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The average email open rate for 2023 is 17%.
By this standard, a mere 25% is considered good.
*Insert meme of dog smiling in a room set on fire*
Here’s how one of the influencer outreach experts in our inBeat team defines this challenge:
“Most people suck at cold email, and most influencers get spammed a lot and don’t care about outreach.”
You’re on the right page, though.
We’ll show you how to transform that challenge into an opportunity with our honed influencer email template.
This template and the insider tips we’ll share below helped us zap right by the meager open rate average.
Not to brag, but here are our usual stats (notice the 92% open rate):
So let’s get you that winning influencer outreach email template that helps you to avoid getting your email blacklisted.
Templates Provided:
Key Tips:
Steps to Effective Outreach:
Dos and Don’ts:
Final Takeaway: Effective influencer outreach requires clear goals and tailored communication. Working with an influencer marketing agency can significantly aid in the process. Remember, influencers value genuine and clear offers.
We lied.
We’ll show you three templates for the initial email and two follow-ups.
Bonus: We’ll include modifications for all these templates so you can use them in your affiliate program as soon as possible.
Subject: Paid Collaboration - [Brand Name]
Message: Hi {{influencer’s name}},
My name is [Name], and I’m reaching out to you on behalf of [Brand Name].
We’re currently casting creators for a paid collab. We think your content aligns exactly with what we’re trying to create!
The collaboration will only ask you to create [X deliverables] posted on [social channels].
If you’re interested, reply to this email & I’ll send you our casting form.
Looking forward,
[Name]
Insider tip 1: Make the subject line clear and catchy.
Studies show that a personal subject line can increase open rates by a statistically significant margin. Also, 35% of email recipients open your emails because your subject line sounds catchy.
Here’s an example* of how we modified this outreach template in one of our social media campaigns:
*We removed all sensitive info, but you get the gist.
Subject: Paid TikTok Collaboration with a [Industry Name] Brand
Message: Hey {{first:there}},
I’m [Name] from inBeat Agency. I’m reaching out to you on behalf of our client [insert hyperlink], one of the biggest [industry name] brands online.
We saw your TikTok profile and would like to present it to the client for paid brand collaboration, but only if you are interested in being a part of the brand’s journey!
Can I count you in? If yes, reply to this email & I’ll send you our onboarding form.
Looking forward to working with you,
[Name]
Lessons learned:
If the first collaboration email didn’t have much success, you could use this follow-up email:
Subject: Paid Collaboration - [Brand Name]
Message: Hi again!
Just following up to see if you’ve had the time to read my last email.
We constantly have more projects if you’re interested! Let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
[Name]
Remember: This is just a sample template you can adjust for your needs.
Here’s a potential version that sounds more friendly:
Subject: Paid TikTok Collaboration with a Skincare Brand
Message: 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]
Lessons learned:
The second follow-up template should be even shorter than the previous two messages:
Subject: Just catching up
Message: Hey {{first:there}},
Sorry to bother you again, but I thought I’d try my luck one last time. We’d really love to get you on this project!
Fingers crossed.
Lessons learned:
Imagine writing an email to a restaurant to book a table.
Chances are someone will at least open it.
Now imagine writing that same email, but this time your subject line says “Dinner reservation for $10,000 menu.” The open rates will be much higher, and you’ll get more replies.
And now picture sending the same emails to a flower shop.
Your open rates will decrease dramatically.
That’s strategy, and that’s what we’ll discuss below.
These influencer email templates only work if you’ve found the right potential ambassadors or influencers for your campaign.
Here’s how you can do that, following our influencer platform’s tried-and-tested methods.
Finding the right influencers to pitch to ensures high open rates, positive responses, and most importantly, a successful collaboration.
If you’re sending the right message to the right people, click and reply rates will skyrocket, too.
Insider tip for finding the best content creators: At inBeat, we only do influencer onboarding after building the creative brief first.
That means we first:
Based on these analyses, we establish influencer campaign goals and KPIs and craft the creative brief.
We then try to find creators who fit this brief—not the other way around.
Here’s how to find these influencers:
Let’s say you want to find a gaming influencer for your new mobile app.
1. Head to the inbeat.co platform and create a campaign:
2. Set your keywords:
3. Set filters like follower count, language, and engagement ratee:
4. Analyze influencers’ profiles. Look at their engagement rates and estimated fees.
Pro tip: inBeat lets you see all this data from the platform, but another influencer sourcing software may not show comprehensive data.
In that case, you’d have to use multiple tools to check engagement and calculate your budget.
Use our free fake follower checker to ensure your creators are legit.
Here’s how stats look for @amoureuxdumonde:
5. Shortlist your potential influencers.
Pick relevant influencers for your potential collaborations after analyzing their social media posts, engagement rates, and profile scores.
When analyzing potential partnerships for your influencer or ambassador program, consider the mistakes below:
Unnatural followers and/or following growth typically come in two flavors: automation and purchased followers (bot farms).
Some Instagram profiles participate in engagement pods (or groups) to boost their likes and comments per post.
An engagement rate above 15% is a warning sign and should be double-checked for authenticity.
Pro Tip: Before working with an influencer, ask them to share a screenshot of their audience insights.
Fraudulent profiles will have an uneven location distribution in their audience insights.
Fraudulent profiles will have an uneven location distribution in their audience insights (i.e. 80% of profiles in India or Russia).
Engagement groups allow for cross-commenting, where members comment on each other's pictures.
The easiest way to recognize a fake comment distribution is to look at the commenters' follower count.
If every comment on a post is made by someone with over 2000 followers, that is a significant red flag.
Some influencers collaborate with brands every other post, which can lead to audience burnout and loss of trust in the influencer.
Example: A content creator with 4 paid partnerships with 3 different brands in their last 6 posts can make their followers conclude that they are always promoting content, making them less trustworthy.
Some influencers don't have a relevant creative direction for your product, leading to impersonal and unengaging posts.
Example: The post below about an anti-aging serum that lacks personality and reads like a pre-chewed write-up can be pale and carry no weight for your brand.
You can’t write an email pitch if you’re unsure of what you want to achieve first.
So, you’ll need to have a clear picture of:
You also need to know:
Pro tip: That’s why we advise you to perform comprehensive research and create a brief before choosing influencers.
How does knowing your goals help?
Let’s review our initial outreach message again:
Subject: Paid Instagram Collaboration with a Skincare Brand
Message: Hey {{first:there}},
I’m [Name] from inBeat Agency. I’m reaching out to you on behalf of our client [Insert hyperlink], one of the biggest skincare brands online.
We saw your Instagram profile and would like to present it to the client for paid brand collaboration, but only if you are interested in being a part of the brand’s journey!
Can I count you in? If yes, reply to this email & I’ll send you our onboarding form.
Looking forward to working with you,
Name
Pro tip: Knowing the goal of this collaboration helps you craft a clear and compelling subject line.
The content creators immediately know you need a paid Instagram collaboration with a famous skincare brand, so:
In influencer marketing, preparation is key to an outstanding first impression. Avoid feeling compelled to contact influencers immediately after selecting them.
Instead, observe their social media activity, tone of voice, and creative content. Learn about their behavior and read comments from their followers.
Analyze how well they fit into your campaign and identify the right influencers for your specific niche.
So before you hit "send," ask yourself the following questions:
Look for the influencer's favorite expressions, quirks, inflections, and so forth. Mirror the language of the influencer to build familiarity and trust.
Understanding the tone of voice of the influencer and how well it fits your brand is vital to the success of your influencer marketing campaign.
What's in it for the influencer? Influencer marketing is becoming one of the most viable marketing strategies, so the demand for influencers is high. Having a great product is not enough.
The perks may include access to exclusive products or services and contest give-aways. You can offer insider information and inspiration for engaging content to help them gain more followers.
The influencer outreach templates above will help you be more persuasive when you contact influencers.
Here are its main steps, just to recap:
Pro tips:
Side note: Some sources claim you should build business relationships with influencers before sending them the first outreach email. That means:
That strategy allows you to be more persuasive when sending an outreach email. But that strategy is time-consuming when you have a large campaign with 1,000 affiliate partners.
Insider tip from inBeat’s influencer outreach experts: Build long-term relationships through effective communication.
A clear, polite, no-nonsense email is an excellent foundation for a great relationship.
Even if it’s a cold email.
Remember: Influencers use social media platforms for a living. They can sense BS from the first star or bling you use in a subject line.
inBeat can help you craft the right outreach and follow-up emails for the right influencers.
There are at least two ways to contact Instagram influencers: by sending a direct message or by email.
Most Instagram influencers have their email address in their bio, but you can also use Instagram email scrapers.
If you decide to reach out via direct message, be short, brief, and straight to the point.
You need to grab the influencer's attention immediately to make them want to respond to your message.
Let them know about you and your company and show that you are interested in getting them involved in your social media marketing.
Here is the template that you can customize and contact the Instagram influencer via a direct message:
"Hey, Annie,
I loved your post about your favorite skincare essentials. At company X, we create organic skincare products for environmentally conscious women. We'd love to send some of our new products to you to give it a try and if you like them - to share it with your audience!
Let's chat if you are interested – thanks!
David"
Once you have found the right TikTok influencers and know their usernames, there are a few ways to contact them.
You can search for the influencers' Instagram or YouTube account to get their email address from there.
In fact, when TikTok influencers want to be contacted for collaborations, they link all their social handles on their TikTok page.
You can also contact TikTok influencers via the comments section. But, as with the Instagram influencers, avoid using comments for sales pitches.
Contacting YouTubers may be easier than other social media influencers.
Most YouTube influencers who are open to new partnerships and collaborations have their email address in the "About" section:
Follow the same principles with YouTubers as with Instagram influencers.
Prepare a brief, put toghether an attractive proposal and state a clear purpose of collaboration.
Writing the first compelling email is the hardest.
Once you hone your standard operating procedures, things will go much faster.
So:
Once you contact the influencer, you may not get a response for a while.
There may be multiple reasons for that.
The influencer may be contemplating your offer or has not read your message yet.
So, following up and sending gentle reminder emails is an integral part of contacting influencers.
Tips for following up with influencers:
After getting through this much information, you’re almost ready to start your influencer outreach campaign. You only need to consider a few dos and don’ts before beginning.
Of course, we’ll keep things specific, tapping into our personal work experience:
A solid influencer outreach strategy helps you get your desired results for your digital marketing campaign.
Remember that you need clear goals and a solid brief before beginning anything.
Next, use the three collaboration email templates we added above.
Here’s a final insider tip:
Influencers are people, too. And just like everyone, they won’t care if your outreach email template is average as long as you make a good offer.
So, select the right content creators and phrase that offer as best you can.
Remember to use inBeat to maximize your outreach efforts.
Tap into our free influencer discovery platform, fake follower checker, and all the other tools in free influencer marketing toolkit.
Pro tip: If you need to fast-track your campaign, let’s schedule a free strategy call. We’ll lend you our experience so your open rates will break that 17% open-rate average in no time!
