Tips for getting brand deals

Partnering with brands can be another way to make money with your YouTube channel. Learn the fundamentals of working with brands.

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Your audience:	get to learn about new products that they might be excited about.
Brands:	get to reach their target audience.
You:	get to make new content and make money.

Remember, anytime you partner with brands or get a product or service at no charge in exchange for content, you may have disclosure obligations.

Videos or other types of media assets you develop with a brand are called “branded content". Branded content is usually paid for by a brand and features their products or services in some way.
A “brand deal” is a partnership between creators and brands and is sometimes referred to as a “brand sponsorship” too.
“Brand integrations” are a type of branded content where a creator finds a way to seamlessly feature a product or service in their videos. The idea is to do something with the product in the video that makes sense and aligns with your own channel’s brand.

A few common types of branded content videos:

Hauls and lookbooks - AllyiahsFace partners with a clothing brand to create this shopping haul video.
Comedic skits - Using humor to integrate ads in your content can create a smoother viewer experience even if the ad is in the middle of your video.
Gameplays - Minecraft creators Grian and MumboJumbo collabed on a hilarious sponsored ad-break in their content.
Brand placement and mini ad-breaks - Jenn Im takes an ad break to talk about her sponsor and their product in her productivity video.

There are many formats that you can experiment with like tutorials, unboxing videos and so on.

There are really not too many wrong ways of how you can reach out and connect with a brand. Some options are:

Go to their website and fill out the contact form.
Go to LinkedIn and look for the marketing directors of that company. Get in touch with them directly.
Use Twitter and tweet at the brand.
Signing up for YouTube BrandConnect if you’re in the US, UK, or Canada. Review all eligibility criteria before you enroll.

But after you figured out how to get in touch with the brand, what do you say? How do you make your pitch? By preparing a media kit:

Start it off by talking about why you love them, why you want to work with them, and why you love their product or service.
Share a little bit about your channel and what you and your audience are most excited about.
Add statistics and numbers to give them a sense of what engagement with your channel and social presence looks like. Include demographic data to help the brand get to know your audience too. Some numbers you can consider including:
1. Active subscribers
2. View count
3. Unique viewers
4. How many minutes are people watching your content or your typical retention
Finally, share some video ideas for what you think this collaboration could look like. Having some ideas gives you and the brand a starting point for your discussions.

tips

Partner with a brand you believe in and think your audience will like. While it can be exciting to be approached by brands, it’s ok to tell the brand “no”.
Be transparent with your audience. Consider asking them what they think about a potential brand partnership. Are there products or types of videos that they’ve been asking you about?
Be mindful of how often you upload branded content. It may not be a good experience for your audience if you post brand integrations too often.
Communicate what you’re willing and not willing to do for a brand. Give suggestions when discussing with a brand so they know what you're comfortable with.

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