• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 14, 2013

Glam Media is ready to roll out a new program designed to foster more partnerships between brands and its network of bloggers.

The Premier Program, so-called, will feature an “elite” group of publishers selected from the roughly 4,000 sites under Glam’s purview.

The lucky publishers will become contributing editors on Glam’s owned-and-operated sites, including Glam.com, Foodie.com, Tend.com, Brash.com and Bliss.com.

“This is the first time that we are bringing specific authors on to be contributing editors to our sites … to write original content for our audience,” said Jennifer Salant, senior vice president of “content creator operations” and business development at Glam Media.

Selected publishers include Hostess with the Mostess blogger Jennifer Sbranti, Food52’s Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs; Good Enough Mother’s Rene Syler; and AfroBella’s Patrice Grell Yursik.

“This program also gives this select group special recognition to brands in a new way,” Salant added.

In its test phase, initial brand campaigns included an “Escape to Style” hub on Glam.com, which featured Ford and three custom videos from real-life stylist Lauren Messiah and her escape from L.A. to New York. Also, Skype sponsored a program featuring Rene Syler from Good Enough Mother.

Founded in 2004, Glam Media has established itself as one of the Web’s largest media companies.

Measured by unique visitors, Glam currently ranks as one of the world’s top online properties, according to recent data by Mary Meeker and her KPCB team.

In February, the company accounted for nearly 300 million unique visitors around the world -- a figure bested only by the likes of Google, Facebook, and Yahoo.

Rivals in the female-focused space include NBCU’s iVillage and the Meredith Women's Network, along with a number of smaller players, including SheKnows, BlogHer, Total Beauty and Sugar Inc.