What is the Right Collaboration for You?

Although I am relatively new to blogging, I have had the opportunity to participate in some great collaborations. As great as some of my collaborations have been, I have also been approached by opportunities that, while not really for me, have been hard to pass up. And as I continue my blogging journey, I am sure I will face these challenges in the future. I figured that if I am facing these challenges in my first year of blogging, then I am sure you are too, so I wanted to write this article help all of you out there who are just like me!

 What are you all about?

For those of you who have been following me from the start, you may have noticed that my blog has gone through a transformation. I started out blogging about Home & DIY and while I still plan to blog about those topics, I have really started focusing on Fashion & Style blogging. Although, I think that these categories go hand-in-hand anyway, my blog is still going through a mini-identity crisis! In order to successfully collaborate with others, make sure you have established yourself in some type of category or categories that remain consistent.

Are you writing a blog that is mainly aimed at your family and friends or are you hoping to be the next blogger featured in a magazine? If it is the former, then you will probably set your sights on collaborating with other bloggers to share ideas and/or product reviews. If it is the latter, than you may be setting your sights on contests, magazines and companies in addition to your peers. Either way, your first step is to identify your purpose.

Regardless of the type of blog you have or the type of exposure you are looking for, the best way to collaborate is by networking with your fellow bloggers. I have read countless articles and spoken to bloggers who all say that networking is everything. Join online networks, groups and forums with people who have the same interests as you. Reach out via email or Instagram comments. This is sure to open up opportunities for collaboration with your peers and ultimately with bigger companies if that is your intention.

If you are like me, you hate to say “No”. I always feel like I am missing out on something great when I say no…basically I have FOMO (fear of missing out)…which is why I am eating a Strawberry Donut in this photo! It has been hard to get over my FOMO, but I have been in a few situations where I am glad that I “missed out”.

A lot of opportunities may arise that sound too good to be true and some are…

When I was focussing on my Home & DIY blogging, I had a wonderful experience with Cut Out + Keep. They allowed me to showcase my best DIY projects on their website and featured me for a week. This was a great experience because it afforded me exposure with minimal effort on my part because I was merely providing them with projects that I had already completed.

Alternatively, I recently was approached by a Bridal Website that was willing to pay me to write an article about their Bridesmaid dresses. Of course, I was completely flattered that someone wanted to pay me to do anything, let alone write an article on my blog, however, I had to reign in my enthusiasm and do some research. I had never heard of the Company before, so I was hesitant to put my stamp of approval on something that I wasn’t sure I would even buy. Well, let me tell you, I am glad that I did my research because this particular website has received terrible reviews for their quality. I know that I would have felt awful and like a fraud if I had agreed to write this article, accidentally causing others to be subjected to sub-par goods.

Therefore, my advice would be to always stay true to yourself and DO YOUR RESEARCH! The internet is a great tool and makes “stalking” so easy. It took me less than 5 minutes to figure out that collaborating with the Bridal Website was not for me.

I hope that this article was helpful. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or if you want to collaborate!! My email address is suburbanreno@gmail.com. Thank you for stopping by!