- Many influencers land paid partnerships by reaching out directly to brands.
- Some slide into a company’s DMs on Instagram or TikTok, while others email the influencer team.
- Several influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok shared the exact templates they use.
For many influencers, brand collaborations are one of the main ways to earn income, especially for those who work full-time as content creators.
Making the first move by DMing or emailing a brand is usually the best way to get in touch for a potential collab, according to several influencers that Insider previously spoke with.
Some influencers, like Jalyn Baiden, focus their outreach efforts on a specific social-media platform, like Instagram. Baiden left her day job in digital marketing in 2021 to pursue content creation more seriously, and now has around 6,000 Instagram followers. Her Instagram template that she used to successfully pitch brands has helped her earn enough to sustain her lifestyle in Virginia.
“So far, I’ve made 40% of my old salary in the last four months,” Baiden previously told Insider. “It’s crazy to even say that out loud.”
Here is the Instagram DM template that Baiden uses to reach out to brands:
Hello! My name is Jalyn, and I’m a content creator from Richmond, VA. I’m super interested in partnering with [brand] and would love to send a collaboration proposal to your marketing team. Could you please let me know the correct email contact? Thanks so much!
Read more templates she uses to get paid deals and earn five figures this year
Meanwhile, influencer London Lazerson, who has 9.5 million TikTok followers, uses one of two LinkedIn templates he’s perfected to reach out to brands. The strategy earned him six figures in 2021.
Here is one of the LinkedIn templates that Lazerson has used to cold-contact brands:
Hey, my name is London Lazerson. I’ve got 8.5 million on TikTok. I would love to work with you. I don’t know what that looks like, but let’s talk. Check me out. [Link to his TikTok profile.]
Read more on the LinkedIn templates he uses to get in touch with CEOs for brand deals
Although social media is a powerful tool to get in touch with brands directly, some influencers, like Gigi Kovach, who has 12,600 Instagram followers, prefer to focus their efforts on email outreach. Kovach has a “pitch bank” of email templates, and chooses one depending on the company, product, or experience. Each template has a clear indication of her rates and what goes into that amount, so that brands know what they’re paying for.
“It’s not just some arbitrary, ‘you owe me $500,’ it’s a breakdown of everything that they’re getting in return for that $500,” she previously told Insider.
Here is a recent template she used to successfully pitch a brand over email
Insider spoke to nine influencers who shared their exact DM and email templates used to land brand collaborations.
Email templates influencers use to pitch brands:
DM templates influencers use to pitch brands:
- Jalyn Baiden, an influencer with around 6,000 Instagram followers. Here is a DM template she recommends using to catch a brand’s attention.
- Ayomi Samaraweera, an influencer with around 22,600 TikTok followers. She shared the DM and email she used to land her first paid brand deal
- Lillian Zhang, an influencer with around 30,600 TikTok followers. Here’s the DM she used to land her first paid brand collaboration.
- Ashley Jones, an influencer with around 58,300 Instagram followers. She shares advice on the best way to DM a brand on Instagram.
- Tori Dunlap, an influencer with around 2.3 million TikTok followers. She shared two templates she uses to pitch brands on Instagram.
- London Lazerson, an influencer with around 9.5 million followers on TikTok. He shared two examples of DMs he sends to brands.
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