Transcripts
Welcome to the Mesmerizing Marketing Podcast, where we take a deep dive
Speaker:into the latest marketing trends, tools, and tips, and provide you with
Speaker:the top resources you need to thrive and make your marketing mesmerizing.
Speaker:And now here's your host Dimple.
Speaker:Dang.
Speaker:Welcome back, my Mesmerizing Marketing Tribe.
Speaker:This is part two of the Influencer series, and we're gonna be talking about
Speaker:the art of negotiation, how to secure better terms and pay for influencers.
Speaker:So if you listen to my previous episode on influencers, you will
Speaker:understand the importance of micro and nano influencers and.
Speaker:, there are challenges that come about when it comes to negotiating and
Speaker:making sure that you're getting paid fairly for your collaborations and
Speaker:you're setting the stage to get the right terms for your agreements.
Speaker:And so we're gonna be talking about all of that.
Speaker:So one of the most important factors of being a micro influencer is
Speaker:really knowing your worth, right?
Speaker:And it's understanding what your unique value proposition is and how you can do.
Speaker:Like step one is that you can identify your niche.
Speaker:You wanna determine what specific area of niche or expertise our interest.
Speaker:Is one that sets you apart from all the other influencers.
Speaker:And that's really important because that's going to be your unique selling
Speaker:point, which is gonna help you appeal to brands that are aligned with your niche.
Speaker:So this can be, for example, you could be in the niche of podcasting
Speaker:and you can be a podcaster.
Speaker:You could be in the niche of the legal industry, and that can be your niche.
Speaker:You could be in the niche of, health and fitness, and that can be your
Speaker:niche, but within health and fitness, there can be something more specific
Speaker:that you can narrow it down to.
Speaker:So maybe it's that you are into aerobics and that can be your niche, right?
Speaker:Then the other part that's really important, and I talk about this all
Speaker:the time, you'll hear me talk about it in my rooms, you'll hear me talk
Speaker:about it here, is personal brand.
Speaker:your personal brand is so important and you wanna make sure that you're
Speaker:developing a brand that is consistent, but that also represents your values,
Speaker:your personal style, and your interest.
Speaker:And that personal brand should resonate with your target audience,
Speaker:and that is what's actually helping you establish that connection
Speaker:with them, that strong connection.
Speaker:Then the other part is once you have an.
Speaker:You have to be able to engage with them.
Speaker:So being able to cultivate a loyal and engage following by interacting
Speaker:with your audience via comments, dms, and even within your live streams, you
Speaker:know that's gonna be more valuable to a brand because it actually shows them
Speaker:that you have influence and you have the ability to drive consumer behavior.
Speaker:And that's what they care about.
Speaker:Cuz that is what's gonna lead to them.
Speaker:Getting more sales is you have the ability to influence your connections, your
Speaker:audience, your fans, your followers to take action based on what you are sharing.
Speaker:And that's the one thing that brands really care about.
Speaker:The other thing that you have to be aware of is how do you assess the worth of your
Speaker:content and your audience engagement?
Speaker:So one aspect is the quality of content.
Speaker:You want to evaluate the quality of your content, and you also want to evaluate how
Speaker:unique it is, and if you have high quality content that's gonna attract more follow.
Speaker:it's gonna also increase your engagement, and ultimately it's gonna make you more
Speaker:attractive as a partner for brands.
Speaker:Then the other thing you wanna do is you want to analyze
Speaker:your audience's demographics.
Speaker:. You wanna know what their age is, their average like age
Speaker:range, their gender, where they located, what their interests are.
Speaker:And all of this information is really important for brands because they're
Speaker:looking for influencers that can help them reach their target market.
Speaker:Now pay attention to this one cuz this is really important.
Speaker:your engagement rate, you have to be able to calculate your engagement rate.
Speaker:So in order to calculate your engagement rate as you want to divide the total
Speaker:number of your interactions, which can be likes, comments, or shares by the
Speaker:number of followers, and then you wanna multiply by a hundred to get a percent.
Speaker:And the higher engagement rate that you have, that's gonna tell brands that you
Speaker:have a more active and engaged audience, and that's going to increase your value
Speaker:to potential collaborations with brands.
Speaker:So make sure that you are calculating your engagement rate and you're trying to
Speaker:increase that engagement rate over time.
Speaker:As you perfect your content, as you're testing out new things, keep
Speaker:on raising that engagement rate.
Speaker:. All right.
Speaker:Now I'm also gonna talk about the importance of utilizing social
Speaker:media analytics and also industry benchmarks to support your case, right?
Speaker:So a lot of these social media platforms already have their
Speaker:own built-in analytics tools.
Speaker:So you know, Instagram has insights, Twitter has analytics, and then there's
Speaker:also third party platforms, like if you're using Hootsuite or Sprout Social,
Speaker:like they also gather a good amount of data based on how your account is
Speaker:performing, your audience demographics, and also your engagement metrics.
Speaker:So you can actually take a look at.
Speaker:Then the other thing you want to do is you wanna compare with industry benchmarks.
Speaker:So you wanna research industry benchmarks for influencers, and not just influencers,
Speaker:but influencers in your niche.
Speaker:And you wanna see how your performance measures up, and that's gonna help
Speaker:you identify how you can improve and also understand what your worth
Speaker:is within that particular market.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:Also, you wanna track your growth.
Speaker:So you wanna document your account growth and engagement metrics over a
Speaker:period of time, and maybe you look at it every month, but also you can do like
Speaker:a quarterly review to see how you've improved from one quarter to the next.
Speaker:And as long as you are improving consistently, that's going to really.
Speaker:a win-win when it comes to negotiating with potential collaboration.
Speaker:The other thing you can do is you can actually showcase your collaborations
Speaker:that have been successful.
Speaker:So make sure that you're able to highlight any previous collaborations that resulted
Speaker:in a positive outcome for you as well as a brand, and that means that you helped
Speaker:that brand increase their brand awareness.
Speaker:You helped them get more sales or even overall engage.
Speaker:and then you can use these success stories as proof of the value that you can
Speaker:bring to future collaborations as well.
Speaker:So once you understand what your unique value proposition is, and
Speaker:you're able to assess the worth of your content as well as your audience
Speaker:engagement, and in connection with that.
Speaker:that you're utilizing social media analytics as well as industry
Speaker:benchmarks, then you're really gonna begin to know what your worth is,
Speaker:and you're gonna be able to negotiate better terms for your collaborations.
Speaker:The other thing I wanna talk about that's really important
Speaker:is when it comes to collabo, You need to be a great negotiator.
Speaker:So if you're not, you wanna develop exceptional negotiation skills.
Speaker:And part of that comes down to effective communication.
Speaker:So you wanna make sure that you're able to convey your.
Speaker:where it is clear and you're persuasive and it's also not confusing.
Speaker:You wanna eliminate any misunderstandings, and part of that
Speaker:is really being a good listener.
Speaker:It's being an active listener because that's gonna show the brand that you're
Speaker:really engaged in the conversation and you're open to what their perspective is.
Speaker:And when it comes to negotiating.
Speaker:, you wanna make sure that you do it in this manner.
Speaker:You wanna be clear and concise, . You want to clearly articulate your terms
Speaker:as well as your expectations, and you wanna keep the language that's simple
Speaker:and easy for anyone to understand.
Speaker:You don't have to use complicated words.
Speaker:The other thing is you can ask open-ended questions, so you can encourage dialogue
Speaker:by asking questions, and this can really help you get to the bottom of any issues
Speaker:or any concerns that they may have.
Speaker:And of course, listen attentively, always listen attentively.
Speaker:And by that I mean make sure that if you're on a, phone call with
Speaker:them, like where you're on Zoom.
Speaker:Make sure that you're paying full attention, or if you're meeting with
Speaker:them in person, that you're making eye contact and you're not distracted.
Speaker:And when they're talking, you can also show them that you're
Speaker:listening by nodding, by going back and summarizing their point by
Speaker:asking even a follow up question.
Speaker:The other thing that's really important is that you have to be able to show empathy.
Speaker:, for their concerns.
Speaker:So even if you're not in agreement with what they are offering you or what they're
Speaker:saying, you have to be able to understand it from their viewpoint and show empathy
Speaker:because that's going to help create an environment that's more collaborative and
Speaker:it's going to help you build that stronger connection with that particular brand.
Speaker:Whether you end up working with them this time around or not is irrelevant because
Speaker:other brands may also have other brands that they can refer you to, and maybe
Speaker:it wasn't a good fit for you two, but there might be other people that they
Speaker:know, so never burn your bridges with.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Let's talk about how you can build rapport and trust with these potential
Speaker:partners and brands, is you wanna be able to find some common ground, so
Speaker:you wanna identify like, what do you have that's in common with that brand?
Speaker:Are your values aligned?
Speaker:Are your goals the same?
Speaker:Do you have shared.
Speaker:and you know, do you have any experiences specifically from that
Speaker:industry that that brand is in?
Speaker:Well, you need to be able to find that common ground and
Speaker:communicate it to that brand.
Speaker:Then the other thing is always be truly genuine and be authentic and
Speaker:be yourself and just be transparent about what your strengths are,
Speaker:as well as your limitations and.
Speaker:Doing this, it's gonna help you establish trust with the brand because
Speaker:they're seeing that you're honest and you're also willing to be vulnerable.
Speaker:So they're going to know that you're not just trying to take
Speaker:advantage of the situation that you are just being yourself.
Speaker:And then remember to show respect and also appreciation.
Speaker:So make sure that you are treating them with.
Speaker:and consideration, even if you don't agree with their viewpoint, obviously
Speaker:never raise your voice, stay calm and be respectful if you, even if you're
Speaker:annoyed, they don't need to see that.
Speaker:You can kindly decline and you can end the call and make it short,
Speaker:but they don't need to see that.
Speaker:The other thing that's important is the ability to be adaptable and also patient.
Speaker:So you wanna make sure that you are able to be adaptable to their
Speaker:timeline and to their preferences.
Speaker:Let's say that you submit, content, they want revisions.
Speaker:Well be willing to make those revisions, but also make sure that there's not
Speaker:unnecessary work creeping into the project that's now requiring you double or triple
Speaker:the time then you initially allocate it for and that you negotiated with.
Speaker:So just keep that in mind.
Speaker:And then you also need to underst.
Speaker:how you're going to handle their objections and do it professionally.
Speaker:So you wanna stay calm, you wanna stay composed, and you
Speaker:want to not react impulsively.
Speaker:You want to actually like soak it in and come up with a response in a calm manner.
Speaker:And then if you're not really sure about what they're offering, Ask them
Speaker:for clarification to make sure that you are understanding what is part
Speaker:of that brand deal and what's not.
Speaker:Then you want to also address their concerns directly.
Speaker:So make sure that you are addressing them directly and that you also have.
Speaker:reasoning or evidence to support your position.
Speaker:So if you're trying to ask for more, more pay, then make sure that you can back
Speaker:that up with your data and your stats and your engagement rates or whatever
Speaker:it is that you have, because you need to be able to justify that to them.
Speaker:So always go into, you know, the negotiation prepared, and that means that
Speaker:you need to be able to know your numbers.
Speaker:You need to know what you bring to the table.
Speaker:You need to know, you know, why you're different, and essentially why you
Speaker:should be given that opportunity, you know, to get that brand deal.
Speaker:. And then also if you're not able to come to any terms, it's
Speaker:okay to like take a break from negotiating and say, you know what?
Speaker:Let me think about this for a day or two.
Speaker:Is it okay if I get back to you?
Speaker:And just having that time apart from from both perspectives can be a good
Speaker:thing because by the time that you've taken the time apart, they may actually
Speaker:realize, you know what, if I don't get this person to work with me, now I
Speaker:have to go find someone else and that's gonna take me another week or two.
Speaker:So maybe I'll just pay them the extra $20 that they're asking for, or a
Speaker:hundred dollars or whatever it is, and then just , keep it moving, right?
Speaker:So keep that in mind.
Speaker:All right guys.
Speaker:You know that special gift I told you about?
Speaker:Well, here it is.
Speaker:I wanted to put together an example of a letter as a micro
Speaker:influencer that you can send.
Speaker:Let's assume like just a hypothetical situation, that you are a beauty
Speaker:influencer and you want to work with a particular beauty brand.
Speaker:What kind of letter can you send them?
Speaker:So I'm gonna read a letter out to you and yes, I did get chat G
Speaker:P T to help me with this letter.
Speaker:So you know what?
Speaker:It did a great job.
Speaker:So we're gonna use it.
Speaker:So for the subject, you can say something like, exciting
Speaker:collaboration opportunity with.
Speaker:, and that would be your name.
Speaker:And then you can say a passionate beauty enthusiast, or you could leave that part
Speaker:off like the titles are up to you, right?
Speaker:And then you can say, my name is so-and-so, and I'm a beauty enthusiast
Speaker:with a growing online presence on, and you can say which social
Speaker:media platforms, like if you're on TikTok, Instagram, things like that.
Speaker:And you can say that you've been a fan of their brand.
Speaker:Quite a bit of time, and you believe that collaboration between
Speaker:us can be mutually beneficial.
Speaker:You can also say, as a micro influencer in the beauty niche, I have a highly engaged
Speaker:audience that trusts my recommendations and values, my authentic content.
Speaker:I'm confident that partnering with your brand will be a great
Speaker:opportunity for the both of us.
Speaker:Then you can put a section on why should you consider collaborating with.
Speaker:, and you can outline these things in bullet points and you can
Speaker:talk about targeted audience.
Speaker:You can say, my, you know, 5,000 followers are primarily this type of demographic who
Speaker:are passionate about skincare and makeup.
Speaker:This demographic aligns perfectly with your brand's target audience
Speaker:because again, target audience is something that they do care about.
Speaker:That's huge.
Speaker:Then the other thing you wanna highlight in a bullet point
Speaker:would be high engagement rate.
Speaker:Can say I consistently receive a high engagement rate on my content with an
Speaker:average of blank percent engagement rate across my post, and don't lie about this.
Speaker:So just be honest, you guys, with whatever your engagement rate is, because they
Speaker:can, you know, look into that further.
Speaker:Then you can say, this demonstrates that my followers are truly interested
Speaker:in what I have to say and are likely to take action based on my recomme.
Speaker:. Third bullet point is gonna be about the authentic content, so
Speaker:you can say authentic content.
Speaker:I pride myself on creating relatable content that resonates with my audience
Speaker:by sharing my honest experiences and opinions about beauty products.
Speaker:I built a strong sense of trust with my followers who view me as
Speaker:a reliable source of information.
Speaker:Alright, fourth bullet point.
Speaker:We can talk about aesthetic.
Speaker:A.
Speaker:, my content style and aesthetic compliment your brand's image making our
Speaker:potential collaboration a natural fit.
Speaker:You can check out my social media profiles and content here, and then provide a
Speaker:link to your social media, profiles.
Speaker:Or maybe you have a online beauty blog.
Speaker:You can link it there.
Speaker:Then also the last bullet point, track record of successful collaboration.
Speaker:So you can say, I've worked with several beauty brands in the past, including
Speaker:this brand and this brand, so name the brand, and I have consistently
Speaker:delivered great results in terms of engagement, reach, and conversions.
Speaker:, then you can say, I'm excited about the possibility of working together and
Speaker:promoting your products to my audience.
Speaker:I would be happy to discuss potential collaboration ideas such as product
Speaker:reviews, sponsored posts, giveaways, or any other creative concepts
Speaker:that align with your marketing.
Speaker:Please feel free to reach out if you would like to explore this opportunity further,
Speaker:or if you have any questions about my proposal, I look forward to potentially
Speaker:working with your amazing brand.
Speaker:Thank you for your time and consideration.
Speaker:Then you're gonna put your name, you're gonna sign it.
Speaker:Sincerely, warm regards, chow, whatever you want.
Speaker:You can put your name, your email address, your phone number, and your social media.
Speaker:So if you guys wanna reach out to brands, that is one great way
Speaker:to start getting more brand deals is you being proactive instead of
Speaker:waiting for brands to come to you.
Speaker:And as a micro influencer, this is the best way to get more brand deals.
Speaker:Hope you try it out and enjoy it.
Speaker:Let me know how it goes.
Speaker:See you on the next one.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to the Mesmerizing Marketing Podcast.
Speaker:If you found this episode valuable, please subscribe to the show so
Speaker:you don't ever miss an episode and also share it with your friends.
Speaker:Dimple would be so grateful if you could take a minute to leave
Speaker:a review and visit the podcast website to check out all the latest.
Speaker:At www.mesmerizingmarketingpodcast.com.
Speaker:That's www.mesmerizingmarketingpodcast.com.
Speaker:And follow Dimple on Clubhouse.
Speaker:Her handle is at Marketing Expert and also join her mesmerizing marketing club.
Speaker:Also on Clubhouse for live rooms, on top marketing strategies for
Speaker:entrepreneurs and business owners who want to mesmerize their marketing.
