4/8/2021
We love when our community of RDs reaches out with questions. We’ve found that many of these questions come in a variety of formats but ultimately – what our RDs want to know is how you can stand out and get a brand’s attention. Many of our blog posts address this in various ways – including tips for pitching or how to increase your chances of getting a response, but we wanted to outline a few specific tips below.
We put together our top 7 tips for getting a brand’s attention below.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions (hello @ therdlink.com) or tag us on Instagram with questions or to show us how you apply these tips!
7 Quick & Easy Ways to Get a Brand’s Attention
Have a Snappy Online Presence
Make sure your social bios and Link profile are all up to date, showcase your niche, and include a picture of you! We were recently speaking with a brand that said they only reach out to RDs who have a profile photo on their Link page – it shows them you are more active and excited about partnership opportunities. Additional items to always include:
- Links to your profiles in emails/messages that you send
- Show examples of past partnerships – whether you include these on your blog, social media handles, or examples in your media kit or partnership deck
Get in Touch with the Right Contact (by using Link!)
It can be a little tricky to find the right person within a company to reach out to. Many companies are good at sending messages from their customer support emails to the correct employee’s email. However, brands can get hundreds of emails each day and sometimes when you reach out to a brand through a Contact Us form it feels like your email is going into a black hole. See our tips for how to find the right contact here. It’s worth a mention that all brands on Link have the right contact listed for you!
Lead with a Unique Offer or Opportunity
Take your proposal BEYOND your RD credential. Think about how your experience and unique offering make you a great fit for this brand in particular. Customizing your message rather than copying and pasting the same message to ten brands really helps you stand out. We’ve worked with brands who primarily work with RDs who reach out to the brands rather than waiting to be contacted- the brands want to know that the RD has a genuine interest in the company and products and it’s an authentic fit to work with them.
Set Realistic Expectations
Be patient, partnerships take time. Reaching out once or even twice is often not enough. It will likely take multiple pitches and follow-ups to hear from a brand or secure a partnership. Heather Caplan had great advice on this in our interview with her, see here.
Stay Up to Date with the Brands
Follow along on social, try their new products, or peruse articles that they are featured in. Speaking from authentic personal experience with the brand always goes a long way. Something that the brand does that resonates with you can often be another opportunity for you to reach back out to them.
Reach Out!
You learn by trial and error! Don’t let the word ‘pitch’ scare you. Go after it! Everyone on the receiving end is a person just like you, don’t overthink it.
Be Patiently and Politely Persistent
We’ve worked with brands who we reached out to 4 plus times or spoke to for years before timing was right for them. If timing isn’t right at first or you don’t hear back right away, give it time, stay present, keep the conversation going. You never know just when timing may be right.
We hope these tips give you some inspiration, answer some of your questions, and give you the confidence to put yourself out there to brands. Now get started!
