How to get a sponsor on instagram
Everything You Need to Know in 2022
With about 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is an excellent platform to engage with your audience and tell them more about your business. And it’s not just because of the sheer size of the platform’s userbase — people engage with brands on Instagram 10x more than they do on Facebook.
A fun and effective way for brands and marketers to expand their reach and tap into new engaged audiences is through Instagram sponsored posts.
In this article, we discuss what Instagram sponsored posts are, how to get paid sponsorship opportunities, how much Instagram sponsored posts cost — and more! Let’s get to it.
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What is an Instagram sponsored post?
An Instagram sponsored post is a type of ad. The person (or business) posting a sponsored post puts a budget behind it to reach a wider audience.
There are two different kinds of sponsored posts: those that brands pay Instagram for (a.k.a. promoted posts), and those that brands pay influencers for (paid sponsorships).
- Promoted posts, boosted posts, and Instagram advertising: Just like the other major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), Instagram has a native ad management tool. Brands can use it to create custom target audiences based on age, gender, interests, and location and serve sponsored content to these custom audiences.
- Paid sponsorships: This is when a brand pays a user to promote them via Instagram posts. Typically, this user (or influencer) has a personal brand and an engaged follower base of their own. When an influencer finds a brand in their niche that wants to sponsor them, they can charge a certain amount of money to create an organic post that features the brand’s products or services. This way, the influencer exposes the brand to an audience it might not otherwise have had access to.
In this post, we’re focusing on paid sponsorships—the kind where a brand pays an influencer to promote their products and services.
As influencer marketing became an established, valuable area of digital marketing in the last few years, influencers were not being transparent about their partnerships with brands. To reduce this, Instagram put out its branded content features, which allows influencers to tag the brands they’re partnering with on the platform.
What do Instagram sponsored posts look like?
Have you come across posts like this on the Instagram app?
This is an Instagram sponsored post. Paid sponsorship posts like this are usually indicated with a “paid partnership with [brand name]” tag that comes immediately after the user name.
Posts like this give the brands access to the organic insights of posts that they’re tagged in. They can see the date the post went live, the reach, and the engagement the post got.
This data can help brands decide which partnerships bring the most return on investment (ROI).
If you are an influencer, you must disclose all your sponsored posts. Not only does it prevent Instagram from taking down your posts, it also keeps you in the good graces of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC demands that influencers disclose sponsored posts to protect all parties involved from potential fines or liability.
The transparency that comes with disclosing paid sponsorships also fosters trust between the brand and influencer.
How to get a sponsored post on Instagram
If you want brands to sponsor your Instagram posts, here are some steps you should take:
1. Define your niche and brand
The best way to get brands to notice you is if you post content in their niche. Choosing a niche helps you figure out the kinds of content to create and the sort of audience you want your posts to reach. There are many Instagram niches you can focus on including:
- Food
- Fitness
- Health and wellness
- Beauty and fashion
- Sports
- Technology, etc.
Whatever niche you choose, you need to define your brand.
Personal branding refers to your overall aesthetic. What colors do you want to use for your posts? What’s your brand messaging? What do you want your feed to look like?
As you try to answer these questions, bear in mind that good influencers have unique posts. Their posts are so distinguishable that an Instagram user can easily recognize the influencer’s posts even when another account shares it. As that user continues to see similar content from that influencer, they’ll grow to view the influencer as an expert in their field.
Pro-tip: In addition to making your Instagram feed cohesive and eye-catching, you can also create a website or online store that has the same aesthetic and messaging as your IG feed. If you choose to create a website, make sure to buy a custom domain name consistent with your brand and connect it to a CMS like HubSpot. This will help you keep your website secure and easily customize your site to match your brand.
2. Understand your audience
If you understand your audience, you’ll be able to know if you’re a good fit for a brand. You’ll also be able to identify which brands will benefit greatly if they partner with you.
To know your audience, start by gathering data on your demographic of choice: their age, gender, geographic location, and interests. What kinds of post do they engage with most? What times of day are they online?
The information you gather will help you convince brands to partner with you. You’ll be able to explain to potential sponsors the kind of audience they can reach if they work with you.
Telling brands that they’ll reach an audience of middle-aged men, primarily from California, who use Instagram after work hours and prefer fitness content is more effective than simply saying: “You’ll reach men.”. You’ll also be able to explain to them the kind of audience they’ll reach if they work with you.
Explaining that a brand will be able to reach middle-aged men, primarily from California who often use Instagram after work hours and prefers fitness content is more powerful than saying, “You’ll be reaching men.
”
3. Post consistently
The frequency at which you post content on Instagram is just as important as the quality of content you post. We found that posting once a day is a good enough frequency to grow your Instagram account. We also found that 11 am on Wednesdays is the best time to post on Instagram.
Posting every day (or every business day, at least) is important because Instagram’s algorithms favor fresh content, and you want to keep yourself at the top of your audience’s mind so that they won’t unfollow or forget about you.
But you need to figure out what frequency and times work best for you and your audience. If your audience doesn’t engage well with your posts on Wednesdays, post at a different time that they’re online. It takes trials and errors, but with time, you’ll eventually figure it out.
4. Use hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to make your content more discoverable. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post, but using that much doesn’t guarantee optimal engagement.
The trick to using hashtags properly is to use hashtags that are relevant to your content. Those hashtags also need to be niche.
For instance, #interiordecor has 16,700,000 posts, while #interiordecorideas has only 50,000 posts. The more niche the hashtag is, the easier it will be for your posts to get discovered.
Pro-tip: You should also use geotags as they help brands find you if they want to reach an audience in a specific location. For instance, if a jewelry store notices that you often post fashion tops from the New York area, and they want to reach people in that region, they’re more likely to work with you than with someone else who isn’t in New York.
5. Tag brands in your Instagram posts
Now that you’ve defined your niche and brand, and you’ve posted some high-quality content, you’re ready to start working with brands.
First, start small. If your niche is fashion, don’t go straight to Vogue or Armani. Instead, try to tag all fashion brands you’ve seen on Instagram already.
Buy their products and tag them when you post images of yourself rocking those products.
Take @its_priscy, a brand influencer, for example. She posted this image of herself wearing a wig by Cassie Hair. The image has a great resolution and fits with her brand. She also tags @cassie_hair in her description.
Even if you’re not paid by the brand, tagging them will put you on their radar.
6. Include your contact info in your bio
Your Instagram bio is the best way to show brands that you want to become an influencer. Adding your website, email address, or even a press kit makes it easy for potential sponsors to contact you about partnerships.
For instance, @t0nit0ne adds her website and email to her Instagram profile. This makes it easy for brands to contact her for paid sponsorship opportunities.
Pro-tip: If you have a website or blog, try adding a Press Page to your site so that brands can know what you offer.
Once you start working with brands, you can add them to your Press Page to showcase your experience and professionalism.
7. Pitch paid sponsorships
You can’t sit around and wait for sponsorship offers to fall in your laps. You have to actively look for them. Reach out to brands and offer your services to them. If you have the right pitch, you might be able to get gigs without waiting for brands to find you first.
Before pitching brands, try to find brands that clearly spend time and money on their Instagram account. A good telltale sign of this is if they run a lot of Instagram ads. Then, research similar influencers in your industry that sponsor these brands.
Once you have your list of potential partners, send these brands a pitch. In your email, clearly tell them who you are, what you do, and your achievements as an influencer (if you have any). Then explain why you’re the right influencer for that brand, and include your follower count and average engagement rate.
You can also send the brand a DM straight from Instagram, but it might get lost if the brand gets a lot of DMs every day.
Note: It’s better to pitch smaller brands first before moving on to bigger ones. This gives you a better chance of getting gigs and will allow you to build a portfolio.
8. Charge what you’re worth
When brands reach out to you for a partnership, know how much you’ll charge them. There’s an industry standard depending on how many followers you have (we’ll cover that shortly), but your prices could vary depending on how much engagement you get on your posts.
You should also know how to use Instagram’s many features to create a good deal. For instance, for $500, you could make six Instagram Story posts and put a link to their website in your bio for, say, a day.
Once your pricing structure is set, you’ll understand exactly how to sponsor posts for brands that you’re working with.
How to sponsor a post on Instagram
If you’re a brand looking to work with an Instagram influencer, here’s what to do.
First, you need to reach out directly to the influencer.
You can email them or send them DMs to ask about paid sponsorship opportunities. Some influencers will ask for payment upfront, while others (usually smaller influencers) will accept free product samples as payment for sponsored posts.
Once you and the influencer have worked out the scope of the sponsorship and sorted out payment, you can start setting up the branded sponsorship on Instagram.
Here’s how to do this:
- Go to Settings and find Business.
- Then, click on Brand content.
- Click on Approved Business Partners to add the influencer’s account as a partner.
You can also approve all tags manually so that you’ll be able to accept the sponsored tag before it goes live. This way, you can monitor content and make sure the influencer is posting what you need.
Once your partner tags you in their post, you’ll get a notification with an option to approve. When you approve the tag, the post will show up in your Insights and you can monitor it from there.
If you want to delete a sponsored post on Instagram, you can just remove the tag from the post. Or you can choose not to approve it from the get-go.
How to create a sponsored post on Instagram
Now, let’s look at things from the influencer’s end.
To create a sponsored post on Instagram, you need to set up a branded sponsorship with the business. You can only make a post after the brand has added them as a partner (see steps above).
When creating the post, it’s important to follow the brand’s guidelines (if they gave you any). You can also run the post by the brand first (both visuals and copy) to ensure that they’re okay with it.
When you want to upload a sponsored post on Instagram, start by uploading the post, Story, or Reel as you normally would. For Feed content, go to Advanced Settings and select Tag Business Partner. This enables you to tag the brand so that they can approve the post before it goes live.
For Stories, you’ll follow the exact same steps. The only difference is that you’ll have to click on the link on the icon toolbar so that you can tag the brand.
How much do Instagram sponsored posts cost?
As mentioned earlier, the amount of money to charge for your services varies depending on your follower size, influencer’s status, and industry. Someone who has 1 million followers, an engaged audience, and a reputation as an expert can (and should) charge much more than a blogger with 5K followers.
According to Influencer Agency, you can charge these price ranges based on follower count:
- $800-1500 for 25 – 50K followers
- $1500-2000 for 50 – 100K followers
- $2000-6000 for 100 – 150K followers
- $6000-10000 for 250K – 1M followers
- $10000+ for 1M+ followers
These are just estimates, though. If you’re a brand, the best way to find out how much you should pay for a sponsored post is to directly email the influencers you want to work with.
How to create Instagram sponsored posts in Facebook Ads Manager
With Facebook Ads Manager, business partners can promote branded content even if they didn’t create it. To do this as a brand, you need to create a new ad in Ads Manager and choose your objective. Then, click Use Post at the top right corner of your screen.
Once you select that, you’ll be able to see all the existing content you can use, including posts that business partners have given you permission to use. After creating your ad, submit it. This way, your content can receive a larger audience than it would have if it was organic.
Now that you know what Instagram sponsored posts are, how to attract brands to sponsor you, and how to create sponsored posts, it’s time for you to start reaching out to brands (if you’re an influencer) and influencers (if you’re a brand).
How to Get Sponsored on Instagram (Even if You Currently Have 0 Followers)
It's no surprise you want to become a paid Instagram influencer -- heck, the average price for a sponsored Instagram post is $300, and if you become more successful, like yogi Rachel Brathen, you could be making $25,000 per post.
But the idea of getting your posts sponsored might seem laughable to you. You're not posting pictures skydiving in Australia -- you're posting pictures of your brunch. However, you could be more marketable than you think.
Instagram has become an insanely popular channel for brands to promote their products. In fact, Influencer Central found consumers consider Instagram to be the sixth most effective at influencing their purchasing decisions.
Instagram's popularity might make you feel the platform is already too crowded for you to stand out. But here's the thing -- brands are quickly realizing the power of normal people to promote their products. Micro-influencers, or people with a small number of followers compared to the big players, see the most engagement out of their audience.
Think of it this way: I'm going to trust my best friend's advice over Kim Kardashian's when I'm purchasing a product. I trust my best friend, we share similar interests, and I know she's genuine with her advice (no offense, Kim … ).
It's the same concept for micro-influencers -- with the right strategy, your audience will begin to see you as one of their real friends. The more they trust your advice when seeking out purchasing decisions, the more likely you are to get sponsored.
Here, we're going to show you everything you need to do to get sponsored on Instagram, even if you currently have zero followers. Keep reading to get started or click the links below to jump to a specific section of this article.
- How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
- What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?
- Using #ad and #spon Hashtags
How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
- Define your brand.
- Know your audience.
- Post consistently.
- Use hashtags and geotags.
- Tag brands in your posts.
- Include contact information in your bio.
- Pitch paid sponsorships.
- Know your worth.
1. Define your brand.
You'll see the best engagement if you're able to define your niche. Do you want to post food and health related content, or focus on fashion? Whatever the case, it's important to establish your brand.
Besides the type of content you post, branding has a lot to do with your overall aesthetic. How do you want to style your posts? What's your messaging? To further solidify your brand, you might want to consider creating a cohesive feed theme (use these feeds for inspiration).
Specificity is key. A good influencer's posts are distinguishable and unique -- when a user is flipping through her feed, she'll be able to pause and recognize every time she sees a post from that influencer. As she continues to see similar content, she'll grow to trust that brand as an expert in the field. If the influencer suddenly and randomly changed course, the user might not understand or trust the content anymore.
Additionally, you might want to connect your Instagram brand with an online presence.
Creating a website with similar aesthetic and messaging is a good way to do this -- the more you unify your social media accounts, the easier it will be for brands to distinguish how you can help them.
2. Know your audience.
Knowing your audience is critical for convincing a brand to work with you. It's mutually beneficial for you, as well -- if you understand your audience, you're able to correctly identify which brands will see the most success from using you as their sponsor.
Start by gathering the basics -- what is the gender, age, and geographical location of your core demographic? Which of your posts do they like the best? What times of day do they respond best to content, and what can you infer from this?
The demographic information you gather will help you pitch partnerships with brands. Brands want to know who they can reach if they work with you. Explaining "You'll be reaching thirty-something, working women, primarily from New York, who often use Instagram first thing in the morning and prefer fitness content" is certainly more powerful than saying, "You'll be reaching women.
"
3. Post consistently.
CoSchedule gathered research from 14 studies to identity how often you should post on social media sites. For Instagram, they found you should post a minimum of once a day, but can post upwards of three times a day.
CoSchedule also found 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, and 2:00 AM, are the best times to post.
To grow your following, it's critical you post at least once a day. Instagram's algorithm favors new and fresh content, and you don't want your audience to unfollow you or forget about you from lack of consistency.
However, you'll need to figure out what works best for you and your audience. Perhaps your audience feels bombarded when you post three times a day, or maybe they prefer it. Maybe your audience engages most with your posts at noon. It will take some trial and error, as well as Instagram metrics tools, to figure this out.
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4. Use hashtags and geotags.
Hashtags make your content more discoverable, so they're necessary for growing your following. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but TrackMaven found nine to be the optimal number for boosting engagement.
You'll want to use hashtags as relevant to your content as possible. You'll also need to check to make sure the hashtags you use aren't broken or banned (take a look at this list of banned hashtags if you're unsure).
It's critical you choose hashtags that aren't too broad. #Healthyliving, for instance, has over 20,000,000 posts, while #healthylivingtips only has 13,000. The less competition, the easier it will be for your content to get discovered.
When you peruse a hashtag's page, you can also get a deeper sense of what types of content your post will be up against. #Healthylivingtips might typically feature posts with food recipes, while your post is about cycling -- this could defer you from using that hashtag.
Geotags are equally important, but for a different reason.
Geotags can help people find you if they're interested in a certain location. This helps you gain more followers, and it also helps you appeal to brands that are interested in reaching a certain demographic. For instance, maybe a boutique sees you often post fashion tips from the California area, and they're looking to appeal to people in that region -- it's a win, win.
5. Tag brands in your posts.
Okay, now you're officially ready to begin reaching out to brands. You've defined your brand and audience and have created some quality, authentic posts. Now, you should have a pretty good idea what types of businesses would benefit from a partnership with you.
It's important to start small. If you're interested in skincare, don't go straight for Estee Lauder -- instead, try tagging small skincare start-ups you've seen across Instagram already.
Let's take a look at an example -- @Tzibirita, a travel influencer, posted this image of herself wearing a Paul Hewitt watch.
The image is high-quality and fits with her brand, and she tags @paul_hewitt in her description. Even if you're not paid by Paul Hewitt, you can still post the same type of content and tag their brand in the post. Ideally, it will at least put you on their radar.
Begin with small brands and tag them in your descriptions. Engage with your audience by responding to comments like "Where can I get one?" or "How much?" and the brand will soon see you've proven yourself a suitable sales partner.
6. Include contact information in your bio.
Consider your bio a chance to signal to brands your interest in becoming an influencer. Include an email or website so they can reach you, and include a press kit if possible.
For instance, @tzibirita doesn't waste her bio space. She includes her email and website, and even adds a title -- "content creator". Brands will have no doubt she's open to doing business with them.
Furthermore, you should use a website or blog as your chance to expand on your brand and demonstrate your versatility.
Consider adding a Press Page to your website, so brands can take a look at your services. Once you begin sponsoring brands, you can add them to this page so brands can see you have influencer experience.
7. Pitch paid sponsorships.
There's nothing wrong with reaching out to brands and offering your services. With the right pitch, you might be able to land some gigs without waiting for brands to find you.
Look for brands that clearly invest time and money into their Instagram presence. You might start by researching what similar influencers in your industry already sponsor. Remember, it's okay to start small. Working with smaller brands will allow you to build a portfolio.
Once you've curated a list of brands that might want to partner with you, send them an email. In your pitch, clearly and briefly outline who you are, what you do, and any achievements you have in the field that make you an expert. Then, explain why you're a good fit for the brand, and include data such as follower count and average engagement rate.
Alternatively, you might consider sending a brand a DM straight from Instagram. It's certainly more relevant to the job you're vying for, but it might get lost if a brand get hundreds of DMs a day.
8. Know your worth.
Make sure you know how much you're going to charge when brands reach out to you. The industry standard is $10 for 1,000 followers, but it could also vary depending on how many likes you get per post. Additionally, as you grow, you'll be able to charge more.
While you'll want to have a minimum set, you can negotiate to encourage brands to pay more. Perhaps for $300, you'll throw in five Instagram Story posts, and a link in your bio to their website for 24 hours. You can use other Instagram features to sweeten the deal.
Once you have your pricing structure nailed down, you'll need to know how to sponsor a post on behalf of the brand you're working with. Now, keep in mind there are two different kinds of "sponsored" posts: those for which brands pay Instagram, and those for which brands pay another user.
Confused? Here's what I mean:
What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?
A sponsored post on Instagram is paid for by the poster to reach a wider audience. There are two main types of sponsorships: In one, a brand creates a post and pays Instagram for access to a custom audience. In the other, a brand sponsors another Instagram user -- often called an "Influencer" -- who creates a post that features the brand in some way.
Here's more detail on each type of sponsored post:
Promoted Posts & Ads
Just like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, Instagram comes with a native ad management platform. Advertisers can use this tool to customize a target audience -- using attributes like age, sex, location, and interests -- and invest a specific amount of money to getting their post in front of Instagrammers who identify with this audience.
The thing to remember here is that the advertiser is making and publishing the post. They're paying Instagram for the audience they want access to, but the post is theirs to create.
Paid Sponsorships
Paid sponsorships take place between a brand and another Instagram user. Typically, this user has a personal brand and attracts an audience of his or her own. This user is often called an "influencer."
This person can then use the steps explained earlier in this article to find and work with brands that appeal to a similar audience. When they find a brand who wants to sponsor them, they can charge this client a certain amount to create a post that features their product or service. Think of it like social media product placement; just like a business might pay a TV show to have their brand of soda on the countertop in the series finale, they can also pay a person on Instagram to hold that same soda in a picture on their Instagram feed.
Clearly there are more creative sponsorship ideas you can come up with -- I decided to go with a cliché ...
Influencers are similar to Instagram's ad manager in the sense that they both draw an audience that brands might not otherwise have access to.
However, the differences in this type of sponsorship are that the brand is paying the influencer -- rather than Instagram -- for access to their audience, and the influencer -- rather than the advertiser -- is the one creating and publishing the post.
There are numerous influencers for each industry. Here's a big list of today's known influencers and the types of audiences they attract.
Using #ad and #spon Hashtags
In the past couple years, brands have come under fire for hiring influencers but not making it clear to the audience that these influencers were getting paid.
Department store Lord & Taylor, for instance, settled charges with the FTC in 2016 after paying 50 influencers to wear a dress in their posts without hashtagging #sponsorship or #ad.
Influencers are supposed to hashtag #ad or #sponsored in posts they're being paid for, but these tags make some brands uncomfortable because it makes the post appear inauthentic.
In 2017, Instagram released a paid partnership feature to combat this issue -- if you tag a brand in a post and the brand confirms the relationship, the ad will be marked at the top with a "paid partnership" label.
This also helps the brand gather data regarding how well the campaign is performing.
It's critical your followers know if you're getting paid to promote a product. Ethics aside, it could destroy your account's credibility if you're caught, and lose everything you've worked hard to build -- namely, an authentic, trusting community.
If you truly don't want to post #ad or #spon, there are some ways around it -- for instance, Airbnb created the hashtag #Airbnb_partner, to signal a paid partnership without using the word "ad".
When in doubt, adhere to Instagram's policies. You can read Instagram's branded content policies in full here.
Ultimately, getting sponsored on Instagram isn't easy -- it takes time, effort, and perseverance. But if you work hard to differentiate yourself in the industry, and connect on a personal level with your followers, it can be extraordinarily rewarding.
How to find sponsors for Giveaway on Instagram?
In this article, we will learn how to find sponsors for Giveaway on Instagram.
Let's see how to become a giveaway sponsor and what are the disadvantages of such an event. Let's consider whether it's worth participating in giveaways as a sponsor and how to protect yourself from wasting money.
How to find sponsors for a giveaway?
How to find sponsors for a giveaway? In the modern world, social networks are not only a way of communication, but also an opportunity to develop business, increase profits and sales. We already know what subscriber cheating is and what it threatens, and all social networks allow you to increase brand awareness, company, service, organization.
Instagram has become especially popular for business development. Many commercial organizations open business accounts, increase the audience of potential and real buyers.
There are many ways to increase the number of followers:
- purchase of subscriber bots;
- use of programs to increase the number of interested persons;
- participation in tasks;
- giveaways.
Giveaways are contests run by account owners in order to attract a real audience. A significant disadvantage of giveaways is that they only attract those who want to get something for free and are not ready to pay for the subsequent purchase of any product or service.
We have already looked at how to use Instagram to promote your business, now let's see how to do it with the help of giveaways.
The very word "give" in English looks like "giveaway", which translates as "give away". Givas can provide additional income and increase engagement statistics. In addition, giveaways allow you to attract new subscribers.
In order to use giveaways to increase your audience, you must already have a certain number of subscribers. It is between them that a draw is held, for holding such a draw you can get money from sponsors who also want to increase the number of subscribers.
In order to find sponsors for the giveaway, it is necessary to draw up their potential base.
These can be pizzerias, sports clubs, clothing stores, flowers, car services, etc. You can learn how to look for sponsors at search engine optimization courses in Ivanovo.
After the circle of potential sponsors is determined, it is necessary to send them a proposal for cooperation. In order to accurately find a sponsor for a give, you potentially need to have a base of at least 150. Then 20 of them will definitely agree to host a give.
How to become a giveaway sponsor?
How to become a giveaway sponsor? The giveaway will be more effective for bloggers with more than a million followers. As a rule, the duration of the give is no more than two weeks. The break between holdings should be at least a month so that subscribers can relax.
The most effective giveaways are hosted by stars, but their sponsorship can cost upwards of 250k. Drawings from popular bloggers and stars are carried out on the basis of agreements in which the arrival of subscribers is prescribed for sponsors.
For high-quality advertising, you can use the professional setting of Yandex Direct, it will always bring results.
But there are pitfalls here: no one guarantees the arrival of a quality target audience. In addition, in order to increase the income for the sponsor, the owners of popular accounts can wind up subscribers using bots. Thus, considerable fees will be paid for non-target audience and bots.
What can a sponsor get for a given give. First of all, the arrival of subscribers, their number depends on the professionalism of the blogger and the loyalty of his audience.
Is it worth participating in the give as a sponsor?
Is it worth participating in giveaways as a sponsor? The giveaway process takes place in several stages:
- set of sponsors;
- start of drawing;
- subscribers;
- draw.
What are the disadvantages of holding giveaways. In any case, there will be dissatisfied who will accuse of bias. Envious people can "wind up" bots to drop the blogger's reputation for sponsors. In this case, it is safer to use the SEO promotion service provided by professionals.
There may be disadvantages for sponsors too. For example, after the draw, there will be a mass unsubscribe of users who are no longer interested in the sponsor's account. This will be a direct loss of money, because the sponsor paid money for potential subscribers.
Well, disappointment can happen because out of the 50,000 new subscribers received, none of the target audience will turn out. Therefore, whether it is worth being a sponsor for giveaways remains an open question. After all, out of the 50 thousand subscribers received, only 300-400 will continue to follow the activity of the sponsor.
Need a competition sponsor? Let's act! | Blogs Mam
Today's guest post for us was prepared by Natalia Balabanchuk , author of blog SisterCraft SisterCraft , which received an honorary award in the action Choice "Mom's Blogs" - 2012 (nomination "Creative"). Natalia is already familiar to us both by interview in the Mom of the Week section, and as a sponsor of the culinary and historical competition Recipes of our grandmother , and as the organizer of the well-known 11 Persons of Love raffle competition, which lasts until the end of this year. Just to answer question How to find a sponsor for the competition? and Natalia decided to prepare the material based on her experience and practical findings. I think that today we will figure it out together in many ways and try to cover and understand the near-competitive processes as a whole.
The question of finding a sponsor for your competition or project always comes up if the organizer wants something big. After all, you will agree that it is enough to hold a “candy” (a small competition-raffle) on your own. But if the idea of the competition grows into a serious matter, then it makes sense to invite other people to your project for cooperation, and perhaps even large companies.
On the one hand, finding a contest sponsor is not difficult, but there are a whole bunch of pitfalls. I will only describe what I myself encountered, I will tell you how I was looking for sponsors for my projects. It will be great if your valuable observations, remarks, your own success stories and "failures" with sponsors appear in the comments - then together we will create a unique "cheat sheet. 🙂
My experience in planning large-scale events since the time when I had the opportunity to work as an organizer of small advertising campaigns in the USA, as well as a coordinator for organizing the participation of one international holding, where I worked in Moscow, in the largest economic Forum, held annually in London , and in the whole list of other events where the holding took part.
Who am I?
The answer to this question, oddly enough, is the key for the organizer of the competition. It is this answer that will determine the entire course of events of the planned competition.
For example, if the freedom of movement of a child is important to me, then it is hardly worth working with a company that produces "leashes for children." Or if smoking is not acceptable for my lifestyle, then the cigarette magnate is not suitable for me as a sponsor of the competition. Even if just a well-known person who could sponsor the contest “shines” in public with an eternal cigarette in his mouth, she will not be a good partner for my contest either.
Why? Because the image of the sponsor also affects the perception of us by other - participants, the jury of the competition and just "passing by". Therefore, it is so important to identify points that categorically do not fit with my image, as well as those that emphasize my life ideas and aspirations.
My idea
The IDEA of the competition grows from the previous paragraph. The competition is a small reflection of our life, our worldview . Most often - some one side, one thought . .. And this thought should be very clearly formulated BEFORE you go in search of sponsors. It is this thought, the idea that we will “sell” to those who are interested in it just like we are.
Eco-bag flash mob example
I just love linen and cotton. I can't stand plastic bags (although, I must admit, it's not so easy to transfer them in the house). I always wanted to go to the store with something durable, reusable (this is important for me) and beautiful. So the idea came to sew my first eco-bag.
And at the moment when this idea was born in my head, when the first handbag was born, I thought that maybe someone else “wants but doesn't know how”. This is how the idea of the flash mob was born - together with the whole world to sew eco-bags for yourself, friends, relatives, as a gift, as a package for New Year's gifts, perhaps for sale or exchange - it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that the number of handbags in the world has increased . ..
And here it is and it becomes clear what should be the absolute similarity of beliefs with the future sponsor of the competition. In my case, I needed a person who, at least, uses eco-bags in life, and as a maximum, promotes them in life.
But the maximum is not always needed. It may well be that to successfully draw attention to the idea, a personable and famous person who simply does the same thing as me is quite enough.
Teaching dance from infancy? Draw "houses" and "turrets" on everything? Why not, as an option, not involve famous dancers or architects and designers in this?
As soon as I feel what kind of sponsor I need, I turn on the "locator". 🙂
- Search among friends. The most reliable way. Relatives, and friends, and customers, and suppliers can be acquaintances - anyone with whom I already actively communicate (real or virtual).
- Search among familiar acquaintances, i.e. second round. You can, by the way, conduct a tender through social networks.
Write an announcement that I am looking for a sponsor for the competition and describe the main requirements. Of course, you need to understand what I can offer for a sponsor. If I suddenly have a young blog, it’s hardly worth starting such a super-tender right away.
- Search in the global network. Actually, that's how I found the General Sponsor in the eco-bag flash mob. I just asked “eco-bag”, “eco-bag” in search engines. So I accidentally got to the site of Teresa van Hetten , who simply creates eco-miracles for bags! It turned out to be a completely volunteer non-profit organization that is focused on getting people around the world to refuse plastic bags. In return, they send eco-bags (absolutely free, mind you) even just on request, and they also regularly hold draws, etc.
First of all, it makes sense to "scan" the list of sponsor candidates and identify those who fit "for moral reasons" . After that, you can turn on the second filter - are the selected candidates “for material reasons” (ie, do they have the opportunity to be a full-fledged sponsor and provide a prize or competition advertising).
On the road
Then, having formulated your proposal and the description of the competition, it's time to get in touch with potential sponsors. Ideally, in writing. It’s easier to keep track of the process of correspondence and negotiations, and, well, just in case of a “fire” case (a little further on this will be).
It must be understood that in order to get the support of one good sponsor, it may be necessary to discuss our proposal and idea with dozens of companies and people. At the same time, it is quite possible that another fifty contacts will simply ignore the letters.
Seems complicated and time consuming? Yes and no. It's only difficult the first time. And even then - if you save the proposal template and the text of the letter, then the time spent is reduced significantly.
If I had been more organized, I would have summarized all our statistics and details of negotiations in a tablet. Then, when organizing the next competition, I would spend less time searching for sponsors. We'll do that next time. 🙂
It may turn out that several people want to be sponsors of the competition. This is good, but we need to immediately clarify all the statuses: whether one will be the general or main sponsor, someone will be only an information sponsor (i.e. the prize does not give, but our competition is promoted on its resource), someone sometimes they want to take part in the selection of winners (i.e., participate in the work of the jury), someone in general wants to minimize the hassle associated with organizing and holding the competition.
Important:
- who and how will send the prizes to the winners,
- what is the geography of sending prizes (by region, country, world),
- whether there are preferences in the method of determining the winners (random, points, something else).
All of these details must be REGISTRED and clarified with all sponsors BEFORE the start of the competition.
Ideally, propose the scheme themselves, so that the sponsor only needs to agree with it and approve it - or make minor adjustments . Believe me, in most cases the sponsor is a very busy person... And he is unlikely to want to become the organizer of the competition.
I will not talk about the correspondence itself - it is clear that one must communicate politely, competently, courteously, simply and clearly.
Starting a project
Starting a project is like launching a rocket: you can't turn back. 🙂 Therefore, there should be no false starts, especially if the competition is serious, with large sponsors involved and good prizes.
The start of the project means that all the agreements, conditions, etc., etc., have been discussed, approved and everyone is satisfied.
Sponsors are also recommended to be present at the start - at least they should be aware of the exact time this start is scheduled for. And they should be the first to see the release, if there is one.
Ideally, the publication of the start of the competition on the site should coincide with similar announcements in all places at the same time: social networks, forums, friendly blogs, sponsor sites (if agreed). A kind of cross-posting comes out - on your site a release with a link to the sponsor, on the sponsor's site - a release with a link to the competition. 🙂
In general, whatever the scale of the competition, everything should be done "in an adult way."
The following patterns can be traced:
- what is the attitude of the organizers to the competition, such will be the reaction and response of the participants.
- Simultaneous publication of a release or announcement in different sources instantly gives an influx of visitors to the site, which increases the percentage of potential participants.
- the sponsor begins to respect the organizer, seeing such a serious approach. As a result, a good long-term relationship in the future, the possibility of sponsoring other projects, an increase in the prize fund and, in a way, an unspoken guarantee that the sponsor is just as serious in his obligations.
Project support
If a project or competition lasts for a week (I'm not sure if there are such lightning-fast events), then its start almost coincides with the finish. But more often competitions are held for long distances - and this means the importance of intermediate work .
In a couple of days after the start, the influx of visitors to the publication will decrease. In a month, they can forget about the competition altogether. Therefore, it is necessary to remind about it as often as possible, invite people, maintain relations with the sponsor of the competition and the participants.
Help comes:
- thematic publications . I remember that I even made a separate post about Teresa . She told about the sponsor, about the global movement that Teresa and her family started and successfully continues. I wrote (and gave links) to all those super-companies that produce the American cotton beloved by needlewomen, which give Teresa bags of fabric intended for sewing eco-bags.
– related publications also perfectly support the interest in the contest. I published my author's master class on sewing an eco-bag, talked about mandalas (because the prize from us was a bag with a mandala drawn with textile markers) and even reviewed these very markers (by the way, an article about them has been at the very top of the hit for a year now). -parade in the statistics of views of blog posts).
— continuation of correspondence with sponsors so that everyone feels included in the competition process. This again, most often, guarantees the "appearance" of the sponsor at the finish line.
Announcement of the winners
And, finally, day X arrives, when the competition comes to an end, and the jury actively begins its work - to choose the winners. This moment during the competition is probably the most responsible, solemn and difficult at the same time.
Depending on the ways of defining "lucky ones", the level of these states changes. To be honest, for me to choose someone better is a real problem. Perhaps pedagogical activity has an effect when you begin to evaluate not for a one-time result, but for diligence, attitude, contribution, attitude and activity throughout the entire period of time.
That's why I prefer to use random (random number method). One click of a button and that's it! For me, all “accidents” are always non-random, and therefore I completely trust the Universe in choosing the winners in my contests.
But this method is not always convenient. Sometimes it’s really worth including the “human factor” and choosing the winners according to the agreed criteria. To be honest, someone gives all the best in competitions, and someone puts out work for show. And yet, at this stage, the most important thing is to work side by side with your sponsors.
In my example, I also preferred random, took screenshots of all samples, sent Teresa the saved images with names. And only after that published the data on the site. This, it seems to me, once again underlines my respect for the sponsor and the value of his opinion for me.
Final phase
After the winners were announced, I sent out notifications to all of them (well, I like to please with surprise news!) and requested full contact details, which I then sent to the sponsor. All the time before receiving the prize, I continued correspond with the sponsor , politely clarifying the status of sending prizes, and also maintained correspondence with the winners - so that they do not worry, do not worry.
It took a long time for the prizes to get from the states to Russia, so I made a small “present” to the winners in order to brighten up the wait. A postcard and a coupon for a discount - right on New Year's holidays - became a pleasant moment. 🙂
What if…
What if the sponsor of the competition suddenly disappears, ignores letters, etc…? Unfortunately, anything can happen. And even a seemingly reliable sponsor at the most crucial moment can complicate the task to the maximum ...
First of all, I personally try to adhere to the principle of the presumption of innocence as much as possible (by the way, in my life too). This immediately opens the eyes, relieves irritation and suggests the right solutions. 🙂 A sponsor is also a person, anything can happen. There are situations when it’s really “not up to the competition”, no matter how responsible the sponsor may be.
Secondly, you shouldn't "put the blame" on the sponsor on your site or somehow blacken his name. Even if he really disappeared or does not respond. We recall the first paragraphs of the article and understand that the image of the sponsor of my contest is already inextricably linked with my reputation. 😉 Therefore, I am looking for “general” phrases, bypassing the issue of the lack of promised prizes and urgently coming up with a worthy replacement.
Thirdly, just about replacement. Responsibility for the end of the competition is still on the organizer — i.e. from the point of view of the participants, it should not matter whether all the sponsors were at the awards ceremony. Participants have every right to receive what they were promised - or at least compensation. Compensation, by the way, should actually exceed the value of the prizes themselves. That's what compensation is for. 🙂
Fourthly, the competition is still mine, not the sponsor's, so the final decision is always with the organizer. My child, my rules. So if someone starts to violate them, then the “commander in chief” always has the right to remove players, incl. and sponsor. And, of course, you should not be upset about negligent players, but rather be glad that the losses are not as terrible as they could be ...
In the case of a successful completion of the project, it makes sense to thank everyone and everything . It's just incredible that things like this happen! And they are global! Contests, marathons, flash mobs, sweets and raffles, relay races and quizzes - a common idea can unite millions of people of various nationalities and ages, gender and professions, living standards and interests. Cool, right?
That's why it's so nice to write "final" thank-you blog posts, send out "Thank you" cards, send "thank you" e-mails. ..
And, by the way, this further strengthens the friendly and business relations between everyone. And this is the key to successful cooperation in the future.
Conclusions for myself
I remember that I was told about this point at lectures at the institute, but I always belittled its value. Do a "lesson analysis" (closely related to introspection) - what could be more boring? However, in all pedagogical competitions of skill, this moment is simply obligatory, without it it is impossible to take a prize. So…
We analyze all points! Starting with what kind of sponsor we attracted to ourselves, with what and why, and ending with the nuances of organizing and conducting the project. Revealing what was “cool!” and “wow!”, and what - “yes ...”, “eh ...” and “it’s a pity that ... 2. Ideally, write everything to a file or at least a notepad. Will definitely come in handy for the next project.
We should also think about the list of potential sponsors.
