Blogging Basics Chapter 1: What is an Influencer Agency?

It took me a couple years of blogging before I learned what an influencer agency was. Looking back it is annoying to realize how these two little words could have completely changed my early blogging years. Connecting to smart influencer agencies is the key to monetizing your blog.

What is an Influencer Agency?

Basically an influencer agency is the middle man between a brand and a social influencer. They connect bloggers with brands, set up campaigns, organize content creation, share your content with the brand, manage payments, etc. Influencer agencies do all the busy work so that you can focus on being the creative influencer you are.

Most companies would rather work with a blogger through a reputable influencer agency, than directly. It guarantees higher accountability from bloggers, more results, streamlined payment and better organization. It also allows the brand to work with hundreds of influencers, big and small, simultaneously. Brands can connect to a much larger and more targeted audience than they could when just working with one influencer.

In my five years of blogging I have found influencer agencies to be my most enjoyable and profitable form of blog monetization. Let me explain with a story.

Connecting With Brands as a Micro Influencer: My Story

I had never heard of an influencer agency before, so I had been reaching out to brands directly. I wrote hundreds of brand personal emails and was getting about 1/10 companies responding to my emails. These companies never wanted to connect for paid opportunities with a brand new blogger like myself, they just wanted to send free products.

I knew that there were companies out there paying bloggers for their work, but had no idea how to find them. By chance I typed ‘Old Navy press contact’ into google search and found an email from an old press release. I contacted them and said I wanted to collaborate. Old Navy forwarded my email on to an influencer agency called Collectively so I could be included on an upcoming campaign they had in the works. And that was my first introduction to an influencer agency. I am not a part of many agencies, there are 100’s out there so I have started to compile a list of influencer agencies with details on how to sign up, what they pay, and my experience with them here.

I will never forget that first time I landed a brand sponsorship for my blog. I was amazed that as a brand new baby blogger I could work with a huge company like Old Navy. Collectively is a high touch agency that doesn’t only work with large influencers, they also connect with micro-influencers, like me, to reach niche markets.

How Influencer Agencies up your Blogging Game

Since then Collectively has connected me with many brands that I would have never been able to work with otherwise. Clarks, Sorel, Rockport & Old Navy are just a few. Collectively pays influencers generously, which allows me as a creator to focus more time and energy on creating beautiful content.

Since that first campaign with an influencer agency I have learned so much as a blogger. I have connected with many agencies (you can find my whole list of them here). I’ve upped my creative game and grown my audience. I have even learned how to set up campaigns with brands directly. I am so glad I discovered what an influencer agency is, and why they are so vital to my blog.

Thanks to this discovery I got to quit my job and work full time as a blogger! I support my family financially FROM HOME! Thanks to influencer agencies I get to be with my kiddies all day, every day. I can connect with awesome brands, express my creativity, save tons of time AND make money doing what I love.

So what is an influencer agency? Basically it is something a blogger can’t live without.

Next up in my blogger series, I have a comprehensive list of influencer agencies including all the good (and bad) experiences I have had, details on how much they pay and how you can sign up to be a part of them. I am calling it my Influencer Agency Directory. Enjoy!

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