CoBranding, Your Blog, and Respect
Your blog is your business and you’re building a brand that people will associate with you, whether you realize it or not. One way to help build your brand reputation is to partner up with another brand that’s already established themselves as known figure in a particular industry. Co-Branding is about sharing each others reputation to say to the public, “Hey, I have these qualities too. Just look at who I work with”.
In the business world you’ll see corporations offer sponsorships to athletes or musicians in return for mentions to their multitude of fans about their product. Together they are both benefiting from the partnership.
In blogging there are similar opportunities out there. Whatever you call it, what it boils down to is advertising and the advertiser you choose to partner with is a reflection of who you are to your readers. I recently went through an experience with an advertising network that I’d like to share.
My Experience With Forbes Woman Blog Network
When I was contacted by the Forbes Woman Blog Network my first reaction was to be thrilled. I mean, the name Forbes brings an impression of a professional business woman, so boy…I must be really moving up in blogging world, right? Or so you would think…
My experience with Forbes has been far less than what I – as a professional – would expect from another. The original email subject title was a simple “I like your blog” with an invitation to join a new network of professional female bloggers that Forbes Woman was putting together to form a new advertising network. Each blogger would be in control to approve or reject each ad, Forbes would do all the work of finding advertisers from their base of Fortune 100 clients, and they would be jumping at the chance to partner with our blogs. Oh, and of course we would be given the badge of notoriety…a Forbes Woman Blog Network badge to display proudly on our blog.
I took the bait and signed up to find that I was immediately pointed to Adify, an advertising broker where just about anyone can form their own network and sell it to bloggers for a 20% cut of the profits. This is on top of the cut that your network would take. FBWN takes 20% to cover the costs of all the “work” they put in so you can sit back and rake in all the advertising money from their clients. If you don’t know anything about Adify or how to work their campaigns, do not expect any help from Forbes. You’re on your own. They offer no guidance or tutorials of any kind. Once I signed up the communication with Forbes became null. Not the professional set up you would expect from a big name.
My Lesson
I recently read an article that finalized my decision to cut ties with the Forbes Woman Blog Network. The article was by Marketing & Blogging expert Seth Godin: Catchers and Throwers. He was also contacted by Forbes to be part of the Business and Financial Blog Network. When Seth emailed the sender he was to receive a little quip that was just as impersonal as the first email. I love Seth for his ability to point out the obvious…something I’m sure comes with experience. Seth points out:
You can contact just about anyone you want. The only rule is you need to contact them personally, with respect, and do it months before you need their help! Contact them about them, not about you. Engage. Contribute. Question. Pay attention. Read. Interact.
Partnerships, networks, communities, advertising, co-branding and all collaborations with another entity should be mutually beneficial, but they should also be built on respect. A spammer doesn’t take the time to ask questions or care about your blog. Their goal is to sign up as many as possible hoping that one will stick. Not this one, Forbes. I just had a lesson in self respect…for my blog and my worth.
When you approach others for a co-branding opportunity do you research what they stand for, have you read their works, commented on their blogs, built a level of communication and respect? Do you know your worth or have you been taken for granted? Leave your comments below to share lessons you’ve learned or how you have formed quality collaborations.
To Your Success,
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Tagged as: Advertising · Blogging · Marketing · Women In Marketing
5 Responses to “CoBranding, Your Blog, and Respect”
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- sharonhayes (Sharon Hayes)
- PromoGirl360 (Jennifer Brown)
Twitter Comment
CoBranding, Your Blog, & Respect [link to post] via @MarketLikeAChik *Nice read
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter: MicheleMiller
(1 comments) says:
It does come with experience, Coree. I, too, received that email about Forbes Women blog network – and it had the smell of dozens of others I’ve received over the years. I just ignored it – figured if they want me? They’ll write again.
What I find interesting is that with the organic nature of online communication and changes from a top-down hierarchy to more of a “web-based” (no pun intended) way of thinking, the once-glossy image of corporate communications (Forbes is but one example) is tarnished by old-fashioned stabs at “roping you in.”
It was a great lesson to share with everyone – thanks!
Well, at least I feel I’m in with good company…Forbes tried to rope in you and Seth Godin! What I wonder is if they even had any idea who any of us were at any point. I think the bigger companies that are just now being introduced to new media don’t quite understand how it all works yet. Some of those old stories of dot com ages, when the web was like the wild west, are still lingering and if you’re not familiar with the new etiquette it’s easy to come in as a gunslinger.
Hopefully, more and more ladies like you are educating the big corporations on how to play nice! Thanks for stopping by and for all you do.
Twitter Comment
RT @MarketLikeAChik: CoBranding, Your Blog, & Respect. How do you decide who to partner up with? [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
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