Influencer Platforms for PAID Campaigns
If there's one thing I love it's to cut down the amount of time and effort it takes to secure a paid campaign. While it's important to keep reaching out to brands you truly love via email, if you're still hesitant or learning how exactly to work with a brand, influencer platforms are a great way to get your foot in the door.
Influencer platforms create a smooth workflow from start to finish, already have contracts in place for you to review, and any problems that arise are quickly resolved. There are some restrictions when using these platforms, but the majority of the time there are more positives than negatives.
Finding an influencer platform that works for you does take some time, but I've broken down a list of my top picks in hopes to make the process a bit easier. What works for others may not work for you and vice versa. I've seen certain sites hyped up by others that didn't work for me personally and that's okay!
My suggestion would just be to try as many as possible and see which platform brings in the best results for you.
Here are some free influencer platforms that I've tried along with my own personal experiences.
Aspire
Aspire is highly recommended by many influencers and it's actually one of my favorite platforms to use as well.
The only downside is that you have to meet the minimum requirements of having 2.5K followers on Instagram (previously 5k when I joined so this is amazing!) with an average of 400 likes per post. There are other factors that play into getting approved, but as long as you have a genuine account there shouldn't be any issues.
Aspire hosts a huge range of brands from fashion, beauty, food, lifestyle and more. While there are a few brands I remove from what's available because they don't fit with my niche, there are plenty that I apply to every week.
I've formed my best relationships on Aspire with repeat campaigns that are fairly priced all while having creative control over my work. You can negotiate payment and deliverables and I've rarely had any issues working with brands on this platform.
Activate
Activate is very similar to Aspire with how it operates. Applications to apply for a campaign go more in depth though by asking for one or two concepts and why you are a good fit for the opportunity.
Personally, I find it a bit harder to be accepted by a brand. Maybe there is more competition or possibly just not the right fit. Activate does seem to focus more on beauty and lifestyle products whereas my content is very specific when I choose to share those types of items.
However, working with brands is a smooth process with every detail laid out so you know exactly what needs to be created. Brands that I've worked with in the past are very understanding and flexible when discussing corrections or other minor details in order for me to maintain my own voice and opinion.
#paid
Hashtag Paid uses a different approach for it's influencer platform. Depending on your interests and the type of content you create, #paid will pitch you a brand and you can opt in or out of the application.
The pitch is just a short email informing you whenever a brand is a potential fit for you and then you can view the details of the campaign on the site and fill out the application with your prices depending on the deliverables.
Because #paid uses a more personal curation system, I've been pitched brands that fall into fashion, lifestyle, and drinks. I'm not sure what else they offer, but I'm sure there are plenty more!
Social Fabric
I recommend Social Fabric to anyone that focuses on food related content. There are some lifestyle brands on the site, however I've noticed that it is mainly food/drink brands or grocery store specific.
The application process is fairly easy— mainly asking for ideas and other information. Sometimes there are a couple options within the description to choose what kind of deliverables you want to create and then you apply to that specific category.
The brands on Social Fabric pay well and I've noticed that it's not just random items being promoted. It fosters a more genuine relationship overall as these items would normally be used in daily life.
The Sway
I don't have too much experience with The Sway as there aren't a lot of opportunities that I'm interested in on the platform.
However, I have applied to a couple brands and I love that on each one you have the option to choose which social platform to create for as well as having the option to create a blog post.
I've noticed mainly lifestyle and business on The Sway. There are different rates for each deliverable and they all seem to pay well.
Tribe
Tribe is an influencer platform that is actually an app for your phone. The submission process is quite unique compared to other platforms and can be a little confusing at first.
When applying you have to submit either example images of what you would create or actually already have content that is already created for the brand. To be honest, I find the latter to be a bit strange especially if you don't already have the product to work with.
I recommend only applying to the ones that allow mock shots for an example submission as anything else isn't worth the time and effort. Or to just use the app as a resource for discovering brands to reach out to via email.
There are plenty of other influencer platforms available online, however it's all about discovering what works for you. I hope this list helps get you started on trying to find paid collaborations!
Always keep trying and don't give up!