Remember what asking someone on a date was like before dating apps? Not knowing how to start, not finding the right words, and that crippling fear of saying something awkward.
That’s exactly what influencer outreach feels like to beginners.
Luckily, you’re on the right page. A solid influencer outreach email template and the right mindset can maximize your outreach efforts.
inBeat constantly uses these tactics to beat the 21.5% average open rate and the 1-5% response rate:
If you want to see similar results, keep reading below.
TL;DR
- Influencer outreach can be daunting, but the right email template and approach, coupled with the capabilities of the best email platform, can significantly improve open and response rates.
- A successful influencer outreach email contains five key elements: targeting the right influencer, personalizing the message, offering a unique value proposition, having a clear call to action (CTA), and fostering relationship building.
- The email subject line is crucial. It should be short, personalized, intriguing, and free from spammy appearances. Emojis, open questions, and brand-associated colors can be beneficial if used judiciously.
- Increase response rates by optimizing the timing and frequency of follow-up emails (3-7 days after initial outreach is ideal). Seek genuine relationships with influencers, show authenticity and trustworthiness, provide clear next steps, and make it easy for the influencer to respond.
- Utilizing the right tools, such as an all in one CRM system and email hosting service, Google Sheets for tracking, and reliable influencer discovery platforms, can amplify outreach efforts.
- Schedule a free strategy call with our full-service influencer marketing agency if you’re looking for professional marketing help.
5 Key Components of an Effective Influencer Outreach Email
The ideal outreach email encompasses the five elements below:
1. Finding the Right Person
Imagine writing an influencer outreach email to Björn Müller. This content creator presents himself as a digital creator for fitness, fashion, and travel.
Most of his sponsored posts look like this:
If you’re representing a high-profile fashion, fitness, or travel brand, Björn will likely respond to your email. He may also accept your subsequent proposal.
However, Björn may not accept your offer or even reply to your outreach message if you’re marketing cleaning supplies.
This influencer would be a much better choice:
Insider tip: One reason for inBeat’s high open rates and low bounce rates is that we choose relevant influencers for all our campaigns.
Here’s our process:
- Audit the company, competitors, and target audience.
- Prepare a well-written influencer brief based on these insights.
- Find the right types of influencers for your affiliate program, making sure they can follow the brief.
Pro tip: This influencer discovery platform helps you narrow down the right creators because it has a lot of keywords and filters. Choose the right hashtag, keywords, follower count, language, and social channel.
- Look at their engagement rate, impression metrics, and how their likes and comments oscillate.
- Compare collaboration cost estimates to ensure these fees fit your advertising budget.
- Make a list of influencers for your influencer marketing campaign
Pro tip: If you rely on another influencer discovery tool that doesn’t show these in-depth metrics, use separate calculators to ensure your creators are legit.
2. Personalization
Customizing your cold outreach email is essential because it makes it seem less cold. In other words, you’re letting the influencer know:
- You researched their profile.
- You appreciate their work.
The creators you reach out to feel more valued and, therefore, more inclined to reply.
So send an email warmup such as “I browsed your TikTok profile – great work outlining [relatable insight X] in [post y]. I think that would make you perfect for our upcoming [Brand’s name] campaign.”
3. Value Proposition
The value proposition is something that makes your offer unique. And influencers, like any target audience, need that hook to decide faster.
Here’s an example from one of our outreach campaigns:
In this case, the hook is the offer to work with one of the biggest hair vitamin brands online.
But your hook can also be:
- Representing a value/ cause your potential influencers support
- Being recommended by a mutual connection
- A larger marketing budget
- And so forth
4. Call to Action
The email template above shows you a potential CTA: “reply to this email.” Yours can also be:
- Click on this link
- Sign this Typeform
- Subscribe here
- And more
A CTA is essential because it shows the influencer which action you want them to take. That streamlines your communication and avoids misunderstandings.
Take this example:
Including a link without the express request to click on it may confuse the creator. Instead, they may reply to your email, which can unnecessarily delay the whole influencer onboarding process.
5. Relationship Building
Some influencer marketing experts recommend building relationships with influencers before contacting them. This involves:
- Connecting with them on their social media platforms
- Interacting with them around their posts Instagram Stories
- Sending them a direct message with a useful link or idea
- And more
You can even send a direct message asking them if they want to receive an onboarding email.
If you have a small campaign with a longer timeline, this approach can increase the answer rate considerably.
However, that strategy may not be feasible with larger social media campaigns.
Insider tip: Build relationships through polite, valuable communication.
In other words, don’t try to trick your influencers with marketing jargon or gimmicks.
Content creators as well as influencers use social media for a living.
Remember: To decrease your bounce rate and increase reply rates, compose a clear, no-nonsense, human-sounding email.
That’s why so many sources recommend a 75-100-word initial email.
Here’s another way to look at it:
Put yourself in an influencer’s shoes, who likely gets tens of “here’s an offer you can’t refuse” outreach emails. Would you respond to another boastful one, or are you more inclined to reply to a natural-sounding email?
We bet on the second option – and that’s why our open & reply rates are high.
10 Influencer Outreach Templates You Can Use Right Now
Now that you’ve read the mindset section above, it’s time to copy some influencer outreach email templates.
Remember:
- Adapt these sample templates based on your advertising campaign’s details, creators’ profiles, deliverables, and influencer marketing budget.
- If your sign-up or response rate is below your expectations, change your pitch to make it more appealing to potential influencers.
- A shorter, clearer pitch, around 75-100 words, is better.
1. General Collaboration Email Template
Hi {{first:there}},
My name is [Name], and I’m reaching out to you on behalf of [Brand Name].
We’re looking for some awesome creators to collaborate with on a paid project, and we think your content is perfect for it!
All we need is [X deliverables] posted on [social channels], and we’re good to go.
If you’re interested, just hit reply and I’ll send you our casting form.
Can’t wait to hear back from you and hopefully work together!
Cheers,
[Name]
2. Brand Ambassador Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. We’re looking for enthusiastic creators to become ambassadors for our company.
I recently saw your work on social media and think you would be a great fit for our brand because [reasons why]. Your help would be essential to spread the word about our brand/product.
If you’re interested, reply to this email, and I’ll give you more details.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best,
[Your Name]
3. Giveaway Collaboration Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. I saw your work on social media and think you would be an ideal partner for our upcoming giveaway.
Our collaboration will surely create a unique experience that both our audiences will love! And you can [explain the benefit for your content creators].
Send me a quick reply, and I’ll give you all the necessary details.
Cheers,
[Your Name]
4. Product Review Request Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. I saw you’re interested in [niche X] and love your reviews for [products X in that category].
I was just curious if you had the chance to try our [similar product Y in the same niche].
I’d be more than happy to send you a free [product Y] that you can test. I’m sure a blog post about it will help [target audience] with [key benefits].
Looking forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
5. Sponsored Content Request Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. I follow your [social media X] profile and love your content about [X and Y].
Our [product Z] is in the same niche, and I’m sure your followers will love hearing about it. More importantly, we support [value/cause X], which is essential for both our audiences.
Can you help me spread the word with a sponsored post on [social media channel X]?
Reply to this email, and I’ll send you all the info.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
6. Interview Request Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. I followed your [social media X] profile and saw you’re an expert in [matter Y].
I’m actually doing an expert roundup on [matter Y] right now, and I wanted to see if you’re interested in an interview. I’m sure both our audiences will benefit from this meeting. Our followers will love to see your insights about [X] and [Y].
If you’re interested, reply to this message so we can set everything up.
Looking forward to your response,
[Your Name]
7. Event Invitation Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. I follow your [social media X] profile and think you’d love our [Event Name] on [date].
[Event Name] will be a great opportunity for [explain benefits; i.e., networking, trying out new products/services, having conversations with inspiring people]. We’ll have some amazing speakers, delicious food and drinks, and heaps of fun activities.
Reply to this email, and I’ll give you all the details.
Cheers,
[Your Name]
8. Product Sampling Email Template
Dear [Name],
I’m [Your Name], [Position] of [Brand Name]. I follow your [social media X] profile and saw you’ve been talking quite a lot about [Need X].
Our [product Y] is actually designed to alleviate [Need X]. Some of its features include [list features that make your product stand out].
I think it will help you quite a lot.
If you’re interested in receiving [product Y], send me a quick reply.
Cheers,
[Your Name]
9. First Follow-Up Email Templates
Hi again!
Just wanted to check in and see if you had a chance to read my last email.
If you’re interested, we have a bunch more projects coming up and I’d love to chat about them with you!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
[Name]
10. Second Follow-Up Email Template
Hey {{first:there}},
Apologies for the follow-up, just checking in one last time. We’d really love to get you on this project.
Would you be open to chatting more about it? Let me know and we can take it from there. I’ve attached detailed project documentation to give you more information about it.
Thanks,
[Name]
Get the most out of influencer marketing with our influencer-centric focus group agency
10 Tips for Crafting a Compelling Email Subject Line (With Examples)
The influencer outreach templates above are straightforward and no-nonsense, so creators are likelier to respond. Besides, they also encourage ongoing collaboration.
There’s a problem:
A poor subject line may deter influencers from opening your emails. And that means they won’t read your compelling outreach messages.
Here are ten tips to avoid that situation:
- Keep it short and sweet: Shorter subject lines are easier to read in one second. If you’ve also chosen the right influencers, as we previously advised, they are more likely to open your email.
- Personalize it: Use the influencer’s name or an offer that speaks to their interests.
- Create curiosity: An interesting enough subject lines pique the creator’s interest.
- Offer value: Use keywords that express a unique selling point.
- Tap into keywords: Relevant keywords can direct attention to your outreach emails and decrease spam labeling.
- Use emojis: Emojis can make your email stand out from the crowd in a busy inbox. Just make sure not to overdo it.
- Use open questions: These questions create curiosity and help your email stand out.
- Use colors: Again, a colored subject line is great for attention-grabbing. But more than that, you can use specific colors associated with your brand or a particular cause.
- Make it professional: Don’t use too many exclamation points or “spammy” words that could send your email to the spam folder.
- Leverage creative punctuation: Some punctuation marks can emphasize a point, attract interest, or elicit curiosity.
Good Examples
Here’s an example we have successfully used in one of our outreach campaigns:
“Paid TikTok Collaboration with a Hair Vitamin Brand”
This subject line is:
- Short enough to be read quickly
- Tailored to TikTok influencers
- Curiosity-eliciting because the hair vitamin brand isn’t disclosed in the subject line
- Professional
- Value-oriented because the influencer grasps the unique benefit immediately
Potential modifications: “Interested in a TikTok collaboration with a hair vitamin brand?”
Adding the question mark and the brand colors can make this subject line pop more.
Poor Examples
- “The Benefits… Unlocked! *key emoji*”
This title is short and intriguing. It also leverages emojis and punctuation. However, it’s a poor example because it’s vague and looks spammy.
- “Collaborate with Brand X”
This subject line is better because it’s more professional and highlights the unique value point. However, a more specific and attention-grabbing phrasing would be better.
- “WANT 2 JOIN US?”
This subject line also looks spammy, and it’s written in all caps. Besides, it lacks a unique selling point, professionalism, and specificity.
5 Strategies for Increasing Influencer Response Rates
A good influencer outreach email template and subject line can increase your response rates considerably. Here are five other elements that maximize your outreach efforts:
1. Timing and Frequency of Follow-Up Emails
Sometimes influencers don’t respond to your emails because:
- Those messages got into the spam email folder.
- The influencers are creating content as a side gig.
- They were taking a weekend detox from social media.
- Your email got accidentally ignored or deleted.
- The influencer wanted to reply but forgot.
Therefore, follow-up emails entail striking a balance between being:
- Remembered
- Noticed
That’s why the best time to send the first follow-up email is 3-7 days after your outreach message. If they still don’t reply, send your second follow-up email 3-7 days later.
Remember: If there’s still no reply, call it a day.
2. Seek Relationships
Don’t be too pushy or aggressive in the email. Instead, seek to build professional influencer relationships by being upfront and honest.
As we said before, you don’t necessarily need to become friends with a creator before sending them an outreach message.
Insider tip: Always leave a door open for other potential collaborations.
That’s why our first follow-up email template looks like this:
Hi again!
I wanted to gently bump up my previous email. Let me know if you have any questions; I’m here to help!
We constantly have more projects if you’re interested!
Cheers,
[Name]
3. Show Authenticity and Build Trust with the Influencer
Here’s how to build trust with potential influencers:
- Avoid spammy-sounding lingo that creates a feeling of dishonesty.
- Be polite and natural. Imagine you’re sending this offer to one of your work colleagues or neighbors.
- Answer any questions the influencer may have.
- Ask for their feedback and express genuine interest in their ideas.
- Always keep them in the loop for any changes or important updates.
- Make them feel part of your campaign.
4. Provide Clear Next Steps
If the influencer wants to take you up on your offer, they need clear steps in the outreach email. Creators also need specific details in the subsequent emails.
Here’s a neat example from our portfolio:
5. Make It Easy for the Influencer to Respond
That means:
- Outlining your expectations
- Offering clear indications of how to respond
- Not burning any bridges
Remember to be polite, show your enthusiasm, and make the influencer feel like they’re important to this campaign. A clear CTA doesn’t hurt, either.
Get More Answers from Your Influencer Outreach Campaign
You now have all the tools you need to implement your outreach campaign. You know that choosing the right influencers is essential, but only after conducting market research.
You also know the importance of a well-crafted subject line and a solid influencer outreach email template.
Insider tip: Use the right tools to maximize your response rate.
You need a good small business CRM system for communications and plain old Google Sheets to keep track of your outreach efforts. A social collaboration tool or VoIP phone service will also help streamline communication for your marketing teams.
Remember to also use:
- A reliable platform for influencer discovery
- An engagement rate calculator
- A fake follower checker to shortlist solid potential collaborators.
If you need more help in your influencer campaign, let’s schedule a free strategy call, and we’ll optimize all your marketing efforts.
Want more examples of successful influencer marketing campaigns? Check out case studies of our influencer marketing agency in Toronto!
