How To Decline Brand Collaborations
08:00
I think most bloggers are pretty competent on how to accept brand collaborations for brands and how to work with them to benefit your readers experience, what comes from one one of the pretty amazing perks of being a blogger and building an interactive audience. But what about those brands that do not suit your blog criteria or do not make good enough offers to you for you to even consider working with them? Those are the ones that can become more difficult to respond to and decline. You can sometimes feel guilty or disappointed with not being able to go through with a collaboration for whatever reason it may be. If you struggle to decline some brand collaboration requests, then keep on reading because I'm going to share with you just how you can decline brand collaborations:
Is it really worth it?
When you're a newbie blogger or even just someone who doesn't do a lot of work with brands, it can be easy to get swayed by any requests that do come in for brands. It can be so exciting and new that you just go for any opportunity you get, because it might be something you've wanted for so long or never thought it could possibly happen to you so you want to grab it with both hands. But then you sit back and think, will this really benefit my blog and my readers? If the answer is no, then you know that you need to decline the opportunity because it's not worth it.
If you struggle to work out whether it is worth it or will be beneficial for your blog and audience, then ask yourself the following...
Do you agree with this brand and what it stands for? Are your values the same? Or do you not agree with them at all? If no, then don't let them be apart of what your blog. They do not stand for what you do and this will come across as contradicting and ungenuine if you did work with them.
Do they have a good reputation within the industry, other bloggers and their consumers? If no, then you wouldn't want to work with them and allow them to bring your blog down too.
Will they be providing you with exposure? This is a tough one as some bloggers do work for exposure when starting out or as a smaller blogger because they do need help growing. But sometimes exposure cannot always be enough for you to want to work with a brand, especially if you have a greater following than them.
Will they be charging you for the post or will it be for free? This is each to their own, but if you do prefer getting compensated for your hard work when working with brands, then it's good to know or find out whether they will be offering you a payment for your work. If they can't provide you with a reasonable budget or one that meets your charge rate, then it's probably best to say bye-bye.
Will it benefit the both of you or just them? Sometimes brands try to be cheeky when working with bloggers, whether that's making them work for nothing or not supporting their post after they've done all that hard work. This will not benefit you in anyway. Instead it will be you giving them all the exposure and attention, whilst you are not being compensated for what you have done and not being reward in benefiting ways. Do not let them walk over you. Take control.
Will your readers benefit? You also have to consider your readers and the experience they will be provided with from you working with this brand. Will it be something that they enjoy? Will it introduce them to something new and something they can learn from? Will it be similiar to the other topics you cover in your post?
If you've answered no for most of these, then it's a good idea to not accept working with this brand on a collaboration. Instead you should move on with declining it and making way more better opportunities for you and your blog.
Always respond -
When it comes to declining their offer, you will more than likely be drafting up an email response unless they have contacted you in any other communication style. Most of the time opportunities will come from brands emailing you directly. It's always best to respond even if you are going to decline. This will let them know that you appreciate them getting in touch and wanting to offer you the opportunity. Therefore this will shine you in a good light and make them aware that you have a good reputation yourself. Responding back will also prevent you from being spammed with follow up emails from the brand trying to chase you, wanting to find out whether you received their previous messages. This will make them aware that they do not need to keep contacting you anymore.
Be polite -
Even if a brand really is not for you or has done something to upset you in anyway, maybe they've been cheeky with their offerings and not really highlighted how it would benefit you, or you disagree with what they stand for, do not let this come in the way of the way you come across in your response. Remember you still need to be professional even if you aren't going to be working with them right now or perhaps not even in the future either. Remain true to who you are and keep your calm. Including phrases like thanks for the opportunity, I appreciate you getting in touch, that's kind of you to consider me for this opportunity etc is a good idea.
Explain your reason(s) -
Whenever you decline a brand collaboration, it might come across as rude or vague to brands if you decide to not state a reason as to why you do not wish to work with them. This might make them respond back to you and ask for a given reason. Therefore it's good to include this within your decline email to avoid them having to keep chasing you up. You do not have to go into detail if you do not wish to, but just informing them why you will not be working with them will be good. State your genuine reason why, such as not being able to find the time to produce the post for them right now due to personal reasons, that you're not currently wanting to work with brands, their brand or product/service does not fit with your blog criteria, etc. Brands will appreciate you providing them with a good reason rather than just simply declining and wanting them to leave you alone.
How do you handle brand collaborations?
25 comments