How to get brand partnerships as a therapist
Brand partnerships are a great way to monetize your audience as a therapist.
As the Director of Brand at Heard, I frequently partner with therapists like Kelly McKenna (@sitwithkelly) and Kelley Stevens (@theprivatepracticepro), among others, to create content and raise awareness about our brand.
So how do you get brand partnership deals?
First, it helps to have an audience, whether through social media, podcast, or email. The size of your audience is less important than how engaged your audience is. For example, I’d rather partner with a therapist who has an engaged audience of 1,000 followers than a therapist with a disengaged audience of 10,000 followers. Never buy followers for this reason.
Next, think about which companies would be interested in reaching your audience. In other words, you share the same audience, which is called “audience alignment.”
At Heard, we partner with therapists who have an audience of other therapists. Think private practice coaches and consultants. Therapists follow them for business-related content, so it would make sense for them to post about Heard.
We also partner with therapists who are values-aligned, which is super important to our brand. So look for companies who share your values.
In terms of compensation, there are a few models, including affiliate marketing and sponsored content. With affiliate marketing, you share a link or code and receive a commision on sales. With sponsored content, you’re paid for the content you create. If you have a smaller audience, I suggest starting with affiliate marketing and then working your way up to sponsored content as your audience grows.
Pricing varies widely. It’s not uncommon to charge $1,000 - $3,000 for an Instagram post, depending on your audience size. If you have a newsletter, then you can offer packages with sponsored social media posts and emails.
Finally, if you’re going to enter into brand partnerships, always make sure you’re following the ethical guidelines of your licensing board (e.g. not selling products to clients).