Want to start collaborating with your favourite brands? Get free products? Increase your opportunities through social media? Keep reading!

The main reason I started my foodie account on Instagram in 2020 was to have a creative outlet during Melbourne lockdown to show the delicious food I was cooking. Growing my account steadily, slowly and organically, I thought that the world of collaborating with brands was simply a fantasy that wouldn’t happen anytime soon until I had AT LEAST tens of thousands of followers. It is true that you can collaborate with brands with less than 1000 followers! The first offer I received was when I had 400 followers. Crazy, right? Here is what worked.

I had a defined niche.

Starting my account, I knew exactly the kind of content I wanted to produce. So when you go to my account @cookwithpez on Instagram – it is very clear that it’s all about cooking vegan food. It’s all about things you can eat. If you want to market yourself in the food blogger space, narrow down your niche. Do you just bake? Do gluten free? Only cook savoury? Budget friendly, quick meals? Stick to your niche and make it your brand.

Once you have a defined niche that is clear on your page, it is highly likely that you will attract likeminded followers and the right audience that brands will also want to market their products to. It is more likely that your followers would also be interested in their product so it really is a smart move for them to utilise your platform.

I made my Instagram feed my portfolio.

I ensured that every photo I posted was the best quality photo I could reasonably produce. Your photos are like your portfolio! I aimed to take photos that could be viewed as professionally taken and it’s pretty understandable that brands want the best appearance for their products. I noticed that even with a really small following, great photos attracted brands. Even with a decent amount of followers, low quality and sloppy photos can really affect your appeal, so start putting a bit more effort into your photography now and even try to find your own style and aesthetic!

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If you have no collaborations to show on your feed yet, do your own photoshoot with your favourite brands and tag them in it. Not only will this notify the brands and get them looking at your profile, it also allows other brands to see you as a potential creator who is willing to collaborate and promote products. Tag them in stories, tag them in posts… tag them at any opportunity you can.

I took initiative.

I stopped being afraid of rejection and just went for it. You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t try for. Don’t wait for the ‘right’ amount of followers because you could be missing out NOW. Yes, the first message I sent gave me so much anxiety, but the reality is usually this:

Brands will either respond with yes, or ignore you.

After the first yes, I was absolutely stoked and realised that sometimes it really doesn’t take much for brands to say yes, especially if they’re a small business. Seeing who other people were collaborating with also gave me a great idea of what brands were already willing to collaborate with smaller accounts and thus, increasing my chances of success. Furthermore, I even researched some local brands that were less well known and probably didn’t have as many other people reaching out to them!

So basically just go for it! Prepare a pitch in your notes and regularly use the one that has achieved success. Get rejected? Move on the next.

I expressed what made me valuable.

What makes you stand out from the rest? Do you have a perfectly curated aesthetic? Have great trust with your audience? Able to show how versatile a product can be? Make sure you mention this!

As a smaller creator, my skill set in photography was key in grabbing those opportunities and I ensured that the brands I was pitching to were were aware of my ability to create high quality promotional photos for them. Moreover, I added in that my audience is predominantly vegan and Australian, knowing that the brand is also trying to target this audience. The more value you can list for them, the better! You need to show that you’re confident in yourself for others to be confident in you.

Those are my main tips! Feel free to let me know anything else that has worked for you. I hope this helps and keep striving!

Pez