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Finding the right influencer is just half the battle. The other half is convincing them they should collaborate with your brand. Contacting influencers through email to begin a marketing campaign can be a smooth process, or it can be a rocky ride – depending on your tact.
Influencers tend to receive 100's of offers from companies, many of which might be remarkably similar to yours. Your email needs to have a well-crafted message, from subject line to signature, to win them over.
You don't need to fumble around with your marketing outreach. Follow these six tips to polish your influencer pitch. Inbeat.Agency uses them every day to get influencers from all walks of life to collaborate with various brands. We follow them like a formula and always have tremendous results.
Subject Line – Short & to the Point
The subject line is the most crucial part of the email to your potential influencer. Hit the mark, and the influencer of your choice will open your email. If you have a hard time with your influencer emails, this is the first place to start.
Some marketers may tell you to make your subject line "catchy." We're going to tell you something completely different – just get to the point. Influencers don't need to be convinced by your subject line. They only want to know if the collaboration is something they want to pursue or invest their time in.
Don't use fluffy words wrapped with humor, vanity, or any other human trait you wish to invoke. It's not going to work. Influencers are going to label you as spam and move on.
Tell the influencer what the collab is about briefly, in simple terms, within 60 characters. For example,
If you don't want to disclose too much, you can make the title more generic and still get lots of traction. Just telling them your niche will perk their interest.
Don't put Emojis, please! There's a raging debate about emojis in the title. Research shows that emojis increase negative sentiment toward an email and decrease the likelihood an email gets opened.
An email subject line that cuts to the chase perks your attention first. A subject line that beats around the bush gets ignored.
Formatting – Design for Readability
After opening up your collaboration email, an influencer will quickly decide whether they want to read the email. The mind only needs a few moments to unconsciously interpret the email's readability and figure out if the conscious self wants to continue.
The first thing that deters readers is large blocks of text. Give your thoughts in one or two sentences; Double-space or even triple space in between sentences.
If you need to provide a lot of info for the influencer, give it in bullet points. Bullet points break content up into nicely digestible segments & significantly increase readability. Like this:
Keep the entire email pitch succinct. Ask yourself, 'what are the essential things that the influencer needs to know to start?' Cut everything else out. Remember, you've got lots more potential emails to come. The email pitch is supposed to dangle the carrot in front of them a little bit.
Lastly, make sure the font size is legible. No one wants to struggle while reading text that's either too small or obnoxiously big. You can always run your email through a readability tool to get a decent gauge on whether people will want to read your email.
The tone of Voice – Keep It Real
Being too "salesy" is the biggest mistake most unsuccessful email pitches make. It would be best not to treat the influencer like they are a customer to be won over. They are an individual to cooperate with. A script that screams "act fast" or "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" is getting sent to the trash bin quickly.
There are subtler ways of convincing your influencer to collaborate with your brand. Imbue the script with a voice that matches the niche market and the brand. Put yourself in the influencer's shoes to empathize with their content.
Connect with the influencer on a deeper level. Throw in some industry lingo to come off like you are one of them. A voice that resonates with the influencer will stand out above the monotonous chatter in their email inbox.
Here are a few examples of voices that have gotten a positive response:
Flattery – Butter Them up a Little Bit
Throwing in some veiled flattery and artful admiration for the influencer is a great way to hit a positive note with them. We usually start the email off by telling the influencer how we found them, followed by a bit of boost to their ego.
Be careful with your flattery because it's like walking a tightrope. You could come off as insincere or over the top. Some influencers need more pragmatic aggrandizing, while you can go all out with others.
Here are a few ways we've given influencers a little pat on the back:
Content – Convey the Value
The main point of the email is how you present the collab. Portray the offer as a beneficial partnership. Avoid making the collab seem one-sided – like they are fortunate to get the opportunity. The influencer is getting equal to what they are putting in.
Place the focus on what their community will get out of the collaboration. You need to explain how the product will benefit them and their audience. Here's an example that explains the product's value to the influencer's audience well:
After that, list the compensation for the collab and what's expected from the influencer. Once again, bullet points work the best:
Proofing – Send a Test
Proofreading your email is a given. A typo or missing word in your email is going to throw the influencer off a bit. Once you fix all grammar errors, send the email to yourself to test if the text has the proper formatting and readability.
Next, you'll want to send your email to influencers or social marketing pros that will give you their two cents. An honest opinion from someone that has industry experience is extremely valuable. Listen to what they have to say and take their critiques in stride. Implement changes that make sense.
A Wrap-Up – the Front of the Line
Influencers get collab emails that hit their inbox all the time. Most of them get ignored, a portion of them get opened, and very few emails advance to a collab. These six tips on crafting an effective influencer collaboration email will help you make it to the final cut.
Inbeat.Agency uses them regularly to earn the influencer's trust and business. Collab emails with titles that are to the point, a resonating voice, a little bit of flattery are a must. If the content conveys the product's value to the influencer, their following will send your collab opportunity straight to the front of the line.