How To Reach Out To Influencers (And Get Them To Say “Yes”)

Updated: September 9, 2024 9 min read

Agnė Pelešinaitė-Čeledinė

Editor

Every marketer worth their salt now knows the value of influencers in marketing campaigns. Social media personalities have an almost unlimited ability to connect with their audiences and sell products.

But, of course, reaching out is challenging. You don’t always know what to say and a lot of influencers say “no.”

Rejections don’t just occur because influencers are unavailable. Instead, brands often make mistakes in their initial communications, like sending emails at the wrong time or being too pushy.

Fortunately, this guide is here to help. We explore how you can reach out to social media personalities in your niche and get them to say “yes” to your proposals (without putting them off in the process).

Step 1: Identify Influencers Who Can And Should Work With You

The first step is to look for influencers who align with your brand. You want people ready to represent you and be enthusiastic about it.

Select influencers that make sense for your company. Find people willing to talk about your products and services. For example, you could target food or fitness influencers if you sell protein supplements. Or you could approach mom or fashion influencers if you manufacture plus-size clothes.

During this process, evaluate their engagement levels and audience fit. Will working with them let you target the right people? Software packages, like Upfluence and Traackr, provide more detailed data on engagement levels and user support. You can also get precise rundowns on audience profiles to see if they match your buyer persona.

Step 2: Engage With Their Content

Once you identify creators you like, engage with their content. Let them know you exist!

Start by liking and commenting on their posts. Engage in a preliminary, non-sales dialogue with them to build rapport.

Work on this for a few weeks until they are familiar with you. Keep highlighting how you align with their content.

Then, once you feel you have a connection, hit them with a DM or email (outlined in the next section).

Many influencers love it when brands leave comments. It shows you are willing to take the time to explore their content, evaluate their style, and see whether you want to work with them.

Step 3: Craft a Compelling And Personalized Outreach Message

If you want to work with an influencer, the next step is to craft a compelling personalized outreach message. Whenever you do this, ensure you include the essential components of an effective pitch while avoiding the hard sell.

Elements Of An Effective Pitch

Here are some elements to include in your pitch to boost effectiveness.

1. Personal address

Starting your pitch with a personalized greeting is essential. Addressing the influencer by name shows you took the time to reach out to them specifically (instead of using software to send out a mass email).

2. Introduce yourself

Next, introduce yourself, stating who you are and why you are contacting them.

If you already built rapport, this part should be straightforward. You simply remind them of your previous conversations to build familiarity.

If you haven’t, you should still explain your motives and where you work. This information provides context for the rest of the communication.

3. Talk about how much you like their work

With the formalities done, look for opportunities to flatter the influencer. Talk about how much you enjoy their work or what they did that made you laugh. Pick something from one of their posts and explain why you like it.

4. Offer incentives and benefits

Soon after, offer various perks for working with you. Talk about compensation or free products and how influencers can use them to create beneficial content for their audiences. Make it clear that there’s something in it for them.

When offering incentives and benefits, consider who you are talking to. Nano-influencers with fewer than 10,000 followers are often grateful for any commercial partnership, while macro– or mega-influencers might require payment upfront.

5. Add a call-to-action

Add a call-to-action (CTA) at the end, telling the influencer what to do next. Usually, this would be scheduling a call or responding to your email, but it doesn’t have to be.

6. Sign off

Lastly, sign off with your name, phone number, and physical address. Providing contact details helps to build trust and encourages a faster response.

Examples Of Successful Outreach Messages

So what does this look like in practice? Here are various outreach messages, whether you want sponsored content, a giveaway partnership, or a product review collaboration.

Giveaway Partnership Example Outreach Message

Hi [Influencer’s Name],

I’m [Your Name] from [Your Company] and I’ve been following your incredible content on [Topic] for a long time. (I think we chatted with each other in your comments section).

Because of this, I thought we’d be an excellent partnership for a giveaway to celebrate [Special Campaign or Event]. I think you’d be the ideal person to spearhead this outreach idea because of your passion for what you do.

To say thank you, I’d like to offer you [Compensation, Incentive, Free Products, etc.] If you’d like to take part, I’d love to share more details with you.

Alternatively, arrange a follow-up call or discuss this opportunity over email with me.

Best,

[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Contact Details]

Product Review Example Outreach Message

Hi [Influencer’s Name],

I’m so happy to finally talk to you. I’m [Your Name] and I’m the [Your Position] at [Your Company], and I’ve been enjoying your content and the impact you’ve been having on your audience for a while now.

Because of this, I think you’d be an excellent person to work with to review our new [Product]. It fits your content and could benefit your audience tremendously.

In exchange for your hard work, we’d pay [Compensation] and provide you with a free [Product] to keep.

If you’re interested in this idea, give us a shout and let us know your availability. We’d love to talk to you about working together.

Best regards,

[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Contact Details]

Step 4: Choose the Right Communication Channels And Timing Your Outreach

Once you write your message, the next step is choosing the right channel.

Unfortunately, getting this right is harder than most brands expect. You don’t always know how influencers want you to communicate with them.

Email Outreach

Email outreach is the most popular option. But, like any other method, it has pros and cons.

Pros:

Professional channel more suited to detailed discussions. (It also has work-related associations, adding to the professional vibe)
A lower risk of people intercepting or seeing messages (compared to posting messages on someone’s Facebook pages)
Personalize emails with your branding, corporate logo, and other markers to identify you.
Adjust your messages to suit the influencers’ requirements, such as including long-form content and references

Cons:

Lower open rates, particularly if the influencer has a crowded inbox
Influencers may take a long time to respond – emails don’t encourage immediate replies
Email apps may filter your messages as spam

Social Media

The other option is to reach out over social media. Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

Contact influencers immediately who may be active and able to respond quickly
Approach the influencer in a more casual tone, which may be more appropriate for some social media personalities
Make your communications public to enhance your brand’s visibility

Cons:

Informal direct messages or comments may cause the influencer to view your brand in a less professional light
Influencers may not understand the seriousness of your proposal or think you are spamming them
Character limits may prevent you from discussing all the essential details of your proposal with them

Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut answer on which outreach method you should use. Most brands see success with email, but direct messages and social media comments can also work for some influencers.

Timing Your Outreach

Before you reach out to influencers, get the timing right. Pay attention to when they are active (and check their recent updates to see if they are on vacation and when they will return home).

Here are some pro tips for maximizing the impact of email outreach:

Send emails mid-week (Tuesdays to Thursdays) when influencers are more active and more likely to open your communications.
Avoid Mondays when email inboxes tend to overflow
Send emails early morning or early afternoon. Research shows this timing helps to increase open rates

When sending messages via social media:

Reach out during evenings and weekends when influencers are most active on social media
Time communications to coincide with the times of day the influencer gets the most engagement
Post messages soon after the influencer posts content to get your message seen (Don’t get buried in Instagram comments!)

Step 5: Give Them An Offer They Can’t Refuse

The next step is to think about your incentive in more detail. You want to make an offer the influencer can’t refuse.

Unfortunately, this part requires research, since every influencer is different. Top options include:

Financial compensation (a one-off fee or ongoing arrangement)
Products (as gifts or samples to use for content creation)
Experiences (such as behind-the-scenes access at your brand, vacations, challenges, and free activities)

When making offers, talk about how both parties will benefit. Being upfront about what you will get from the relationship builds trust and provides context for your outreach messages.

If you need to combine various incentives, then do so. Most influencers want the brands they work with to offer them a combination of VIP privileges and money.

Step 6: Follow Up But Don’t Be Pushy

Usually, influencers will respond immediately if they want to work with you but always give them a few days to mull over any proposal. (You never know who else might be making them offers!)

However, follow-up emails can be helpful if they don’t reply after a week. These remind them that you still exist and are interested in working with them.

Don’t spam them with more messages the next day if they don’t reply. They could see you as pushy, putting them off collaborating with you.

When writing follow-up messages, keep them brief and non-committal. Be extra polite (more than normal) and simply remind the influencer of your early communication.

Again, avoid being pushy.

When following up, look for signs the influencer isn’t interested and you should move on. Watch out for:

Sudden drop-offs in engagement (usually after responding to you initially)
Negative responses that don’t seem to indicate genuine interest
Responses where the influencer doesn’t want to commit
Changes in the influencer’s content (with less focus on our brands or topic area)
Ignoring your pitches or promises of money

Step 7: Consolidate Your Relationships

The final step is to consolidate your relationship with the influencer. If they are good, it might be worth working with them for a long time.

Your top priority should be maintaining friendly, open, and beneficial communication with them. They should look forward to receiving your emails in the morning. You can do this by being upbeat, offering support, and paying them on time.

Top brands usually provide influencers with samples of content they like. Therefore, even if they are running out of ideas, you constantly feed them new concepts they can use and tie in with your brand.

Lastly, give the influencer creative freedom. Let them express themselves how they want. (After all, many are only influencers because they didn’t want to work in stifling corporate environments). Getting this right makes it more likely one-off collaborations will turn into long-term partnerships.