Pet blogs with large, devoted followings are alluring sponsorship opportunities for pet brands seeking to boost awareness and sales. But the space has exploded, making it crucial to vet potential partners thoroughly. Avoid ineffective or ethically questionable bloggers that could tarnish your brand. Use this best-practice approach for identifying bloggers truly aligned with your brand values who can deliver real business impact.

Conducting Due Diligence on Content and Approach

Analyze not just blogger numbers, but more importantly the quality and integrity of their content.

Evaluating Credibility of Pet Care Guidance

Review a blog’s advice articles and training tips. Is guidance thoroughly researched and vetted for accuracy? Beware blogs promoting questionable information or debunked training methods. Your brand’s reputation is at stake.

Assessing Storytelling Ethics and Transparency

Scroll through informal blog posts on pets’ adventures and milestones. Do stories feel authentic or manipulatively exaggerated for likes? Assess how transparently they disclose sponsorships.

Auditing Overall Commitment to Pet Wellbeing

Look beyond individual posts to evaluate their overall approach. How do they discuss pet training, social media presence and commercial partnerships? Any signs of prioritizing money and fame over pets’ welfare should disqualify consideration.

Interviewing Bloggers Directly on Values

Have an in-depth discussion on ethical priorities and how they evaluate brand partnerships. This provides nuanced insights into their trustworthiness beyond just content analysis.

Measuring Reach and Engagement Through Data

While qualitative factors are important, benchmark bloggers’ audience size and engagement through data.

Verifying Social Media Followers and Engagement

Large followings can be inflated through purchased bots. Review tools like SocialBlade to assess real versus fake followers. Also scan their engagement rates on posts—higher is better.

Checking Website Traffic Through Analytics

Use Alexa rank to compare their overall site traffic to competitors. Verify monthly visitors through SimilarWeb or Semrush. High, growing traffic indicates expanding readership.

Assessing Email List Size and Open Rates

Ask bloggers to share email list size and average open rates. Large, responsive lists signal an invested audience. Cross-check claims against industry benchmarks.

Estimating Overall Authority With Domain Scores

Domain authority metrics like Moz and Ahrefs combine factors like links and keywords to estimate influence. High, rising scores indicate growing authority.

Structuring Win-Win Partnership Terms

Once aligned on a blogger, collaboratively structure sponsorships benefiting both parties.

Co-Crafting Campaigns Tied to Brand Objectives

Align on goals upfront – awareness, coupon redemptions, sales, etc. – and shape content and tactics accordingly. Campaigns tailored to the brand’s needs perform best.

Exploring Diverse Partnership Formats

Consider various options like sponsored posts, social media takeovers, product reviews, coupon codes, live Q&As, contests, etc. Match formats to campaign goals and audience preferences.

Setting Benchmarks and Require Post-Report Results

Define quantifiable benchmarks for engagement, conversions, sales tied to payout terms and schedules. Require post-campaign performance reports to optimize future initiatives.

A selective, strategic approach to partnering with pet blog influencers reduces risk while maximizing results and brand synergy. Let due diligence and win-win deal terms guide your sponsorships.