How to get Sponsored by Catch Cam Nets
How many people have wanted to be an ambassador for a fishing company? Or better yet, how many people have emailed or messaged us via social media and asked if we had any ambassador spots available?
In recent years there has been a big wave of social media ambassadors or pro staffers, in probably every industry but especially in the fishing world. Every kid who swings a stick around on the weekends thinks he has what it takes to be an ambassador. Every trout bum who has 4k+ followers thinks he's entitled to some free swag as if he is going to make that company a million dollars. And if we haven't heard it hundreds of times, the pro staffers from other companies who think they have connections and a large following, and they always state they can get our gear in local fly shops, as if thats what we are wanting. These kids who think they are Insta-famous think they are valuable to us. If thats not laughable enough, we all know that poser angler who is trying to score a pro deal to make themselves look better.
When in reality they couldn't land a stock fish on powerboat if you threw it in the water already hooked. The point being, we aren't looking for people to just post a few pics using our nets, because in reality our customers are already doing that.
Our nets essentially market themselves since they provide awesome pictures and videos. Now we are guilty of giving over 60 nets out for free to anyone who gave us attention as we first launched our product July of last year. But we quickly learned there was no ROI (return on investment). And even after we tried being a little more picky with who we chose, we still lost money from giving free gear out to avid anglers who fished all the time. This isn't a rant because we are angry at every angler who we gave a free net to, we are still happy to have so many nets out the door and the lessons learned. However this article is for you anglers who want to make a difference in the fishing industry and utilize social media to make that impact. We aren't looking for those guys who “Do it for the Gram” but for those who want to pursue their passion for fishing and join a community of like minded anglers.
So what are we looking for? Or any fishing company for that matter. Its all about “NETwork” ( Pun intended). Its a two way street, we expect as much value back as what we would provide you with. As a sponsored angler from Catch Cam Nets you can get free gear, discounts on all other gear, Cash from competitions or commissions, free trips and cross promotion to build your personal brand. Thats a lot of value thats hard to put a dollar sign on. In return we expect true value back or at least some type of ROI. With all that being said lets dig into a few valuable aspects we look for.
1) High Quality Pictures
This should go without saying but for some reason we still get a ton of messages from people who take pics on their iPhone 4s and post them bass lipping their trout. You do not have to have the most expensive high tech gear on the market but you do have to at least have some gear that keeps up with the time. The newer iPhones and androids take amazing pictures and of course the Gopro and YI cameras. Theres so many water proof action cameras now and with the different attachments out their for phones its easy to make them compatible with our nets. But its more than just the gear you shoot on but the eye for what your shooting. Being creative and taking different angles and showcasing the fish from a different perspective is what people want to see. We aren't saying your photos suck and you should give it up and go back to playing video games, but we are encouraging you to learn how to capture better quality content. Which is essentially why and how we came up with the Nets in the first place. Its all about capturing the moments on the water you do not want to be forgotten.
2) Showcase Your Content
Again we are not saying you have to have a large instagram following but you do have to have some type of platform to show off your awesome pictures. If you just created an Instagram account and you only have 100 followers and only posted 5 pics, you should really reconsider applying for a sponsorship until you are a little more establish. You need some type of platform, rather its Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or even well known in fishing comps, Bass Circuit or fly fishing films. Be established in the industry in some way and have a following that people trust and respect your content.
3) Net Fish and Chill
As some of you know we like to use this phrase as it is a play of words from Netflix and chill. Which in recent studies mean high school kids get together and do the dirty with no intentions of actually watching a movie. We actually mean we want to see fish put in the net and for you to be a pretty chill dude. We are looking for avid anglers who are just good people and like minded. Someone who puts others first, and loves to help and educate others. Someone who is not full of drama and gossip. Someone who loves to get outdoors to just chill and be peace with nature. And for those of you who are spiritual and like to be at lone with God and his creation. Those of you who respect our resources, especially the fish. We proudly promote Catch and Release, hoping to protect our waters and keep a self sustainable fishery. We want to see anglers who catch a lot of fish and actively posting new fishy pics. Release shots provide a lot of value to us and if your active in trout conservation than thats a huge bonus.
4) Proud To Be An American
We don't mean you have to be a republican and think Donald Trump is the best president we have ever had. What we do mean is you choose American made products over cheaply made Chinese brands just because of their name or price point. American made companies means more than just a product made in the USA. It means attention to detail, high quality products designed and built by avid anglers. It means jobs have been created. It means we promise to bring you more great products and customer service. Supporting American made companies and buying at your local fly shop instead of ordering everything on Amazon means your in this for others. Your NETworking and joining into this community of like minded anglers. Lets take it one step farther, we like to see reviews and blogs and Vlogs done on the American made gear. Compare it to the cheap Chinese gear, from the quality to the customer service. Give honest options on what you do like or don't like. Help promote the brand and the name, that helps us keep things made in the USA and continue creating jobs and improving our economy.
In conclusion, we hope to bring a few more valuable anglers onto our team. As we continue to grow we plan on taking some awesome trips in 2019 and hope to extend that to our pro anglers. We plan on releasing some more amazing products. We plan on moving into some film festivals and film tours. We plan on building a tribe of like minded anglers who are in the sport for others and our resources and not themselves. If you think you have what we are looking for then join our email list today and show your support. If you really want to be apart of our team send us an email introducing yourself. And to prove your true value snag a net with promo code 10OFF for 10% off and start using the net to its full potential and share with us some content. Its easier for us to see your worth when you've supported us and showed us the 4 main points we stressed above. Tight Lines
