When you start your own thing, be it a blog or a brick and mortar store, people will take notice. If you create even just a little bit of momentum for yourself you’ll notice that other people and companies want to get involved pretty quickly.
Anyone with a website has probably gotten one of those rather spammy emails saying something like “Hey blogger! I found your post and am interested in working with you.’ Then they either want to insert a link into your post, or have you mention a product, or want to send you product or to trade content. Or you might be asked to come on a podcast, or do a Facebook Live, or a radio interview.
Whatever the offer is, you’ll notice quickly that you can’t say yet to all of it. While promotion is great for new companies, it also takes time to record a podcast, or answer an interviewer’s seven questions via email.
What’s worth saying yes to as a small business owner?
Platforms that are HUGE
Most platforms won’t pay you for contributions or for interviews. So if you get asked to do an interview for a site with a small following or small traffic, it’s probably not worth it. But if you get asked to appear on a huge platform like Business Insider, CNN or Refinery 29, it’s worth your time. Platforms with millions of followers will increase your reach and get you in front of more people faster than smaller platforms can.
Platforms You LOVE
If your favorite company asks for some of your time for free, take them up on it! This creates a relationship that you can continue to grow. It can be hard to find contact info for some companies, and even harder to get people to respond to cold emails. If a company that you love and want to work with comes to you, you’ve just eliminated those barriers. Promotion from a company that you love is a good deal.
Content Trades That Matter
Content swapping is a big thing online today. There is an endless flow of content online. It’s more than a little overwhelming to try and keep up by yourself.
Content swapping is a free promotion partnership where both parties should benefit. You’ll see this offer a lot from bigger content companies or blogs. You shouldn’t say yes just because it’s free or just because someone offered it to you. You SHOULD say yes when it’s content that’s well researched, that adds value, and that fits your audience.
A fashion blog really has no reason to content swap with a hardware store. You don’t want to jar your audience and ruin the level of authenticity that you’ve built up.
Saying yes to partnerships is something to be done selectively. Partnerships, promotion, interviews or whatever the offer is- it should all be answered with your own company vision and mission in mind. You can’t say yes to it all, so why try? Say yes to what matters the most.
