INFLUENCER MARKETING

Influencer Email Template: How to Skyrocket Your Open Rates

The average email open rate for 2023 is 17%.

By this standard, a mere 25% is considered good.

*Insert meme of dog smiling in a room set on fire*

Here’s how one of the influencer outreach experts in our inBeat team defines this challenge:

“Most people suck at cold email, and most influencers get spammed a lot and don’t care about outreach.”

You’re on the right page, though.

We’ll show you how to transform that challenge into an opportunity with our honed influencer email template.

This template and the insider tips we’ll share below helped us zap right by the meager open rate average.

Not to brag, but here are our usual stats (notice the 92% open rate):

So let’s get you that winning influencer outreach email template that helps you to avoid getting your email blacklisted.

TL;DR - Influencer Email Template

• Current Email Open Rate: The average open rate in 2023 is 17%; achieving 25% is considered good.
• Challenge: Many fail at cold emailing, and influencers get lots of spammy outreach.

Templates Provided:

• Initial Outreach Email: Clearly introduces the collaboration and what's expected.
• First Follow-Up Email: Friendly reminder without sounding pushy.
• Second Follow-Up Email: A last attempt to catch the influencer's attention, keeping it short and light.

Key Tips:

• Personalized subject lines boost open rates.
• Tailor the email template to fit the specific campaign and influencer.
• Emails should align with an overarching strategy.

Steps to Effective Outreach:

• Find the Right Influencers: Use an influencer database like inBeat to identify the right fit.
• Determine Goals: Clear goals aid in crafting precise and effective emails.
• Before Writing the Email:
• Craft the Outreach Email: Use the provided templates and personalize them as needed.
• Rinse and Repeat: Establish a routine for outreach and follow-ups, and track your communications.

Dos and Don’ts:

• Do: Use a professional email, personalize content, keep it concise, and be clear.
• Don't: Over-glamorize, sound pushy, or get discouraged by non-responses.

Final Takeaway: Effective influencer outreach requires clear goals and tailored communication. Working with an influencer marketing agency can significantly aid in the process. Remember, influencers value genuine and clear offers.

Influencer Email Template That You Can Grab Today

We lied.

We’ll show you three templates for the initial email and two follow-ups.

Bonus: We’ll include modifications for all these templates so you can use them in your affiliate program as soon as possible.

1. Initial Outreach Influencer Email Template

Subject: Paid Collaboration - [Brand Name]

Message: Hi {{influencer’s name}},

My name is [Name], and I’m reaching out to you on behalf of [Brand Name].

We’re currently casting creators for a paid collab. We think your content aligns exactly with what we’re trying to create!

The collaboration will only ask you to create [X deliverables] posted on [social channels].

If you’re interested, reply to this email & I’ll send you our casting form.

Looking forward,

[Name]

Insider tip 1: Make the subject line clear and catchy.

Studies show that a personal subject line can increase open rates by a statistically significant margin. Also, 35% of email recipients open your emails because your subject line sounds catchy.

Insider tip 2: Adjust this influencer email template to fit your brand’s personality, campaign, and influencer profile.

Here’s an example* of how we modified this outreach template in one of our social media campaigns:

*We removed all sensitive info, but you get the gist.

Subject: Paid TikTok Collaboration with a [Industry Name] Brand

Message: Hey {{first:there}},

I’m [Name] from inBeat Agency. I’m reaching out to you on behalf of our client [insert hyperlink], one of the biggest [industry name] brands online.

We saw your TikTok profile and would like to present it to the client for paid brand collaboration, but only if you are interested in being a part of the brand’s journey!

Can I count you in? If yes, reply to this email & I’ll send you our onboarding form.

Looking forward to working with you,

[Name]

Lessons learned:

• Include the brand industry but not the company’s name in the subject line: “Paid TikTok Collaboration with a Hand Cream Brand” instead of “Nivea” elicits more curiosity, which increases your email open rates.
• Insert a hyperlink to the company in the body: This strategy decreases bounce rates because content creators can easily click to find more info.

2. First Follow-Up Influencer Email Template

If the first collaboration email didn’t have much success, you could use this follow-up email:

Subject: Paid Collaboration - [Brand Name]

Message: Hi again!

Just following up to see if you’ve had the time to read my last email.

We constantly have more projects if you’re interested! Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

[Name]

Remember: This is just a sample template you can adjust for your needs.

Here’s a potential version that sounds more friendly:

Subject: Paid TikTok Collaboration with a Skincare Brand

Message: Hi again!

I wanted to gently bump up my previous email. Let me know if you have any questions; I’m here to help!

We constantly have more projects if you’re interested!

Cheers,

[Name]

Lessons learned:

• Keep things short but friendly.
• Avoid sounding pushy.
• Ask the content creator if they need help or have questions.
• Remind the creator that you have multiple other projects.

3. Second Follow-Up Influencer Email Template

The second follow-up template should be even shorter than the previous two messages:

Subject: Just catching up

Message: Hey {{first:there}},

Sorry to bother you again, but I thought I’d try my luck one last time. We’d really love to get you on this project!

Fingers crossed.

Lessons learned:

• Remind them that you’d love to work with them without seeming desperate.
• Use the phrase “last time” to let them know you won’t become a stalker.
• Try to be at least a little funny.

Insider tip: Even an ideal influencer collaboration email can’t increase email open rates by itself. You need a solid strategy first.

Imagine writing an email to a restaurant to book a table.

Chances are someone will at least open it.

Now imagine writing that same email, but this time your subject line says “Dinner reservation for $10,000 menu.” The open rates will be much higher, and you’ll get more replies.

And now picture sending the same emails to a flower shop.

Your open rates will decrease dramatically.

That’s strategy, and that’s what we’ll discuss below.

The Best 5-Step Outreach Strategy [From Our Influencer Platform]

These influencer email templates only work if you’ve found the right potential ambassadors or influencers for your campaign.

Here’s how you can do that, following our influencer platform’s tried-and-tested methods.

Step 1: Find the Influencers

Finding the right influencers to pitch to ensures high open rates, positive responses, and most importantly, a successful collaboration.

If you’re sending the right message to the right people, click and reply rates will skyrocket, too.

Insider tip for finding the best content creators: At inBeat, we only do influencer onboarding after building the creative brief first.

That means we first:

• Audit our clients.
• Get insights from their competitors’ strategies.
• Analyze their audience.

Based on these analyses, we establish influencer campaign goals and KPIs and craft the creative brief.

We then try to find creators who fit this brief—not the other way around.

Here’s how to find these influencers:

1. Heed your clients’ requests if they have specific conditions in mind. For example, they might want a particular type of social proof or an ongoing collaboration.
2. Leverage an intuitive influencer database. Use the right keywords and filters according to your goals, KPIs, and target audience. *Alternatively, use an Instagram or TikTok email finder.
3. Compare these content creators using engagement rate calculators and fake follower checkers.

Let’s say you want to find a gaming influencer for your new mobile app.

1. Head to the inbeat.co platform and create a campaign:

2. Set your keywords:

3. Set filters like follower count, language, and engagement ratee:

4. Analyze influencers’ profiles. Look at their engagement rates and estimated fees.

Pro tip: inBeat lets you see all this data from the platform, but another influencer sourcing software may not show comprehensive data.

In that case, you’d have to use multiple tools to check engagement and calculate your budget.

Use our free fake follower checker to ensure your creators are legit.

Here’s how stats look for @amoureuxdumonde:

5. Shortlist your potential influencers.

Pick relevant influencers for your potential collaborations after analyzing their social media posts, engagement rates, and profile scores.

Bonus: Mistakes to Avoid in Influencer Discovery

When analyzing potential partnerships for your influencer or ambassador program, consider the mistakes below:

1. Unnatural Follower / Following Growth

Unnatural followers and/or following growth typically come in two flavors: automation and purchased followers (bot farms).

• Automation: Software that automates account behavior, such as following and unfollowing profiles, can be detected by looking at the follow/unfollow curve on Social Blade.

• Purchased Followers: Websites specialize in selling real followers for cheap. You can detect this by seeing a spike in followers on Social Blade.

2. Disproportionate Likes to Followers Ratio

Some Instagram profiles participate in engagement pods (or groups) to boost their likes and comments per post.

An engagement rate above 15% is a warning sign and should be double-checked for authenticity.

Pro Tip: Before working with an influencer, ask them to share a screenshot of their audience insights.

Fraudulent profiles will have an uneven location distribution in their audience insights.

Fraudulent profiles will have an uneven location distribution in their audience insights (i.e. 80% of profiles in India or Russia).

3. Fake Comments

Engagement groups allow for cross-commenting, where members comment on each other's pictures.

The easiest way to recognize a fake comment distribution is to look at the commenters' follower count.

If every comment on a post is made by someone with over 2000 followers, that is a significant red flag.

4. Collaboration Overload

Some influencers collaborate with brands every other post, which can lead to audience burnout and loss of trust in the influencer.

Example: A content creator with 4 paid partnerships with 3 different brands in their last 6 posts can make their followers conclude that they are always promoting content, making them less trustworthy.

5. Lack of Creative Direction

Some influencers don't have a relevant creative direction for your product, leading to impersonal and unengaging posts.

Example: The post below about an anti-aging serum that lacks personality and reads like a pre-chewed write-up can be pale and carry no weight for your brand.

Step 2: Determine What Your Goals Are

You can’t write an email pitch if you’re unsure of what you want to achieve first.

So, you’ll need to have a clear picture of:

• Your expected deliverables (e.g., guest posts, TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, product reviews, expert advice pieces, etc.)
• Social media channels
• Timeline
• Budget

You also need to know:

• How many content creators you need to achieve your current advertising goals
• The influencers’ profiles

Pro tip: That’s why we advise you to perform comprehensive research and create a brief before choosing influencers.

How does knowing your goals help?

• You can craft a clear, persuasive subject line that increases open rates.
• You will stay on point and showcase clear expectations, thus increasing click rates and decreasing bounce rates.

Let’s review our initial outreach message again:

Subject: Paid Instagram Collaboration with a Skincare Brand

Message: Hey {{first:there}},

I’m [Name] from inBeat Agency. I’m reaching out to you on behalf of our client [Insert hyperlink], one of the biggest skincare brands online.

We saw your Instagram profile and would like to present it to the client for paid brand collaboration, but only if you are interested in being a part of the brand’s journey!

Can I count you in? If yes, reply to this email & I’ll send you our onboarding form.

Looking forward to working with you,

Name

Pro tip: Knowing the goal of this collaboration helps you craft a clear and compelling subject line.

The content creators immediately know you need a paid Instagram collaboration with a famous skincare brand, so:

• They open your email if they’re interested and:
• They’re interested because you found the right influencers following the previous step.

Step 3: Prepare to Write Your Outreach Email

In influencer marketing, preparation is key to an outstanding first impression. Avoid feeling compelled to contact influencers immediately after selecting them.

Instead, observe their social media activity, tone of voice, and creative content. Learn about their behavior and read comments from their followers.

Analyze how well they fit into your campaign and identify the right influencers for your specific niche.

So before you hit "send," ask yourself the following questions:

• What language style should you use when contacting an influencer?

Look for the influencer's favorite expressions, quirks, inflections, and so forth. Mirror the language of the influencer to build familiarity and trust.

Understanding the tone of voice of the influencer and how well it fits your brand is vital to the success of your influencer marketing campaign.

• How can you make your offer compelling?

What's in it for the influencer? Influencer marketing is becoming one of the most viable marketing strategies, so the demand for influencers is high. Having a great product is not enough.

The perks may include access to exclusive products or services and contest give-aways. You can offer insider information and inspiration for engaging content to help them gain more followers.

Step 4: Write an Outreach Email

The influencer outreach templates above will help you be more persuasive when you contact influencers.

Here are its main steps, just to recap:

1. Express your appreciation of social media influencers' work. For example: "My team and I have been following your profile on (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok...) and love your posts on your favorite makeup routine".
2. Use a couple of sentences to introduce yourself and your brand. Focus on your product's value proposition and unique features: "At X company, we make organic cruelty-free makeup products that help fight poverty and unemployment."
3. Explain why you reached out to this social media influencer and why you've picked him or her in two lines or less: "We think that you are a great advocate of organic cruelty-made makeup. Your beliefs align with our company's mission and values to help women look beautiful with products made with nature in mind."
4. End by making an offer. Outline the collaboration benefits to the influencer. For example: "In exchange for the collab, we are glad to offer X number of free products." Or: "Our budget for this influencer marketing campaign is $X. If you are interested, please reach out to me at X email. I would love to chat with you to go over the details."

Pro tips:

• Modify the email pitches based on the brand’s campaign details like brand info, what product/s the influencers should promote, the deliverables, budget, etc.
• A shorter and “clearer” pitch is best.
• If you get fewer sign-ups or responses than anticipated, strategize on improving the pitch.

Side note: Some sources claim you should build business relationships with influencers before sending them the first outreach email. That means:

• Following them on social media
• Engaging with them on their blog posts
• Helping them with suggestions or improvements via direct message

That strategy allows you to be more persuasive when sending an outreach email. But that strategy is time-consuming when you have a large campaign with 1,000 affiliate partners.

Insider tip from inBeat’s influencer outreach experts: Build long-term relationships through effective communication.

A clear, polite, no-nonsense email is an excellent foundation for a great relationship.

Even if it’s a cold email.

Remember: Influencers use social media platforms for a living. They can sense BS from the first star or bling you use in a subject line.

inBeat can help you craft the right outreach and follow-up emails for the right influencers.

Step 4.1. How to Contact Instagram Influencers

There are at least two ways to contact Instagram influencers: by sending a direct message or by email.

Most Instagram influencers have their email address in their bio, but you can also use Instagram email scrapers.

If you decide to reach out via direct message, be short, brief, and straight to the point.

You need to grab the influencer's attention immediately to make them want to respond to your message.

Let them know about you and your company and show that you are interested in getting them involved in your social media marketing.

Bonus: A Direct Message Template to Contact Instagram Influencer:

Here is the template that you can customize and contact the Instagram influencer via a direct message:

"Hey, Annie,

I loved your post about your favorite skincare essentials. At company X, we create organic skincare products for environmentally conscious women. We'd love to send some of our new products to you to give it a try and if you like them - to share it with your audience!

Let's chat if you are interested – thanks!

David"

Step 4.2. How to Contact TikTok Influencers

Once you have found the right TikTok influencers and know their usernames, there are a few ways to contact them.

You can search for the influencers' Instagram or YouTube account to get their email address from there.

In fact, when TikTok influencers want to be contacted for collaborations, they link all their social handles on their TikTok page.

You can also contact TikTok influencers via the comments section. But, as with the Instagram influencers, avoid using comments for sales pitches.

Step 4.3. How to Contact YouTube Influencers

Contacting YouTubers may be easier than other social media influencers.

Most YouTube influencers who are open to new partnerships and collaborations have their email address in the "About" section:

Follow the same principles with YouTubers as with Instagram influencers.

Prepare a brief, put toghether an attractive proposal and state a clear purpose of collaboration.

Step 5: Rinse and Repeat

Writing the first compelling email is the hardest.

Once you hone your standard operating procedures, things will go much faster.

So:

• Set a daily and weekly goal of how many influencer outreach emails you must send.
• Use an Excel sheet to keep track of your communication.
• Send the first follow-up message three days after not receiving a response.
• Wait for another three business days to send the second follow-up email.
• Don’t send more than two polite follow-up emails in case of not get a response.
• Use CRM software like Mailshake to automatize your outreach process.

Importance of Follow-Up with Influencers

Once you contact the influencer, you may not get a response for a while.

There may be multiple reasons for that.

The influencer may be contemplating your offer or has not read your message yet.

So, following up and sending gentle reminder emails is an integral part of contacting influencers.

Tips for following up with influencers:

1. Wait for a couple of days before sending a follow-up message. Give the influencer enough time to learn more about your brand before responding to you.
2. Highlight your offer and benefits to the influencer. Include a call to action.
3. Do not send more than two follow-up messages. Coming across as annoying can damage your brand's reputation.

Influencer Outreach Emails: Dos and Don’ts

After getting through this much information, you’re almost ready to start your influencer outreach campaign. You only need to consider a few dos and don’ts before beginning.

Of course, we’ll keep things specific, tapping into our personal work experience:

Outreach Email Do’s

• Create a professional email address else than creating multiple new Gmail addresses for this outreach process.
• Warm it up first so your messages don't end up in the spam folder.
• Send only personalized emails because you want authentic partnership opportunities.
• Keep your email content short. Emails with 75-100 words have the highest response rate.
• If you must write a longer email, use bullet points.
• Maintain a conversational tone.
• Write the goal of your collaboration in the subject line.
• Make your collaboration email subject line stand out with colors, questions, and the brand’s industry.
• Present yourself and your company from the get-go.
• Be clear and specific because influencers are busy people. Explain whether you want content creation, direction, or other essential elements.
• Include incentives, such as organic product samples and competitive commission rates.
• If you already know the influencer or someone recommended them, mention this relationship.
• Add a CTA to increase conversion rates.
• Include clear contact preferences.
• Choose the right communication channel to stand out and receive a response. Email is the most professional way to contact influencers.
• You can also use business phone systems, email providers, video chat apps or a VoIP phone service to communicate closely once you've got a positive reply.
• Follow-up if you don't receive a response within a couple of days. But don't spam an influencer with too many emails or direct messages.
• Check your email for typos.
• Ensure you found the right influencer email address.

Outreach Email Don’ts

• Don’t lose hope if an influencer doesn’t reply. Instead, send two follow-up emails.
• Don’t include your influencer marketing budget in the first email.
• Avoid cold outreach. Instead, contact them on social media first, mentioning their favorite items or some exciting news.
• Avoid too much marketing glam because your mail will sound spammy.
• Don't send your email during holidays.
• Avoid sounding pushy or robotic.
• Don't pitch to the influencer by commenting on their social media posts. Comments are the wrong place for a sales pitch. Comment on an influencer's post only if what you write is relevant to their content.
• Don't spam the influencer with emails from different people in your company. You will only annoy them and turn your influencer marketing campaign into a PR crisis, like in this example:

• Don't ask for freebies. For many influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms, their social media accounts are their career.

Start Your Influencer Outreach Process

A solid influencer outreach strategy helps you get your desired results for your digital marketing campaign.

Remember that you need clear goals and a solid brief before beginning anything.

Next, use the three collaboration email templates we added above.

Here’s a final insider tip:

Influencers are people, too. And just like everyone, they won’t care if your outreach email template is average as long as you make a good offer.

So, select the right content creators and phrase that offer as best you can.

Remember to use inBeat to maximize your outreach efforts.

Tap into our free influencer discovery platform, fake follower checker, and all the other tools in free influencer marketing toolkit.

Pro tip: If you need to fast-track your campaign, let’s schedule a free strategy call. We’ll lend you our experience so your open rates will break that 17% open-rate average in no time!

inBeat, for free

Get your Influencer campaign started.

Book a demo