Whenever you receive an email from a brand, it’s easy to get excited and think about receiving free products and money. However, before you accept, it’s important to do your research. You don’t want to accept partnerships that aren’t the best fit for your brand or audience.
You might be thinking, “Why would I turn down getting paid?” Well, all money isn’t good money!
You want to keep the trust of your audience and remain authentic. Choosing your brand partnerships has a lot to do with that.
There are many reasons why you would turn down a brand partnership. We’ll be discussing them in this post!
Reasons to Decline Partnerships
Not a Good Fit
One reason to turn down a brand partnership is when they aren’t a good fit for you.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Would you spend money on their products and use them?
- Is this a brand that would resonate with your audience?
You shouldn’t promote products that you don’t believe in. No matter what a brand is offering, you shouldn’t risk losing the trust of your audience.
As long as you keep the interests of your community first and stick with your values as a creator, you’ll always choose mutually beneficial partnerships.
Not Relevant to Your Niche
Before you start building your brand, you should have an idea of what niche(s) you want to focus on. Your content can’t be for everyone, therefore, you want to narrow it down to topics you’re passionate about.
You don’t want to promote any and every product that a brand wants to send. If you don’t stick to your niche, this can confuse your audience and your message won’t be consistent.
It’s okay to turn down a brand partnership that isn’t relevant to your niche. There will be plenty of opportunities to work with other companies who will be a better fit for your content and community.
Keeping your target audience in mind will help you grow a loyal following!
No Fair Compensation
In the beginning, you may have to work for free to get your foot in the door, however, you shouldn’t do that forever. Creating content is hard work and you should be paid for your time.
Unfortunately, you’ll come across brands that won’t pay you. When this happens, it’s up to you to decide if you want to move forward with a product exchange.
There are some instances when you can accept a free brand deal, however, you want to limit how often you do this.
If a brand isn’t willing to negotiate with you or accept your rates, then you can turn it down and move forward. You’ll hear a lot of no’s on your journey, but don’t let it discourage you.
It’s important to know your worth as a creator. Stand up for yourself and remember how valuable you are. Brands are reaching out to you for a reason!
Although this journey isn’t only about the money, it’s important to treat yourself as a business and remember you deserve to be fairly compensated when you partner with brands.
Related Post: How to Negotiate Brand Deals as an Influencer
No Creative Control
Although a brand can provide ideas of the type of content they’re looking for, you want to make sure you have creative control.
You want to be able to organically feature a brand without making it seem like they copied and pasted your caption and gave you a certain look for the picture.
The last thing you want to do is ruin your authenticity. You should always take the message the brand gives you and make it your own.
You know your audience better than anyone else. Focus on creating content and spreading a unique message that you know would resonate with them.
Your values and audience should be a top priority when it comes to accepting or turning down a brand partnership.
Yes, it’s exciting when brands notice you and want to work with you, however, you want to be picky about who you allow on your platforms.
Remain authentic and continue to choose brands that respect you as a creator and fit in perfectly with the purpose of your content.
8 Comments
Maddddyyy!!! This post came right on time. This just happened me and you delivered!!! Thank you babes for always being on point with your post !!!!
I’m glad it came right on time for you sis! Thank you so much for reading and continue to keep these tips in mind as you grow.
This is a great post that I can definitely relate to Maddy! You’re right! All money isn’t good money! I couldn’t risk the connection with my audience, just for some coins.
Thank you so much for reading boo! And exactly, although money is important, trust should always be a priority when it comes to growing our platforms. If we don’t have the trust of our audience, we really won’t make it far. They’re the reason for our success!
Great one again Maddy!!!!!! It puts influencers and collaborations into a different perspective Thanks for all the wonderful tips
Thank you for reading sis! And you’re welcome, anything I can do to help ❤️
Great Read! Very informative! I loved it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading.