The Rules of Paid Content

The rules: Before you start doing brand deals or paid content, I want you to set some ground rules for yourself. It’s really easy when someone wants to throw money at you to just take it but we need to have a good idea of not only our personal brand but what’s good for our audience.

Rule #1 – My audience has to benefit. Ask yourself will this collaboration be useful to my audience? Example, My audience is 85% men who want to start a business or add some side income to their bank account. I was offered a very lucrative opportunity for an exercise bike. While getting paid to make a video and getting a free exercise bike sounded great, it doesn’t make sense to my audiences goals. Therefore I had to say no. When we build an audience we create trust. If our audience see’s a cash grab, they are much less likely to trust us.

Rule #2 – Would I actually use this? You’ll learn the first step in getting brand deals is promoting products you love and use. This makes your content not only authentic but creates a deeper bond around what you recommend to them. Chances are they want to be like you! Pay attention to what people ask you about. 9 out of 10 times its a product you already use.

Rule #3 – Everything is negotiable. We will talk about negotiating more later on but remember, you don’t just have to take what you are offered. Brands can often low ball creators to get more UGC but you don’t have to just accept an offer. If the price isn’t right, say no. End of story.