1. Direct approach

If you want to arouse a publisher's interest at the very start of the briefing, just tell them clearly that you are looking for a collaboration. An introduction to the briefing could look like this:

"Dear publisher,

at company XY, we are currently working on introducing a new product. We spotted your blog and believe it to be an ideal channel for our target group to get to know our product. We would, therefore, like to book an article with you."

2. Short introduction of the company

For publishers to recognise potential collaborators from the very start of the briefing, companies should introduce themselves in a few words. Two to three sentences mentioning the brand, the product or the service will do. In this context, you could also highlight the key values of the company.

At this stage, bloggers and influencers should be able to assess whether a collaboration is viable for them. You should save more detailed information for a later time in the briefing. A short introduction to your company could look like this:

"The company XY offers beautifully designed products in its online shop for special occasions such as births, weddings and starting school. Our portfolio includes creative invitation cards and unique photobooks. Over the past few years, the XY brand has seen major growth by virtue of our commitment and attention to detail."

3. Name sources for more information
The publisher has now got a first impression of you and your company. You've sparked their interest. Now is the time to give them a chance to learn more. Provide relevant sources to this end. These could be, for example:

• tutorial videos,
• • info article or
• promotional brochures.

In this way, the blogger or influencer can already get a rough idea of the information they could use for their post. List the sources clearly:

"You can find detailed information about our company and our products here (you are welcome to include this content in the article):
(1)    (1) www.company-xy.com/about-us/
(2)    (2) www.company-xy.de/blog/news/
(3)    etc.“

4. Set specific content requirements

The publisher now knows who they are working with and which products to introduce.

Relevant content requirements:

Word count

You should define a minimum number of words so that the publisher can assess how much work to put into it. We usually recommend a contribution of at least 400 words. However, if the product or service requires a particular explanation or is of high quality and thus price-intensive, the article may also take up more space.

If you have no idea how long an article or video should be, you can check out the blogger's or influencer's previous posts as a starting point. In this way, the content you commission does not deviate too much from the already published content on the channel. The result: your post blends in nicely with the blog. You could, for example, say the following to the publisher:

"Please write an article (min. 450 words) with reference to the target page and to integrate the given link sensibly into the text body."

Image and video material

Companies should state if they would like images or videos to be included in the article. You can either provide the publisher with the material or request that they include screenshots of particular products from your website in the article. Just like the briefing, give concise and concrete instructions:

"It would be nice if you could add images, screenshots and/or videos to the article."

The dos & don'ts

As a company, you embody certain notions that the publisher's post should reflect. To achieve this, it is worthwhile to be as specific as possible about what you wish to see in your article and what they should definitely avoid. This could include information on how to spell the brand or any legal requirements. Precise ‘dos & don'ts’ help the publisher to create a contribution that matches your expectations without any unnecessary correction loops.

Information on placing links

Requesting a link placement in the post to your company's website is also part of the collaboration. You should, therefore, let the publisher know where you want the link to appear. From the reader's point of view, we recommend placing it in the top third of the article. You could formulate the requirements for bloggers and influencers as follows:

"The link should be placed in the top third of the article. You are also welcome to place further individual links to internal blog entries or external sites with a relevant topic (please no links to competitors).”

5. Define the theme focus and purpose of the article

Depending on how widely a publisher is thematically positioned, companies must specify the theme and purpose of the item. If the publisher works in a niche, the theme of the article usually dictates itself. You can then make a few suggestions as to how they might incorporate your brand as a topic.

If the blogger or influencer covers a wide range of different topics, it makes sense to specify the focus of the article in a more concrete way. Companies should, among other things, define:

• the purpose of the post (increasing traffic, building brand awareness, etc.)
• the USP of the product or brand
• the target group to reach.

You should be careful not to impose too many requirements. As a rule, publishers tend to have an idea of how they can advertise a company to users as soon as they read the briefing. Therefore, the more freely a publisher can design an article or a video (editorial freedom), the higher the chances that they will take on a job. So make sure to keep the content requirements and wishes compact. You could, for example, tell them:

"Our purpose with the article is to increase awareness of the www.xy.de website. But it is important that you cover a solid, interesting theme matching the style of your website and appeals to the target group."

6. Use a clear structure

So that publishers can determine early on in the briefing what to expect from a job, companies should pay attention to having a clear structure. You can structure the text based on these measures:

• use sensible paragraphs in the text
• highlight the most relevant content (italic, bold or underline)
• use bullet points
• write short and concise sentences.

In principle, bloggers and influencers should be able to grasp the framework conditions of the cooperation, the goals and the theme in an instant during a briefing. The briefing document should, therefore, always follow a clear structure, be easy to skim through and encourage action.

7. Specify editing time

Every marketing campaign has a specific time frame. So make sure you inform the publisher about your schedule and define an editing time for the post in the briefing that is appropriate to the amount of work involved. We usually recommend at least seven days. Depending on how extensive the article should be, this could also take more days. When determining the editing time, don't forget to include your feedback and any proof-reading.

Overly short turnaround time will scare publishers away from accepting a job. Plus, having enough editing days ensures that the post reaches a quality that meets your expectations.

8. Reaching a conclusion and mentioning the option for queries

At the end of the briefing, you can inform the publisher about the messaging function in SeedingUp. This enables easy communication between the parties. For example, you could say:

"We would be very happy if you shared our company/our product on your blog. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us using the SeedingUp messaging function.

Many thanks in advance! Best regards,"