9 Blog Must-Haves To Make Brands Want To Work With You

Are you a blogger who wants to take your blog to the next level? Do you want to be taken seriously as a business blogger?

Your blog is who you are.

You want to be liked. You want to be trusted.

But how do you do that?

Make them fall in love with your blog.

Show them that you’re the one they want to hire.

Below are the things that brands would love to see when they land to your blog. Brand marketers use your website to determine your authenticity. Remember, what we see is what we get.

Here are the essential things (in no particular order) you’d need to make brands see you as a professional blogger who they can trust.

1. Professionally Designed Blog

Admit it or not, people do judge a book by its cover. So your first goal is to visually attract brands with a professional looking website that appeal to your target market. Brands will not take you seriously if you have an amateur-looking website.

An effective website design must:

• Have a clear and concise message about what you do and what you offer. You want brands to easily figure out what you do when they land to your website right away. I recommend investing in a good copywriter.
• Be easy to navigate and easy on the eyes
• Have consistent layout and consistent “look” or theme for each elements
• Have readable fonts (super important!)
• Have a noticeable call to action ((a.k.a CTA (work with me button, contact button, get a quote button)). Don’t use too many different CTAs! It will only confuse users.
• Be compatible with major internet browsers
• Be using colors that complement each other (colors that don’t hurt the eyes)
• Have a unique logo
• Be mobile-friendly

Avoid using too much images, busy backgrounds, gifs or moving elements, low quality images, background music, hit counters (NO NO!), out-of-trend styles such as 3d buttons, shadows, glowing lights. In other words, eliminate unnecessary elements that will only distract your users.

Invest in a professional web designer that can create custom blog design for you. If you’re on a budget, you can buy a great theme from professional theme providers like Themeforest or Bluchic and then have a web designer tweak it to match your brand.

2. Creative About Page

So you’ve captured brand marketers with your visually appealing website. Now what?

The next thing they will most likely find is your “About” page. You got them interested remember? They will want to know more about you.

Aside from having a little “about” blurb on your sidebar or on your footer, you must have a thorough about page that connects on a human level. Take advantage of this page to show your personality, and your passion. A great about page consist of:

• Description of your blog – Tell people what your blog is all about, why you made it, what topics you usually post and why your blog matters.
• Your bio, a photo of yourself and your story – Brand marketers will want to see your background so tell them who you are, where you’re from, highlight your expertise, your years of experience and let them know how you got to where you are today. And uh, don’t forget to add your name!
• Features –Where have you been? Have you been featured or linked on a credible website? Add them to your about page. It increases the credibility of your blog.
• About your readers or traffic statistics – Share a quick info about your readers (who they are) and your traffic statistics.
• Contact info + links to your social media – Even if you have a contact form, you should still always put a contact form or contact link on your about page to make it easy for them to reach out to you. Remember, you got them to read all the way to the bottom of your “About” page, that means they’re interested!

3. Easy To Understand Media Kit

Your media kit is like a resume that you show to brands to introduce yourself and your blog. It’s where you display your blog information, your biography, audience, and services.

Most brand marketers will ask for your media kit because it’s easier for them to determine whether they should work with you or not.

So take advantage of your media kit to show off what you’ve got and tell them why they should work with you.

It’s usually formatted in PDF or PNG format and usually linked at the top navigation or on the footer of your site. You can also add your media kit on your “Hire Me” or “Work With Me” page.

4. Active Blog

Make sure that you have at least 2-4 new posts per month. The more new updates, the better. No one would want to work with someone who never post new content. That’s why you’re a business blogger in the first place right?

Also, be sure that you have engaged readers. So always promote every time you post a new content.

5. Active Social Media Channels

Most brands would prefer bloggers with active and engaged followers so make sure the social media channels you link on your site or your media kit are active.

Save tons of time by using social media management tools like Hootsuite and Tailwindapp (for Pinterest).

6. Portfolio Page

Showing samples of your previous work will not only help brands determine your skills, but your style as well. This will help them see if you’re fit for each other. So add your best works on your portfolio to attract more brands to work with you.

7. Reviews Page

Ask for testimonials or reviews from your previous clients and post them on your blog. Testimonials will also enhance your authenticity.

8. Featured Section

Here’s another way to increase your credibility. Have you been featured in popular and credible websites? Magazines? Books? Display them on your site!

This section is usually placed in your About, sidebar or footer.

9. Well-Designed Work With Me page

And of course, you need a good “Work With Me” or “Hire Me” page. Make sure to add the services you’re offering; be specific with whom you work with and why they should work with you. You can also add your availability.