5 Tips for Pitching Brands this Holiday Season

Ahh, September. It’s time for apple picking, mulled cider, and… pitching?

You heard that right, September is PRIME season for pitching yourself to brands for holiday campaigns. So if you’re looking to get some brand partnerships this season, read on to get our 5 hot tips on pitching for the holidays!

1. Start making your list and checking it twice… like now! ✍️

Unlike your holiday shopping, you want to get your pitches into brands ASAP. Here’s the deal: brands actually plan out their budgets well in advance. Like, a year in advance for some brands.

BUT DO NOT FEAR! There are still many brands that have “non-allocated,” or leftover, budget toward the end of the year, so they’re looking for ways to spend their remaining advertising moollah.

This means that if you’re looking to land sponsorships in the next few months, then the time to send your pitch is, like…yesterday.

The point is: reach out to brands ASAP to start snagging your dream holiday partnerships!

2. Get a lil creepy with it 👻

When crafting your pitch, don’t just say “Hi, I’m an influencer/blogger/photographer and I really want to work with you.” That’s a sure fire way to get ghosted. Instead, aim to bring value and creativity so you set yourself apart right off the bat.

So if you want to stand out, get a little creepy with it. And by that I mean, do your research!

Go to a brand or company’s website to see what products they’re focusing on this year. Check out their IG feed to see what content they’ve been featuring. Dig in and really get to know what they’re all about!

Then, brainstorm and make your pitch relevant to both the brand’s current focus and the times. For example, if you’re considering reaching out to a dairy company, you could suggest creating a whole series on browned butter. You can suggest making videos on what it is, how to make it, and how it elevates every.single.recipe (we stan brown butter around here).

Or, if the brand you’re interested in working with sells pots and pans, come up with a stunning soup recipe, and suggest creating a print-out that your followers can download to get the directions!

Be creative, unique, and most of all, have fun with it! Then package it all together in a pretty little email and send it off. 🙂

3. Go above and beyond 🚀

If you’ve ever pitched a brand before I’m sure you’ve realized that the influencing is not a cottage industry anymore. Which means you have to do more than just email a brand asking to work together with a media kit attached.

One thing that my team does for Broma Bakery is create a mini-presentation—or basically a pitch deck, for our potential partnership. It kind of looks like a blown-out media kit, specifically tailored to the brand we want to work with.

Usually, this mini-presentation is 5-6 pages, complete with an explanation of who I am, some recent and relevant content, and some specific pitch ideas (see #2!). We also include at LEAST 2 options for partnering (usually a “bigger” partnership and a “smaller” one: for example, one option that includes multiple blog posts, social posts, etc, and then maybe one option that’s just social posts, or half the number of posts, or just a one-off post). Finally, we also add a case study on a recent and relevant brand partnership with information on how it performed, to give an idea of metrics.

And I’m telling you guys, it works like a CHARM!

Put together a stand out presentation and you’ll be sure to make a great impression.

P.S. if you don’t have a media kit yet, or need to revamp yours, get our media kit template (fully customizable in Canva and edit it to fit your exact needs!)

4. No burying the lead here! ✨

When pitching to a brand, it’s so important to strut your stuff as soon as possible. A strong pitch is a necessity but it isn’t enough to get a brand on board. So you’ve got to show, don’t tell. You need to demonstrate that you can deliver a quality product—you’ve got to show ‘em the goods!

Reference past work that you’re especially proud of, or other examples of holiday work you’ve done, to give them an idea of what it would be like to work with you! Include any data you may have to really back up how dope you are. 🙂

5. Add a little… spice 🤏

By this point, it should be clear: landing deals this holiday season is all about going above and beyond.

I can’t tell you how many “extras” we’re throwing in for brands this year—whether that’s doing two posts for the price of one, adding on an IG live to a partnership, or even posting in-feed when a partnership is just stories. We’re bringing it, baby.

The more you take your offerings to the next level, the more you’ll stand out this holiday season!

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Now get out there and pitch like a real pro. Because those holiday cookies aren’t going to photograph themselves… 😋