Hi friend 👋

October was one for the books! I spent the month packing and unpacking my bags, hopping between countries in Europe while we were making some pretty big moves at Creator Match and here at Goodknight.

We hired 20 people at Creator Match. Twenty! And if you’ve ever onboarded even one person, you can imagine what that meant for me as COO, in the middle of one of our busiest seasons. But I’m thankfully still mentally here to tell you about it lol

And we’re still hiring at Creator Match! Here at Goodknight, two full-time people and two part-time people also joined the team this month. There’s a lot that goes into getting everyone started, but if all goes well, I’ll actually get more of my time back. I now have people helping with creator operations and my content, and I can’t wait to see what we get to do together.

The craziest part is I was not planning on expanding Goodknight operations, but sometimes you find the right people when you're not looking for them, and you have to take action.

Every year my nieces and nephews pick a Halloween theme for us to dress up together. This year they chose fruit.

At first, I was not thrilled about the costume, but I actually think they turned out so well. And also, yes, my husband chose to be a tomato because he is a contrarian.

October was also my birthday month, and I spent mine in Amsterdam at a conference for a client, surrounded by a bunch of creators.

And I wanted to bring a little of that back to you.

Because when you’re thinking about pitching a brand, it’s easy to go straight to a sponsored post. But those creators were getting paid to come to a conference and make content, and I want you thinking about what else working with a brand could look like for you.

There's a lot more you could offer, and you're in luck, because I'm going to help you think beyond the sponsored post and figure out what else you could pitch.

Okay, before we get into what you should pitch, there's something I want you to understand about how brands work.

The person hiring you for sponsored posts might have absolutely nothing to do with the people planning the company's events, making videos for its own channels or figuring out how to teach customers to use a new feature.

And the people doing that work might have money to spend on it, even when your usual contact doesn't have a sponsored campaign to offer you.

Which means you could have a great relationship with someone at a brand, do a fantastic sponsored post for them, and still have no idea there's another team at that same company doing work you'd be perfect for.

And the person you've been emailing might not know either!

I think that's something creators should spend more time thinking about, because you're probably used to looking at a brand and asking whether they're running creator campaigns.

I want you to start looking at what else they're trying to get done.

A sponsored post helps a brand reach your audience. But what if they want to teach their existing customers how to use the product? Or they need someone who actually understands their industry to moderate a panel? Or they want content they can use on their own channels?

Those are different jobs, and you're not necessarily limited to doing one of them.

Now, if I were trying to figure out what else I could pitch a brand, I'd start with one I already know. Even better if it's one I've worked with before.

I'd look at what they're already doing. Are they hosting events? Making tutorials? Teaching customers how to use their product? Is there something there I'd be really good at?

And would I actually want to do it?

Because if you love teaching people how to use a product, I'd absolutely be thinking about use-case videos. But if you hate being on stage, I'm not going to tell you to start pitching yourself as an event host just because someone else is getting paid to do it.

And please don't go inventing ten new services just because I've told you there are other ways to work with a brand.

We're looking for work you're already capable of doing, that you'd actually enjoy doing, and that somebody might have a reason to pay you for.

Once you have a few ideas, I'd put them in a simple document. One or two pages is fine.

You do not need a beautiful 40-page media kit that takes you three weeks to finish. Please. 😂

Give them something that shows what else you can do, whether that's tutorials, videos for their own channels, workshops, speaking or something else.

And include examples!

If you've already made an amazing tutorial about a product, why wouldn't you show that to a company that needs tutorials? Even if nobody paid you to make it, they can still see what you're capable of.

Same if you've moderated a panel before. Show them the clip.

I'd rather see three things you're genuinely good at than a long list of things you've never tried.

Now, here's where I want you to be a little smarter about how you approach brands.

I know a lot of creators send emails asking if there are any upcoming collaboration opportunities.

And I get why you're asking. You want to know whether they have work for you.

But put yourself in that marketer's position for a second.

They've got their own campaigns, deadlines and probably a ridiculous number of emails to answer, and you've just asked them to figure out what they could hire you for.

What are they supposed to do with that?

I'm not saying you can never ask about upcoming opportunities. I'm saying if you have a good idea, give it to them!

Let's say you've worked with a software company before, and you've noticed they're making more videos teaching customers how to use the product.

You know the product, you've made tutorials yourself, and you think you could make something genuinely useful for them.

Why not say that?

Something like:

❝

Hey [name]!

I've been watching the tutorials your team has been putting out lately and had an idea.

I've been using [product] for [specific task], and it's something I get a lot of questions about. I thought it could be interesting to make a short series showing how people could actually use it in their own work.

Is that something your team is working on? I'd love to send over a couple of ideas, or talk to whoever handles that!

See what we've done there?

You haven't asked them to find a job for you. You've noticed something they're working on, figured out where you might be useful and given them an actual idea to respond to.

And that question at the end is intentional.

Remember what I said about different teams?

The person you know might only handle influencer marketing. Maybe customer education sits somewhere else entirely. Maybe they don't have a budget for sponsored posts right now, but that doesn't tell you what another team is working on.

So don't assume a no from one person means you've exhausted every possible way to work with that company.

I'm also not telling you to go emailing twelve people at the same brand with twelve different pitches. Start with the relationship you have and find out who actually handles the work you're interested in.

That's a much better conversation.

And once they're interested, please make sure you talk about what the job involves before you start agreeing to things.

If you're making videos, where are they going? Your channels or theirs? Do they want to use them in ads? For how long?

Those things matter!

Five videos for the brand's own channels are not automatically the same job as five sponsored posts on your LinkedIn. And if somebody asks you to throw in extra videos, an event and unlimited usage, those are not just cute little bonuses.

They need to be part of what you've agreed to deliver and what you're getting paid for.

Speaking of getting paid, can we please talk about events?

Because this is one I really want creators to get better at.

Someone tells me they've been invited to speak on a panel, host a dinner or attend a brand event, and they're already thinking about doing it for free because it's a great opportunity.

Okay. Maybe!

But did you ask whether there's a budget?

Because I would.

You might decide that being in that room is valuable enough on its own. Maybe it's a brand you've wanted to build a relationship with, or there are people attending you'd really like to meet.

There are absolutely reasons to do things that aren't just about the immediate paycheck.

But I want that to be a decision you make after finding out what's available, not an assumption you've made before the conversation even starts.

And if there is a budget, the next thing I want to know is what they're actually expecting you to do.

Because a brand asking you to moderate a panel about something you already know really well is one thing.

A brand asking you to develop an entirely new presentation, attend rehearsals, travel across the country, spend a day at their conference and another day meeting customers?

That's quite a different job!

You could spend far more time preparing for that one-hour speaking slot than you spend on stage.

And while you're traveling and doing all of that, you're also not doing the other work you would normally be getting paid for.

So yes, ask about the speaking fee. But ask about the preparation, the travel, what you're responsible for and how much time they need from you too.

I don't want you agreeing to something that sounds like an easy hour of work and then finding out you've committed several days to it.

And one more thing, because I know the idea of doing something bigger than sponsored posts can sound like you suddenly need to become somebody's official ambassador.

You don't!

Maybe the brand pays you to make a few tutorials. You both like working together, so a few months later you talk about doing something else.

Or maybe you host one event and that's it.

That's perfectly fine.

You don't have to sign yourself up for a year of work before you've even figured out whether you enjoy doing that kind of work for them.

And yes, sometimes they'll say no. They might love the idea and have no budget for it. Or the timing might be wrong.

But if you've given them a good idea, made it easy to understand and found the right person to talk to, you've done a lot more than send another email asking about upcoming collaborations.

I want you to think about that the next time you're putting together a brand pitch.

You've spent all this time becoming good at what you do. You know your audience, you know how to make content, and you probably know a lot more about the products you're using than you give yourself credit for.

So why are we only talking about what a brand will pay you to post?

I want you asking what else they could pay you to do.

And then, please, actually tell them you can do it. They aren't going to magically know!

Talk soon,

Tara