How To Write Effective Influencer Outreach Emails to Influencers (+ Templates)

Influencer marketing can be a key strategy for many brands—especially because 61% of consumers are likely to trust recommendations from influencers versus 38% who’ll trust brands directly.

Influencers help brands to create authentic content, providing endorsements that improve brand awareness and increase sales. One study by HypeAuditor showed that brands can generate $4.87 of earned media value for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, which is a solid ROI.

But how do you get started with influencer marketing? First, you’ll need to research the best influencers to work with. Then start the outreach process. Writing successful influencer outreach emails is pivotal to starting your collaboration out on the right foot and getting influencers interested in working with your brand. 

Throughout this article, we’re going to talk about what to include within your influencer outreach emails plus share five templates to help you get started.

What goes into your influencer outreach emails? 

Writing influencer outreach emails can seem daunting if you have no clue where to start. While the templates we share in the next section will also be a huge help, let’s go over the basic skeleton of what you’ll need in each email.

A catchy subject line

You need to stand out in each influencer’s inbox. The best way to do that is by infusing your email with a subject line that’s going to grab attention. However, you also want to make sure it sets your email apart from seemingly promotional emails.

Some ideas include:

• Your followers would love to get these products for free
• What do you think of this collaboration idea?
• We love your feed!

Adding in some personalization by starting the subject line with “Hi [Name]!” is another great way to grab attention.

Personalization

Yes, we just mentioned this, but let’s get a bit deeper. One way to immediately connect with the influencer you’re reaching out to is by showcasing that you’re well-versed with their content and their target audience.

First, you want to use a friendly greeting and include their name. Don’t make this seem like a generic mass email that you’ve copied and pasted into fifty different messages.

Something simple like “Hey [Name]!” is a great salutation.

Then, you’ll want to insert even more personalization into your message body, showcasing that you’ve done your research and you know who this influencer is. Start your email off with a line like:

• We’re obsessed with your dance videos!
• Based on your content, we think you and your followers would love this product!
• You really pulled off that dress in your latest post!

Prove that you’ve done your research and actually know who each of the influencers you’re reaching out to is.

Your pitch

The next step is to share the overall reason you’re reaching out—your collaboration pitch. This is where you explain why you’re reaching out, how you’d like to collaborate with the influencer, and what your business is all about.

Keep your tone friendly but professional, working to build a sincere relationship and potential partnership. Follow this structure in your pitch:

• Start by sharing what’s in it for the influencer—compensation, free product, commission, a product line partnership, etc.
• Then discuss why this partnership makes sense—i.e., aligned audiences or their posts with products similar to what your brand offers
• Lastly, include ideas for the overall campaign—what the content should look like, timelines, goals, etc.

This shows that you’ve done your research into understanding what a collaboration might look like between your brand and the influencer you’re reaching out to and makes it a lot easier for the influencer to hop on board.

5 email templates to win over the right influencers

We’ve already mentioned that you don’t want to copy and paste the exact same message into every single outreach email you send. However, there’s nothing wrong with using a template to get started and fully personalizing the message to match each influencer you reach out to.

We’ve put together five email templates that can help you win over influencers, get started on collaborations, and start fostering relationships.

1. Getting straight to the point

If you want to pitch a one-off collaboration, sometimes getting straight to the point with a short and sweet email is the way to go. Use a template like the one below, customized to fit each influencer you reach out to and the specific content they’ve posted.

Hi [Name]!

I’m Sarah with Summer Suits. We’ve been LOVING your series on summer must-haves and thought our product would make a great fit for your feed. We want to offer you a free product to try out—plus some to give away to your followers!

If you’re able to fit us into your series, please email us back with your collaboration rates for an Instagram post featuring our brand.

Can’t wait to chat!

Sarah

Always make sure to ask about rates. You’re not going to get a sole feature in an influencer’s post by offering free products alone—at best, you’ll get into an unboxing video. Which can be a strategy on its own, bringing us to our next template.

2. Offering free samples

If you don’t have much of an influencer marketing budget to work with, this can be a great strategy for getting your brand off the ground and building brand awareness. 

Simply offer free samples with absolutely no strings attached—it can be a great way to get influencers genuinely interested in your products. And many may feature them in an unboxing video on their channel or profile.

Here’s a great template for this type of influencer outreach email:

Hi [Name]!

I’m Ariel with Blending Bright! We’d love to send you a sample of our brand-new makeup blender to test out. We’re confident you’ll love it.

Would you mind sharing your mailing address with us so we can get one in the mail?

Thanks so much!

Ariel

While this leaves you no guarantees that you’ll get a mention, oftentimes sending out free products is more budget-friendly than full-on collaborations. This can be a great starting point for generating brand awareness.

3. Building a longer-term relationship

Are you looking to create a long-term working relationship with an influencer? Rather than a one-off post, you might want to create an ongoing campaign or maybe even a collaborative product line down the road.

To do that, you need to send an outreach email that’s going to facilitate a deeper relationship. A template like the one below is a great starting point.

Hi [Name]!

I’m Felicity from StayHome. I’ve been following your Instagram account for years and am obsessed with your content! (I especially loved your recent tip about mixing and matching patterns in home decor.)

I think your content meshes well with our messaging, and I believe our audience would love to learn from you! Would you be interested in an ongoing collaboration with StayHome? We’d love to discuss details on how we can work together.

If so, please get back in touch with me anytime! We’re happy to share more details on our vision for this partnership and would love to take a look at your rates sheet as well.

Thank you,

Felicity

For a long-term relationship, the influencer’s audience, expertise, and industry need to match yours to a T. This way, a partnership and ongoing content creation together make a lot of sense—especially if you’re interested in an influencer product line.

4. Tapping onto the FOMO mentality

FOMO (fear of missing out) is real—especially in the influencer space. Influencers never want to be one to miss out on a great product, an amazing event, or a steal of a deal. Use this to your advantage by creating a sense of urgency in your outreach email. 

There are a couple of different ways you can do this. The first is when you’re giving influencers sneak peek access into an upcoming launch.

Hi [Name]!

I’m Elena from RealWorks! I’m reaching out because my team thought you’d want to be the first to know about this brand-new product line we’re launching!

Would you like more information on when this will be going live?

Best,

Elena

However, this strategy can also be used to tease an upcoming event. Inviting local influencers and offering them free tickets is a great way to get some free press for your event. Use this template below in such an instance.

Hi [Name]!

I’m Claire from Evermore Jewelry! I’m reaching out because we’re hosting an exclusive event to launch our next capsule collection and we thought you’d love an invite! Other notable attendees include [Name 1] and [Name 2]. 

Are you interested in attending? We’d love to get you and a friend set up with comped tickets!

Let me know!

Claire

Make the influencer you’re reaching out to feel special and like they’re really going to be missing out on something if they don’t reach back out to learn more about the product launch, event, or whatever else you’re offering exclusive access to or information about.

5. Recruiting affiliate partners

If your brand is creating an affiliate marketing program, influencer outreach can be a great way to bulk up your initial affiliate partners. However, it can be difficult to get people that are new to your brand to sell your products for you.

This is why you should reach out to influencers you’ve already worked with in the past and/or offer free products before the influencer signs up for the program to make sure they feel comfortable becoming  an affiliate.

Use a template like the one below to start tapping into your influencer network as an affiliate marketing strategy.

Hi [Name]!

I’m Sierra with CityWalk Shoes. We’ve just launched our brand new affiliate program, and based on your recent posts sharing your fabulous shoe style, we thought you’d be a great fit!

To get you started, we’d love to gift you a few pairs of shoes of your choice to see what you think. If you love them, we’d be thrilled to get you onboarded as an affiliate!

Our affiliates receive a 10% commission on every sale they make through their link, and we provide a ton of assistance to help our partners get the most out of our program as possible.

Let me know what you think! We’d love to work with you.

Best,

Sierra

Make sure you let your influencers know exactly what’s in it for them. Being an affiliate can be a lot of work—offering free products and guidance to getting started plus a generous commission is key to increasing the number of yesses you get in return.

Do’s and don’ts in your outreach emails

Ready to start recruiting some influencers to work with your brand? The above templates and the following tips can help you get started—and see success.

DO have a goal for your influencer outreach

Every campaign—even with influencer marketing—should have a core goal or objective. Are you trying to increase brand awareness? Increase eyes on a new product? Build relationships with influencers in your industry? Improve overall engagement online?

Make sure you pinpoint your goal before you send your outreach communication. Not only does this help guide the overall campaign, but it also helps you decide which template to use and what to say in your emails.

DON’T copy and paste templates without personalizing them

Templates are great for getting your emails started on the right track. Templates are not meant to be sent word-for-word to each influencer you reach out to.

Make sure you personalize each email to show the influencers that you’re actually familiar with the types of content they publish and that specific posts have made them seem like a great fit for your brand. Call out certain posts as well that really resonated with you to help them feel like they’re doing something right.

DO your research to find the best influencers

You shouldn’t be reaching out to every influencer with over 25,000 followers. You need to make sure the influencers actually make sense for your brand—and vice versa, that it would make sense for the influencer to promote your product.

Do your research and compile a list of influencers in your industry. Then section that list based on their follower count. Sometimes even working with micro-influencers with less than 10,000 followers can be a great strategy.

DON’T expect influencers to work for free

Free product is not enough of an incentive for a full influencer campaign. Influencers are running their own businesses, just like you, so you need to expect to compensate them for their work.

While sending out free products—as we mentioned—can be a great strategy while trying to get some brand awareness when you’re brand new, this also doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a return.

In each email you send, make sure you don’t sound like you’re expecting them to work for free. Ask for their rates for certain collaborations so they know you’re serious. If your email sounds like you’re wanting them to work just for some free products, they’re much less likely to respond.

DO send follow-up emails

Last, but not least, there’s no harm in sending follow-up emails. Influencers get dozens of emails a day, and they might accidentally gloss over yours. Send follow-up emails with equally engaging subject lines to try to stand out in their inboxes.

Start writing successful influencer outreach emails

It’s time to start writing your outreach emails and working with influencers to promote your brand. With these templates and tips, you should be well on your way to creating personalized emails that get results. For even more help with your influencer marketing strategy, check out our new tool InfluencerCandy.

Need more influencer marketing resources? We've got your back, check out the following articles:

• How to Start Influencer Marketing for Your Ecommerce Business (With Examples!)
• How Influencer Marketing Can Help Your Referral Programs
• How to Find Authentic and Affordable Influencers for Your Brand
• How to Collaborate With Influencers Besides Sponsoring Posts
• 5 Signs That Your Business Is Ready for Influencer Marketing