Blogging may be a personal hobby, but tons of bloggers have turned their passion into a full-blown business. Before you gear up to quit your day job, you may need help taking it to the next level. This is where a blogging agent comes in. An agent can help you navigate the world of professional blogging, but do you really need one?
An Agent Helps You Focus On Creativity
One of the best things about having a blogging agent is that you don’t have to focus as much on the business side of things. This frees up your time so you can focus on what you do best – creating. Many bloggers find this enough of a reason to hire an agent alone. Good content grows your audience – that’s a fact. If your content is suffering because the business side of things is getting in the way, your entire personal brand will suffer.
An Agent Negotiates Higher Paydays
Making money from blogging is hard, and asking for money may even be harder. If you’re transitioning your blog from a hobby into a business, you may find it difficult to ask for payment from companies looking for you to promote their products. It’s not your fault – asking for money feels weird when you’re doing something you love, but you definitely deserve it. A blogging agent can help you negotiate higher paydays. The truth is that if you’re an influencer, there are plenty of companies looking to throw you free products, but they’re usually cautious when it comes to their purse strings. Agents know what you’re worth and make sure you get paid.
You Don’t Have To Worry About Asking For Too Much
A major fear many bloggers have is ruining relationships by asking for too much money. It’s a fine line between asking for what you deserve and asking for too much. You don’t want to turn off brands by asking for more than they can give you, but at the same time, you don’t want to get ripped off and work for free. It’s nerve-wracking enough to make some bloggers not even try to ask brands for payment.
Lindsey Calla, a blogger who spoke to The New York Times, cited this as a major fear. “Anybody that renders their services wants to be compensated,” she said, adding she was “so afraid to talk about money because I didn’t want to ruin any relationships.”
Calla’s fears were completely alleviated with the help of a blogger.
Agents Have Connections With Brands You Want To Work With
Finding brands to work with may seem impossible if you’re venturing into the world of influencer marketing. Joining and affiliate program is a great start, and so is reaching out to brands on your own, but you’ll probably find that a great deal of them will ignore your pitches. Blogging agents can help solve this problem. Agents have usually have a huge list of brand contacts and know how to craft an appropriate, concise pitch.
Agents Help Acquire Long-Term Contracts
You may find yourself getting a one-off freebie from a brand you love, but one-time clients aren’t a completely sustainable business model. A blogging agent can help you secure long-term contracts because they have an incentive. Agents work on commission, so long-term sponsorships get them paid a whole lot more than a one-off post.
Agents Can Help You Improve Content
It’s always good to have another set of eyes on your work. Blogging is such a solitary activity, but even the best writers need editors and collaborators. An experienced agent will already be well-versed in what works and what doesn’t because they’ve worked with so many bloggers in the past. Use this experience to your advantage and let them help you improve your social media profiles.
No One Knows How To Make A Press Kit Like An Agent
If you’re busy creating awesome content, you may find that your specific pitches and press kits are lacking. You just don’t have the time to dedicate to crafting each pitch specifically to each brand. Agents are wizards when it comes to press kits. They know what brands like to see and have the time and resources to look into specific brands and cater your press kit specifically to their needs. The bottom line is that your agent will make you look attractive to brands!
Do You Want A Book Deal?
If you’re a blogger, you’re a writer, so why not try to cash in on a book deal? Unfortunately, while many of us have aspirations of being a novelist, getting a book deal is hard. It’s not impossible, though! Bloggers-turned-authors like The Pioneer Woman, Stuff Christians Like and Five Dollar Mom have all successfully transitioned from bloggers to book writers, but it didn’t happen overnight. Book deals for first-time authors don’t usually make big bucks, so publishers take a lot of convincing. This is where your agent comes in. Your agent can negotiate a book deal and probably has connections to publishers already. If there’s anyone who can get you off the web and into Barnes & Noble, it’s a literary agent.
