Want to leave a memorable impression with a sponsor when you meet at an event? Build the foundation for a relationship online before. Five tips for how to do that.
By: Eden Hensley; Photos by: Brooke Dennis for Alt Summit
Want to leave a memorable impression when you meet a sponsor in person at event? Lay the foundation for a potential relationship online weeks or months before. Here are five things you can start doing today
Connect with Alt Winter 2016 sponsors before you head to Salt Lake City in January. Five tips for how you can start a relationship with them today.
- Visit their websites. Events typically list all of their sponsors, along with links to their websites. Take the time to click through each and see which ones are potential matches.
- Sign up for their newsletters. What could be easier? Get all the latest news from sponsors you’re interested in delivered straight to your inbox. From these emails, you’ll understand who their target customer is and see whether their customer is your reader.
- Read their blog. If something catches your eye, comment! Then, share the post on your social media. Also, look at whether they’ve worked with other creatives. For example, both Justina Blakeney of The Jungalow and Haeley of Design Improvised worked with Hayneedle for Bohemian Patio and Luxe Holiday Living posts, respectively. And Megan of Freckled Italian created Turkey Chili on a Campfire for La Crema. Past collaborations will give you an idea of what they want in a final project and will give you a checklist of skills you may want to work on—styling, photography, and so on.
- Follow them on social media. Here you’ll see what brands care about. You’ll get a sense of their values and their voice, and whether your values and voice would complement them. You can see how Munchkin kicked off the holiday season announcing their #OrcasLiveinOceans campaign, an initiative to build a coastal sanctuary for captive orcas. Or get inspired by the MakersKit Instagram takeover by Lauren of A Fabulous Fete. You’ll also see who they repost from and whose work they share. Is what you’re doing the same level of quality? Can you improve upon your work before you meet?
- Catch an Alt Chat on Twitter. In the weeks leading up to Alt Winter 2016, many sponsors engage with the Alt community during our weekly Alt Chat on Twitter. So far, Minted and Hayneedle have joined us. Be sure to check out the #MintedHoliday and #Hayneedle hashtags on Twitter, respectively for ideas about celebrating holidays and creating spaces that showcase your personality.
Don’t miss upcoming chats with sponsors! Meet Flipboard next week December 9th and Sherwin-Williams on January 13th. All chats happen live on Twitter for an hour starting at 9AM PT/12PM ET/5PM GMT.
Want to be at the top of your game when you meet our sponsors in person this January? Do these three things over the next month:
- Make your blog irresistible to brands — the do’s and the don’ts.
- Determine if a sponsor is a match for you.
- Get noticed by brands.
