7/9/2020
Pitching yourself for paid partnerships is not easy and takes a lot of practice! Through working on the brand side, I’ve seen my fair share of pitches come through from registered dietitians. Below are a few tips I’ve found to be important when reaching out to brands to suggest paid partnerships.
Apply these when listing your partnership opportunities and when connecting with brands on LINK!
1. Be Strategic, Choose Best-Fit Brands
In private practice (or any area of nutrition), you likely prefer to work with a certain type of person that you know you can best help. You have a certain niche and you know that not every person is necessarily a good fit for you. The same goes for brand partnerships. While you may be excited to connect with any company, you will be more successful if you are strategic in your outreach and pursue brands that are truly a good fit for you and your audience. You should feel proud to represent the company and it should feel like a natural fit, don’t force it!
2. Be Specific In Your Offerings
“When pitching a brand or company, don’t just pitch yourself… pitch yourself AND an idea/campaign. Show the brand that you know exactly how you could promote them in an effective and fun way. Don’t just expect them to have a campaign or idea ready for you,” Mary Ellen Phipps of @milknhoneynutrition and Rise to the Top suggests.
This really is one of the best things you can do to secure more brand partnerships.
On the brand side, when we receive pitches for specific opportunities, it is easy to quickly decide if it is a good fit for the brand and if we would like to move forward. When we receive broad and general pitches (i.e. I could do recipe development or social media posts) it requires extra effort on our end to dig deeper, find out what you really do, and think of a way we may able to partner with you. Many brands ignore general pitches or the best they can do is say ‘thanks for reaching out, we’ll keep it in mind for the future.’ Make it easy on them!
For example, rather than “I could do recipe development or social media”, try “I’m planning a social media campaign for Mother’s Day (or for athletes or the holidays, etc.) and would love to feature your products…”
3. Keep it Brief
It takes a lot of time to read and respond to long, detailed emails. You can easily pitch yourself in a few short sentences. Include a quick intro, why you like their products, how you could promote their products, and a call to action.
4. Have More Information Ready to Follow Up
If you pique their interest, they will likely follow up with questions or seeking more information. For example, what is the reach of the station; when will you need product by; what’s included in the sponsorship package; how many attendees are you expecting at your event; what are your rates, etc. Think a step ahead and anticipate what information they will need and have the details ready to share.
5. Include a Call to Action
End your pitch with a question or call to action to guide them to the next step. For example, take a look at my attached media kit; would you like to schedule a call to connect; or could you put me in touch with your marketing team?
6. Be Polite, Professional, Cheerful, and Quick to Respond
Show your excitement about the brand and products and make them excited about the possibility of working with you.
7. Ensure it would be a mutually beneficial partnership
Focus on the value you could provide them. Do you reach their target audience? Is the topic of your segment a good fit for their brand?
If you’re interested in improving your pitch or partnering with more brands, I would highly recommend Mary Ellen Phipps’ (of @milknhoneynutrition) and Maggie Michalczyk’s (of @onceuponapumpkin) course, Rise to the Top. They have a full section of the course devoted to pitching brands. It is incredibly detailed and includes templates, tips, and real examples of successful pitches.
This course covers everything for dietitians who want to stand out online. I am excited to be a course affiliate for Rise to the Top. I have worked with both of these ladies through influencer partnerships and truly see them as leaders in this space. While I do earn a percentage of the sale, I could not think of anyone better to be teaching this course. Maggie and Mary Ellen are both knowledgeable, personable, professional, cheerful, organized, and easy to work with on the brand side. Highly highly recommend! You can learn more or sign up here. (UPDATED 4/12/2021: USE CODE RDLINK40 FOR 40% OFF the RISE TO THE TOP COURSE! Click here to learn more and enroll).
