Pay to Play: Crafting Compelling CampaignsAmie O’Shaughnessy, @ciaobambino

Jyl Johnson Pattee, @momitforward and @jylmomIF

Mara Gorman, @motherofalltrip

Caroline Michaud, @iPrefer

What are campaigns? What’s the difference between participating in & driving them?

Bloggers who run campaigns do it all!

Is what you’re pitching valuable? (And how do you know?)

How much money can you make?

How can you use that success to get repeat

business?

What defines success?

Addendum• The Pros and Cons of Being a Campaign Participant

• The Pros and Cons of Being a Campaign Driver

• Keys to Campaign Participant Success

• Tips for Pitching a Campaign

• Compensated Partnership Ideas

• Case Studies of Successful Campaigns

• Tips for Getting Repeat Business

The Pros and Cons of Being a Campaign Participant

Cons•Campaign expectations may not always be clear.

•Your involvement with the brand may be a one-off as opposed to an ongoing partnership.

•You have less creativity/flexibility since the direction is already set.

Pros•The campaign direction is already set.

•You do not need to pitch campaign ideas.

•It’s easier to manage the time spent on the campaign.

•You may enjoy higher earnings per hour for less amount of work.

The Pros and Cons of Being a Campaign Driver

Pros•You have more control over and involvement in determining campaign ideas/expectations.

•You have the opportunity to create community/network by hiring others.

•Your overall income potential is higher.

Cons•You need to hone your business mgt and sales skills.•You must be on top of trends to propose campaign ideas.•You need to pitch constantly.•The pay can be lower due to the high amount of work. •You need to master account mgt skills to manage people and campaigns.

Keys to Campaign Participant Success• Know who you are as a

blog/brand and what you will and won’t represent.

• Capture your influence in an easily accessible media kit, incl reach & rates.

• Identify brands that are a perfect fit for your blog.

• Discover those brands’ needs and pitch them ideas that meet their objectives.

• Be professional: Provide quality work and exceed expectations.

• If you have an issue mid campaign, deal with it directly, not publicly/online.

• Be in the relationship for the long term. Be generous, sometimes without pay.

• Show your worth with a solid metrics report or email.

Tips for Pitching a Campaign• Identify what your potential clients’ core objectives are and craft your

pitch based on their needs.

• Grab their interest with a catchy subject line and easily accessible information in the body copy (e.g., bullet lists).

• Be clear about what you have to offer and why it’s valuable to potential clients.

• Be upfront about costs for clients.

• Engage with potential clients – listen to their needs and offer customization.

• Don’t be afraid to follow up.

• For a sample campaign deck, email Mara Gorman at maragorman@backtoski.com

Compensated Partnership Ideas I• Affiliate marketing: Adding links in your posts for passive revenue

opportunities• Ambassador programs: Long-term brand partnerships, involving one

or more campaign type (e.g., blog post, social media amplification, Instagram contest, etc.)

• Articles: Organic travel-related content published on a brand’s blog, website, or newsletter or in a magazine or newspaper

• Blog tours: Sponsored content, reviews, and giveaways, including a brand’s key words/search terms and “no follow” links

• Dedication day: Dedicated content on your blog/social media accounts and ad space for 1 day

• Display advertising: Banner ads, in-post “sponsored by” ads

Compensated Partnership Ideas II• eNewsletter marketing: Content or display advertising options in your

eNewsletters• Facebook/Google+ campaigns: Chats/hangouts, dedicated posts,

branded photo albums, including hashtags and tagging• Instagram contests/take overs: Giveaways, posting on a brand’s account,

and embedding IG videos into your blog posts• Live events: Hosting brand-focused events, being sponsored to

events/conferences, representing the brand at events, etc.• Media/spokesperson opportunities: Radio, TV, etc.• Podcasting: Having a podcast “brought to you by” a brand, dedicating the

theme/topic to a brand, involving brand representatives as panelists/co-hosts on your podcast, or participating in someone else’s podcast by sharing your travel expertise and tips

Compensated Partnership Ideas III• Pinterest campaigns: Creating brand-sponsored Pinterest

boards, contributing to or promoting a brands’ Pinterest board

• Social media amplification: Generating buzz for campaigns via social media updates, images (IG or Vine), tweets, etc.

• Twitter Parties: Hosting or being a panelist on a Twitter chat that is dedicated to a travel-related brand and that focuses on a travel-related theme

• Video: Creating and sharing video on your blog or YouTube channel, having a segment “brought to you by” a brand, participating as a travel expert on someone else’s YouTube or video-based show

Annual Back to Ski Week (#backtoski) campaignwww.backtoski.com

• 5.29 million timeline deliveries on Twitter on the #backtoski hashtag between 9/12/13 and 9/22/13, reaching 1.01 million people.

• The Back to Ski Facebook presence reached about 12,000 unique people during the campaign. 

• During September 2013 all of the participating Back to Ski blogs received a combined total of approximately 260,000 page views and 114,400 unique visitors.

• All 2013 sponsors returned for 2014

For more information see: http://backtoski.com/about-ski-2013/

Goal: Get families thinking about purchasing passes & planning ski vacations before the season begins.

Tactic: Find ski industry sponsors at 3 tiers to purchase sponsorships. Pay bloggers to create content, participate in a Twitter chat, and spread the word about giveaways.

Total Campaign Sponsorships:

2012: zero (crowd-sourced)

2013: 3 sponsors, $10,000

2014: 4 sponsors, $9500

2013 Results

Annual #FamilyForward Retreat in Partnership with Universal Orlando Resort

• 60MM total social media impressions

• 30 Blog posts to date

• 1,200 Instagram pictures 

• 4,100 Tweets

• 52MM Twitter Impressions

For more information, see: http://familyforward.com

Goal: Drive massive online buzz about Universal Orlando Resort at a key travel decision-making time.

Tactic: Host an annual 4-day retreat on property for 71 bloggers and their families, giving them access to new attractions, VIP experiences, and content.

Results for #FamilyForward (Event Took Place August 28 to September 1, 2014)

Preferred Hotel Group’s 2013 Preferred Family Sponsored Blog Campaign • 93% increase in unique visitors

– Visitors spent more time on site, viewing an average of 6 pages before leaving

• 100% increase in bookings • 121% increase in Twitter followers• 350 new “likes” on Facebook• Social channels

referred 30% increase in unique traffic

• 14 strong editorial endorsements

Goal: Increase exposure for PreferredFamily.com  

Tactic: Work with existing team of “Preferred Family Certified” bloggers to generate stories, supported by social media efforts, that position PreferredFamily.com as a premier family travel planning tool

Total Campaign Budget: $4,000

Results of 11-Week Campaign

Tips for Getting Repeat Business• Send clients a metrics report with the following information:

– Screen shots of & original links for blog & social media posts.– Dashboard info from your tracking tool (e.g., NUVI, Radian6),

sharing campaign hashtag reach/impressions, etc.– If the campaign included multiple bloggers, include their:

• Original blog (UVMs) and social media reach.• Blog post traffic and social shares.

• Ask your clients for testimonials.• Create case studies of successful campaigns, including metrics

and testimonials, and add them to your website/media kit. • Send your clients a thank-you email or gift.• For a sample metrics report, email Jyl at jyl@momitforward.com.