Be Smart with How You Leverage Case Studies

Imagine you're talking with a new brand and they tell you their objective is conversions.

What do you think their reaction will be when you send them an awareness-focused case study?

Confusion, most likely.

To get approval up the food chain, especially if you're asking for a lot of money, the brand needs resources to help them derisk the decision.

So, only send them case studies that align with their objective!

That way, they have air cover if things go south.

Here are my favorite ways to utilize case studies:

• When cold pitching: "I have a case study I'd love to show you that seems relevant." Critically, you're not sending it in the first email; only when you've identified their goal.

• When sending a proposal or pricing, say, "Here are a few packages. Also, if it might be helpful, here's a case study from my recent partnership with Brand XYZ that had a similar goal."

• Pin as a featured link on social media or your website

• Add to the front of your media kit. Protip: Swap out the most relevant case study for that brand's industry or product category before sending it.

My rule of thumb for how many case studies to create is at least one per campaign goal type per content category.

For example, if you're a fashion and home decor creator, aim for:

• One brand awareness-focused for fashion

• One brand awareness-focused for home decor

• One repurposing-focused for fashion

• One repurposing-focused for home decor

• One conversion-focused for fashion

• One conversion-focused for home decor

That way, no matter the brand or the objective, you'll always have a relevant example of how you can serve them.

By the way, if you haven't done many sponsorships before, you can still create case studies by leveraging other types of performance data.

For example, if you have been an affiliate for a specific brand and can share how much revenue you've generated over the last 12 months, that will be compelling to a new brand with a conversion-focused goal.