At Sociatech we are proud to represent some of the smartest brands on the planet, which means they make some of the most highly sought after software and hardware in the audio production world, stuff that gets used to create top music, film and TV shows.

Part of our work is managing artist relations for these brands, this means we also get to work with really interesting people in the music and post-production world.

Every week we handle a lot of requests from those wanting to be endorsed by our clients. We see the same mistakes made time and again so we thought we would give you the top five mistakes made by those looking for an endorsement.

1 - Cut And Paste

It doesn't take us long to spot an email that has been cut and pasted to dozens of brands in the vain hope of snagging some free stuff (more on that in a while), it's even worse if you've sent it to several of the brands we work with. The first thing most of the brands we work with will do when they get an endorsement enquiry is forward it to us. If we get the same email from several of our clients on the same day (yes it happens) then it's frankly game over. The author just looks like a desperate freeloader and in most cases, we are instructed by our client not to even bother replying.

If you genuinely use stuff made by a brand you love and want to say nice things about it in support of them then take the time to write them a unique message. If you are looking for free stuff don't even waste time sending the email.

2 - Do You Know Who I Am?

If you have to write a long email explaining how famous you are and how much influence you have then don't bother. As someone once said, "it's hard being famous when no one knows who you are."

Being famous isn't the only thing that matters when it comes to working with a brand to endorse their gear. An interesting story of how you use the gear matters far more than you smiling like the hilarious product placement scene in Wayne's World.

Telling an authentic story is far more captivating than name dropping.

3 - One More For My List

It might sound like a good idea but listing how many other brands endorse you makes you less not more attractive to potential brands.

When an artist enquiry comes in we do research to see who else they are connected to and if it's for a brand making a similar product then that speaks loudly about their authenticity and loyalty.

4 - Of Course I’ll Still Love You In The Morning

It's not surprising that people are cynical about product endorsements, they think artists are paid (none of those endorsing our client's products gets paid), and they often think for that reason they either don't really use the gear or are doing it for the money.

The best endorsements are from those who use the products every day and genuinely love using them, anything else is fake and frankly pointless… the public aren’t stupid.

So make sure you use a product and love it before you make an approach.

5 - Take The Money And Run…

Finally, endorsements often work on a quid pro quo basis, so if you've made a promise to a brand to work with them on promoting a product then make sure you follow through and keep your promise. As one of our clients says "you only get me once!"

Sociatech is always looking to work with interesting, hard-working artists, producers and engineers so we can tell genuine and captivating stories about how you use the gear our clients make.

If that's you then drop us a line... of course remembering the five rules above!