If you’ve been following this blog over the past month, you know I have been sharing a ton about monetizing social media accounts, Instagram in particular.
First, I started with how to create your media kit. Without one, you can’t pitch brands!
Next, I shared an exact copy of the email template I use when pitching brands. You can see it here.
Then, I wrote about the Instagram mistakes that can totally kill your game and have brands deleting your email without a second thought.
Now, I’m jumping into what to charge for your Instagram posts. (More on what to charge for just a blog post later on in this post).
As I mentioned in this post, if you are JUST starting out (like have 1,000 followers and this is your first sponsored post ever!) reach out to an amazing company with a great product and offer to do the post for free in exchange for the product. You want to be strategic when picking the product.
Pick something you know you will be able to promote in a GREAT way! Something that will really entice your audience to engage. This first free product and the content you create will set the stage for the rest of your collaborations and partnerships.
When it comes to setting a price for your paid partnerships, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Start with a baseline of a simple Instagram post. This would be a photo of you with the product and a great caption.
- Build from there. Do that also want a blog post? Do they want video instead of photo? What are they asking for (or what are you offering) that would take up more time than a baseline post?
To create your baseline, I suggest using the free estimator from Influencer Marketing Hub.
All you do is plug in your instagram profile into the tool and it gives you your estimated charge to start with your baseline.
So what if you want just blog post sponsorships?
If you are simply doing a blog post sponsorship, obviously your Instagram followers don’t matter. Your pageviews and audience are what matters!
I use a simple equation to create my baseline for sponsored post.
So 5,000 pageviews a day would mean you charge $500 for each sponsored blog post.
Now, I have NEVER done JUST a post on my blog and then left it. It’s always included some sort of social media sponsorship.
When I am including a blog post for a pitch, I like to include “packages” as choices for the potential partners. Here is a very brief example. When I sent this over to the brand, I really elaborate on it and ensure I am using the product name in every option.
Option 1: Blog post with 3 high quality and original photos, share to 1 platform of choice (Pin, FB or Instagram)
Option 2: Blog post with 5 high quality photos, share to all platforms
Option 3: Blog post with 5 high quality photos, share to all platforms 2x, plus Instagram and Facebook story feature.
I always let the point of contact know that no matter what package, they will be able to use the photos I take and edit on their own social media sites.
Also, an important side note: if I am pitching a company whose products are available on Amazon, I will offer a discount to them for letting me use my affiliate link in the sponsored post. Most of the time this discount is $75, and if I market the post correctly, I can make that up in a month or two with affiliate income.
As I mentioned in the post about pitching brands, I prefer not to start with a price when pitching. I like to send over my media kit, impress the pants off of them and then start brainstorming with my contact on how we can best meet their goals. From there, I present the price. I am always open to negotiation, but I do not devalue what I have built. More on how to pitch brands in this post.
Be sure to check out the rest of the resources surrounding Instagram and sponsored posts (for any platform!) below:
