Learn how to write compelling influencer outreach emails that get results, plus a free template to get you started.
I’ve been there. You spend hours finding influencers, crafting messages to each one just to check your inbox the next day and crickets.
Don’t worry! There are plenty of small changes you can make to improve your influencer outreach.
I A/B tested so much to build this strategy but in the end it grew my outreach’s response rate 4x and helped me sign successful partnerships with influencers. I tried everything from including links to YouTube videos in my outreach, writing super long and detailed emails, including huge budget offers in the initial outreach message and everything else we could think of.
Below you’ll learn:
Your secret weapon to optimizing your influencer outreach
- How to structure the perfect outreach email (or DM) with a downloadable email outreach template
- Common mistakes you might be making and how to fix them
- External factors that influence your outreach’s impact
- Your secret weapon to optimizing your influencer outreach
Crafting a Winning Influencer Outreach Email
Influencers receive hundreds of emails and messages from brands wanting to partner with them. You need to make yours stand out to them and show them that your brand truly cares about working with them.
The first thing you should always do before outreaching an influencer is make sure that they and their audience would actually be interested in your product. This will not only make your outreach more successful, but also bring you partnerships with influencers that are more likely to perform well.
Download our proven guide to outreach including the top influencer outreach template:
Keep it short and sweet
In a time when most of the content we consume is under 60 seconds, our emails have to follow that same trend.
Emails should be short and digestible. Your target should be an email with 75-100 words maximum. The subject line should also be short and snappy – aim for 5 words or less.
The language should also be simple. Keep sentences short and make breaks between paragraphs to make it easier to read.
Personalization
Now that you know they are relevant to your brand, it’s time to include some personalization. This will make your email or DM stand out in a sea of brand outreach as you actually took the time to look at their profile.
Personalization is not “I love your Instagram!” or “I love your posts!” That is the generic start to most emails they receive. Personalization requires you to take a minute to scroll through their social media profiles, watch a few of their videos and then craft a message based on it.
As you scan their profile, take note of how they speak, which phrases they use, what content they’re highlighting. You can adjust your phrasing to fit theirs – for example, saying “vegan” vs plant-based” or “influencer” vs “creator”. These are minor differences but if you use the same keywords as them, your product will resonate better.
Your Brand’s Elevator Pitch + Influencer Outreach Template
It’s time to introduce your brand. If you’ve been there long enough, you probably have your go-to sentence that you use everywhere. Forget that sentence.
Approach your company or product from the angle of the influencer you are targeting.
What will make them FOMO? What aspects of it interest them more? What phrasing aligns best with their social media?
Now try speaking of your product directly to them.
That’s the power of FOMO, social proof and speaking to the influencer’s priorities. It suggests that your product is already widely adopted and successful. Influencers want to be associated with brands that are popular and have a proven track record.
Creating an effective call to action
Now that you have the influencer hooked, it’s time to close the deal. This is where you make an offer. I always like to keep this open ended. This can be as simple as “We’d love to partner with you! Are you interested in learning more?”
Always, always, always end with a question. This will encourage influencers to respond to you.
Bonus tip to get your message noticed
Follow the influencer on Instagram, TikTok or whatever platform you’re planning to collaborate on from the brand account. Comment on their posts and engage with their content to make your brand stand out in the crowd. Show them that you’re actually a fan of them and want to work with them. This will make them much more likely to respond as they are already aware of your brand.
Stop making these mistakes in your influencer outreach emails
Not Following Up
Sending one great email isn’t enough. Maybe some influencers will miss the first email or forget to respond. The follow up gives them another opportunity to respond. This usually doubles my response rate.
Keep follow ups short and provide value.
You can use Amplify to keep track of who you need to follow up with and when. Amplify’s automated follow up reminders will make sure you never miss an opportunity – whether it’s in the initial outreach or getting content to go live on time.
Not Tracking Your Outreach Funnel
Are you tracking and optimizing your process? There are so many tests you can run while sending outreach emails. You can test different subject lines or different hooks about your brand and see what resonates better with the influencers.
Beyond the initial outreach message, it’s essential to track your full outreach funnel – from initial outreach to signing the influencer. Looking at this funnel can help you understand where you should focus your optimization efforts.
For example, I might notice that my outreach is getting a really strong response but I’m unable to sign deals. This tells me that my outreach message is strong but either the offer I’m making to influencers is not enough or the product I’m asking them to promote isn’t represented as well within that initial email. By seeing this, I’m able to address the issue and improve the funnel.
Within Amplify, you’re able to see your entire funnel from start to finish. You can see how your changes are affecting the funnel by adjusting the time frame and break it down by team members as well. You can also see how long it is taking you to sign influencers after the initial outreach has been sent.
Forgetting about Timing
Timing is everything. If you contact an influencer during their busy season, it’s very unlikely they’ll answer.
Consider Black Friday and other sale holidays or seasons when the specific industry is busy, such as the New Year for health and fitness influencers or New York Fashion Week for fashion influencers.
If there’s a specific campaign you want to run with influencers during their busy seasons, plan far in advance to overcome this challenge. Try sending your outreach emails 2-3 months in advance. During peak seasons like Black Friday, influencers’ schedules fill up quickly.
You might be going to their spam
If you’re sending lots of outreach each day, it’ll be super important for you to prevent getting marked as spam.
Some basic tips: Try not to send more than 200 emails per day. Also, don’t include links or attachments in your initial outreach email. Once they’ve responded to your email, you can send over any attachments or links that can help them understand your brand and the campaign.
You should also avoid using terms that might be related to sales and money as that might send your email to the promotions tab.
Low Brand Recognition
Well-known brands will have a much higher response rate than up and coming brands mainly because the influencers have already heard of them and might even be using their products.
Don’t be discouraged, while this might not be fully in your control there are some things you can do. Investing in your brand’s social media will help. Partnering with influencers is another great way to grow your brand recognition, especially when you work with a major influencer. This often drives more influencers to reach out about a partnership. Other aspects of brand recognition will come with time as the brand grows.
Amplify: Your Secret Weapon for Influencer Outreach
As you scale your influencer program, it’ll be essential to streamline your processes. I created Amplify because I felt like I was drowning in spreadsheets as an influencer marketer. It got really chaotic! Amplify is here to save you time as you build strong influencer relationships.
Amplify is an influencer marketing CRM that can help you manage all of your influencer partnerships in one place. Add your entire team to stay in sync about all upcoming partnerships and negotiations. Connect Amplify directly to your Gmail account to track influencer responses and stay on top of your outreach.
Amplify has automated reminders to follow up with influencers following initial outreach as well as throughout the negotiation process and beyond. You can personalize that time frame to fit your needs.
Amplify’s Analytics gives a clear picture of your entire influencer marketing funnel from outreach to signing an influencer in order to help you catch any bottlenecks and optimize your processes.
So, there you have it! A proven strategy, common pitfalls to avoid, external factors to consider, and your secret weapon for influencer outreach success. Remember, influencer outreach isn’t just about sending a message; it’s about building a connection. By crafting personalized outreach, showcasing your brand’s value from their perspective, and always asking a question, you’ll significantly boost your response rates.
As you scale your influencer program, staying organized becomes even more critical. Amplify is the perfect tool to streamline your workflow and free up your time to focus on what matters most: building genuine relationships with influencers.