Influence or Be Influenced?

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

No matter what level of your artist career you’re at, undoubtedly you’ve had thoughts that companies should be giving you product and/or money to endorse them and what they sell.  You probably even have some ideas of which companies you’d like to rep.  Of course, no one minds getting an opportunity from someone that wasn’t on their radar, especially if it’s going to help raise the profile of your burgeoning career.

The proverbial 64 thousand dollar question for years has been, “Yeah, but how do I get on the radar of these companies and get to the right person to tell them about what I’m doing so that maybe I can get a deal with them.”  But nowadays it has become a case of, check your email and you might find them contacting you instead.

As you start into these, you’re going to ask the all-important question, is it too good to be true.  The answer to that, as you’ll read, is – let me find a way to put this delicately – yes.  (Sorry.  I just couldn’t sugar coat it.)

Do they really want you as an influencer or as you’re about to read, are they just hoping that you’ll be influenced enough to pull out your own wallet?

I have a client who gets not only the “DM me, let’s collab” comments on Instagram posts, but DMs initiated by those companies, and I’m not here to tell you about great opportunities that have come from those.  She did try to see what one of them was actually offering and – even after a discount code – it was going to turn into something quite pricey for her friends/followers, who she already knew wouldn’t be looking to fork over that kind of cash (for swimsuits).

Personally, I have gotten emails presenting similar offers.  In fact, almost to serve as a couple more case studies to complement that which I just described, I tried to follow through with two of them, just to see where it would really lead – and perhaps because I knew I would write a blog about it at some point.

The most recent such exercise was a company in London who wanted to send me a men’s watch so I could wear it on my arm and post pictures showing it off.  They said it would be free, that I’d get a discount code I could give out for people to use, and that I’d get a percentage off those orders.  Oh, but I would have to pay for shipping.  That amount would be 15 dollars.  (It’s a blog for another time, but, free plus shipping is a big thing these days.)

How you can tell that these are not authentic (other than – among other red flags – them not starting off the email with your first name) is this.  Since I don’t even wear watches, I decided there was no benefit to me paying 15 dollars for one, and I just let it go.  Did they email me back to follow up?  Was someone sitting in a staff meeting providing an update and saying, “I’ve got an email or two in with Bruce Wawrzyniak from the Now Hear This Entertainment podcast to see if he’ll rep our stuff on his Instagram account”?  No, and that’s because they’re sending this “offer” out to all kinds of other Instagram users.

Another that I tried to pretend I was interested in led me to a bot conversation over Facebook and ended up telling me that I would pay them $59.95 a month!  This was for men’s clothing and made the above watch deal seem like a steal.  I didn’t need validation that this was a blast out to some email list, but I got it anyway when I saw someone posting in a Facebook group about having received the same offer and I quickly let them know what the real details were.

The moral of the story is that you do still need to do your homework, initiate the contact, try to find some connection that might get you to the right person, and tell them what you bring to the table – what you can do for them, not why they should roll out the red carpet for you.

In the meantime, when those “DM me, I’ve got a small clothing offer” comments pop up on your Instagram, delete them.

What experiences have you had with these “offers”?  Tweet me about them via @NHT_tweets or share them with me on Facebook or LinkedIn.  Alternatively, you can write me an email to share what you’ve seen.

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I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.