Approaching brands for influencer collaborations can be an overwhelming task for any content creator starting out. When I first started creating content, I realized that I had little to no knowledge of where to start when it comes to reaching out and pitching myself for sponsored content. What are the requirements for a collaboration and how do I create user-generated content for brands?
Take Initiative
The first step in your journey is to reach out to brands first! Although most of the time, we hear brands reaching out to content creators, it’s important to make yourself known and to market yourself to brands. The algorithm can only work so much to expose your content to the right audiences. The benefits of partnerships with brands is that this establishes credibility and helps influencers to grow their businesses. Now that we know that we can create opportunities for partnerships, the next step is to understand how to formulate a pitch of your personal brand through email.
Follow along to see how this guide (and the linked sources) can be useful in helping you land potential collaborations with your dream brands!
Prep Work Before the Pitch
Organically posting about products or services from brands that you’ve had great experiences with as a loyal consumer, demonstrates how you are a genuine supporter of the brand.
For me, if there’s a product that I own or that I am currently using, I will make a post about it on my stories (tagging the brand) and on my Instagram feed as well, and I make to sure to include important key words in my caption and hashtags.
Organic content is something that many brands look for when curating their team of creators; people who really enjoy and stand by the brand and it’s values.
Ensure Your Content aligns with the Brand
When reaching out to brands, keep in mind that the Public Relations and Marketing teams will be looking for candidates who have a similar style, aesthetic and values. For instance, if you’re a creator with a more minimalistic lifestyle, it would be logical to work with brands who believe in the same principles. The companies you choose to work with should fit seamlessly into your own personal branding.
Search for the Brand’s PR Contact
Now that we know how we will reach out to brands, the next criteria is to find the appropriate contact to send an email pitch to.
How to pitch yourself as a content creator to brands!
Yes you!
Sharing my tips how to create an email pitch and tips on designing
a media kit.
Look into the brand’s website and navigate to the contact page for PR emails dedicated to influencers, partnerships and content creators. Reaching out to these emails as well as direct messaging them on multiple media communication platforms are a few options you can use to approach brands.
Another method to reach out is through finding people who work for the companies on LinkedIn. Look out for job titles such as “PR”, “Influencer Marketing” or “Marketing Coordinator”, and send direct messages to these people for collaboration opportunities.
Engaging with Brands Online
From my personal experience, I was able to connect with and secure partnerships through the use of through direct messaging on Instagram and TikTok. This is a condensed version of the email pitch that you will send out to brands.
Taking initiative to engage with brands on their stories, interacting with their posts while also posting about their products or services, shows your love and support for their brand. Putting yourself out there and producing engaging content, (in an authentic and organic way) will be noticed by Marketing and PR teams who manage these companies’ business accounts.
Have a Media Kit Ready
The same way you have a resume for your career, it’s essential to have a digital influencer resume to include as an email attachment with your email pitch. The media kit should highlight your best work and what you can offer!
For more in-depth detail on how media kits work, check out The Ultimate Guide to Influencer Media Kits.
Make sure to include:
A short summary of your bio and contact information
An overview of your social analytics and metrics
Your targeted demographic audience(s) age, gender, location, language etc.
Previous partnerships and testimonials
Show examples of how you’ve built brand awareness and driven conversions
through past partnerships
Include your standard rates and consider a separate rate card that you
can send to brands
Ensure that your media kit file is saved as a pdf, as this makes it easier for brands to share
within their organization while also preventing the shifting of text and distortion of your beautifully designed work. If you’re not sure where to begin with the media kit, please feel free to check out an example of my media kit below!
Grab attention with an enticing subject line
Introduce yourself and your creative niche
Share what you love about the brand and show credible proof
Create and attach your media kit with a call-to-action (CTA)
Close your email with a question
Let’s look at an effective brand pitch email example:
Let’s Do a Recap
When it comes to attaining successful collaborations, we need the right tactics and templates. Don’t think too much and go for it! Remember the following:
Do the prep work before approaching a brand; ensure the brand aligns with your aesthetic, style and values as a creator
Organically engage and post about the brand you’re interested in working with to show your love and support for the brand
Have a media kit ready to link or attach in your email
Create exciting email pitches from brand pitch email templates that help get partnerships
You Can Do This!
It can be intimidating to receive rejections or to be nervous about reaching out to brands! Even if brands don’t have room for a collaboration at that moment, that doesn’t mean they won’t reach out to you in the future.
Continue to create content that resonates with you personally, your audience and creates value in your community. Have confidence and put yourself out there! You never know who just might be interested in you.
Brand Pitching 101
A brand pitch is a message that a small content creator sends to a brand who they want to work with to promote a service or product. It’s another method to get your content in front of the right marketing partners and collaborators. Influencer marketing plays a pivotal part in cultivating brand awareness and creating traction on social media.
We can learn how to successfully pitch to brands and land dream collaborations with just
including a few elements in the email pitch.
The Elements of a Great Pitch Email
Be sure to include these five things in your email: