The Art of Influencer Marketing Outreach: Example Emails Templates & More

Effective influencer outreach strategy is crucial for executing a successful influencer marketing strategy.

Without knowing how to contact influencers properly, brands risk wasting valuable time with no return on investment.

Influencer Marketing Fundamentals

Influencer marketing is a powerful strategy where brands collaborate with influencers to promote their products or services to a broader audience. By leveraging the influencer’s established credibility and reach, brands can effectively build awareness and trust among potential customers. This form of marketing is particularly effective on social media platforms, where influencers have a significant impact on their followers’ purchasing decisions.

In essence, influencer marketing allows brands to tap into the influencer’s loyal audience, creating authentic and engaging content that resonates with potential customers. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, incorporating influencer marketing into your overall strategy can lead to increased brand visibility and customer engagement.

What is Influencer Outreach?

Influencer outreach is the practice of contacting social media influencers to propose collaborations with your brand.

It’s typically done via email or direct messages and serves as the first step in building relationships with creators.

How to Do Influencer Outreach: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Pre-Outreach Preparation

Before reaching out to influencers, it’s crucial to have clear influencer outreach strategies in place. This preparation will increase your chances of success.

Define Your Target Influencers

Pre-vetting influencer profiles ensures you’re only contacting relevant influencers who are a good fit for your brand. This saves time and improves your response rate.

• Influencer size: Micro, macro, or celebrity influencers based on your budget and campaign goals

• Niche and audience: Ensure their followers align with your target customers

• Performance metrics: Specify ideal engagement rates, follower growth, and authenticity scores

• Content style: Look for creators whose voice and aesthetic match your brand organically

Define Your Offer

Be clear about what you can offer influencers before starting your influencer outreach campaign. This clarity will help you move quickly if an influencer responds positively to your collaboration request.

• Deliverables: Specify the type and number of posts you expect

• Timelines: For long-term partnerships, outline the frequency of sponsored content

• Compensation: Will you offer products, affiliate deals, or monetary payment?

• Budget: If offering paid partnerships, know your price range

• ROI expectations: What results do you hope to achieve through this collaboration?

Establish Your Communication Process

Plan out your workflow for when an influencer agrees to collaborate. Consider:

• Contract details

• Briefing process

• Content approval steps

• Payment procedures

Defining Your Objectives

Before diving into an influencer marketing campaign, it’s crucial to define your objectives clearly. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you create a focused strategy and measure the success of your efforts. Here are some common objectives for influencer marketing campaigns:

• Increasing Brand Awareness and Reach: Expand your brand’s visibility by reaching a larger audience through the influencer’s followers.

• Driving Website Traffic and Generating Leads: Encourage potential customers to visit your website and engage with your content or products.

• Generating Sales and Revenue: Boost your sales by leveraging the influencer’s persuasive power to drive conversions.

• Building Brand Credibility and Trust: Enhance your brand’s reputation by associating with trusted influencers who align with your values.

• Creating Engaging Content and Increasing Social Media Engagement: Produce high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your target audience and encourages interaction.

By setting clear objectives, you can tailor your influencer marketing campaigns to achieve specific goals and track your progress effectively.

Finding Influencer Emails

Most influencers prefer to be contacted via email for professional inquiries. Here’s how to find their email addresses:

• Check their social media bios. or “About” section of YouTube

• Look for a dedicated “email” tab on Instagram (app only)

• Check LinkTree or other bio link websites, usually in bio

• Do a Google Search for their name

• Use an influencer email tool like Creators AI

Crafting Personalized Outreach Emails

When writing your influencer outreach message, follow this general structure:

• Start with a personalized compliment showing you’ve researched the influencer

• Briefly introduce your brand

• Close with a simple yes/no question to encourage a response

Influencer Outreach Email Templates

Template 1: Short and Sweet

Hey {{fname}},

I'm [Your Name] from [Your Brand] 👋. 
We're [brief description of your company and unique selling point].

[Personalized comment about the influencer's content or recent post]

Since your content & values align so well with ours, 
I'd love to have you on board to help spread the word.

I've attached a short brand booklet for context, and 
there's an access code on the last page so you can try 
our product/service.

Would you be open to collaborating with us next month?

Best,
[Your Name]

This template works well for busy influencers who appreciate brevity.

Template 2: Detailed Collaboration Proposal

Hey {{fname}},

I'm reaching out from [Your Brand] — [brief description of your company and mission]. We'd like to invite you to join our newest campaign as an ambassador!

We recently launched [campaign name]. The aim is to [explain campaign goals]. You can learn more about it here: [link].

We'd love to work with you on some social content similar to your [mention specific content that aligns with your campaign].

Here's what the collaboration would involve:

[Type of content expected]

[Usage rights information]

[Any other relevant details]

Are you interested in hearing more about this opportunity?

Looking forward to your response, [Your Name]

This template is great when you have a specific campaign or collaboration in mind. Additionally, using influencer outreach templates can streamline the process of contacting influencers, ensuring that your messages are tailored and effective.

Template 3: Cause-Related Partnership

Hey {{fname}},

I'm [Your Name] from [Your Agency/Brand]. 
I think you might be a great fit for a paid collaboration 
with our client, [Client Name].

[Brief background on the client's cause or mission]

I was particularly impressed by your 
[mention specific content that aligns with the cause]. 

Your approach to [relevant topic] really resonated with our team.

Given the alignment between your content and our client's mission, 
I believe this could be a meaningful partnership opportunity.

Would you be open to a quick 15-minute call to discuss 
the project details?

Best regards,
[Your Name]

This template is effective for cause-related marketing campaigns.

Tips for an Effective Influencer Outreach Strategy

• Personalize your messages: Show that you’ve taken the time to understand the influencer’s content and audience. This is crucial for a successful influencer outreach campaign.

• Be clear and concise: Respect the influencer’s time by getting to the point quickly.

• Highlight mutual benefits: Explain how the collaboration can benefit both parties.

• Follow up thoughtfully: If you don’t hear back, send a polite follow-up after a week or two.

• Be flexible: Be open to the influencer’s ideas and suggestions for the collaboration.

Choosing the Right Communication Channel

While both email and DMs can be effective, many influencers prefer professional communication via email. Here’s why:

• Emails allow for more detailed information

• They’re easier to track and reference later

• Professional email addresses lend credibility to your outreach

Pro Tip

Using a professional email address (not @gmail or @yahoo) can significantly improve your credibility and reduce the chances of your message being perceived as spam.

Direct Messages (DMs)

Should you utilize direct messaging on Instagram to contact influencers?

DM Benefits

• No need to worry about email deliverability etc

• Can come across as more casual

• You can DM anyone - not everyone has a public email available

• Can follow up with engaging on posts, story reacts, and doesn’t feel like spam

DM Downsides

• It can be a highly manual process, of course there are some DM automation tools available however instagram often changes their access policies and things break

• Direct messages have daily limits. This makes it a less scalable strategy than email.

• Getting lost in the noise - DMs on Instagram usually get sent to the “Hidden Requests” folder, or if you contact someone popular it simply won’t get seen

DM Best Practices

There are a few differences when it comes to sending DMs vs email

Keep it casual

Instagram can be a fun, informal, expressive place—so let your message and tone match that.

Of course, you’ll always want to maintain some professionalism, but that doesn’t need to prevent you from sending an energetic, inviting message, or even throingw in an emoji or two.

Keep it super short

Don’t copy and paste your email outreach template and send them via DMs. This tactic will likely be too long and appear like a giant wall of text. Get the gist of it in there, and include a call to action.

Engage with their content beforehand

You can put your brand on the influencer’s radar even before a DM simply by liking or commenting on some of their recent content.

Send a personalized video message

If you have the confidence, a less common and more creative way to spark conversation is with a personalized video. Say precisely what you would in your text-based message but film yourself (or your colleague) and send it as a video.

Time consuming, yes, but can really pay off for more popular or desirable creators

Reply to a Story

In addition to sending a cold DM, replying to an influencer’s IG Story is another tactic. Depending on the story’s context, you can initiate a conversation with something relevant to something the influencer is already discussing or doing.

Move it to email

If you’ve successfully gotten an influencer’s attention and are messaging back and forth on a social media platform, eventually, you should suggest moving the conversation to email.

Email Strategies & Best Practices

What is a good response rate?

According to Creators AI data, we generally see average response rates from 8-15% and positive response rates (influencers who are interested) ranging from 4-9%.

This range is not by any means absolute and varies widely based on:

• Influencer-brand fit

• Influencer account size & platform

• Attractiveness of compensation offer

• Brand niche (be thankful if you are not in crypto, rates are wild!)

Set up an automated email sequence

An email sequence (sometimes called a drip campaign) is a series of automated emails you arrange to send on a set schedule. Why give up after just one email?

• Open rates for drip campaigns are about 80% higher than single send emails.

• If your first email is not opened or replied to (your choice), have an automatic follow-up “check-in” a few days later. A period of three days works well.

• A third and final attempt would be to remind them of the proposal.

Monitor outreach metrics. Optimize any inefficiencies.

What is your deliverability? Open rate? Response rate? Are you frequently getting the same questions asked? Or are you just constantly waiting for responses? Utilizing influencer marketing tools can help you track these outreach metrics effectively.

You should analyze, iterate, and test regularly.

Troubleshooting may not just be limited to your email copy either.

Perhaps your offer simply isn’t good enough and you should change your compensation structure. Review standard influencer rates to get a good idea of this beforehand.

Learn from every influencer response

Even if not positive, gather learnings from how influencers are replying. But at the same time, don’t take a single data point to heart.

If one influencer asks for an insane rate, it doesn’t mean that’s the standard, or that you should agree just because you got a response.

Make it into a process and be impartial and realistic about what the data is telling you.

Negotiating Collaboration Details

Once you’ve identified a potential influencer partner, the next step is to negotiate the collaboration details. This involves discussing the terms of the partnership to ensure both parties are on the same page. Here are some key aspects to consider.

• Type of Content to be Created: Determine whether the influencer will create sponsored posts, videos, stories, or a combination of these formats. Ensure the content aligns with your brand’s messaging and goals.

• Duration of the Campaign: Establish the timeline for the campaign, including key milestones and deadlines. This helps in planning and ensures timely delivery of content.

• Compensation for the Influencer: Decide on the payment structure, whether it’s a flat fee, commission-based, or a combination of both. Ensure the compensation is fair and reflects the influencer’s reach and engagement.

• Disclosure Requirements: Discuss how the influencer will disclose the partnership to their followers to comply with regulatory requirements. Transparency is key to maintaining trust with the audience.

By clearly outlining these details, you can ensure a smooth collaboration that meets both your brand’s and the influencer’s expectations.

Automating the Influencer Outreach Process

While the methods described above can be effective, they can also be time-consuming, especially for larger campaigns. For brands looking to scale their influencer marketing efforts, AI-powered solutions like Creators AI offer significant advantages:

• Full AI Automation of influencer discovery & outreach

• AI analysis of content for close brand alignment and optimization for key stats like high recent views and view-to-follower ratio

• Daily outreach to new influencers with personalized emails

• Try it for free, no credit card required

Such tools can dramatically reduce the time and effort required for influencer outreach while maintaining a high level of personalization and targeting.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Influencer marketing can be highly effective, but there are common mistakes that can hinder your success. Here are some pitfalls to avoid:

• Partnering with the Wrong Influencer: Ensure the influencer’s values and audience align with your brand. A mismatch can lead to ineffective campaigns and wasted resources.

• Not Clearly Defining Objectives: Without clear goals, it’s challenging to measure success and optimize your strategy. Define your objectives from the outset.

• Not Providing Enough Creative Freedom: Influencers know their audience best. Allow them the creative freedom to produce content that resonates with their followers.

• Not Disclosing the Partnership: Ensure the influencer discloses the partnership to maintain transparency and comply with regulations. Undisclosed partnerships can damage trust.

• Not Tracking and Measuring Results: Use analytics tools to monitor the campaign’s performance. Track key metrics to understand what’s working and what needs improvement.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can enhance the effectiveness of your influencer marketing campaigns and achieve better results.

Influencer Outreach Tools and Resources

To streamline your influencer outreach efforts, several tools and resources can help you find and partner with the right influencers. Here are some popular options:

• Influencer Marketing Platforms: Platforms like AspireIQ and Upfluence connect brands with influencers and provide tools for managing campaigns and tracking results.

• Social Media Listening Tools: Tools like Klear help you identify influencers who are already talking about your brand or industry, making it easier to find relevant partners.

• Influencer Discovery Tools: Tools like Influencer Marketing Hub and Social Blade help you find influencers who align with your brand values and target audience.

• Outreach Email Templates: Utilize pre-made templates to craft effective outreach emails, saving time and ensuring consistency in your communication.

• Influencer Marketing Agencies: Agencies specialize in connecting brands with influencers and managing campaigns, offering expertise and resources to maximize your marketing efforts.

By leveraging these tools and resources, you can enhance your influencer outreach strategy, making it more efficient and effective in achieving your marketing goals.

Conclusion

Effective influencer outreach is a crucial skill in today’s digital marketing landscape.

By following this guide and utilizing the provided email templates, you’ll be well-equipped to start building valuable relationships with influencers.

Remember to track your results closely and take an honest look at what may or may not be causing any issues.

With a bit of persistence, you’ll be contacting influencers at scale and onboarding successful partners every week!

To scale further and faster with influencer outreach, consider using Creators AI which takes care of 90% of this process for you.