Collaborating With Brands On Instagram As A Dog Lifestyle Influencer

My Journey: Collaborating With Brands On Instagram As A Dog Lifestyle Influencer

I created an Instagram account for my dog back in 2015, mostly to keep his photos off my personal page. I’m sure my friends were getting tired of the hundredth photo of my dog sleeping like an angel. Back then, I would have never thought the account would evolve to what it is today. Influencers were a new emerging term and I had a few dog influencers I loved to follow. At that time, I never knew I could make money by simply posting photos on Instagram. Or the true influence one could hold as a dog lifestyle account.

Fast forward to October 2018, when my dog-only Instagram account landed it’s first paid partnership with Pet Supermarket for under $50. I laugh now at the thought of being paid $50 but I remember being so happy I landed the partnership! I was just under 5K followers at that time. And I wondered if getting paid partnerships was something I could do more consistently.

Paid Partnerships in 2018

Paid Partnerships in 2019

I started doing research online, took classes with Manu from @Yoursocialteam and learned from influencers already collaborating with brands on Instagram. Back then, there weren’t many influencers talking about how they got their brand deals. And as a dog-only account I felt limited with brands I could work with. I also felt limited on what I could share about our relationship on Instagram. This was a major reason that I gradually started showing my face more on my dog’s account. After all my dog doesn’t run his own Instagram, there’s a human who has feelings and views on life behind the account.

Learn more about how I transitioned my Instagram account from dog to dog +human content here!

Not only did I officially change the account from dog-only to human + dog account, I also changed my mindset around my account to a business mindset. I took photography classes, learned editing and created a brand that had purpose and stood out to companies. I can proudly say that I am a part-time content creator that makes an average of over $3K every month. You can visibly see the transformation on my account from when I first started collaborating with brands to more recent time.

Looking back, I wish there was an easier way to learn how to navigate Instagram to make it into a business and learn how to get paid partnerships with brands. Instagram can be a huge mystery, even now! This was the major reason that I created my first digital product. A workbook that is a roadmap to landing more brand partnerships. You can purchase it here! The workbook includes everything I have learned throughout the years. Packaged together for other dog lifestyle accounts to be successful and land their own paid brand partnerships consistently.

We all have different journeys as dog influencer accounts on Instagram and you don’t have to change your account to include more human content to do well. It’s very possible to get brand partnerships as a dog-only account as you can see from many of my paid brand collaborations.