How to get on PR lists for Brands (regardless of follower count)

How does one get on PR lists and start receiving gifted products from brands? And I’m not just talking beauty products here because, regardless of the niche that you create in, there is a brand out there looking to get their products into your hands. This is just a fraction of what I’ve received in the past month or so, and over the past 7 years, I’ve received everything from food and drink to tech accessories to yes, incredible makeup, skin, and hair products. And though the whimsy in me always thinks like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is my life,  I don’t understand why brands are sending me all of this.

Somebody pinch me, please.’ I do actually know how I managed to get on most of these brand’s radars. So, consider this video your ultimate guide for doing the same. But first, let’s get it out of our heads that receiving PR, getting on these lists, has to do with having a ton of social media followers. I got my first gifted product three months into my content creating journey,  and I think I only had a couple of hundred followers at that time. Brands will send PR packages out to people to get excitement going for a new product drop,  or maybe they want to highlight a particular product line timed with a specific season.

Or maybe they’re looking to keep the buzz going and keep themselves top of mind in the market. Though PR packages are technically a gift, i.e.,  there is no requirement attached to post or create content around it,  there is still an expectation that creators will, and that’s what the brands are kind of banking on.

So, how do you get on PR lists?

We’re going to break this down into five steps, and if you follow this to the tee and don’t end up on any PR lists in the next 6 months, come back, and let’s chat in the comments about what went wrong. So the first step will really make or break your opportunity to get on a PR list. You need to make  yourself attractive to brands. You need to build your foundation, your portfolio, so that they  want to use you in their marketing strategy. And here are some of the different ways you can do so: First, post content regularly.

Every single time you post content on social media, you’re giving yourself another chance to surface in front of a brand. You’re also giving yourself another chance to find your unique audience. This also shows to brands that you are active, which makes them more likely to want to send you something. They’re not going to want to spend their money to send a product to somebody who posts maybe once a month because,  in their eyes, it’s not very likely that you are going to post about them.

Next, look at more clearly defining your niche, your interest, your focus.

Figure out what you’re going to be known for so that for a brand, it’s a no-brainer to send you a product that aligns with that niche. Some of my very first gifted products were in the natural hair space because when I first started, I only talked about natural hair. And then, as brands are always looking for good reviews, start organically reviewing, talking about, posting about products that you already love and use.

Second step is showing brands that you are in business. You are available and ready to try out their products.

And I find it really important to use the real estate in your bio to communicate this. It should be clear what type of creator you are, what type of products and services you talk about, and where you’re located. Because  there are some lists out there that might be super localized to the city you live in. You’ll also want to have your email readily available in your bio. This gives PR agents and brand contacts a clear sign that you are open to business and makes life easy for them.

They don’t have to go digging for your email address.

I know when using Instagram on mobile, there is that little button that allows people to connect to your email. But that button is not there on desktop, which is what a lot of our contacts are likely to be using. Tying back to organically reviewing and talking about products, you want to make sure that you are tagging them. And since brands get notified of these tags and they often show up in their Instagram message inbox, it is your direct way of saying, ‘Hi, here I am.

Come look at my content. Here’s what I can do.’ Similarly, using branded hashtags tied to the products that you’re talking about, as well as using hashtags that specifically describe you as a creator, are both great ways to get on brands’ radars.

For me, that usually means using #VancouverInfluencer, #BlackInfluencer, #WannabePhotographerPleaseCanonWorkWithMe.

Anyways… And I think a lot of people don’t realize too is that brands have access to these crazy third-party platforms. There is software out there that literally they  can just type in hashtags to be monitored at all times and serve them a feed of people  who are using said hashtags.

So please use them if you want to show up in that feed.

The next step requires taking a little bit more initiative, and that is joining influencer platforms. Some of these will straight up allow you to apply to be added to a PR list, while  others are going to offer this sort of low lift, low effort gifted collab where there’s no approval  process, likely no formal contract, but still more so has like an explicit requirement to post. I know that those like formal gifted partnerships can be a little iffy and controversial, and I  don’t recommend them if you are a creator who has started to get paid to post. But if you are very,  very new to this space, you have not started receiving any PR, and you don’t mind throwing  up like a quick Instagram story or even like a static post in exchange for some products,  then definitely check these out. So, some of these platforms are Aspire IQ.

I know they have tons and tons of PR list applications. There’s IZEA. There is #Paid.

I do want to give a little honorable mention to Influenster, which technically isn’t an influencer  platform. It’s more a product reviewing platform that absolutely anybody can join.

Like you don’t have to have followers for it. But the only ask is that you are actively reviewing products on their website, like just little write-ups. Bonus if you post a picture. It’s very, very, very low lift,  and they do reward people who are actively reviewing by sending out Vox Boxes, which are  essentially PR boxes from honestly very reputable brands.

That’s actually one of the ways I started getting my hands on more products to review on my Instagram.

And I used it as the sort of steppingstone in order to get brands to notice me, create more of a portfolio of my work. And then,  once I started getting on more proper PR lists and getting brand deals, I stopped using the platform. So, for step four, we’re going to take even more initiative. We are going to turn to  Google and look for PR list applications.

There’s actually a lot of brand websites out there that have links to their PR list sign-up page.

That’s actually how I found the Pixi sign-up. I think I quite literally typed in ‘Pixi Beauty PR list,’ and a Google form popped up. I filled it out,  and I didn’t think anything of it until like 4 months down the line, packages from them  just started showing up at the door.

That’s actually what some of these ones still are. Similarly, a lot of PR agencies will have sign-up forms to apply to add yourself to their roster or lists.

And that’s actually where I would start rather than trying to target brands individually because PR agencies usually have the key to the PR lists. They usually represent a ton of different brands. They have a large portfolio, and they have this massive database of creators to send products to. For example, there are a ton of boxes behind me, but I would say like 50 to 60% of them come from the same three PR agencies who happen to represent a number of different brands.

When it comes to finding PR agencies, Google’s probably going to be your best friend for that.

I, in my case, would start by searching like ‘Vancouver PR agencies’ or ‘Canadian PR agencies.’ You can find some PR agencies’ recommendations from your peers in this space or by creeping on their sponsored content. Sometimes they will tag them in addition to the brand that they’re working with. You just got to put on your sleuthing hat on. And so, number five takes this one step further.

Instead of looking for submission  forms and sign-up sheets to fill out, you can pitch brands or PR agencies directly.  This can be done directly using email, and you can usually find emails through Hunter.io or Clear bit. You can find people to reach out to via LinkedIn, or if you absolutely have to, there are the Instagram DMs.

But it’s not always the case that the PR contact is the same person  who is kind of managing their social media accounts day to day.

So, if you are reaching out to a brand through DMs, I encourage you to ask for the email of their PR contact. And finally, one really important thing to consider is that wanting to get free things is actually just the first stage on the typical content creator journey. The next stage is wanting  to get paid. So, if you’re tired of being a pivotal part of a brand’s marketing strategy and not getting compensated for it, watch this next. Thanks for watching, and until next time.

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