Victoria Yore of FollowMeAway.com shares her best tips to pitch and work with brands. To see all of our speakers from 2018, go to FloridaBlogCon.com.

1. Working With Brands As
A Serious Influencer
How To Be The Loudest Voice in The Room

2. Follow Me Away
Travel Website And Personal
Brand
Trusted Resource For Travel
Tips And Destination Guides

4. What You Will Learn:
1. What It Takes To Be The Loudest Voice
-What Gets You Noticed And What Doesn’t
2. Why You Shouldn’t Overshare In A Pitch
-How to Avoid Getting Taken Advantage of By Big Brands
3. How To Follow Up And Close The Deal

5. Important Pitch Lessons To Remember
1. NEVER sit and wait for brands to come to you
2. Understand that pitching is a time commitment
3. Remember that everyone has been there
4. Be prepared for a lot of no’s before you get a “maybe”
5. Being small does NOT mean you don’t provide value

6. Getting Noticed Via Email: The Do’s And Don’ts
What Get’s You Noticed:
● Strong Email Subject
● Focuses on helping the brand
accomplish their goals
● Includes at least 1 reason why your
blog is unique
● Includes web/social stats + reader
demographics + past partnerships
● Confident….not cocky!
What Get’s Your Pitch Deleted:
● Weak opener
● Focuses on all the “stuff” you want
the brand to provide
● Doesn’t show uniqueness
● Fails to provide relevant website
statistics
● Cocky or self-serving attitude

7. Get Your Pitch Email Opened!
Professional:
“Press Inquiry For Ritz Carlton Partnership”
“Press Inquiry For June 2019 Ritz Carlton Partnership”
Unique:
“5 Ways The Ritz-Carlton Is The Right Hotel For Multi Generational Family Travel”
No-Go:
“Blogger/Photographer Partnership For November”
“Viral Travel Bloggers Looking To Work With Ritz-Carlton

8. Research And Ask Questions In Your Pitch
“We are interested in learning more about how <company> typically work with
influencers”
“Tell us more about your company’s history working with influencers”
“We understand you are expanding to three new cities this quarter…”
“Since the 2018 goal of the tourism board is to….”
Hint: Research press releases, websites, and brand social media accounts

9. Do Media Kit’s Help? Some Say No!
● Include all relevant statistics, demographics, features, and
partnership information in your original pitch email
● Higher open rate for emails without attachments
● The less steps involved the better
● From our experience, brand representatives actually love it

10. Pitching On Social Media: Real Life DON’TS!

11. Pitching On Social Media: Real Life DOs

12. Pitching In Person: Network Your Heart Out
● Always start personal
● Remember one key detail for follow up
● Take notes immediately after
● Ask questions about how brand works with influencers/brand
goals
● Keep it concise
● Follow up two weeks later

13. Don’t Overshare When Pitching…..A Lesson Learned The Hard Way
What was asked:
“We are looking to revamp our program and would love if you could provide concrete
examples of how you would help the program succeed”
What I did:
Spent 4 hours coming up with 10 diverse business plans/options that covered multiple
facets of the program
What happened and why this was bad

14. How to NOT Get Taken Advantage Of By Brands
● Keep emotions at bay & remain professional
● Provide very broad examples with little detail on HOW
something will be accomplished
● Provide incomplete yet relevant ideas
● If necessary, cite confidentiality/intellectual property
● Wait until a contract is signed to share complete ideas

15. How To Ask For Money
● Network and do your research
● Be up front
“If you are interested in a partnership, I would be happy to send over my
rate sheet”
“Attached you can find my rate sheet for a variety of campaign selections”
● Get them on a call then tailor deliverables to them
● Know your audience: Lifestyle/Products often have deeper pockets than
travel
● Play the long game
● It is okay to say NO!

16. Following Up With Brands
● Follow up every 7-10 days until concrete response is received
● It’s okay to follow up by phone
● Don’t be afraid to negotiate
● Remember that it is okay to walk away

17. Closing The Deal
Objection:
“We are sorry but we don’t have any room in the budget”
Rebuttal:
“We are more than happy to be flexible with what we are offering to help accommodate the
budget”
“We are more than happy to negotiate”
Objection:
“We have a full slate of sponsored trips already planned this year”
Rebuttal:
“Do you have a media mailing list we could be included on? We would love to be considered
for projects in 2019!”

18. After The Partnership: Sharing
Campaign Deliverables
● Always Follow Up
● Go Above And Beyond
● Share Even When You Aren’t Asked
● Leave Out Engagement If Low
● Create Google Doc Of All
Deliverables

19. Any Questions???
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Twitter: @followmeaway_
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