Every influencer marketing campaign starts with a successful pitch. How you reach influencers with your proposal sets the tone for your partnerships, determines the outcome of negotiations, and sometimes even affects the price. Learn here how to make a positive first impression and get a deal!
Action Plan for Influencer Outreach
Let’s divide this big task into 4 clear steps you need to make.
Step 1. Find relevant influencers
Influencers are keen on collaborations with brands, and most will be happy to receive your proposal. The key factor in getting a positive response is choosing an influencer with relevant interests, audience and content.
Define the criteria that are most important for your campaign, such as location, language, age, brand affinity, audience demographics, average engagement rate, etc. Then find influencers who match these characteristics.
Keep in mind the conversion rate from your pitch to the actual deal. There will definitely be a number of influencers who won’t respond to you, and some may reject your offer. Never rely on one or a couple of influencers, especially if you have little experience in communicating with them. Double the number of influencers you need when creating the initial list of contacts, and at the end of the day, you’ll have the group you expected.
To save working hours, you can use ready-made influencer databases that allow you to set detailed filters and get a list of perfectly fitted influencers in a matter of minutes. For example, you can try Companion using a 14-day free trial.
Step 2. Collect their contact details and get ready for communication
Don’t rely solely on social media direct messages when pitching your campaign. Influencers’ DMs are usually stuffed with messages from their followers and different kinds of proposals, so your offer can easily be missed.
Sometimes popular influencers have a dedicated page for PR and marketing requests. Messaging there could have much more success. However, we still recommend using emails for your pitching since this channel shows the best results!
Look for their email addresses in their bios, or tick the box “Has email” on Companion’s discovery page when setting the filters. The tool will select influencers with contact details indicated in their profiles, and show them to you after adding creators to the “My Influencers” tab.
At the same time, prior engaging with selected influencers on social media can help build a relationship with them and increase your future outreach success. If you have enough time before the campaign, we’d recommend investing it in nurturing trust by engaging with their content, reposting or tagging. This way, they can recognise you when you email them with the offer.
Also, use DMs on social media as an additional channel to enhance your main email campaign.
Step 3. Create an offer
Map out the key points you’d like to deliver to the influencer:
- What brand are you representing?
- What’s your idea for this collaboration?
- What are your campaign goals?
- Why do you think this influencer is a match?
- What’s in it for them?
- What compensation or reward are you ready to offer?
Use the templates below to make the message attractive and efficient.
Step 4. Be persistent in your communication!
Send the first email and wait for a response. Don’t be discouraged if there is no answer, and consider it as a sign to follow up again.
Create a plan of 3–5 messages, sending them over 2 weeks, spacing out a few days. The first email shows the best results in terms of open rate, but later follow-ups can capture the attention of those who ignored you previously. If you still got no response after 2 weeks of chasing, pause the communication for at least 6 months to avoid creating a negative sentiment.
Enhance your communication, mixing the channels. It will help you engage with influencers and reduce their chances of missing your point.
- Find their profiles on different social media, and follow up there.
- Find out if they have an assistant, manager or other team members and contact them, describing your idea and asking them to introduce you to the influencer.
- Sometimes they could have a phone number in their profiles – call them after a week of silence.
- If you see they have multiple email addresses, add all of them as recipients.
- Set notifications for their posts and stories, and respond to them among the first, encouraging influencers to pay attention to your emails and messages.
Working Email Templates for Influencer Outreach
Utilise our pre-written emails to save time and reduce the chances of missing crucial elements. Customise them according to your brand, campaign idea and tone of voice.
Subject line ideas:
- [Influencer Name] + [Brand Name] Paid Collaboration
- Partnership Offer [Influencer Name] + [Brand Name]
- Hi [Influencer Name], we’d love to work with you!
Template 1. Invitation to join the campaign
Hi [Influencer Name],
I’m [Name] from [Company].
We absolutely love your content! It totally aligns with our mission/passion/values [add something you have in common].
We think that our product – [Product] – could be of great interest to your audience. As such, we’d love to offer you a [paid] collaboration.
Currently, we’re working on the campaign [Campaign Name] the main idea of which is [Campaign Idea]. We’d love for you to join us!
Here you can learn more about [Company] and [Product]:
[Website link],
[Link to the product].
Let me know if you’d be interested in collaborating with us, and I’ll share the campaign details. Feel free to ask any questions, I’m happy to provide you with more information.
Looking forward to hearing back from you!
Kind Regards,
[Name]
Template 2. Shout-out to the influencer content
Hi [Influencer Name],
I’m [Name] from [Company].
We’ve been following your Instagram account and are amazed by your content, especially the way you talk about [Topic]. [Add personalised compliments about their content/particular posts].
At [Company] we [a sentence about your product/service/idea].
Since you’re passionate about [add something you have in common], I wanted to see if you’d be open to doing a collaboration together. We’d love for you to join our upcoming campaign for [Product].
You can learn more about it here [link].
We’ll ensure you have full creative freedom and provide you with product samples and fair compensation. [adjust according to your offer]
Let me know if it’s something of interest for you, and I’ll send you details!
Looking forward to hearing back from you!
Kind Regards,
[Name]
Template 3. Brand Ambassador
Hi [Influencer Name]!
My name is [Name] and I work for [Company]. We sell [details about the company]. I’ve been following you on [Social Media Platform] for some time now and really enjoy your content. Especially [personalised compliments].
Because of your overall vibe, I’d love to invite you on board as a brand ambassador for [Company]. We think we can be a perfect match for each other and your audience would really enjoy this collaboration.
As a brand ambassador, you would get access to our latest products and a [X%] commission for every purchase made with your affiliate code. We’re happy to discuss the details with you! [adjust according to your offer]
If it’s something of interest to you, it would be great to chat and go over any questions you may have. Let me know if you have time for a quick call this week!
Along with your shipping address, so I can send a set of our best products for you to try out.
Hope to chat with you soon!
Kind Regards,
[Name]
Template 4. All cards on the table (works great for follow-up as well)
Hi [Influencer Name],
I’m [Name] from [Company] that [details about the company].
I’m reaching out to invite you for paid collaboration with our brand since your content and the overall vibe seems like a perfect fit for us.
Later this month, we are going to start a campaign for our product [Product]. I think it could be something of interest to you and your audience because [add some proofs you’re a perfect fit and your USP].
We’re looking for creators to publish: [details of your campaign]
1 x Instagram Reel
2 x Instagram Stories
In return, you’ll get [$ amount] compensation and free [Product].
Let me know if you’re interested in this collaboration by [deadline date], and I’ll provide you with details.
Looking forward to hearing back from you!
Kind Regards,
[Name]
Templates for Direct Messages
Use these DM templates to strengthen your communication via email and reach influencers from an additional channel.
*You’ll increase your chances for response by using these messages as a reply to influencers’ latest stories.
DM Template 1. General Pitch
Hey [Influencer Name],
I emailed you previously on [email address] about paid collaboration with [Brand].
We really love your content and will be keen on seeing you in our next influencer campaign. We’d love to send some of our [Product], so you can give them a try and see if it works for you!
Please check your email and let me know if we can chat and discuss it in detail.
Thank you!
Cheers
DM Template 2. Campaign details
Hi [Influencer Name],
I work for [Brand + @brand] and reaching out to invite you to join our upcoming influencer campaign. I’ve emailed you previously from [your email address] so you can find all the info in your inbox.
Briefly, we’re looking for creators to publish: [details of your campaign]
1 x Instagram Reel
2 x Instagram Stories
In return, you’ll get [$ amount] compensation and free [Product].
You look like a perfect match for us, and I’d be happy to chat with you!
Hoping for your response!
DM Template 3. Brand Ambassador
Hi [Influencer Name],
I work for [Brand] and I’m thrilled to share that we’d love you to become our brand ambassador!
I’d be happy to talk more in-depth with you about our mission and how we see you being a part of it.
If you’re interested, please email me at [email address] or just reply here so we can chat.
It’d be so great if you could join our team!
Cheers,
[Name]
How to Boost Responses to Your Influencer Outreach Email
Influencers get so many offers daily! Imagine the number of brands willing to work with them, and then imagine the number of scammers using the punchiest messages and comments to attract influencers’ attention. The only way to cut through this noise is to use a personal approach! Get as much information about the influencer as you can and enhance your messages with a human touch to show them your affection.
What information you can use?
The real names of influencers – at least it will help you not to be considered spam.
References to their content – it is preferable to follow them for a while before reaching them, so you can use the context and the latest events in their life.
References to their previous collaborations with a brand or product similar to yours.
Their audience demographic insights, interests and brand affinity.
You can get this and more information in Companion. The tool will provide you with a dossier with up to 30 pages about the influencer you’re interested in collaborating with, so you can use it to your advantage.
Conclusion
We hope now the process of influencer outreach doesn’t look so intimidating for you. By following our guide, you can conduct successful communication with desirable influencers and get them into your campaign!
Once you’re starting to see positive results, think about the next steps. Influencer recruiting is just the first stage of your campaign, and you’ll face more and more challenges when you move further. Ensure your peace of mind and use tools to optimise your workflow and delegate the hardest parts to someone who has done it hundreds of times before.
Let us know if you need any help with your influencer marketing campaign: [email protected]
