On average, brands make $5.78 for every $1 invested in Influencer Marketing. That’s an ROI most marketers can only dream of! But achieving those impressive returns isn’t just about finding the best influencers and vetting their profiles. In fact, it is futile if you can’t get influencers to respond to you. Without knowing what to say and how to do influencer outreach you’ll probably get ghosted and risk wasting valuable time and resources with no ROI.

Successful influencer outreach requires a strategic, well executed approach tailored to your brand’s unique goals. That’s where our comprehensive influencer outreach guide comes in. We’ll cover every aspect of the influencer outreach process, from defining your influencer outreach goals to identifying the perfect influencers for your brand, obtaining influencer contact information, crafting engaging pitches, utilizing influencer outreach tools, and nurturing ongoing relationships. We will provide you with proven techniques, actionable do’s and don’ts, and expert tips to maximize the impact of your influencer outreach efforts.

 

What is Influencer Outreach?

Influencer outreach refers to identifying, connecting and collaborating with influential creators whose audiences align with your brand for promotional activities. 

It goes beyond simply contacting and paying influencers to promote your product. Instead, effective influencer outreach requires building genuine relationships, creating mutually beneficial partnerships, and leveraging the credibility and trust influencers have built with their highly engaged followings. The potential is huge, with 69% of consumers trusting influencers, friends, and family for information over messages directly from a brand. 

When done strategically, influencer outreach allows brands to reach new audiences, humanize their brand, and inspire authentic endorsements that resonate far more powerfully than traditional advertising. But it’s not just about reach; it’s about relevance. The most successful influencer collaborations happen when there is synergy between the influencer’s voice and your brand’s values, creating credible content, rather than coming across as heavy-handed promotion. 

 

How to Create an Influencer Outreach Campaign

 

1. Understand Your Target Audience

• Create ideal customer profiles (ICPs) or buyer personas to get insights about your audience’s demographics, preferences, interests, and behaviors.
• Research the Social Media Platforms where your brand’s target audience is most active, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.

 

2. Set Clear Goals and Objectives

• Before reaching out to influencers, clearly outline your campaign goals, whether it’s boosting brand awareness, increasing sales, or building brand love.
• Ensure your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. For example, increase website sales by 15% through an Instagram micro-influencer campaign focused on product reviews within 45 days.
• With clear goals set, you can define the activities and metrics needed to achieve your goals, such as creating a list of relevant influencers, crafting personalized emails, aiming for a specific reply rate, etc.
• Outline a realistic budget for your influencer outreach.

 

3. Define Your Influencer Outreach Strategy

• Specify what you want to achieve from your partnership with influencers.
• Identify the team members who need to be involved in the outreach process.
• Decide on the types of influencers to reach out to, the Social Media Platforms to target, and the number of influencers needed.
• Determine the type of content you want influencers to create.
• Plan the outreach process, including scheduling, messaging, and follow-up templates.
• Choose metrics for outreach success.

 

A defined strategy ensures clarity in influencer selection and tracking metrics during the outreach process, facilitating effective campaign execution.

 

4. Find the Right Influencers and Their Contact Details

Over half (55.86%) of marketers say selecting the right quality influencers is their biggest Influencer Marketing challenge. To make this process easier, we recommend using an Influencer Marketing Platform like Creable. It streamlines the entire Influencer Marketing process, from finding the ideal influencers and getting advanced analytics to communicating with them, tracking campaign performance, and automating reporting.

Pre-vetting influencer profiles ensures you’re only reaching out to influencers who are a great fit for your brand. With the largest influencer database exceeding 300 million profiles across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, Creable offers AI-powered influencer discovery and advanced analytics. Leverage Creable to get all the data you need within minutes.

• Influencer Size: The best influencer size depends on your budget and campaign goals. However, don’t focus solely on follower count.
• Influencer Contact Details: With Creable, you can filter out influencers without emails and only search for those with email addresses. This makes outreach easier. 
• Influencer Niche and Audience: Find influencers relevant to your industry whose followers overlap with your target customers in terms of age, location, gender, interests, and more.
• Influencer Performance Metrics: Specify metrics like engagement rate and follower growth rate to narrow down your options to influencers who meet your standards.
• Influencer Content and Style: Ensure the influencer’s style and tone align with your brand’s voice. Review their content quality and interaction with their audience. Check if they’ve worked with competitors and analyze the results of those campaigns.
• Influencer Audience Quality: Assess the ratio of genuine to fake followers. This will ensure that you pay for real reach. 
• Influencer Audience Details: In addition to audience demographics, you get information about audience sentiment and financials.
• Influencer Fees: Creable provides an estimated CPM and cost per content format such as reels, posts, and stories based on average views, platform, format, benchmarked engagement rate, and audience purchasing power. You can use these estimates to negotiate pricing. 
• Influencer’s Ability to Sell: Find details about the influencer’s authenticity, popularity, and expertise. With Creable’s creator quality control, you get qualitative information about the influencer’s tone of voice, topics covered, and brand safety.
• Similar influencers: Leveraging AI insights, Creable also suggests influencers similar to a specific search.

 

With Creable’s powerful AI-powered search filters, you can find relevant influencers by filtering through engagement levels, influencer and audience demographics, follower count, keywords, hashtags, activity level, and more. If you find suitable influencers, you can add them to your influencer list and create a campaign. 

Personalize your outreach based on this influencer research to establish genuine connections.

 

5. Prepare Your Brief

After finding the right influencers, the next step is to prepare an offer that will entice them to work with your brand. Clearly define what they will do for your brand and what you can offer them before reaching out.

• What Will You Offer to Influencers? Consider the type of collaboration: gifts, giveaways, affiliate or discount codes, coupons, etc.
• Campaign Brief: Create a brief for each influencer. This should include:
  • Deliverables: Specify the content formats and requirements (e.g., 2 Instagram reels, 3 Instagram stories, and 1 Instagram post).
  • Timelines: Outline the schedule, especially if you’re looking at long-term partnerships. Know how many sponsored posts or videos you expect per month.
  • Budget/Payments: Clearly state the financial aspects and any other compensation.
  • ROI Expectations: Set realistic goals for what you hope to achieve from the campaign.
  • Creative Freedom: Keep the dos and don’ts minimal. Give influencers enough creative freedom to create content that resonates with their audience since they know their followers best. But make sure you have a clear idea of your budget, timeline, and ROI before you reach out.

 

Developing a brief will serve as a reference point throughout your collaboration with the influencer, ensuring both parties understand the campaign goals and expectations. This helps in maintaining clarity and alignment from start to finish.

 

6. Write Your Outreach Email

According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s State of Influencer Marketing 2024 report, 85% of marketers plan to dedicate a budget to Influencer Marketing in 2024. This means more competition for securing partnerships with the influencers you want. With influencers’ inboxes overflowing with pitches, writing a compelling outreach message has become crucial.  Forget generic emails – you need to stand out, grab their attention, and convince them that working with your brand will be a win-win.

 

A good outreach email has the following characteristics:

• Conversational: Use a relaxed, friendly tone to add a layer of personality to the message.
• Personalized: Tailor your message for the influencer to show you’ve done your research. For example, mention specific posts that align with your brand’s content requirements or provide a genuine compliment, such as appreciation of their work or recent achievements. Personalized outreach strategies increase engagement and have up to a 30% higher response rate than generic outreach efforts.
• Concise: Keep your message short and to the point. Avoid overwhelming the influencer with too much information.
• Clear Introduction: Introduce yourself and your brand. Limit this to two sentences. Avoid being overly promotional by using spam-trigger words or sales jargon.
• Builds Relationships: Show genuine interest in building a partnership, not just a one-off deal. Focus on providing value to the influencers and their audience rather than only talking about your business. 
• Campaign Outline: Explain why you are reaching out. Summarize your campaign objectives, deliverables, and compensation, and explain why you chose the influencer (reference their past content as an example).
• CTA: End with a clear call to action that makes it easy to respond.

 

Example Email Outreach Template:

Email subject: (Influencer name), open to collaborating with (brand name)?

Hi [Influencer’s Name],

I’m [Your Name], the [Your Position] at [Your Brand Name]. [brief description of your brand]. I’ve been a big fan of your work for a while now, especially [mention a specific post or content that aligns with your brand].

We’re currently developing a campaign about [briefly explain your campaign objective]. Your creative style and the way you connect with your audience on [mention a relevant topic] make us believe you’d be a perfect fit to create [mention the type of content, e.g., a review, a giveaway, or Social Media posts] that would resonate with your followers.

We’d love to work with you on this, and we’re offering [mention your compensation structure, e.g., free products, commission, or a flat fee]. 

Is this something you are interested in? Let me know if you would like to move forward, and I’d be happy to discuss further details and answer any questions you might have. 

Talk soon,

[Your Name]

 

7. Follow-Up

When you’ve sent out an email and haven’t received a response, it’s important to follow up. A follow-up email not only gives you another chance to start a conversation but also increases the likelihood of your email being seen and replied to. Research shows that follow-ups yield the highest reply rates, sometimes up to 40% higher than initial emails. 

 

Here are some tips for writing effective follow-up emails:

• Limit the number of follow-ups to 2-3; this is the optimal number of follow-ups that avoids overwhelming the recipient. Also, keep an interval of 2-3 days between your follow-ups.
• Keep your follow-up templates concise and focused on highlighting the value you can offer to the influencer.
• Avoid using tactics like “bumping this email to the top of your inbox,” as they add little value and can be perceived as spam.
• Customize your follow-up messages to show the recipient that they are not just another name on a mailing list.
• Adjust your call-to-action to something less demanding, such as asking the recipient if they’re interested, rather than requesting a call or meeting.

 

Follow-Up Email Template:

Hi [Influencer’s Name],

Just a quick follow-up on my previous email regarding a potential collaboration opportunity.

I understand how busy you must be, so I just wanted to quickly touch base and see if you had a chance to review our proposal for [briefly mention your campaign objective]. We’re really excited about the possibility of partnering with you to create some amazing content for your audience.

If you’re interested or have any questions, please let me know. 

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks,

[Your Name]

 

Influencer Outreach Best Practices

 

1. Find the Right Influencers

Make sure you’re reaching out to the right influencers who truly resonate with your brand. Conduct thorough research to ensure alignment between the influencer and your target audience. Use an Influencer Marketing Platform like Creable to check the influencer’s audience demographics, follower growth rate, fake followers, and key performance metrics such as engagement rates and views. This ensures that your influencer partnerships are effective in reaching your brand’s target audience.

 

2. Enhance Outreach Templates with Personalization

Strategically combine templates and personalization to streamline your outreach efforts while maintaining a personal touch. Templates offer speed and efficiency, but generic messages can negatively impact your response rate. To strike a balance, consider a mix of both. In the template, include a brief introduction of yourself, your company, and your products or services. This ensures consistency across your outreach while saving time. Then, personalize the rest of the email for each influencer and campaign. Such as why you reached out, which content you liked, why you believe they’re a perfect fit for your brand, etc. This approach combines efficiency with authenticity, increasing the likelihood of a positive response from influencers.

 

3. Keep Everything Well Documented 

Emails offer a professional communication channel that is easily trackable, allowing you to monitor the progress of your outreach efforts efficiently. However, when influencers’ email addresses are not publicly available, turning to direct messages (DMs) on Social Media Platforms can be an effective alternative. Moreover, having well-documented campaign briefs is essential for ensuring clarity, transparency, and accountability throughout the collaboration process. These briefs serve as written proof of the agreed-upon terms and expectations, safeguarding against misunderstandings and disputes down the line. 

 

4. Involve Influencers in Your Campaign Strategy

Engaging influencers in your campaign strategy is key to maximizing its impact. Once they’ve agreed to collaborate with you, involve them in the planning process to ensure authenticity and resonance with their audience. Remember, influencers have valuable insights into what their followers enjoy and respond to.

61% of consumers find influencers with relatable personalities the most appealing. And 63% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy a product if it’s recommended to them by an influencer they trust. This underscores the importance of integrating influencers’ perspectives into your campaign. If an influencer suggests deviating from your initial scripted approach in favor of an authentic review, consider their recommendation seriously. Trust their expertise and experience in connecting with their audience.

Granting influencers creative freedom allows them to showcase your brand in a way that aligns with their unique style while driving meaningful results. By involving influencers in your campaign strategy, you not only enhance the authenticity of your brand messaging but also create stronger partnerships built on mutual respect and collaboration.

 

5. Communicate Efficiently

Keeping influencers informed and involved throughout the campaign ensures alignment and maximizes results. 

• Regular Updates: Keep the influencer in the loop with timely updates on the campaign’s progress, key metrics, and any relevant changes. 

• Address Concerns: Proactively address any concerns or issues that arise during the collaboration. Promptly resolving conflicts prevents them from escalating and jeopardizing the partnership. 

 

6. Focus on Building Relationships with Influencers

Building lasting relationships with influencers is crucial for sustained success in Influencer Marketing. Here’s how to build long-term partnerships:

1. Set Long-Term Goals: Shift your focus from short-term gains to long-term collaboration. This encourages influencers to become invested in your brand’s growth journey. Clearly communicate your vision and the role the influencer will play in achieving it, creating a sense of shared purpose and commitment.
2. Nurture Partnerships, Not Transactions: Approach influencer interactions as partnerships rather than mere business transactions. Treat influencers as valued collaborators, not just marketing tools. Demonstrate your appreciation for their expertise and creativity by involving them in decision-making processes and respecting their insights about campaign performance, audience reactions, and areas for improvement. 
3. Prioritize Transparency: Build trust and rapport by maintaining authenticity and transparency in your communications. Be genuine in your interactions, offering constructive feedback and acknowledging their contributions. 
4. Consistent Engagement: Stay connected with influencers even when you’re not actively collaborating on campaigns. Engage with their content and maintain open lines of communication. By demonstrating ongoing interest and support, you strengthen the foundation of your partnership and lay the groundwork for future collaborations.

 

7. Specify the Value Proposition

When reaching out to influencers, clearly mention the value proposition of collaborating with your brand. Emphasize the benefits they’ll receive, whether it’s free products, monetary compensation, or creative freedom. 

 

8. Set Clear Expectations

It’s essential to communicate your needs, goals, deliverables, timelines, compensations, and desired outcomes clearly and honestly. Friendly yet professional communication is key, ensuring that guidelines and requirements are clearly outlined from the beginning, preventing misunderstandings, and ensuring a smooth collaboration process. 

 

Influencer Outreach KPIs and Metrics to Track

Influencer outreach Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a crucial role in gauging the effectiveness of your outreach efforts. 

 

Track key metrics like:

• Open Rate: The percentage of influencers who have opened your email out of the total number of emails sent. It measures the effectiveness of your subject line and the initial appeal of your email content. 
• Response Rate: The percentage of replies you’ve received from influencers out of the total number of emails sent. It indicates the level of engagement and interest generated by your email outreach efforts. 
• Click-through rate: The percentage of recipients who clicked on one or more links in your email, typically leading to your website or a specific landing page. It measures the effectiveness of your email content and call-to-action in driving further engagement.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of emails that were not successfully delivered to the recipient’s inbox due to various reasons, such as an invalid email address, a full inbox, or technical issues. A high bounce rate can negatively impact your email deliverability and sender reputation.
• Deliverability Rate: The percentage of emails that were successfully delivered to the recipient’s inbox out of the total number of emails sent. It reflects the overall effectiveness of your email sending practices and the quality of your email list. 

 

Maintaining a low bounce rate, ideally below 5%, helps ensure optimal deliverability and inbox placement. If you find yourself facing repeated inquiries or prolonged response times, it’s essential to analyze, iterate, and test different approaches regularly. 

Conducting A/B tests on subject lines can offer valuable insights into improving open rates. Similarly, optimizing the CTA can help improve the response rate. Regularly monitoring and optimizing these metrics is essential for maximizing the impact of your influencer outreach campaigns.

 

Influencer Outreach Tools

To streamline and enhance the outreach process, leveraging the right influencer outreach tools is essential. These tools allow brands to identify, connect with, and manage relationships with influencers more efficiently.

One such tool is Creable, a comprehensive Influencer Marketing Platform that streamlines Influencer Marketing campaigns from start to finish. It offers advanced AI-powered features for influencer discovery, analytics, influencer messaging, campaign management, post-tracking, and reporting. 

 

With Creable, you can:

• Find influencers and their emails: Creable has the largest industry influencer database with 300 million+ influencers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Every influencer with 1,000 or more followers is listed in Creable’s database, which is updated in real time to ensure you get accurate data.
• Analyze influencer profiles: Vet influencers in detail, including their audience demographics, performance metrics, fake followers, and more.
• Reach out to influencers directly: With Creable’s influencer messenger, you can contact influencers directly using your custom email address. All communication will be managed in your influencer inbox, making it easy to track and reference later.

 

Creable is the most price-efficient and flexible Influencer Marketing Platform, offering advanced analytics for just 10 cents per influencer. By leveraging Creable as an outreach tool, brands can find the right influencers, get all the required details, and reach out directly from the platform, minimizing manual effort while maximizing efficiency.

 

Conclusion:

The steps and best practices outlined in this guide will help you reach out to influencers effectively. Influencer Marketing is all about building strong and genuine connections with influencers. Successful influencer outreach demands a strategic approach that balances authenticity, creativity, and professionalism. As you craft your outreach strategy, prioritize nurturing relationships to yield optimal results with your target audience. By maintaining the focus on nurturing meaningful connections, you’ll maximize Influencer Marketing ROI for your brand.