In part one of my guide to collaboration for fashion bloggers and brands, I explained what collaboration really means, its benefits and what your most basic shared goal could be. In part two, I’ll give you a guide on how to articulate that goal more specifically.
Last time, I mentioned the basic shared goal between brands and publishers needs to be:
Excellent, unique content that our receptive audiences will enjoy and is commercially viable
But what does this content look like? How long is it? Is it visual, verbal, a thing or something intangible? And how do you make money from it? Explaining this unwieldy shared goal is difficult, but pretend you’re an agency and it makes much more sense.
You work in an agency (like Mad Men, with some great outfits and too much booze). A client approaches you to advertise shoes. Before you even pick up a pen, paintbrush or crystal tumbler full of whisky, you need to ask the right questions and get a full brief.
Here are 8 simple questions to help fashion bloggers and brands collaborate.
Why are we doing this?
The importance of your goal can’t be underestimated. Both publishers and brands need to clearly set out why you’re doing this: what your basic shared goal is (see above) and why it’s important to you.
What is the minimum we can do to succeed?
Remember the uninspired 150-word blog post in exchange for a cheese hamper? That’s the bare minimum idea both publisher and brand agree on. For publishers, brands will often approach you with an idea. Often this idea is the bare minimum. If you don’t like it, think about…
How can we improve this?
An advert saying “BUY SHOES” isn’t going to get a Yellow Pencil. One with a witty strapline, beautiful photography and great art direction might. Whether you’re a publisher or brand, you need to think about how to improve the bare minimum idea in order to achieve your shared goal more successfully.
What else can I do to help?
For brands, this is an important question to ask. Provide the bare minimum of assets and ideas and you’ll get just that - bare minimum product. Look at what else you can provide to help your publisher create the new, improved idea.
For publishers, it means being helpful, not obstinate. What does the brand need from you to get the new, improved idea sold to their client?
How can we sustain this?
Longevity is key in forming successful relationships. Think about how the new, improved idea can be extended in order to build audience interest, create further excellent content and commercial opportunities. One poster about shoes is fine; a five-week campaign on the fashionable benefits of shoes will have much better impact.
How much is it worth?
Talking about cold, hard cash can be tricky but both publisher and brand need to know how much this shared goal is worth.
For brands, this might be set by the client’s budget. For publishers, this will be set by your rate. When payment-in-kind is offered (like a product or experience) calculate how much this means in real terms.
How can we increase commercial benefit?
Just like thinking about sustaining and extending the new, improved idea, thinking about how to sustain and increase commercial benefit is important to the success of your shared goal. This includes making it easy for your receptive audience to buy and the ways in which publishers are paid (like one-off flat rate or commission fees).
Finally, what do we agree on?
You have your shared goal and your new, improved idea that’s sustainable and packed to the brim with commercial opportunities. Make sure you both agree on what each party will deliver and when. In your ad agency, you wouldn’t spend hours working on a sparkling new TV advert for shoes unless there was a contract. Write it down and agree on it before you begin the fun bit - collaborating!
These questions seem like a lot to think about when this might be a tiny bit of your client’s budget or a small part of your income as a publisher. But working through the checklist doesn’t have to take weeks - rattling through the first three questions can take minutes for a creative person.
A little time spent thinking at the beginning of a collaborative project makes the whole relationship run smoothly, letting you spend lots more time on the fun of creating.
Next time
In the final part of this guide to collaboration for fashion bloggers and brands, I’ll show you a case study using these questions, plus give you some freebies to help you in future collaborative projects.
But before then I’d like to hear your thoughts on these questions. Have you ever worked together (whether you’re a blogger or brand) to develop an idea? Did you work out a more commercial way of approaching the project? Share your collaboration stories below.