How Bloggers Develop and Maintain Relationships with Brands Part 1 of 3

For bloggers, developing and maintaining relationships with brands is vital for success. Master these five techniques and get big brands in your corner.

Over the last 12 months, I've been fortunate to have worked alongside a number of brands--from start ups to established businesses and all sizes in between.

Working with brands to endorse products is a fun and rewarding way to log: while providing my readers with heads up on new products or services, I also get firsthand use of these products or services ... and in some cases, I even get to keep them! 

And although keeping products is nice, it's not necessarily the best thing about working with brands. For me, when a brand approaches me, it proves that I'm doing my job as a blogger. I'm creating eye-catching, noteworthy content that people are taking notice of. Looking at it one step further, the types of companies and brand that approach me also reiterate that I've made it clear through my content and social media marketing what niche my blog fits into. 

Although I'm not an expert, I have worked with a fair share of brands, so I'm going to share with you five core techniques for attracting brands, developing a relationship with them and maintaining that relationship. To make this easy to digest and not overwhelming, we'll look at these three areas over the next three weeks. To kick things off, we'll begin with attracting brands. I hope that you find them helpful.

This delicious spring soup is made with pork cooked two different ways and is full of flavor! It's light and hearty and perfect for warmer weather!

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Gluten Free Creamy Pork Chop Skillet Soup

I'm not 100% sure skillet soup is even a thing, but I couldn't think of any other way to describe this. Well, other than creamy, delicious and light. I used boneless pork chops to make this soup and cooked them two different ways for added texture. And because I might be slightly obsessed with pork, I sprinkled over some super crunchy bacon, too. There's not loads of herbs and spices in this dish, but it's far from bland. Cooking the pork two ways surprisingly packs a punch of flavor.

#tastytuesdays 59 + win a French macaron kit & Laduree macarons giveaway!

Each week, our team of 15 amazing bloggers and at least one of our fantastic co-hosts provides this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all! We think that makes you pretty special and you deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

As always with parties on Anyonita Nibbles, there's no obligation to follow me or my hosts and co-hosts on social media, but we thought you might like to check out all our Pinterest accounts!

 

Click the name of each blogger to open a new tab with her Pinterest account & while you're there, don't forget to follow us so you can see your posts being pinned each week! 

Gluten Free Celeriac & Truffle Mustard Braised Beef #Mailleflavours

Succulent beef pot roast braised in Maille's celeriac and truffle mustard and served with velvety mash!

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Celeriac & Truffle Mustard Braised Beef 

When cooked low and slow, beef becomes unbelievably tender and melts in your mouth. You could achieve this by cooking it in a slow cooker or crock pot, but I like to cook it in the traditional way: a large stock pot. This beef is extra special because it's wrapped in a lovely blanket of delicious and slightly spicy mustard. But not just any mustard: sophisticated Maille Mustard with White Wine, Celeriac and Black Truffle. Are you drooling yet?

These gluten free breakfast sausage muffin cups make are ready in minutes; perfect for a quick meal!

Photo courtesy of Renee's Kitchen Adventures for use on Anyonita Nibbles

Yield 12 sausage cups

Gluten Free Breakfast Sausage Muffin Cups

Wrapping up this week's guest posts while I'm away in Spain, is a new friend and fellow blogger, Renee from Renee's Kitchen Adventures. Today, Renee's sharing a seriously amazing looking gluten free breakfast option! But before you grab your muffin trays, be sure to stop and cast your vote for me in this competition! Renee says:

An Honest Chat about Blogging

Written by: Anyonita Green on 5/1/2104

Every now and then I get emails from people interested in starting their own blog. These emails tend to increase after I publish status messages or blog posts about free products or events I've been invited to. Which is understandable, no one would take a job without knowing the perks, right? 

Blogging often gets glamorized and people aren't always aware of the hard work and dedication it takes to grow a blog, to appear at the top of search engines, to find (and keep!) followers on social media.

These glamorized ideas about blogging even effect other bloggers! A lot of those emails come from people who already have blogs but who are seeming to struggle to make their blogs a success. So today, I'm going to share a post from the heart. Let's have an honest chat about blogging.


Find more blogging tutorials to pin:

These oven baked pork chops are encrusted with blue cheese and Panko for a quick, 30 minute meal!

Photo courtesy of Dizzy Busy and Hungry for use on Anyonita Nibbles

Yield 2 to 4

Blue Cheese Encrusted Pork Chops

I've got my good friend and fellow blogger Kristin from Dizzy, Busy and Hungry over for dinner today! She's taking the reigns while I'm in sunny Spain enjoying a relaxing break with my family! Today she's sharing a delicious, 30 minute recipe for oven baked pork chops encrusted with blue cheese and Panko breadcrumbs. But before I turn it over to her, could you please make sure you vote for me in this competition? I'd greatly appreciate it!  Kristin says:

#tastytuesdays 58 is live from sunny Spain!

Each week, our team of 15 amazing bloggers and at least one of our fantastic co-hosts provides this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all! We think that makes you pretty special and you deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

As always with parties on Anyonita Nibbles, there's no obligation to follow me or my hosts and co-hosts on social media, but we thought you might like to check out all our Pinterest accounts!

 

Click the name of each blogger to open a new tab with her Pinterest account & while you're there, don't forget to follow us so you can see your posts being pinned each week! 

These five fresh smoothies are perfect for spring time! They're all made with fresh ingredients and no added sugar!

Yield 1 smoothie per recipe

5 Fresh Smoothie Flavors for Spring

Balmy, warm days always send me bee-lining it to the fridge and freezer to come up with smoothie concoctions. They're my favorite way to cool down in the spring and summer; especially when it's muggy and sticky! Over the years, I've experimented with some pretty crazy smoothie ideas and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you--in this short round up there's some normal, natural flavor combos and then some that might have you scratching your head. Trust me, they're deelish.

I have a friend from Australia who makes insane salads. She can throw anything into the bowl and churn out these salads that'll knock you off your feet. Whenever I make a smoothie, I try to channel that ingredient abandon and just chuck things in until I've had enough. Smoothies are also a great way of getting rid of nearly-expired food! I hope you enjoy this round up and I hope you also try your hand at creating some smoothies of your own.

One last thing, by the time you read this, we'll be in Spain on holiday. For the next few days, I'm going to leave my blog in the capable hands of some of my dear friends and fellow bloggers. They'll be sharing an amazing range of recipes including easy blue cheese crusted porkchops to a gluten free breakfast! You won't want to miss out! :) 

5 Fresh Smoothie Flavors for Spring

 Double Cherry & Guava Jam Smoothie

 Cherry 0% Fat Free Yogurt | Guava Jam | Milk | Frozen Cherries
I came across a jar of guava jam in the Caribbean section of our supermarket and couldn't resist trying it. The first morning, I spread some on toast but it was far too sweet for me. Using it in a smoothie helps to tame the sweetness, especially with the addition of tart cherries.

Spinach & Cherry Smoothie

 Fresh spinach | frozen cherries | milk | plain yogurt
There's not really anything unusual about this recipe. It's just two of my favorite flavors that work really well together in a smoothie. You can use any yogurt you'd like; I've had it with cherry yogurt and I've had it with Greek yogurt and it all works nicely.

 Hibiscus & Rosewater Smoothie

 Hisbiscus Syrup | Rosewater| Plain Yogurt| Ice | Strawberries
Okay, so I know this is unusual, but it's so delicious and fruity and has a lovely floral taste; you've got to try it! Only use a teeny tiny bit of rosewater as it can be completely overpowering.

Mango & Passionfruit Smoothie with Fresh Basil

Fresh Mango | Ice | Passionfruit Seeds | Passionfruit Yogurt | Fresh Basil

Yes, this is a weird one, but it works so well together! The basil adds a lovely savoriness that's almost peppery, which cuts nicely through the cloyingly sweet passionfruit, which can be overpowering. I love this recipe!

Cherry & Cauliflower Smoothie

Fresh cauliflower | cherry yogurt | fresh cherries | milk
Unusual, but a lovely way to sneak fresh veggies into a smoothie. Honestly, guys, you can't even taste the cauliflower, but you get all of the nutrients from it. I came up with this flavor combination over a year ago when I needed to use up some near-the-end-of-its-life cauliflower.

What's your favorite smoothie recipe?

What's the most unusual smoothie recipe you've come across?

Gluten Free Calamarata Pasta with Roasted Kale and Cashew Pesto

Soft tubes of calamarata pasta dressed with deliciously tangy roasted kale and cashew pesto and sprinkled with cheese make an excellent vegetarian dinner!

Yield 2 to 4 servings

Calamarata Pasta with Roasted Kale and Cashew Pesto 

I've always had a love for cashews, but since being diagnosed as a coeliac, I've started eating more and more of them; now there's always a bag of cashews in the snack basket; perfect for nibbling or adding to dishes, like this roasted kale and cashew pesto:

I'm still relatively new to pesto, only having it for the first time back in 2008. I had just moved to Manchester and was watching a friend, a French guy who lived in my flat, make dinner in the kitchen. He pulled this vibrant green sauce from the cupboard and generously spooned the sauce over his noodles, gave it a quick stir and then proceeded to eat! When he learned I'd never had pesto, had never even heard of it, he handed the fork over to me to try and oh my nom! I've been hooked on pesto ever since--both red and green. Coming up with my own unique pesto combinations is one of the greatest things about the sauce!