Are Sponsorship and Collaborations Worth It?
It was a joy creating content that others would enjoy. I love to shop, and I had a lot of products to review on my own. You see, I always wanted to be one of those people on the home shopping television programs, who presented different products. I was so obsessed with it that I would race home from school and my eyes were glued for hours.
Social media gave me a chance to do this but do it on my own terms. I thought people weren't really watching but the right people were watching. Companies started to reach out to me to review their products.
Usually, I would get a free product to review and affiliate links to add to the description of these products. It was really fun because I love getting products to try out. This happened very early in my YouTube career.
Then I started thinking about how some companies were really getting over on me. Sometimes they would send products that were literally falling apart and I had to conceal the areas that were obviously damaged. I was able to do this and it brought a lot of attention to my YouTube channel and my blog.
Then one day, I received an email for my first sponsorship. At this point, I had done many collaborations. I was so nervous, but I researched how to go about this sponsorship, and it lasted over a year. In fact, I am working with this company again.
This company had me add affiliate links but it turned out to be a project that I only had to do once or twice but I was getting paid for this project for a while.
This was so exciting for me to do. At the time I didn't even have the best camera, lighting, or anything. It was indeed a blessing. Many collaborations and sponsorships are still coming but you really have to be careful because the sponsor may not accurately calculate your earnings.
There are a lot of scammers in this arena, and you must be careful. When you get an offer, please research online, and watch videos of said product. If a lot of people have worked with the company and have gotten paid it is a win-win!
A lot of collaborations want you to work too hard for just a twenty-dollar item. You will have to realize what your worth is. If you are just starting out reviewing products take advantage of these collaborations to showcase your product reviewing skills. It is kind of like a resume of your prior work.
But if you have been doing this for a while do your research to see if this is going to be lucrative for you. Know your worth and don't let anyone take advantage of you. I think collaboration can be lucrative if they are giving you payment and the product to review.
In my opinion, I think that sponsorships are actually better because you can work for a company for a long time. The money is there for you. If you are considering doing this kind of work please look online at sites like Udemy and take some courses that will show you how to get started.
Check your email on a regular basis for these types of opportunities. Don't click on any links until after you have done your research to see if the company is legit.
Can you earn a million dollars doing this? You can make money but it will take a while to make a significant amount of money. I encourage you to get started and to have faith in yourself and there is no telling where this may lead you.
