Tips For Influencers Doing Brand Outreach

As a team of creatives from all different backgrounds and skills, here at our studio, we understand first hand the HUSTLE of starting a personal business from the ground up. We love supporting influencers and bloggers who are finding their creative voice, diving into their niche, and growing their cult following one reel at a time.

Of course the ultimate goal of influencing is to have a steady stream of amazing brands coming to YOU, vying for a spot on your posting schedule. And that day will absolutely come, and can come more quickly with the help of some of our tips below. Taking initiative and reaching out to brands yourself is an essential first step towards building your online portfolio and forming relationships that will turn into bigger and bigger brand deals in the future.

As an influencer or blogger, reaching out to brands is more than just earning income but a great way to build community, grow your audience and to share your go-to products with your followers no matter how big your current following is. Pitching to brands is your opportunity to showcase who you are and why they need you.

We know that your job is more important and complicated than just posting your #OOTD or sharing your makeup routine, and we want to support you in all the behind the scene details. Keeping reading to learn what to include when doing brand outreach!

Focus on an Engaged Social Media Audience

You don’t have to wait until you have 300k followers to reach out to brands! What most brands care about most is engagement, often even more than follower count. Because an adoring club of 10,000 followers who are commenting often can be more likely to sell-out a company’s new product than a bunch of uninterested followers who don’t feel invested in every part of a bigger influencer’s life. This principle is true no matter how large your following is, and it is absolutely possible to keep up your engagement as your grow, however if your account is newer this is an excellent time to take advantage of your higher than average engagement stats. These stats show your followers trust you, see your posts in their feed, and are likely to want to try that new grocery delivery service you just posted about.

If your engagement is low, prioritize taking steps to connect with your followers more. This starts with a strong foundation of branding, which is honing in your aesthetic to target your ideal audience and keep your profile consistent. You can read more about why investing in professional branding is important for a strong foundation here. It is what will help you find and connect with the followers who will be most aligned with your brand, which means they will naturally want to engage with you.

Build a Professional and Well-Branded Media Kit

This may be the BEST part! A media kit is a styled PDF that showcases your following, social platforms you post on regularly, analytics, post styles, and past paid work. It is essential to show brands who you are and all the hard work you have accomplished. This should be customized and curated to fit only you!

Your media kit can also outline your posting options, and the beginning costs for each type of posts, so brands can know right away if you are within their marketing budget. Give them this info later on in your PDF kit, after they’ve had a chance to see enough of your work they know they’d love to work with you!

If you don’t have a well designed media kit yet, it’s time to get the help of a graphic designer. Contact our team for a custom quote! Investing in things like a strong media kit will help you earn more $$ from brand campaigns, so it will pay for itself! You can read more about influencer investments that will help you earn more here.

Show the Brand How you can Help Them Specifically With a Strong Email

By now you have an engaged social media presence and a killer media kit. Let’s show it off! Your media kit will most likely stay the same for all brand outreach, so your email and cover letter are in essential place to make your pitch specific to the brand you are talking with. Brands want to know what makes you stand out and how you can help with their next launch or product release. Make this pitch short and sweet, and always opt for an email over a DM.

Structure your email like this: 

1-2 sentences introduction of yourself and linking your top social platforms.

1-2 sentences of why you like their brand and why you feel aligned with it’s goal and values. 

1-2 sentences of what makes you stand out. 

1 sentence call to action (Check out my site, Set up a call, Go for coffee!)

Attach your media kit and send off this email confidently!

Keep in Touch After the Collaboration

Building professional and genuine relationships with brands is key to building your influencer business to the point where they are reaching back out to you. This relationship can begin with your outreach email, and should continue even after your campaign is wrapped up and posted. Think of it like a nice text after a good first date! Send a follow up email thanking the brand, sending some bonus stats of how the campaign performed, and let them know you loved working with them and would love to again in the future.

Often you will have one point of contact with a company, make sure to call that contact by name and try to make an impression on them specially. They are your in with the brand!

Complete your Branded Media Kit or Custom Website 

If you feel like your online presence is still not totally professional, 100% true to you, or could use an outside eye - reach out to our team! We offer multiple services, including branding, photography, and web design that can level up your influencer platforms. If you’re looking for social media templates or business cards, our VIP Days are just what you need. 

If you’re unsure about what the right next step is in your business, check out this blog post for ideas to consider. If you have any questions about what a branding and web design investment looks like, or what services will fit best with your unique needs, you can contact us here! We are happy to chat more. Taking these important business steps now will only make you more confident and more irresistible to those big brands you can’t wait to work with one day. 

For more business resources and tips for influencers, check out our Pinterest here.