What is Gumdrop? New app for influencers to work on more brand collaborations instantly.

GumDrop: New App for Influencer Collaborations

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Every week it seems like there is a new influencer app to get collaborations from brands. They all pitch the same thing. That they’re the best app, that they have more opportunities, and that they are becoming super popular. More often than not, I have found that to not be the case. So is the GumDrop app any different? Should you download it or is it just going to waste your time? After using it for some time now, here is the scoop.

How this app is changing the game

I found GumDrop through an Instagram ad. And as every great influencer knows, you always test new areas for opportunity. Because more opportunities means more money. The downside of it being as new as it is, I couldn’t find any third party information on them. I’m here to fix that.

GumDrop is changing the game when it comes to brand collaborations. For platforms like Aspire, Creator.co, #paid, Tribe, and whatever million other platforms you may use to try to work with brands, you are doing just that. TRYING. You are probably constantly pitching ideas and applying for campaigns. Worst of all you are competing with someone else applying for the same thing. Gumdrop stops this.

Instead of applying and pitching and waiting, Gumdrop pairs you with collaborations that you are already approved for. This takes literally all of the guess work out of working with brands! And better than getting free, awesome items, every single collaboration offers commission for you and a discount code for your followers.

Everything to Know About the GumDrop App

First and foremost, Gumdrop works on a “gifted plus affiliate code” basis. These are not “paid” collaborations. This means that you will not be paid a base rate for making your content. And of course, there is no guarantee for you making any commissionable sales. Now that we have that ugliness out of the way, let’s dive in to the specifics.

The Gumdrop app will allow you to connect your Instagram and your TikTok. Now although I logged in to both platforms, I only see collaborations for Instagram. For reference, I have 19,600 followers on Instagram and 2,650 followers on TikTok. This could mean that my TikTok did not meet a certain follower requirement. Or it could just simply mean that there are not any TikTok partnerships available at the moment. For the continuation of the blog, all of my information will only pertain to the Instagram part of this app.

About the collaborations

Once my account was approved, I already had 20 collabs waiting for me. You will have one week to decide from the list of “Product Drop this Week” what collaboration you would like to take on. A “day” ends at 3pm PST. You can also “Explore Future Drops” and express your interest in them. This help you get paired with similar collabs in the future. Keep in mind though that you will only receive the opportunity to claim two collaborations. So make them count!

The different collaborations on the Gumdrop app.

Each tile shows the product that the brand is trying to have promoted. Be warned, not all of the collabs will be geared to your niche. For example, I have a lot of mom and kid products available to me in the app. But I am not a mom so none of those collabs will work. Of the opportunities that did fit my content, the brands not only will send you the item completely free, but you can make 5-10% commission as well. You can easily see how much commission they give by looking at the number next to the diamond in the upper right corner of the collaboration tile.

Once you click on one of the collaborations, it will show you:

  • more pictures of the product,
  • the product’s description
  • how much commission you’ll earn,
  • what your deliverables are,
  • when the content is due by,
  • and the companies social media links and website link

Products with a value of $50+ will show that your deliverables are either an Instagram Feed Post or an Instagram Reel. Products with a value less than $50 will show that your deliverables are an Instagram Story.

Claiming a collaboration in the app

Once you claim a collaboration, the app will verify that you are willing to make the content needed. Once you verify, the app with render a unique coupon code for you to purchase the item. Now before you start throwing the red flags, yes this code ensures that there is NO COST to you. After you click the link to shop the item in their store, add to your cart, and head to check out. The code should already be in your cart but always double check. You will notice that by the end of the review of your order, the item, the tax, and the shipping were all $0. I personally really like that the purchase is made on the merchant’s site. This puts my mind at ease that the transaction was made securely.

The item will then ship to you. Once you receive it, the countdown is on. You will have 10 days, or whatever the collab details were, to create and submit your content. If you navigate to your “In Progress” collabs, it will make sure you have all the information you need to create your content. Including that desirable coupon code for your followers!

The coupon codes

Of the features of the Gumdrop App, this by far my favorite. I always strive to give my followers the most amount of coupon codes. Especially when it’s for a product I am sponsoring. The fact that all of the brands in Gumdrop give out coupon codes is amazing.

Affiliate codes, such as these, act as a way for brands to track which sales came from whom. And that helps you get paid! Obviously with higher commission rates and higher priced products, you could make some pretty good money.

Coupon Codes on Gumdrop app. Personalize the affiliate code to boost commission.

The code is also customizable. And for me that is where I am ecstatic. Creating my personal coupon code helps me keep in line with my personal brand. And it also allows me to create something easy to remember. Using your handle name as your coupon code is a great way to accomplish both.

The coupon codes will be be active for 3 months. This means you can create additional content for the brand to try to increase your commission payout. Or if your content goes viral, it still allows you enough time to make those additional sales. Or even for someone like me who also has a blog, I can offer this coupon code to my readers more readily and regularly.

Download the GumDrop App

Overall, if it wasn’t clear enough, I highly recommend this new influencer app, Gumdrop. Not only can you paired with brands automatically, you also have the potential to make commission. Not to mention you get personalized coupons for your followers too! So it’s time to start making content that helps you actually get paid. Download the Gumdrop app using this referral link, and you’ll receive $20!

(June 22, 2023) Currently Gumdrop is only available for Apple users.

Should I Say When A Post Isn’t Sponsored?

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If you are posting as a creator on social media, then you probably talk about brands and their products. You have your normal, fun un-sponsored posts, and your paid sponsorship posts. However, if it’s an unpaid post that is still product-focused, you may be wondering: “Do I need to disclose that it is not sponsored?”

You do have to disclose when something is a sponsored post. However, you definitely should not say when a post is not sponsored, and here is why.

What does it mean to disclose that a post is not sponsored?

Imagine that you are talking about how much you love Brand X in a post. But you don’t want your audience or the algorithm to think it’s an ad. So you think to yourself “I will just say that it isn’t an ad!”. An example of that could be: “Wow I just love this dress! It’s flowy, beautiful, I feel amazing in it! And don’t worry, this post is not sponsored.”

By saying your glowing words about this brand or product, followed by that it’s “not an ad” or that “this isn’t a sponsorship”, you’ve almost set yourself up for mistrust. This gives the idea that by saying nice things, it means that someone paid you to say that. Almost like by saying something nice now with no strings attached somehow makes this product recommendation even BETTER. It comes off like those previous things you said in the past for sponsored posts were not actually your honest opinion. Because now moving forward for a sponsored post, it’s going to sound like you are only saying that because you were paid to do so.

Your words should be the truth. Whether you were paid or not to talk about a brand. You need to build trust with your audience and talk about the things that you love. Even if no one paid you. And if you are gearing up for a paid collaboration, make sure it’s with a brand you actually do love!

An Outdated Mindset

Why is there a mindset that we can only talk about brands if we are paid? Maybe we think it will take us out of the running for getting paid if we already gave them content to our audience for free.

Break free of this mindset and talk about brands willingly, openly, and regularly! This will not only build trust with your audience, but also when they do see a sponsorship from you, it won’t look like you are just shouting “AD” into their face. The best sponsorships are the ones that are organic to your feed. If you consistently talk about products on your page, then seeing a sponsorship won’t seem any different to your audience.

Be open with your audience when you have a paid partnership that you need to disclose. But also be honest in your everyday life about the brands and products that you just love on the regular! Your audience will love hearing your thoughts and will trust you more for it.