Whether it’s your full-time occupation or a lucrative side hustle: making money on social media sounds like a dream. Most influencers have to work years on their like and follower counts before they get to this stage, but we don’t think that’s necessary. We believe it’s all in the approach. Want to know how to reach out to a brand successfully? Keep on reading.

There’s no one way to land paid collabs, but the way you talk to brands can make all the difference.

You don’t even have to have a huge following yet if that is something you’re insecure about. More and more brands are now seeing the value of micro/nano influencers because of their highly engaged audiences.

But truly, though, all of the metrics in the world won’t matter as much as your very first email. Allow us to present to you: Influo’s top 5 expert tips on how to approach a brand.

Do your research

Start by looking around and making a list of companies you like or whose products/services you already use and would want to work with. Next, take the names on your list and research them thoroughly.

Does it make sense for you to work together? Is there a connection? Do your target audiences align? Do you share the same values? What do their customers say about them? And so on.

If you can’t answer most of these questions with a firm yes, then it’s probably not the best match, and it might end up coming off as inauthentic to your followers. 

Make them aware of your existence

If you don’t already, follow them on social media. Like their pictures, watch their stories, comment when you can, share their posts, tag them in yours, use their hashtag(s), etc. In short: interact with them.

Interacting with their content will increase the possibility that you catch their eye. Not only that: if they do end up on your feed, it increases your credibility and, with that, the chance for them to reach out to you first.

Brands are constantly looking for influencers who are already true fans, and who knows, you might end up being their ambassador one day!

Do the thing: contact them

Every 👏 pitch 👏 should 👏 be 👏 tailored 👏 to 👏 the 👏 brand.

Do not copy, paste and send to all. Or at least not whole emails. Small bits, sure. But don’t send the same email to a bunch of brands at the same time. If it’s a relatively big brand, they likely receive tons of pitches. Take your time, do some research and figure out how to approach the brand in a way that makes you stand out to them specifically.

Keep it short, descriptive, and to the point. Include a small introduction about yourself, explain why you like their brand, how you fit in and how you could collaborate. The more specific you can get, the better. Rather than just proposing ‘a collaboration’, impress them with your creative ideas and concrete propositions.

Save all your general information and numbers for your professional media kit, which you always attach to your email. This allows you to keep the pitch short and clean while still giving them all they need to know.

Checklist: absolute musts for a solid pitch mail

  • Your media kit in attachment
  • Short intro about you
  • Why you like them
  • Why you think you would be a good match
  • How you could collaborate
  • Some concrete ideas
  • A friendly, enthusiastic attitude

Pro tip: while you’re researching them, write down the names and email addresses of their communication/digital/PR/marketing/… managers. Suppose you can’t find those on their website, head over to LinkedIn. Put in that little bit of extra effort to make sure you reach the right person immediately, and your pitch won’t get lost in the slew of emails.

Don’t make it about you

As stated above: a collab is not about you. It’s not about ‘what can you do for me’; it’s about ‘what can we do together?’

Remember that the point of a partnership will always be to market something to potential customers, not for you to get free products. Brands want to partner with you because you can add value to their ultimate goal: to reach more possible consumers. 

The audience comes first, so only work with companies you genuinely like and feel would resonate with your following. Always remember that working with brands isn’t primarily about you making money; it’s about your followers and what’s of interest to them. Act accordingly.

Build a relationship

Once the connection has been established, keep investing in this relationship.

We all forget to answer emails from time to time, but this should be the exception. There is nothing more unprofessional than brands having to chase you, especially after you’ve made such a case for yourself.

The easier they find you to work and communicate with, more likely they are to keep wanting to work with you. 

Feeling a bit overwhelmed as to how you can manage all of the above by yourself? We can help you.

Influo acts as a matchmaker between influencers and brands. Then, we strive to make the whole process as smooth and carefree as possible, from start to finish. Curious? Sign up for free right now and give it a try!

Join us 23/6 for our webinar on the topic of how young people in Belgium experience influencer marketing.

Register for the webinar here!