initial offer. The right referral technology can help put these actions into progress. 

Here’s a peek under the hood of a referral program so you can plan, execute, and grow customers into strong advocates for your brand.  

State of referral marketing report 2024

Learn how brands successfully leverage referral marketing to reach business goals 

Read the report

The nuances of setting up and managing a referral program

It’s a common misnomer that referral programs are ‘fire-and-forget’ campaigns. However, these programs require consistent optimization and customer engagement. Offer customer-aligned rewards, easy-to-use referral processes, and build campaigns that resonate with customers. 

Plan your reward structure around what your customer wants

Choosing the right rewards for your customers is one of the most important aspects of a successful referral program. Build a strategy based on customer feedback and carefully evaluate incentives for your industry. Here’s what we recommend: 

Speak to your customers

Marketers’ biggest mistake in referral marketing is not speaking to their customers. Engaging with customers in a meaningful way will give you greater insight into what rewards would entice them. 

Some rewards work better than others. For instance, research shows that giving a reward tied to the brand (percent discount, points, gift cards) drives more referrals than giving a cash payout. However, sometimes using a third-party reward makes more sense. 

For example, mattresses aren’t something you buy often. If a person just bought a mattress, they won’t be interested in a $100 credit for another mattress. In this case, a third-party reward like an Amazon or Visa gift card would be better. 

Think about who to reward

In single-sided programs, rewarding the referred customer vs. the existing customer attracts more new customers. 

Think about it—the recipient (new customer or user) needs the reward. They’re the ones who are going to try something new. It makes sense to encourage existing customers to refer their peers, but if they’re already purchasing your product or service, they most likely love your brand. So, they need less motivation to say good things about it.  Plus, getting a reward for their loved ones and peers can increase their social standing with them. 

Get the reward value right

You may feel tempted to keep reward values small. While you don’t want to break the budget with an unrealistic reward value, you still need to offer enough to pique your audience’s interest. 

Common reward types and values for various industries:

The team at SaaSquatch by impact.com has found that brands should start with a moderately high value and lower it as the program garners more attention. For example, Uber initially offered a $20 dual-sided reward for riders. As the app became more of a hit, it decreased the reward value to a minimum of $2 off users’ first three rides and a $5 reward for the referrer.

Factors like reward values can change over time. Using sound technology allows you to make these changes regularly without hassles.

Make widgets customer-friendly by continually adjusting and testing

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. You’ll probably push it aside if you have to jump through hoops to make referrals. Users want a quick and easy way to get and give rewards. A well-placed and easy-to-navigate widget drives customers to promote your brand. 

Consider a widget a simple feature you build, put on your website, and walk away from. But, you should continually engage people and build relationships to fire up referrals. 

Customers want a frictionless experience. For instance, if you have a web or mobile app, make it easy to log in with a single sign-on or a click of a button. The referring person also wants to know the status of their referrals— a dashboard makes this a breeze. Knowing the status of referrals gives customers confidence in the program and reduces support tickets. 

Most support tickets for referral programs are related to the status of referrals. Customers ask questions like: 

• Did my friend get my referral?
• Where’s my referral?
• What happened to my referral?”

Building a widget includes the technical aspects, such as links and codes, but it doesn’t end there. Think of your referral program as a landing page. If your copy doesn’t resonate, spice it up. You can use alliteration, puns, or humor to spark audience interest. Experiment with different images to see what captures the most attention. Then, use the key findings to create assets that your customers will love. 

For example, RingCentral uses a bold visual, catchy alliteration (Refer RingCentral), an enticing reward, and a chance to win a trip to Hawaii.

Actively promote your program—don’t hide it

Don’t make your program an Easter egg on your site. Avoid placing it in obscure places like a user’s account settings, hoping it will garner attention before you start properly promoting it. While this tactic feels safe, it’s more likely to fail and falsely prove the program didn’t work well at attaining new customers.  

Instead, put a referral program front and center across various customer touchpoints. Get it onto your website, apps, and regular email marketing. Create a plan to make it accessible and include a combination of evergreen and one-off campaigns to promote the referral program.  

Also, be sure to consider seasonality. For instance, MetalPay showed appreciation to its loyal customers by giving them a bonus for each referral. Apply this to your program by offering bonus rewards or gifts, double points, or entering referrers into a grand prize competition. 

Your referral promotion plan deserves as much thought and planning as any marketing strategy. For the best results, include CTAs for your programs across all channels—emails, landing pages, blog posts, social, and in-product marketing. Don’t forget to train your sales and CSM teams to promote your program effectively. 

How referral technology drives marketing success

Referral marketing platforms make a substantial difference in fraud prevention and customer service. This technology also allows for program design and rules flexibility, and lets you match your program with your brand’s look and feel. Brands should focus on their core competencies and outsource referral software instead of relying solely on their engineering teams.

Additionally, in-house-built solutions rarely function at the high level that dedicated software does, and they often miss essential components. Only some people have significant experience running referral programs and should be cautious when building an in-house solution. For these reasons, external referral marketing software is recommended. 

Referral marketing platform features you need to know

Choosing a referral marketing platform can feel like buying a new car. All the bells and whistles sound pretty, but you only need practical features that are easy to use and quick to scale. 

Here’s what we recommend looking for in a solid platform: 

Flexibility of rules/ability to adjust

Consider the flexibility of rules when evaluating referral programs. If you have a basic program, limited adjustments to the rules may be sufficient. However, most brands need greater flexibility to achieve success.

Here are some flexibility questions to consider:

• Does the technology make it easy to customize widgets?
• Can I adjust the reward rules easily?
• Is the technology user-friendly?
• Will the platform allow me to use my brand’s look and feel?
• Does the technology have customer service and support capabilities?
• Does the technology track, prevent, and manage abuse of the program?

Deep reporting insights

Most customers will refer three to five times, but the best referrers surpass ten referrals. These referrers act more like affiliates or influencers, meaning it’s a great time to recruit them as partners. The right technology pinpoints your top referrers and reaches out automatically. Tracking referrals over time reveals promising candidates for deeper relationships and further strengthens the customer’s trust in your brand. 

Fraud prevention and GDPR compliance

Designing a program that doesn’t make it commercially viable for someone to defraud your system is essential. Fraud prevention can be somewhat achieved through rule design.  

However, cybercrime is still rife, costing the world economy more than $1 trillion—up more than 50 percent from 2018. With the high levels of cybercrime, using technology with fraud protection becomes essential. This technology detects suspicious behaviors, including self-referrals and excessive program use. It analyzes data such as names, emails, and IP addresses. It also offers manual review processes and adjustable fraud detection settings. 

When looking at customers’ data safety, use GDPR compliance systems. Platforms like SaaSquatch by impact.com adhere to GDR compliance by not collecting identifiable information or creating profiles for referred customers until they agree to share their information.

Is referral marketing and technology only for bigger enterprises? 

Even small brands can grow with the right referral technology—business size doesn’t matter. However, you should have a strong value proposition and enough happy customers. Your team also needs executive buy-in and long-term commitment to purchase referral software. However, the right referral technology can significantly boost growth trajectory. 

If your brand is new, you may need to grasp your product market fit, so hold off on launching a referral program. Generating more brand awareness and strengthening the value and quality of your products or services makes more sense. 

Also, when starting a new program, you need to be realistic. For instance, if you’ve got 100 customers, the program probably won’t generate 5000 new customers in a year. A more realistic figure for a strong-performing program would be generating 10-30 percent of new revenue. 

The SaaSquatch by impact.com team has found that brands usually find their product market fit when they hit the mid-millions in revenue. 

The future of referral marketing and technology

The landscape of referral marketing will continue to change as new technology emerges. 

A recent trend is integrating referral, retargeting, and acquisition ads. Companies have seen great success with these combinations, and they will grow in popularity in the future. 

As technology advances, you should keep up with how referrals work on different platforms. Although most referrals take place on one-to-one platforms like direct messaging, you see outliers like people referring on TikTok and Instagram. 

In the future, you may need to learn to use different devices, such as the virtual reality headsets used in the Metaverse. But this cutting-edge technology may be a long way from trickling into the world of referrals.  

Lastly, AI will be more significant in scaling larger programs and assisting with program designs and rules. AI can also help with tracking referrals and automating communication. 

State of referral marketing report 2024

Learn how brands successfully leverage referral marketing to reach business goals 

Read the report

Ready to learn more about referral marketing? Check out these resources:

• The path to advocacy: Engaging customers from the start with Customer Marketing Leader Leslie Barrett [blog]
• Top 6 customer referral marketing trends  your brand can leverage in 2024 [blog] 
• 7 referral marketing strategies to grow your retail business [+stand-out brand examples] [blog]

FAQs about referral marketing and referral technology 

The post More than a pop-up: Building a customer referral program that scales [+ the tech that drives it] appeared first on impact.com.

Jenn saw great upfront success with her engagement campaigns using influencer content to drive brand awareness for Resident Home mattresses. However, she faced a huge challenge finding that same success in converting with her creator partners.

Then she had a lightbulb moment. She could leverage creators’ user-generated content (UGC) to support content created on affiliate review sites. Resident Home built a content library from creators to distribute to affiliate partners. 

That example shows one of the many ways brands can work with affiliates and creators across the funnel.  

With affiliate marketing driving 16 percent of e-commerce sales and the global influencer marketing market size tripling since 2019, these two channels together can drive brand awareness and conversions efficiently and effectively. 

The fusion of affiliate-driven traffic and influencer trust creates a powerful pathway to broaden reach, enhance credibility, and speed up conversions at every interaction point—ultimately linking the entire customer journey. Explore essential strategies for leveraging the full-funnel benefits of affiliate and influencer marketing for your brand.

6 best practices to reach customers across the funnel with affiliates and influencers 

Brands that work with affiliates and creators across the entire customer journey are positioned to: 

• Maximize their reach 
• Resonate with diverse audiences 
• Forge deeper connections with customers 
• Turn passive observers into passionate advocates

How can a brand combine the strengths of affiliate and influencer marketing strategies? Industry experts share their insights, tips, and best practices to guide you through this dynamic approach. 

Converging affiliate and influencer marketing 

Watch the replay for strategic tips for full-funnel dominance. 

Watch now

The experts

• Whitney Niesz. Senior Global Affiliate and Influencer Marketing Lead, Amazon Music
• Jennifer (Jenn) Betz. VP of Affiliates, Influencers & Partnerships, Resident Home

1. Broaden the metrics of success 

Focusing solely on sales and return on investment (ROI) leads to a narrow view of your marketing effort’s effectiveness. Whitney emphasized the need to consider engagement metrics.

Measuring full-funnel metrics is crucial in understanding a customer’s journey from initial awareness to conversion— and beyond retention and loyalty. It allows marketers to understand the effectiveness of their influencers and affiliates at each stage of the marketing funnel. Here’s why it’s important:

1. Comprehensive understanding of performance: Full-funnel metrics provide a more holistic view of your marketing efforts. They allow you to see whether an influencer or affiliate drives conversions and how they contribute to brand awareness, consideration, and loyalty.

2. Better attribution: By tracking full-funnel metrics, you can better attribute the impact of your influencers and affiliates. For example, an influencer might only drive a few direct conversions, but they play a key role in raising awareness or influencing consideration.

3. Optimization of strategy: Understanding performance at each stage of the funnel allows you to optimize your strategy. You can identify where influencers and affiliates are most effective and adjust your tactics accordingly.

4. Identifying potential issues: If there’s a drop-off at any stage of the funnel, full-funnel metrics can help identify the problem. For example, if many people are becoming aware of your brand but only a few are considering it, you might need to work on your messaging or targeting.

5. Long-term planning: Full-funnel metrics can support long-term planning by showing trends in how consumers interact with your brand over time. This can inform future strategies and partnerships.

Playing the long game  

Integrating affiliate and influencer strategies is often a long-term endeavor. Jenn shares her views on Resident Home’s influencer strategy, “The ROI for influencer marketing is mainly seen in user-generated content and can take time to convert into sales.”   

The temptation for brands to seek quick wins through short-term strategies is understandable, but investing in affiliate and influencer relationships ensures sustained growth. 

Nurturing these relationships goes beyond financial incentives, extending into support, communication, and shared experiences. Such strategies can include: 

• Extending exclusive access to new products and services
• Providing educational resources, updates, and industry trends
• Scheduling check-ins to address issues and provide feedback 
• Inviting affiliates and influencers for co-creation opportunities on campaigns and content

These efforts result in a loyal network of affiliates and influencers dedicated to your brand. You create a community of trusted voices that amplify your brand’s message through authentic and engaging narratives.

This community becomes a powerful force for driving consistent results, leveraging their credibility and reach to engage existing audiences and captivate new ones continuously.

2. Customize your incentive strategy for each channel 

By incentivizing a diverse group of affiliates and influencers, brands can tap into different audience segments and demographics, broadening their campaign’s scope and reach.

Jen shares how the team used product and financial incentives to recruit a wide range of partners who were motivated to promote the brand actively. 

Innovative brands ingeniously incorporate affiliate linking into their influencer collaborations, maximizing their marketing budget. The dual-reward model compensates influencers with a fee for their content and a commission for the tangible sales their efforts generate. 

This approach marries the authenticity and creative prowess of influencer marketing with the performance-driven and ROI-focused nature of affiliate marketing.

One of the most compelling benefits for affiliates is access to a rich library of user-generated content (UGC) from influencers. Brands providing affiliates with a curated selection of UGC equips them with a versatile toolkit for crafting compelling and persuasive narratives that drive conversion.

With more enriched partnerships, Dynamic Payouts—such as bonuses and commission tiers—allow your brand to incentivize affiliate partners based on the incrementality they drive. 

3. Deliver evergreen content for full-funnel engagement 

As Jenn mentions, ‘Diversifying your content and creators you work with are two ways you can optimize your program.’ Competition for consumers’ attention and engagement is fierce. So, strategically selecting various affiliates and influencers brings unique voices, audiences, and content styles. 

Brands ensure their message is heard, resonates, and relates across different target audience segments. This diversity delivers evergreen content along the marketing funnel.   

Evergreen content reflects the timeless, perpetually relevant nature of topics and information that resonates with audiences regardless of the current trend or season. It ensures that your message remains relevant and attracts an audience over time.

Potential customers stay engaged, educated, and nurtured towards conversion—irrespective of where they are in the buyer’s journey. 

Whitney encourages brands to embrace this strategy. 

Evergreen content across the buyer’s journey 

Awareness stage: Influencers can create evergreen content introducing your brand or product to their audiences. This could be a blog post about the benefits of your product, a YouTube video reviewing your product, or an Instagram post showcasing your product in use. Because this content is evergreen, it will continue to raise awareness for your brand long after it’s first published.

Consideration stage: Affiliates can write comprehensive guides or reviews about your product that help potential customers decide. Again, because this content is evergreen, it will continue influencing potential customers for a long time.

Decision stage: Both influencers and affiliates can create evergreen content that convinces potential customers to purchase. This might be a detailed product comparison, a testimonial, or a case study demonstrating the effectiveness of your product.

Retention stage: Even after a purchase, evergreen content can still play a role. For example, influencers or affiliates could create how-to guides or tutorials that help customers get the most out of your product. This adds value for existing customers and can attract potential customers researching your product. They can also create content for complementary products, subscriptions, and upsells. 

4. Tailor experiences for affiliates and influencers

While the mechanics of a convergence strategy might intersect, nurturing long-lasting relationships with affiliates and influencers needs to be distinct and personalized. Brands need to acknowledge each unique contribution to the narrative of powering the entire sales funnel. 

• Affiliates are conversion experts who introduce and convert visitors into buyers. 
• Influencers are content pros who drive awareness and engagement.

Jenn underscores the importance of tailoring experiences to each group by mentioning, ‘[affiliates and influencers] are very, very different from each other, and our goal at the end of the day is building relationships with both.’ 

Here are some strategies for both:

Influencers:

1. Align with brand values: Choose influencers whose personal brand, content, and audience align with your brand values and target demographic. Their authenticity can greatly impact your brand’s image.
2. Collaborative approach: Work collaboratively with influencers. Allow them creative freedom as they understand their audience best. Treat them as partners rather than just marketing tools.
3. Provide value beyond money: Offer influencers more than just monetary compensation. This could be exclusive access to products, invites to events, or opportunities for cross-promotion.
4. Long-term work: Instead of one-off campaigns, build long-term relationships that lead to more work. This shows commitment and can lead to more organic, authentic promotion.

Affiliates:

1. Clear communication: Communicate your expectations, commission structure, and other important affiliate program details.
2. Support for their role: Provide affiliates with the resources they need to succeed, such as marketing materials, product information, and training.
3. Performance incentives: Offer bonuses or higher commission rates for high-performing affiliates to encourage them to put in more effort.
4. Regular check-ins: Regularly check in with your affiliates to address issues or concerns and keep them engaged and motivated.

By investing in relationships through tailored experiences, affiliates and influencers feel valued and understood, fostering a sense of loyalty and enthusiasm for promoting your brand. 

Jenn further highlights this point from the influencer’s perspective. In her words, ‘[creators] want to stick and keep working with a brand and provide that content. So, when you have that good relationship, you’ll find that the content you’re getting from them is fantastic.’

Whitney also acknowledges the role of human interaction in lasting relationships with affiliates and influencers. 

5. Let data guide decision-making

As Whitney confirms, ‘Today’s buyers are more informed than ever. And having that full-funnel tracking visibility helps all teams.’ Invaluable insights empower brands and partners to make informed decisions, adapt strategies swiftly, and optimize campaigns to ensure maximum ROI.  

Comprehensive data helps categorize influencers and affiliates by performance and aligns efforts with the most effective ones. Jenn discusses using data to pinpoint top-performing influencer types to partner with in future campaigns. 

Improve your strategy with data

Furthermore, you can use reports strategically to highlight trends, identify improvement opportunities, and adjust payment strategies. Jenn shares how impact.com’s Contribution Report helped visualize influencer’s contributions. The team used this data to optimize payouts aligned with each influencer’s true value. 

The report includes:

Touchpoint timeline: This shows each touchpoint a consumer had with your brand before purchasing. It can help you understand which partners drive initial awareness, influence consideration, and ultimately lead to conversions.

Partner contribution: This section breaks down each partner’s contribution to your overall sales. It can help you determine which partners are most valuable and where to focus your efforts.

Attribution analysis: The report also provides insights into how credit for sales is attributed among your partners. This can help ensure that all partners are fairly rewarded for their contributions.

Conversion path analysis: You can see customers’ different paths to conversion, helping you understand the customer journey and optimize your marketing strategy.

6. Automate your way to success 

Automation drives progress— from streamlining processes and tracking performance to simplifying payments and fostering data-driven decision-making. Whitney states, ‘You can be a leader within your organization with partnership automation. And it’s really the way of our future.’

She further elaborates on the benefits of automation through a management platform, such as impact.com: 

• Enables global tracking 
• Simplifies payment processes
• Facilitates content sharing 

Automation enhances agility, reinforces partner relationships, and drives superior campaign performance. Here are several ways you can automate these relationships:

• Affiliate management platforms: These can automate partner recruitment, tracking, payment, and communication.

• Influencer marketing platforms: These tools can help automate the process of finding, contacting, and managing influencers. They also provide analytics to track performance. 

• Email automation: Use email automation tools to contact your partners. You can automate welcome emails, campaign updates, payment confirmations, and more.
  
• Automated reporting: Use tools that automatically gather and analyze data from your partnerships. This can help you easily track performance, calculate payouts, and identify areas for improvement.

• AI-powered discovery tools: AI can help identify potential partners who align with your brand values and target audience.

• Chatbots: Use chatbots to handle routine inquiries from your partners, freeing up your time to focus on more complex tasks.

• Smart contracts: In blockchain-based affiliate programs, smart contracts can automatically enforce the terms of your partnership and trigger payments when certain conditions are met.

Many brands like Walmart, Uber, and American Express find value in impact.com’s AI-optimized platform. Their teams used advanced automation tools to power affiliate and influencer management, driving business success. 

Converging affiliate and influencer marketing

Watch the replay for strategic tips for full-funnel dominance. 

Watch now

Questions asked following the webinar

Working with affiliates and influencers as part of your strategy 

Brands investing in affiliate and influencer marketing can gain significant benefits. In affiliate marketing, brands reward based on performance, reducing the risk of wasted funds. Affiliates help access new audiences, and tracking systems show which drive traffic and conversions.

Influencer marketing allows brands to capitalize on influencers’ established trust with their followers. Influencers’ recommendations hold sway, enhancing consumer trust in the brand. Collaborating with influencers can significantly enhance brand visibility and reputation. Their authentic content resonates with audiences, driving higher engagement rates.

These marketing strategies must be considered to avoid missed opportunities. Affiliate and influencer marketing drive sales, building trust with customers. In the digital age, leveraging these tactics gives brands a competitive edge.

Use these impact.com resources for more insights into creating a winning strategy that integrates affiliate and influencer marketing: 

• Awareness to retention: How affiliates and influencers connect the entire customer journey [Infographic] 
• Partnerships marketing: How to achieve exponential growth and provide exceptional customer experiences [ebook] 
• Affiliate and Partnerships Industry—Expert certificate path [Free PXA course]
• Getting started with Influencer Partnerships [Free PXA course]

The post How merging affiliate and influencer marketing expands reach, strengthens credibility, and accelerates conversions appeared first on impact.com.

Lasting partnerships can help brand and affiliate partners collaborate better and improve campaigns. However, affiliates must demonstrate their value to reach long-term collaborator status. Here are five insider tips to help you toot your own horn to brands.  

5 ways to align your affiliate partnership values to brands 

When your values as an affiliate resonate with those of the brands you’re partnering with, it’s like hitting the jackpot.

You’re representing a brand, promoting their products or services, and communicating their message to your audience. If your values don’t align with the brand’s, the disconnect will show—affecting authenticity, which today’s consumers appreciate. On the other hand, when your values match, you foster partnerships built on shared beliefs.

So, how do you ensure value alignment? Consider these tips to highlight the value you deliver to brands. 

1. Build lasting relationships with regular communications 

Building solid relationships with your brand partners is ongoing. Like watering a plant––a little care goes a long way. 

Regular check-ins show a genuine investment in mutual success. Depending on the brand and campaign you’re working on, schedule weekly, monthly, or quarterly check-ins. These sessions are a chance to talk about:

•  What’s working well
• If you’re still aligned on campaign goals
• How else can you help with the campaign

Management solutions such as impact.com automate communications. You can engage in meaningful conversation by quickly accessing your brand partner’s profile, which allows you to contact them via email or the in-app chat options. 

2. Provide customer insights and the latest trends 

Remember, your role isn’t just to promote. It’s also to be an eye and ear to the ground. If you notice customers are providing consistent feedback (good or bad), share it with your brand partner and find ways to incorporate it. Be solution-oriented rather than a simple funnel for news from the outside.

Also, watch for the next big thing: a social media trend, a holiday, or a shift in consumer interests. Propose affiliate campaigns that tap into these trends and show brand partners how these ideas can lead to growth.

3. Share data-backed success stories

When trying to show your value, nothing speaks louder than success stories. Have you helped a brand increase sales? Did your campaign bring in tons of new customers? Openly share these wins and have the data to show why they worked.

It’s like telling a story where you’re the hero who helps brands succeed. These wins help existing partners understand your value and why they should repeat your collaboration. 

Plus, real-life results make it easier for potential new partners to see what you can do for them.

Additionally, numbers speak volumes, so keep track of everything. Depending on the brand and campaign goals, these metrics could include: 

• Traffic you bring to your partner’s site
• Number of conversions
• Click-through rates
• Growth in followers or subscribers
• Increase in audience engagement 

These stats are proof of the impact you’re making. When you can say, “Look, I increased sales by 20%,” it’s compelling evidence to brands of your tangible contribution. Make it a priority to provide regular updates on these stats. 

Reporting suites such as the ones provided by impact.com make collecting, interpreting, and sharing data easy and accessible. For instance, the Performance by Brand report tracks data according to each creator’s social posts for a specific brand. You can provide insights into your important KPIs, including actions, clicks, etc. 

4. Use data to build long-term success 

To be a top-notch partner, you need to embrace your inner detective. Data is a great way to prove you know what you are doing and to build longevity in a partnership. 

Use this knowledge, plus the data you collected earlier, like customer preferences and buying habits, to guide your strategies. When you suggest ideas backed by solid data, brands will see you as the go-to expert who knows what works. 

It’s also key to understand partner brands inside out. It’s like knowing a friend so well you can finish their sentences. Study the brand’s values, its audience, and its products. This deep dive helps you align your content and promotions with the brand’s values. 

When you’re in sync with the brand, your promotions feel more genuine; customers can sense that. It’s all about being the perfect fit.

5. Schedule time for a comprehensive campaign debriefing 

Debriefing campaigns with brands as affiliates helps understand the impact of your collaborations and forge stronger, more effective partnerships moving forward.

This strategic approach allows both parties to dissect what worked, what didn’t, and how to enhance future campaigns for maximum success. Here are several strategies and questions that can drive valuable feedback and insights

• Quantitative analysis: Examine tangible metrics such as conversion rates, click-through rates, and overall sales generated. Ask, “Which specific aspects of our campaign drove the most engagement or conversions?”

• Qualitative insights: Understand the brand perception and customer feedback during the campaign. Inquire, “What feedback did we receive from the audiences about the campaign? How did it align with brand values?”

• Innovation opportunities: Seek insights on emerging trends and technologies that you can incorporate into future campaigns. Question, “What new tools or features can we leverage next time to enhance our reach or engagement?”

• Efficiency improvements: Identify areas of the campaign process that you can optimize for better efficiency or cost-effectiveness. Consult, “Which parts of our campaign execution could be streamlined or optimized for better results?”

By adopting these approaches, affiliates and brands lay the groundwork for more impactful and efficient future campaigns. 

Build better relationships with brands for long-term partnerships

Successfully partnering with brands requires more than setting up an affiliate marketing campaign. When you go above and beyond as an affiliate partner, you have a higher chance of establishing long-term relationships with brands. Start by sharing ideas, highlighting your successes, and requesting feedback. Partners who do this show they’re valuable to any brand’s team. 

To take your partnership marketing skills to the next level, enroll in the PXA Course. It’s your chance to master the art of effective partnerships and reach new heights with affiliate marketing.

For more info and guidance on affiliate partnerships, check out these impact.com resources: 

• How to run a SaaS affiliate program (blog post)
• The state of partnership marketing (report) 
• Awareness to retention: How affiliates and influencers connect the entire customer journey (infographic)
• TUI uses impact.com to stay ahead of the curve (testimonial)

The post 5 ways to show brands your true value as an affiliate partner  appeared first on impact.com.

But there’s a hurdle standing between you and long-term success: scaling up brand collabs and income streams. 

With over 200 million creators worldwide, there’s stiff competition for collabs. You must set clear expectations and negotiate with brands to earn what you’re worth in this market. Too many creators miss better paydays because of low rates, unclear services, and fuzzy contract terms. 

If you want to level up your brand deals and earn more, create the perfect influencer rate card. 

Some people see a rate card as a fixed menu of rates and services for brands. But it can be a powerful tool in the right hands—highlighting your worth and negotiating the best deals with brands. 

Your rate card is a payment conversation starter 

A carefully curated rate card shows potential partners how you can help them smash their marketing goals (and how much they need to pay to access your skills). 

Consider it a jumping-off point when chatting with brands—not the final say. Your rate card should show your base commission rates to brands and be a consistent point of reference for yourself. 

A common mistake creators make is asking brands to pick a service from the rate and then jumping straight into discussing contract terms. This approach locks you into generic pricing before understanding the project’s full scope. 

Instead, frame your rate card as a listing of base rates that can guide negotiations with the brand. No matter how great the opportunity, you don’t want to move too fast and sell yourself short. 

When you correctly use a strong rate card, you enter brand talks as a pro content creator—and can get better deals and pay along the way.

Download impact.com’s rate card template to design a card that will advance your brand deal negotiations. 

Media kit vs rate card: understanding the difference

If you already have an awesome media kit, why bother with a rate card? Well, they serve different purposes—even if there’s some overlap.

Media kits are useful for pitching brands, but rate cards are useful when you’re a little further into partnership discussions. 

Here’s the full breakdown:

Media kits sum up your story, style, and content, introducing you to brands who may have never heard of you. It acts as your professional portfolio, showcasing your previous collabs, audience demographics, and unique value to potential brand partners. 

You design a media kit to pique brand interest and show how teaming up with you can produce real results. 

Rate cards focus on negotiations rather than introductions. Your media kit has opened the door to collaboration—and now your rate card steps in to spark meaningful discussions about specific projects and pricing.

Your rate card will have a list of services and base rates, but it may also show engagement metrics, audience size, and more to back up your pricing. Instead of giving an introductory overview (such as your media kit), a clear rate card drives home why you’re worth every penny. 

5 crucial steps for creating (and updating) your rate card

A thoughtfully crafted rate card will help you stay competitive with industry norms to access better opportunities and grow your income.

So, let’s nail down the nitpicky details of creating your rate card and keeping it fresh. Keep these five steps in mind. 

1. Breakdown your services

Before diving into creating your rate card, take a moment to plan out all the details you want to include. Getting this done in advance ensures you’ll have everything sorted out when you’re ready to design your card later.

Grab a pen and paper, or open a new Google doc. This will be your space to lay out all the information you want to include.

Start by defining the types of posts, reels, or longer videos you want to provide. There are many ways for creators to make money, but you should consider what makes you unique.

Content creators don’t need to master everything—so customize your list of services around your strengths. This is especially important when it comes to user-generated content (UGC). 

For example, you could center your services around your top-notch cinematography or writing skills. Or, focus more on hands-on demos and product breakdowns. 

Try adding extra options for partners, such as in-person events or extended campaigns. 

Plus, consider what content works best in your niche. You want to offer services and content types that: 

• Engage your audience to boost brand awareness
• Increase purchase intent to raise brand revenue 

The more effectively your content can help brands meet their goals, the more you can charge.

2. Outline your baseline rates and terms

With your list of services in hand, start determining your rates. These prices aren’t just for brands—you can also use them as a baseline for yourself during negotiations. 

Think about how you like to get paid first. Do you prefer a flat fee or getting commissions based on engagement? This helps you know what kind of pricing models you’ll want to look into. 

Then, consider how you want brands to collab with you. For instance, if you prefer to develop long-term relationships with brands, you may want to offer a small discount for ongoing campaigns vs one-time posts. Getting a handle on this will help you figure out if including discounts in your packages or deals is a good idea.

Now, start researching what prices make sense for you and your niche. Take your time. There are a lot of different things to look into when setting your prices, but here’s a few ideas:

• Check with other creators in your niche
• Dig deeper to get to know your target audience and the kind of brands you want to work with
• Study what influencers typically charge and the pricing models of successful creators using online platforms, industry reports, and social media discussions 

By comprehensively understanding your niche and ideal brand partners, you can refine your pricing strategy effectively and stay competitive.

Once you’ve researched and landed on some solid numbers, add your base pricing to each service or package in your doc. 

Thankfully, these prices aren’t set in stone. Your baseline rates will change based on rush fees, usage rights, production costs, and any other factors you want to include on your rate card. 

Make it easier to find your perfect match

Optimize your impact.com Marketplace listing and find your dream brand partner.

See how

3. Pull key audience and engagement metrics

Before you start designing your rate card, you must consider how to justify your base rates to brands. 

Many rate cards include key metrics that remind brands of your value, such as: 

• Audience size
• Engagement rate
• Average reach
• Average impressions
• Notable brands you’ve worked with

You don’t have to dive deep into all your metrics like in a media kit, but sharing a few key stats shows brands why you’re worth the cost. 

Remember the type of brands you’ll work with most and which numbers will resonate with them.

Capture the metrics you’ve decided to highlight in your doc. 

4. Design a clear and concise rate card

Now, you can move on to the best part: bringing your rate card to life! 

You have all the details you need in your document where you’ve jotted down the metrics, services, and base prices. Now, let’s present this info on a fully designed rate card that matches your personal brand.

Giving brands a well-organized, professionally designed rate card boosts your credibility as a creator. It signals to brands that you’re a pro—and your pricing reflects that.

Thankfully, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. Partnership experts at impact.com crafted a customizable rate card template that gives you a place to start. 

You can also use other design tools such as GIMP, Photoshop, or Canva to create your own. 

5. Keep updating and refining over time

After designing your rate card, keep it updated as you move from project to project. 

Maybe you don’t want to offer that service package again. Or, you want to lean into different types of content (such as gift guides or TikTok shorts). New trends might boost content formats—and change what you want to focus on. 

But what exact details are you updating? Here’s how to keep your card fresh:

• Keep tracking your time with each new project. Your workflow will change as you level up your production value or take on new challenges, so don’t undervalue yourself with outdated timelines and prices. 
• Update your services and skip unpopular options. Try adding new options, dropping content types you dread, and clearing out rarely-used services and bundles. 
• Raise your rates as you improve. As you learn more, ensure your prices reflect your growth and don’t undersell yourself: streamlining your workflow doesn’t mean you need to charge less.

Make it easier to find your perfect match

Optimize your impact.com Marketplace listing and find your dream brand partner.

See how

FAQs

Putting your influencer rate card to work

Kick off your relationships with brands the right way. Use a clear influencer rate card to prove your worth and set yourself up for lasting success as an influencer for top brands.

Now that your new rate card is ready, it’s time to connect with potential brand partners. With impact.com / Creator, you can easily handle communication and negotiation all in one place. You can be transparent about timelines, desired results, and critical engagement metrics to track. 

Sign up for impact.com / Creator today. 

Want to learn more about landing brand deals? Check out these articles:

• How much do influencers charge per post in 2023? (blog)
• 5 research-backed ways creators can stand out when pitching brands (blog)
• Creators, here’s why you didn’t get accepted to that brand campaign (blog)

The post Influencer rate card: what it is and how to use it for negotiations appeared first on impact.com.

It’s become a top choice for those looking to carve out their space in the online marketplace due to the robust tools and resources offered. The ongoing innovation and backing from the platform are expected to connect Shopify sellers with over 700 million potential buyers by 2024.

But success isn’t guaranteed. With competition heating up and consumer behavior changing constantly, standing out is a challenge.

The total annual revenue for all Shopify stores exceeds 5.5 billion, and more than 2.7 million merchants use the platform, making it clear that it is a significant player in online retail.

So, how can you rise above these challenges as a Shopify store owner and truly make your mark? The answer lies in your marketing strategy. 

Here are the top six strategies to grow your storefront: 

1. Optimize your storefront to show up in search engines
2. Implement content marketing to drive brand awareness and equity
3. Send email campaigns and newsletters with personalized messaging and offers
4. Hop on social media platforms for enhanced engagement and sales
5. Partner with influencers and content creators to find new audiences
6. Collaborate with affiliates to increase return on spend

Optimize your storefront to show up in search engines

You’ve got a fantastic product line and a sleek online storefront. However, even the most attractive and well-stocked Shopify store won’t do much good if your potential customers can’t find it. That’s where SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, comes into play.

So, why is SEO important for your Shopify store? Let’s dive in.

SEO increases store visibility

Google processes more than 3.5 billion searches per day. When you optimize your store for search engines, it’s more likely to appear in the search results when potential customers look for products like yours—which translates to more traffic and, ultimately, more sales.

Using relevant keywords, optimizing metadata, and creating high-quality content can improve your search engine rankings and drive organic traffic to your Shopify store.

SEO targets quality traffic

Unlike traditional “outbound” advertising channels, which involve reaching out to consumers whether they want to hear from you, SEO is an “inbound” strategy. It involves making your store easy to find when people seek information about your product or industry. It’s customer-centric, and it’s effective.

SEO practices enhance the user experience on your site

Search engines like Google prioritize sites that are well-structured, easy to navigate, and filled with relevant content. By optimizing for SEO, you’re also making your site more enjoyable for human visitors. This means better engagement, increased time on site, and more conversions.

Here are some actionable steps you could take:

Optimize your product titles: Make your product titles descriptive and keyword-rich. This tells search engines what your products are about and makes it easier for potential customers to find you.

Leverage meta descriptions: Think of meta descriptions as your storefront’s ad copy on search engine results pages. Write compelling, concise descriptions that include your key phrases to attract clicks.

Use ALT tags: Search engines can’t see images, but can read alt tags. Include descriptive alt tags for all your images, especially product photos.

Implement content marketing to drive brand awareness and equity

Now that you’re searchable, how can you make your brand stand out in the crowded e-commerce space?

The answer is simple: content marketing.

With a well-executed content strategy—including how-to articles, product use videos, case studies, and more—you can build awareness and brand equity that sets you apart from the competition. Let’s explore how.

Content builds awareness

Think of content as your brand’s megaphone. It’s how you tell the world who you are, what you offer, and why it matters. Blog posts, webinars, workshops, and video tutorials offer opportunities to get your message out there and attract potential customers. 

And it’s not just about quantity. Quality is crucial. You’ll see more traffic to your store when consistently producing relevant, engaging content.

Content establishes brand equity

In ecommerce, trust is everything. Content helps you establish that trust by showcasing your expertise and credibility. For example, if you run a clothing store, you might share fashion tips or behind-the-scenes looks at how your products are made. This kind of content sells products while telling a story that builds a connection with your audience.

What’s more, informative, relevant content that offers value can turn customers into advocates for your brand. 

Here are a few ways to add content to your marketing strategy:

​​Start a blog to educate people on your industry: It’s your platform to share valuable insights, tips, and updates with your customers. You’re the expert in your field, so why not share that knowledge? And here’s a bonus—search engines love fresh, relevant content.

Create video content to bring people into your business: People spend an average of 17 hours per week watching videos. So, it’s best to catch them with a medium they want to consume. Whether it’s a product demo, a how-to guide, or a peek into your day-to-day operations, video content can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.

Host webinars or workshops: Show off your expertise and interact with your customers in real time. It’s a great way to build trust and establish your brand as an industry leader.

Send email campaigns and newsletters with personalized messaging and offers

Email marketing is direct and personal. It allows you to communicate with your customers on a one-to-one basis. You’re not just a business broadcasting messages into the void but building relationships. 

And these relationships can lead to trust, loyalty, and ultimately, sales.

Plus, email marketing is incredibly versatile. From welcome emails and order confirmations to newsletters and special offers—you’ve got a range of options to engage your customers. Each type of email serves a different purpose, yet it all contributes to a cohesive customer journey.

Moreover, with email, you have complete control over your messaging and timing. There’s no algorithm deciding who gets to see your message. 

This enables you to deliver relevant information to your customers precisely when it is most needed.

Email is a more cost-effective way to connect 

The beauty of email marketing lies in its scalability. Whether you’re reaching out to 100 people or 10,000, the cost remains relatively consistent. This scalability is something you don’t often see with traditional marketing methods, making email an affordable option for businesses of all sizes.

And with scalability, you also get precise targeting. 

You can reach the right people at the right time through segmentation and personalization. This reduces wastage and improves conversion rates, giving you more return on effort.

Plus, this channel provides measurable results. Here’s what you can track with Shopify email marketing:

Email opens: This metric tells you how many subscribers opened your email marketing campaigns. Known as the open rate, this is a crucial indicator of how well your subject lines are working to pique the interest of your subscribers.

Click-through rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of email recipients who clicked on one or more links contained in an email. This metric helps you understand what content resonates best with your audience.

Conversion rate: This is the percentage of email recipients who clicked on a link within an email and completed a desired action, such as purchasing. Tracking conversions can help you measure the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns in driving sales.

Bounce rate: This refers to the percentage of your total emails sent that couldn’t be delivered to the recipient’s inbox. A high bounce rate could indicate issues with your subscriber list or delivery issues.

Subscriber growth rate: This measures the rate at which your email list grows. Keeping an eye on this metric can help you gauge the health of your list and the success of your list-building efforts.

This data not only helps you gauge the success of your campaigns but also guides future strategy, ensuring every dollar spent is a dollar well invested.

Get a greater return on your investment with email

On average, businesses see a return on investment (ROI) of $36 for every $1 spent on email marketing. And when it comes to customer acquisition, each send is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than Meta, making it a powerful tool in your customer acquisition strategy

Hop on social media platforms for enhanced engagement and sales

Connection is paramount, and social media is invaluable for elevating your brand’s presence and driving sales. Engaging on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok can transform how you connect with your audience, offering a blend of entertainment, information, and community building.

Amplify your brand’s voice

Social media offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with your audience in places they hang out most often. By crafting compelling content that resonates with your followers, you can foster a community of loyal customers eager to support and share your brand.

This includes using stories, live broadcasts, and interactive polls to gauge customer preferences, collect feedback, and personalize the shopping experience.

Share user-generated content to build trust

Statistics reveal that 92 percent of consumers trust user-generated content (UGC) more than traditional advertising. Encouraging your customers to share their experiences with your products provides you with authentic marketing material and builds trust with potential customers browsing your social media channels.

Drive traffic and sales with social commerce features

Platforms like Instagram and TikTok offer integrated shopping features, allowing customers to discover and purchase products without leaving the app. By setting up shop on these platforms, you can streamline the purchasing process, making it as seamless as possible for your customers.

Shopify’s integration with these social commerce features guarantees synchronized inventory and orders, ensuring a streamlined operational process.

Partner with influencers and content creators to find new audiences

Influencer marketing has become a powerful and effective way to reach new audiences and drive sales. By partnering with influencers and content creators in your niche, you can leverage their engaged audience and tap into their credibility to promote your products.

These partners can offer significant advantages for your brands. Here’s how:

Expanded reach: When collaborating with influencers, your brand gains exposure to their established audience. This enables your products to reach thousands or even millions of new customers who may not have otherwise come across your brand.

Trust and authenticity: People tend to trust recommendations from influencers they follow. According to research, nearly 57% say transparency is the most important value they look for when following an influencer. By partnering with these trusted voices, your brand shares that trust, making potential customers more likely to consider your products.

Relevance: Your brand’s best influencers are those with the same audience. This ensures that your products are promoted to people most likely interested in them, increasing the chance of conversions.

Efficiency and revenue: Influencer partnership programs can help your online business become more efficient while bringing in more revenue. Research shows that nearly 2 in 3 brands are increasing their budget for influencer marketing in 2024—which shows the ample opportunity with this channel.  

New opportunities: For content creators, platforms such as Shopify Collabs are gateways to new opportunities, enabling them to introduce their followers to brands they genuinely believe in.

The characteristics of trustworthy influencers as discovered in impact.com’s The state of influencer marketing for consumers in 2023.  

Consider influencers with fewer followers

5 reasons why your brand can benefit from working with nano- and micro-influencers 

Check it out

Find influencers who align with your brand values

Your influencer partners should sync with your brand and have a following that matches your target audience. This alignment ensures their endorsement will resonate and lead to genuine interest in your products.

Once you’ve identified these influencers, it’s time to reach out. Your partnership could involve product reviews, sponsored posts, or co-created content. Remember, it’s not just about getting your products in front of their audience. You want to it’s create engaging content that tells your brand story.

BBQGuys exceeded their influencer marketing benchmarks and broke into new audience segments

BBQGuys, a leading player in the grilling space, had its sights set on a diverse crowd—urban dwellers, LGBTQ+ couples, and female campers. The brand teamed up with impact.com’s managed services team, a partnership that allowed the team to break into new markets.

Together, they crafted a strategy to commission original content in diverse formats. The team also negotiated usage rights to repurpose it across different channels. This further amplified their reach, making the most of their influencers’ creativity.

The campaign generated over 90k impressions and almost 3k engagements, more than the contracted goal. And the engagement rate? An impressive 5.5 percent, more than double the benchmark for similar programs.

Campaign creatives from influencer partners that helped BBQGuys reach new audience segments. 

Collaborate with affiliates to increase return on spend

Unlike traditional advertising—where you pay upfront regardless of the results—affiliate marketing operates a pay-for-performance model. That means you only pay when a specific action, like a sale, lead, or click, is completed.

Imagine this: Instead of spending large amounts on ads and hoping for the best, you invest in partnerships with affiliates who promote your products to their audience. When their followers purchase through their unique link, you pay them a commission.

The result? More sales for you at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.

According to a study by the Performance Marketing Association, businesses earn an average of $6.85 for every dollar spent on affiliate marketing. This makes it a highly effective and cost-efficient way to drive sales for your Shopify store.

Cozy Earth built relationships with new partners and optimized existing relationships to obtain 109 percent YoY growth

Cozy Earth specializes in ethically produced luxury bedding, sleepwear, and loungewear. Not too long ago, they faced challenges with a limited pool of content partners and a lack of visibility in reporting.

The team migrated 60 partners onto the impact.com platform, building relationships with new content partners, optimizing existing partner relationships, blending PR and affiliate marketing strategies, and achieving a whopping 60 percent YoY business growth.

With newly implemented tracking and reporting capabilities, they could see exactly how each partner performed. This meant they could communicate regularly with partners, tweak their strategy, and make data-driven decisions.

And what was the outcome?

Cozy Earth experienced a staggering 109 percent YoY program growth in 2022, with a 72 percent YoY spending increase. They achieved a 912:1 return on investment in partnerships and saw a 92 percent YoY increase in online store traffic, with content partnerships accounting for 55 percent of their revenue.

Prepare your partners with the right resources

To achieve great success, it’s key to equip your affiliates and influencers with marketing materials, tracking tools, and incentives to boost their efforts and generate more revenue for your Shopify store. 

Platforms like impact.com provide a space to find new partners, collaborate, share assets, and handle tracking and reporting seamlessly within the software. Plus, they handle the payments, too!

Essential tools and strategies to drive your growth on Shopify

A comprehensive marketing strategy is vital for the success of your Shopify store. SEO, social media, influencer, and content marketing, along with strategic affiliate partnerships managed on platforms like impact.com, are not just strategies but essential tools that can drive your Shopify store’s growth.

Like Cozy Earth, your store can use these strategies to exceed your growth expectations, proving that the potential for success is limitless with the right tools and approaches.

FAQ

The post 6 must-have marketing strategies for your Shopify store in 2024 appeared first on impact.com.

You’ve done the work, and your content is on fire, yet you get that “thanks, but no thanks” email. It’s not just a hit to your inbox but to your confidence. 

Multiple factors could lead to your pitch failing to land, ranging from misaligned brand values to overlooked details.

Here are seven reasons brands might reject you from campaigns and how to turn those setbacks into comebacks. 

Table of contents:

1. Your creative offerings don’t align with the brand
2. Your pitch wasn’t personalized
3. You don’t have high engagement rates
4. Your content portfolio isn’t high-quality or consistent
5. You have the wrong audience demographics
6. You didn’t fit the brand’s budget
7. The brand didn’t communicate about the campaign well

1. Your creative offering doesn’t align with the brand (or they can’t tell it does) 

Brands could overlook your pitch if your creative offerings don’t match their expectations or they can’t see your full potential. 

All of your platforms should work together and connect to one another so brands can see your range of talents.

Brands seek creators who can integrate their narratives across various platforms. A disjointed online presence makes it challenging for brands to grasp what you can offer.

Matching your creative offering with ideal brands

Develop a comprehensive media kit: Your media kit should present your strengths, including diverse platform engagement and previous successful collaborations. It’s your opportunity to showcase your unique value. (Pro tip: Our media kit template can help you get started). 

Interlink your social profiles: Cross-promote your social media accounts, helping brands easily explore the breadth of your content. It’ll help grow your audiences on each platform, too.

Optimize your marketplace listings: Treat any marketplace profile like a dating profile for collabs. Detail your capabilities and ensure all your social channels are easily accessible. This enhances your visibility and attractiveness to potential brand partners. Learn more about how to optimize your impact.com Marketplace listing. 

2. Your pitch wasn’t personalized to the brand

In a sea of copy-paste pitches, standing out requires a tailored approach. Brands have a keen eye for authenticity and can quickly identify when a pitch lacks a personal touch.

Generic pitches are a missed opportunity to connect. Brands look for creators with a genuine affinity for their products or ethos. Our research reveals that 83% of brands view a deep love and understanding of their brand as a critical factor in forming successful partnerships. 

Source: What brands want: building successful creator partnerships in 2023

Brands say finding the right creator was their top challenge when working with influencers. So highlight what makes you an excellent fit for them.

A personalized pitch signals that you’ve done your homework, understand the brand’s vision, and are ready to create content that aligns with their goals. It also shows your willingness to go the extra mile, suggesting you’ll be a reliable collaborator. 

How to craft a personalized pitch

Research is vital: Before drafting your pitch, dive into the brand’s recent campaigns, target audience, and company values. This will help you articulate how your content can complement their marketing strategy.

Reflect on brand guidelines: If the brand has public guidelines for campaigns or collabs, adapt your pitch accordingly. This shows you get their brand identity and can collaborate within their framework.

Articulate your unique value: In your pitch email, clearly express how your unique style or audience could offer a new dimension to their marketing efforts. Be specific about how you see a partnership unfolding.

Don't leave money on the table

See the five research-proven tips that can help you land more brand deals.

Check it out

3. You don’t have a high enough engagement rate on your content

A large follower count doesn’t pack the punch it used to. Brands crave evidence that your followers are more than a number—they’re a lively, interactive community.

Picture this: you have 100,000 followers, but your Stories only muster 100 views.

To brands, this discrepancy raises red flags about your content’s impact and your audience’s investment in your narrative.

Beyond in-feed posts, focus on other content types that require quick engagement, including live streams and Stories. High engagement here will prove that your followers aren’t just bots.

See how impact.com’s Studio provides strategic influencer program management to brands.

Elevating your engagement game

Quality over quantity: Focus on crafting content that speaks to your audience’s interests and needs. High-quality, relatable posts will spark conversations, shares, and saves.

Connect authentically: Engagement is a two-way street. Make your followers feel seen by responding to comments, sliding into DMs with genuine replies, and inviting discussion through interactive captions or polls in your Stories.

Get creative with giveaways: Who doesn’t love freebies? Organize giveaways encouraging followers to engage with your content, such as tagging friends, sharing your post, or reacting to a series of Stories.

Diversify your content: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Experiment with different content types across posts, Stories, Reels, and IGTV. See which formats drive the most buzz and lean into those.

4. Your content portfolio isn’t high-quality or consistent

Brands love consistency. They want to see you’re dedicated to your craft and posting regularly. If you only show up once a month, it’s like telling potential brand partners that you’ve got commitment issues.

Sharing top-notch content on a steady schedule nurtures an engaged audience, which can lead to more interest from brand partners.

It also shows that you can consistently produce great work—giving the brand confidence that they’ll receive high-quality deliverables when they work with you. 

Source: What brands want: building successful creator partnerships in 2023

Sharing high-quality content regularly 

Prioritize high-quality content: Before hitting ‘publish,’ ask yourself, “Is this my best work?” If the answer is no, it might be worth stepping back and refining it. Remember, one outstanding post can have more impact than ten mediocre ones.

Create a realistic content calendar: Planning is your best friend. Map out your content in advance with a content calendar. This will help you stay organized, ensure consistency, and give you the time to focus on quality.

Focus on community building: Brands consider how you interact with your followers. Regular engagement shows that you’re not just posting content but also building a community.

5. You have the wrong audience demographics for a campaign

Brands want to get in front of the right audience. So, they want to see that your audience matches their target audience demographics. These include:

• Gender
• Location 
• Job title 
• Age group 
• Interests

For example, a brand that sells women’s skincare may prefer creators with a predominantly female audience over age 40 and disposable income. 

Matching your audience demographics with the right brands and fostering an engaged community will increase your chances of being accepted for brand campaigns. The golden thread is consistent engagement despite your follower count. 

Learn more about how impact.com’s Studio offers strategic influencer program management to brands.

Building the right audience engagement

Analyze your audience: Dive into your social media analytics to understand the demographics of your followers. Look at factors such as age, gender, and location. As you grow, continue to check on how your audience demographics evolve.

Target the right brands: Once you have a clear picture of your audience demographics, pitch to brands that sync with your audience. For example, if your followers are mostly young women in the United States, look for brands that cater to that group.

Share your audience demographics with brands: Add them to your media kit and rate card. When pitching, highlight your audience to show why they’d love content from that brand.

6. You didn’t fit the brand’s budget

Pricing your services as a creator can be tricky. You want to be compensated fairly for your hard work and creativity. But you also need to be mindful of the brand’s budget constraints. 

Sometimes, creators overprice themselves, or there may be a poor fit between what you’re asking for and what the brand is willing to spend.

It’s also important to consider the size of the brand. Smaller brands or startups might have limited budgets and can’t afford the rates that more established creators command. This doesn’t mean you should undervalue your work, but it’s something to keep in mind when pitching to brand types.

Matching target brand budgets 

Research market conditions: Stay informed about the current market rates for creators in your niche so you can set competitive yet fair prices for your services.

Seek feedback: Get feedback on your rates from peers or industry pros. This can give you a better idea of whether your pricing aligns with market standards.

Target brands within your budget range: Aim to collab with brands that are more likely to have the budget for your rates, which may mean targeting larger brands or those in industries known for higher marketing budgets. If the brand’s budget isn’t clear, try chatting with other influencers who worked with the brand.

Be flexible: While it’s important to know your worth, sometimes being flexible with your rates can open doors to valuable opportunities—especially if it’s a brand you’re excited to work with. You could also pitch other, more affordable partnership types, such as affiliate or brand ambassadorship.

Use marketplaces: Platforms such as the impact.com Marketplace can be a great way to connect with brands of all sizes. These marketplaces often provide insights into budget ranges, helping you find opportunities that fit your rates.

Want to be irresistible to brands?

Optimize your impact.com Marketplace listing and find your perfect match.

See how

7. The brand didn’t communicate about their campaign well

Brands often have specific requirements or a particular vibe in mind for their campaigns. For example, they might be looking for creators who are single moms, avid travelers, or passionate about sustainability. 

But, they might not always communicate these expectations clearly, leaving creators wondering why they weren’t the right fit.

It’s also important to remember that not being selected for a campaign doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not a match for the brand overall. Sometimes, it’s just about timing and the specific needs of that particular campaign. Campaigns tend to be more targeted and short-term, whereas programs are ongoing and might have more flexibility.

Understanding brand requirements

Do your homework: Gather as much information as possible about the brand’s campaign requirements before pitching. Look for clues from their previous campaigns, social media posts, or collabs with other creators.

Be patient: Don’t take rejection as final. Keep the lines of communication open with the brand, as you might be a perfect fit for their next program or a future campaign.

Stay true to yourself: While aligning with a brand’s requirements is important, ensure you’re not compromising your values or authenticity. The right brand partnerships should feel natural and mutually beneficial.

Turn your collab rejections into comebacks

Creators who don’t give up after rejection have the best chance of building successful brand partnerships. Use rejection as an opportunity for growth instead of letting it bring you down. 

Start by curating your content and media kit to match brands on your dream list. Then, pitch brands whose values resonate with your content and audience. 

Want to find brands ready for collabs? Sign up for impact.com / Creator to discover brands that want to hear from creators like you. 

Continue discovering more business strategies with these resources:

• How much do influencers charge per post in 2023? (blog)
• Your step-by-step guide to creating a Marketplace listing that brands can’t resist (blog)
• 5 research-backed ways creators can stand out when pitching brands (blog)

The post Creators, here’s why you didn’t get accepted to that brand campaign appeared first on impact.com.

She realized that audience size matters differently than commonly thought. Nano- and micro-influencers cultivate strong personal bonds with followers, engage more, and have close ties with brand partners, making them ideal for closing deals.  

This year, 76 percent of brands are looking to expand their creator programs, and 86 percent of creators want to work with more brands—now is the perfect time to expand. If you’re ready to work with micro-influencers, here are a few reasons why you should consider it:

Why brands are shifting to nano- and micro-influencers [and why you should too]

Nano-influencers have less than 15k followers, and micro-influencers have between 15k-75k followers. Smaller influencers capture a highly engaged audience with their relatability and authenticity. Micro-influencers are the most popular tier among all creator levels, connecting with nearly half of the audiences surveyed in the WARC report.

Like nano-influencers, micro-influencers can provide the most efficiency for smaller businesses on a per-post basis—but more on that later. Unsurprisingly, almost 70 percent of brands plan to use primarily nano- or micro-influencers in 2024.

This excerpt from Influencer Marketing Hub’s The State of Influencer Marketing 2024: Benchmark Report shows a strong preference for working with nano- and micro-influencers this year.

The ultimate guide to influencer tiers: from nano creators to megastars

Learn all about the different influencer tiers, campaign strategies, and how to build long-term partnerships.

Download free ebook

1. Their authenticity relates better to audiences

Consumers want authentic content, and smaller creators are more relatable and accessible to audiences. Unlike larger influencers, who may have a more polished and curated image, smaller influencers often showcase their real lives and experiences. Followers may find it easier to trust their recommendations.

Since they have a more tight-knit following, it increases the chances of a successful brand partnership as they can leverage this trust.

Unsurprisingly, marketers saw the most success with micro-influencers (47 percent) in 2023.

This excerpt from The state of influencer marketing for consumers in 2023 shows the different influencer types by size.

Authenticity in action: Micro-influencer Corey Hackett-Greene (48k TikTok followers) shares family and lifestyle content with his followers. His partnership with The Logan Hotel in Philadelphia shows Corey staying at the hotel with his wife—gaining nearly 14k views. This post works because it aligns with Corey’s authentic, family values, and who doesn’t like a fancy hotel? 

2. Micro-influencers get better engagement 

While larger influencers may have a higher reach, micro- and nano-influencers have significantly higher engagement rates. Small-scale influencers with thousands of fans drive 60 percent higher campaign engagement rates than those on the macro end of the scale.

Micro-influencers have a smaller and more dedicated following who are genuinely interested in their content. Their audiences usually engage more frequently and take the next steps, such as clicking through links. 

Engagement in action: Digital creator Trina Albus (36k Instagram followers) talks about all things beauty beyond 40, sharing her favorite products and treatments. Her Instagram Reel promoting Omnilux’s LED eye brightener racked up a phenomenal 1.8m views.

3. They offer budget-friendly rates 

Working with micro-influencers can be a more cost-effective strategy and lower brand risk. They have a smaller following, so their rates are often more affordable than larger influencers. 

Depending on the platform, macro-influencers can charge anywhere from $15k-$49k per post. This significant investment makes it harder for brands to test an individual creator without carrying notable risks.

Nano- and micro-influencer pricing can start from as little as $200 per post, depending on the platform and campaign, making it a much lower-risk investment. Brands with smaller budgets can still tap into the benefits of influencer marketing and reach their target audience.

Most marketers (44 percent) say that the largest benefit of working with small influencers is that they’re less expensive and easier to establish long-term partnerships with. 

This excerpt from Hubspot’s The 2024 State of Marketing & Trends Report reveals many benefits of working with smaller influencers.

With lower costs, brands have room to test, learn, and implement best practices over time, for example, what messaging or platforms work best for your brand. 

Cost-effectiveness in action: Micro-influencer and YouTuber @MagnifiedMoney offers financial advice to his 45k YouTube subscribers. In this video, he weighs the pros and cons of the payment services Cashapp vs Venmo. For a smaller fee vs larger influencers, you can get your brand out there to a highly engaged audience like @MagnifiedMoney’s. 

4. They offer niche expertise for targeted audiences

Another advantage of micro-influencers is their niche expertise. They often specialize in a specific area or topic, making them a perfect fit for brands targeting a particular audience.

Niche accounts enable followers to share their unique passions with these creators and find helpful content at the same time. These accounts may also become community hubs where audience members interact with each other over their shared interests. 

These niche accounts become places where entertainment meets education. Entertainment is the most liked content for consumers, which explains why niche content performs so well. 

Niche content in action: Take YouTuber and nano-influencer Emily from Food Box HQ. Her niche channel helps 11k+ followers find the country’s best meal kits and food service deliveries. While the videos are fun to watch, they also provide precise details about the taste and value of meal kits. The audience can lower their purchase risk by relying on what Emily recommends (or doesn’t).

5. They drive conversions through audience relationships

Brands often find that smaller influencers are great for driving conversions. They have more time to engage directly and build stronger individual relationships with their followers.

Beyond engagement, you can also work with smaller influencers on a performance model. For example, you could gift them products and offer an affiliate link to drive conversions. 

Driving conversions in action: Micro-influencer @jessicabakes_x (22k Instagram followers) shares recipes and cookware videos on Instagram, like this Reel of a gifted cookware set from the brand Our Place. 

The 5 dos and don’ts of influencer recruitment

Reaching out to potential influencer partners should follow best practices to ensure better success. Follow these do’s and don’ts when recruiting influencers:

1. Do: reach out via social media DMs and emails 
2. Do: personalize outreach
3. Do: check the influencer’s content
4. Do: have a budget in mind
5. Do: believe in the power of micro- and nano-influencers

1. Don’t: contact influencers via the comment section 
2. Don’t: incorrectly address creators when reaching out
3. Don’t: approach a content creator without doing your research
4. Don’t: fuss over influencer rates
5. Don’t: expect successful results immediately

Read more: The marketer’s guide to influencer outreach in 2024 [+5 dos and don’ts]

FAQs

It’s a no-brainer: Nano- and micro-influencers carry low risks and high returns on investment 

Partnering with nano- and micro-influencers is smart for brands that want to capitalize on influencer marketing. These creators offer a low-risk investment while delivering significant value through their highly engaged audiences and authentic content. 

With platforms like impact.com’s creator marketplace, brands can easily find, recruit, and collaborate with influencers of all sizes, from small to large. This full-funnel marketing platform automates the process, allowing brands to track, pay, and optimize their influencer campaigns throughout the customer journey. 

How to manage the full influencer partnership life cycle with impact.com

The work doesn’t stop once you’ve found the right influencer. Learn how to manage the partners across the full life cycle in this infographic.

Learn more

The post 5 undeniable reasons to partner with nano- and micro-influencers to drive big results for your brand appeared first on impact.com.

In 2023, influencer marketing grew into a $21.1 billion industry—an increase of 29 percent from $16.4 billion in 2022. Additionally, the global AI market size is expected to be worth $407 billion by 2027.

But can you use AI to increase social media engagement and earn more money? Of course, you can!

AI may feel daunting, but it’s pretty simple if you have the right tools. Explore using AI to optimize reach, gain more followers, and find the right brands to partner with. 

The convergence of artificial Intelligence and influencer marketing 

AI empowers computer systems to mimic human intelligence. AI systems can see and analyze just as humans do but with lightning speed and precision. These tools reshape tasks that once needed human thought—from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the next big trend. 

The digital age is about speed, personalization, and staying ahead of the curve.  Artificial intelligence sifts through mountains of data to discover what followers want to hear and see. It also helps you understand audience behavior better. For influencer strategies, this leads to more tailored content, saving time, and campaigns that are more likely to hit the mark.

Using AI to partner with brands that match your style

Have you ever worked with a brand that didn’t fit your style and aesthetic? You probably didn’t get the best campaign results. Why? Because people can spot disingenuous posts from a mile away. To find brands that align with your values and interests, consider using an influencer marketing platform like impact.com / creator.

Here are some ways that a creator platform uses AI to streamline your relationships with brands.

Find the right brand match with intuitive marketplace tools 

Getting lucrative deals with brands can be challenging. It takes a lot of outreach to marketing managers to land gigs. Instead of sending individual emails to brands, you can use a marketplace to get exclusive access to top brands. 

When joining a platform, you become part of a comprehensive database of influencers where brands can easily find you. Plus, you can reach out to brands by searching, filtering, and applying for campaigns aligning with your audience and values.

Build long-term partnerships through automated outreach

Using AI allows you to build relationships outside your social channels and websites. Automated outreach makes keeping close contact with brands easy throughout the recruitment and creative process. 

Manage campaigns without manual effort

Platforms with a user-friendly interface and intuitive tools make managing and scaling partnerships easy. You can view all your tasks, partners, and deadlines. Use a platform to submit your content, automate social metric reports to brands, and get feedback. Use analytics to see where your content drives the biggest impact and where to shift your focus. 

Diversify your income streams with quick search tools 

AI enables you to diversify your income and increase earnings by generating unique promo codes and affiliate links. Generate these assets from any website on your desktop or with a mobile app. Redeem gifts for content creation that brands will automatically send out and get new product recommendations.

Increase your chances of having creative freedom

Although brands rely on influencers for fresh and unique content, some keep tight reins on what gets posted. This may cause conflict. Marketplaces help facilitate negotiations to ensure you get enough creative control while the brand still gets presented in a way that benefits them. 

Get paid what you’re worth

Getting paid fairly may be a sore point for you. You don’t want to ask for too much and chase brands away, but you also want to get paid enough for all your hard work. This is why using a creator platform with clear contract terms is essential. You can negotiate terms to ensure you get paid on time and fairly for your contributions. 

Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle content creator Madi B Webb explains the art of negotiating a fair contract with brands:

Madi also delves into the importance of asking brands for payment types that work best for you: 

With a platform, you can choose from different payment methods, such as flat fees, commission, or pay-per-post. Lastly, a good platform automates your tax compliance. 

Key AI tools for influencer content generation

There’s a myth that influencer marketing is a simple job. As a creator, you know this couldn’t be further from the truth. Creating posts that grab attention takes time and commitment. Luckily, AI tools can cut creation time and make managing your influencer campaigns a breeze. 

Create captivating social media copy with social caption generators

Tools like HubSpot’s Social Caption Generator help you create social copy that captures your audience. You only need to input a short post description to generate a caption. Next, refine it automatically by entering specifics about your audience and the desired tone.

Whether it’s the word limit of X or the aesthetic appeal of Instagram, these tools tailor content for each platform, maximizing impact and engagement.

Write blogs that resonate with your audience 

You’ve probably spent much time staring at a black screen if you’re a blogger. Fortunately, you can bust writer’s block with tools like HubSpot’s AI Blog Writer. This tool has algorithms trained on vast datasets, producing content that reads like a human wrote it. 

One of the most impressive features of AI blog writers is their ability to build upon prompts and questions. Rather than starting from scratch, you can provide AI with a basic idea or topic to expand upon. From here, the tool can flesh out an outline or an entire blog. 

This starting point helps you craft detailed, engaging, and informative content in a fraction of the time it would take manually. 

These tools also help with topic ideas, researching, structuring, editing, and ensuring content aligns with your brand’s tone of voice. Since AI cuts down on manual labor, you have more time to focus on engaging with your audiences. 

Generate click-worthy newsletters with AI email writer assistants

When sending out emails to keep your audience informed, using a tool like HubSpot’s AI Email Writer could boost your copy.  This tool has you covered from perfecting catchy subject lines to writing a persuasive CTA. Simply fill out the form, and a complete automated email will be sent to you. 

Other platforms like HubSpot’s Sales Chrome extension dive deep into analytics to understand metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and user interactions. Analyzing this data helps refine your newsletter campaigns to give your audience content relevant to their lives. 

Craft eye-catching design assets with a chat assistant

With tools like ChatSpot AI, you can generate images in different styles for your social media or website content. The image templates include a set of predefined styles. However, you can request images in other styles, such as:

• 3D-model
• Analog film, 
• Anime
• Cinematic
• Comicbook
• Digital art
• Fantasy art

To create an image, navigate to chatspot.ai and log into your account. You can type a prompt into the chat function or choose from the image templates.

Addressing limitations with AI usage for influencer marketing 

While AI has revolutionized the landscape of influencer marketing, it’s essential to acknowledge that it’s not a silver bullet. Sure, it can streamline operations, enhance content reach, and boost earnings. But, like any tool, it has its limitations.

Remember that AI mimics human intelligence—it doesn’t replace it. While AI can generate social captions, email drafts, and even blog posts, it cannot perfectly replicate a human creator’s unique voice, style, or creativity. Your authentic touch truly engages your audience and builds lasting connections.

Additionally, AI may fall short when it comes to understanding subtle nuances in language and cultural contexts. It’s great at analyzing data and identifying patterns, but it might miss out on the emotional undertones that only a human can understand. This limitation could potentially impact your content’s relatability and resonance with your audience.

Regarding brand partnerships, negotiating contracts or building relationships with brands takes a human touch. AI can’t currently replicate the subtle nuances of empathy, negotiation, and relationship-building. 

Ethical considerations when it comes to AI

As you dive into AI-enhanced influencer marketing, it’s crucial to remember that great power comes with great responsibility. Ethical considerations are central to how brands use AI responsibly and effectively.

Undoubtedly, AI can be a game-changer in understanding your audience’s behavior better, optimizing your reach, and building robust partnerships. But the data you’re dealing with represents real people with real privacy concerns. Respecting data privacy and using AI responsibly is not just about compliance with regulations like GDPR or CCPA—it’s about building trust with your audience. 

Moreover, while AI tools can generate content, maintaining authenticity is important. AI should enhance your unique voice, not replace it. You need to ensure that using AI doesn’t lead to plagiarism or creating misleading content. Honesty and authenticity are key components of ethical influencer marketing.

Combine the power of AI and influencer marketing for successful campaigns 

Technology amplifies human potential, but it can’t replace it. AI isn’t about substituting your unique voice or style. Instead, it’s about enhancing your content’s reach, efficiency, and impact. As the popularity of AI grows, creators need to keep up-to-date with the latest technology trends. As a creator, you should use AI to supplement your content and create authentic posts that resonate with people. 

Keep learning with these additional resources:

• What brands want: building successful creator partnerships in 2023 (research report)
• 5 fool-proof tactics to become a top-tier UGC creator and grow your income (blog)
• 4 research-backed ways content creators can increase buyer intent (blog) 

FAQs about using AI for influencer marketing

Author bio: Autumn Witter is a HubSpot Marketing Manager and SEO Strategist. She’s also a graduate of the illustrious Howard University. You can find her in the recording studio when she’s not talking about SEO.

The post How creators use AI to increase brand awareness and audience reach appeared first on impact.com.

Building a knockout impact.com Marketplace listing can set you apart from the competition and make brands fall head-over-heels. This translates to more collabs (and more revenue, of course). 

Ready to steal the spotlight? Let’s explore how to build a top-notch profile that leaves brands saying “Wow!” instead of “Pass!”

Table of contents

• What kind of listing steals brands’ hearts?
• Connecting your media properties
• How to set up your profile settings in 6 quick steps

1. Add a clear profile image
2. Write a description that showcases your services
3. Boost discoverability with tagging
4. Give prospective brands a way to reach you
5. Highlight other content offerings in links
6. Show off your full capabilities with a media kit

• Make brands fall in love at first sight

What kind of listing steals brands’ hearts? 

When you sign up for the impact.com Marketplace, you can connect with top global brands your audience will love. Whether you proactively apply to campaigns or wait for inbound opportunities, optimizing your listing helps you land more brand deals.

Your listing tells brands why they should pick you. It includes critical information such as your content, audience size, and the services you offer. 

Brands evaluating Pete McPherson as a potential partner will skim this listing to determine if he’s a good fit for a campaign. 

A standout listing:

• Flaunts your online presence with connected media properties
• Highlights how you help brands reach their marketing goals in the description
• Gives the most information possible so brands can discover you in search with the right tags

Now that you know what qualities make a listing pop, let’s explore where to add this information to your profile.

Connect your media properties before you set up your profile

Let’s start with the most important step: connecting media properties to your account. 

Media properties are the online platforms where you promote brands. Think of your website, social media profiles, podcasts, etc.

When brands check out potential partners, they usually focus on media properties. 

Creator Chloe Wen has connected and verified her media properties so potential brand partners can see where she can promote them.

You’ll want to send your website and social media properties through impact.com’s verification process. Verified properties confirm that your media properties belong to you—ensuring that no one can impersonate you or claim your content. 

Verified properties offer benefits such as:

• Accurate content tracking and performance metrics right on the platform
• Being featured on curated brand recommendation lists for brands
• Giving your profile that extra dose of legitimacy

So, don’t forget to link up all your media properties before you move on to your profile settings. It’s the best way to show brands how you can promote them.

For creators, verified properties also pull in follower count and engagement rates. By showing these stats in her profile, creator Chizi Duru shows how she can help brands crush their marketing goals. 

How to connect and verify your media properties

Start by navigating to the Media Properties screen under Settings > Profile > Media Properties.

Now it’s time to add a media property. In the top right corner, select Create Media Property and select the type of property you want to add.

Ensure the media property URL you add points to your specific pages or profile. This is your chance to showcase what you can do and why a brand should partner with you.

You’ll set up your media properties on this screen. Learn more about how to set yourself up for success on our platform by taking the impact.com product training for partners course. 

We also strongly recommend going through the verification process. Verification connects your media properties to impact.com. 

Though we can’t verify all types of websites and properties, it’s important to go through the process when you can. 

Simply hover your cursor over your property and select Verify. 

Depending on the property type, you may need to provide additional information to complete the verification process. 

Check out our handy help article for more details on adding and verifying each type of media property. 

Creators, are you leaving money on the table?

See the five research-proven tips that can help you land more brand deals.

Check it out

How to set up your profile settings in 6 quick steps

Brands often look for specific qualities in their partners. To catch a brand’s attention, fill out your profile as much as possible to show them you’re a perfect match. Plus, it boosts your visibility by making you easily discoverable in search.

Go to Settings > Profile > Public Profile to access your listing details. You can tweak certain elements of your listing on this page.

You can adjust all of the elements of your listing on this page. But just a heads up: Certain changes require approval by our team at impact.com. So there might be a little delay before changes go live on your listing.

Now let’s add all the details that will make your profile pop! 

Step 1. Add a clear profile image

First, add your profile image under Logo. This image will appear next to your name in your listing, search, messaging, and more. 

Consider how to put your best foot forward: 

• If you’re a publisher, we recommend uploading a logo image—especially if you have a lot of brand recognition in your market. 
• If you’re a creator, we recommend uploading a photo that reflects your personal brand, such as a headshot. 

No matter what kind of image you choose, stay consistent. Use the same logo or headshot that you use across all of your other platforms to present a unified image. 

Before uploading an image, make sure it’s crystal clear—not pixelated or distorted. Your image can be any size, but we recommend a 172×172 pixel, high-resolution image for the best results.

Bandsintown uploaded a clear, suitably sized logo that makes a great first impression on potential brand partners. 

Step 2. Write a description that showcases your services

Now, it’s time to turn to the Description section. Seize this chance to highlight your unique value to brands.

Discuss the type of content you create to complement your media properties. Make sure you also take a sentence or two to describe all the promotional opportunities you offer brands.

Think of the description as an elevator pitch. Brands can get a sneak peek of what you do (and what you can do for them) without starting a conversation.

Creator Liz Donahey comprehensively describes who she is and what kind of content she creates.

Step 3. Boost discoverability by tagging your content, interests, and business model

To make it easier for brands to find you on impact.com, you’ll need to add relevant information about your content and business model. 

Start by going to Content and Interest Tags. Enter tags that best describe your niche and the type of content you create so brands can better understand what you’re all about. 

The tags should be relevant to your industry and the type of content you create. You can skim your description to help you identify relevant keywords.

These tags won’t appear in your listing, but they will identify keywords brands can use to find you in search. 

When choosing keywords, it’s easy to get carried away and include every possible term. But it’s crucial to be selective and focus on the most important terms. The goal is to appear in search results for brands looking for someone like you. Remember, it’s about quality, not quantity!

Next, identify your business model from the Business Models dropdown menu. 

Picking the right model is essential because brands often look for specific types of partners that align with their marketing goals. Sharing this info will increase your chances of finding the perfect partnership or campaign.

Use these business model definitions as your guide:

• Content/reviews: Publishers focused on producing editorial content for promoting, comparing, and listing products/services.
• Deal/coupons: Publishers who aggregate/classify deals and promotions for consumer savings. 
• Loyalty/rewards: Publishers who incentivize transactions from consumers, employees, or businesses through a membership/benefits reward program. 
• Creator: Individuals who market products and services to their own audience on social media platforms. 
• Network: Publisher platforms that broker access to brand campaigns and provide tracking, reporting, and payment services. 
• Commerce solution: Site-side shopping tools/services that drive brand conversion optimization. 
• Media arbitrage: Publishers that buy ads to sell or drive traffic to earn a commission. 
• Cross-audience monetization: Publishers that monetize content by targeting different audiences across multiple channels and platforms.

If you are still looking for a business model that’s an exact match, go for the closest one to boost your search visibility. Then, elaborate on what you do in the Description section to help brands fully grasp your offerings. 

The Clean Beauty Industry Edit identified as a Content/Reviews publisher, letting potential brand partners know how they operate and can benefit brands.

Now it’s time to provide additional personal information about you or your publication in the Personal Information section. 

Click on the toggle and share details such as your gender, ethnicity, and more. Volunteering these facts helps connect you with brands looking for publishers and creators like you. 

Creators can especially benefit because brands are searching for people with the same values and connect with their target audiences. 

Your personal information won’t appear in the listing to protect your privacy. We use this information to surface you to the right brands when searching for partners.

Step 4. Give prospective brands a way to reach you

Communication should be simple. Ensure that brands can effortlessly reach out to you when needed. 

First, choose the primary point of contact for your account under Contacts. 

Select which contact will receive notifications of inbound opportunities from brands from the dropdown. Their contact information will also appear in the listing. You can pick more than one person if needed. 

Next, go to Shipping Address. If you plan on receiving tester products or product gifts from brands, click the toggle to open the menu and enter where you’d like those products sent.

Your shipping address:

• Won’t show up on your public profile. We keep it safe and secure until a brand sends you something so you can sleep easily knowing your information remains private.
• Won’t count as your company location. The platform doesn’t consider the shipping address when a brand searches for partners in a specific area. Define your location in Settings > Company information > Addresses. 

Step 5. Highlight other content or offerings in links 

Have cool links you want to showcase to brands that Media Properties don’t support? Click the Links toggle and add them. 

Whenever you can, it’s best to add your content as a media property because:

• It proves that it belongs to you 
• It gets highlighted in your listing
• It helps you get recommended to brands more often

Step 6. Show off your full capabilities with a media kit 

Finally, you can upload your complete media kit to the Media Kit section. This allows brands to learn more about your audience, content, and services. 

Once uploaded, your media kit will appear as an attachment in your listing. 

Brands won’t be able to see your media kit until you’re partnered and must click on the file to view it. That’s why it’s crucial to provide a captivating description that describes your services and hooks them in. 

If you want brands to see your media kit before partnering with you, you can always add it to the Additional Links section. 

Need a media kit? We’ve got you covered with our creator media kit template. 

Increasing partnerships with brands 20% YoY

impact.com helped SitePlug find more brand partners and generate over $35M in sales.

Discover how

Make brands fall in love at first sight 

Your Marketplace listing sets the stage for a lasting impression—and you want brands to fall in love at first sight. It’s about showcasing your abilities and demonstrating how you can help brands achieve their marketing goals. 

Take the time to provide detailed information in your listing. Connect all your media properties, curate your profile, and accurately describe yourself and your services. The more information you provide, your chances of finding the perfect match increase. 

Brands aren’t just browsing the Marketplace—they’re actively searching for that special someone who stands out from the crowd. So make your first impression count and let your listing be the one that brands simply can’t resist!

Learn more about how to land better brand deals: 

• 5 research-backed ways creators can stand out when pitching brands
• Brand contracts decoded: 7 essentials every content creator should know
• Negotiating commissions: How successful publishers broker better contracts with brands

The post Your step-by-step guide to creating a Marketplace listing that brands can’t resist appeared first on impact.com.