What is a collab, how does it work and how do you get started to grow fast?
So how do collaboration or “collabs” work?
Generally, it is started by one person and sends project emails to the other artist who finishes it and you both post it.
That’s usually how it works for painters, digital remixes of traditional art or other creative artists.
Line art that one person draws and another colors, whether printing it out and coloring it in with physical media and scanning/photographing it, or coloring it digitally is also an excellent way to collaborate.
Anything that is designed by one person and executed by another works, too. The main thing is for two artists to get together and create something they both work on.
If you go to YouTube, you would see that Collabs also work for bloggers and vloggers. A few example include Becca’s (cosmetic company) collaboration with Jaclyn Hill (YouTube influencer), Colourpop (makeup brand) with Kathleen Lights (Make-up junkie), and even popular Youtubers Weylie and Jenn Im where they promote each other’s YouTube channel and the results are usually positive.
Collabs can deliver great traffic to your store or blog, which might increase the numbers of your followers drastically. In particular, being featured on a bigger channel than yours can speed up your channel growth dramatically. You see, it is a very wonderful strategy to promote your business where you can help your fellow artist/seller, find a new friend with the same hobby and boost your sales.
1. So what can you do to start effective collaboration with others?
Find a blogger or influencer in your niche
Many forums for handmade sellers have a section where creators can post Collab offers. The downside is, you have to go through a whole lot of posts before you find an offer that’s relevant to your niche. Also, posts might be not as interesting on some days as they are on others. That’s why you’ll probably have to keep looking regularly over a few days or even weeks.
For instance, if you sell handmade accessories for women who rock the boho-chic style, you wouldn’t want to work with a city style blogger. The two wouldn’t mix well. The pictures wouldn’t look right and that blogger’s Instagram followers wouldn’t be interested in your business at all because they are probably interested in the same modern style as the blogger, not the boho-chic style.
Check out Etsy and Artfire forums in particular for a big collab section.
Also, here is a Facebook group to connect everyone wanting to collab!
2. Contact the blogger or brand influencer!
Avoid asking for a collaboration with people through their social media built-in messaging apps! Not everybody checks their DMs consistently, so your message can go unread. You are a professional who is trying to wrap up a business deal — and a business deal is rather professional, so a collaboration request should be coming through a professional e-mail address.
3. Create an effective email
The one you want to send a request is probably the target of a lot of other people too. So give it your best shot and avoid subject lines like , “Whazup, wanna collab?” This is pretty much the worst way to start a conversation. It gives no information about you, your channel or your collab plans, and it leaves all the work to the person.
You can make it easier for the both of you by providing:
- Who you are
- What’s your blog, website, store, or links that will help that person know about your brand.
- What kind of collab you wanna do
You can even include:
- Where you found that person’s channel
- Why you like his/her brand
- Why you think you’d be a good collab match
To know more about starting an effective collab, watch this video by my friend Renae Christine of Rich Mom Business:
So now, do you want to collab? We accept collabs too. Send me an email and we’ll see if we’re a good match. If not, comment your business link below and what your business is as someone might find you a goof collab partner.
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