As an independent artist or a small brand, you might be protective over what you’ve created. This is understandable because unfortunately sometimes, people can take advantage of smaller brands. However, if done properly, the benefits of collaborating with another brand or artist, outweighs the cons.
It’s important to not shut yourself off from the idea of a collaboration. However, we aren’t suggesting rolling with whatever the other party say. It needs to have benefits for both sides, otherwise you’re giving things away. You might decide to collab with someone in the same market as yourself, this could get their potential clients interested in your work or vice versa. Alternatively you might branch out and team up with someone completely opposite to you. This might sound crazy but these types of collabs have turned out to be really powerful.
Knowledge
By joining forces with another creative, you’ll learn so much more about the industry. Both of you can share previous experience and things you’ve learnt. It will benefit both you and them in the long run. It can be difficult starting out and finding those best kept industry secrets. Having someone in your corner is never a bad thing. You can help each other grow and that way it’s more likely that in the future they’ll keep you in the loop.
Perhaps they get another opportunity come along later on that they think you’ll fit right in with. It could open so many doors for you. Always be willing to take constructive criticism as if you can’t people will be less likely to want to work with you. Make sure you’re always open to learning new things from anyone willing to teach you.
Boost your engagement
You’ll share their content, and they’ll share yours. It will be back and forth. With their fans and followers seeing them collab with you, they’re likely to check out your work. This is guaranteed to boost your following. People tend to trust the opinion of their favourite brands and artists. So, if someone they follow has teamed up with you, they’re more likely to be interested. Not only that but if the product is something they enjoy, they’ll want to know who was the other half behind it.
Make sure you’re consistent across social media, because this will become your lifeline. Use it to share all about your collaboration. Also share the solo work of the creator you’re teaming up with. This will solidify your partnership with them because it shows both them and their fans that you’re fully committed. In return, they’ll likely share your content.
Find new collaborations
It could be the break you need. Once you’ve had one collab, others will start falling into place. This applies to all aspects of the creative world. You may get discovered by another brand that want to create something with you based off what they have previously seen. Or perhaps another artist has heard your track and wants to create something with you.
The more people wanting to work with you, the further your career will be pushed. It’s not as easy to get the right people seeing your content. No longer is it a case of heading into the city and promoting yourself to the big shots. Now you have to be discoverable. That’s only going to happen if you’re mixing with as many people as possible.
Broaden your contacts
If you’re new to all of this, you might be doing everything solo. Gaining a collaboration could open you up to a world of new contacts. Maybe you’ll meet a graphic designer who’s working on the collab. This could be a partnership you could use again in the future on some of your solo work. It could be your photo editing skills aren’t at a professional level. It’s completely unlikely that you’ll have all bases covered to a high standard on your own. You’re only human.
Collabs are a brilliant way of networking. You can meet so many new creatives who are willing to help. That way in the future if you’re stuck on who to reach out to when you have a new project or idea, you can just check back to previous contacts. They always say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” which applies in this situation to a great extent.
Earn money
An obvious one perhaps but maybe the most important. If you want your product or service to expand, you need money behind you. This isn’t a case of having lots of cash stashed away. If no one is buying what you’re offering, then it’s never going to work, no matter how much money you throw at it.
A collaboration is a moneymaker with possibly less effort. With it being multiple people involved in the creation process and the promotion, not everything falls on you this time. There’s a lot of work that goes into being completely independent in the world of business, so if you can split these tasks up, it will save you a great deal of time. Time is money remember. Typically, a collab works alongside your own personal projects. So you’re earning money from multiple avenues at once. Winner!
However, you decide to set up your first collaboration, make sure it’s right for you. There’s no point throwing time and money into something that you’re not passionate about. If that was the case, you wouldn’t be pursuing the brand or career you are. Instead, you’d find a job that pays well, but you’re not all that into. The aim from all of this is to work within something you love. Passion sells. If your clients can see you love what you do, they’re far more likely to buy into it. Make sure the terms of the collab are right for everyone involved because once you’ve signed on that dotted line, there’s really not much you can do about it. Most importantly, have fun with it!
