6 Things to Do Before You Reach Out to a Brand
So you want to connect with a brand, whether it’s to inquire about sponsorship or just to get to know them. Where should you start? What should you say?
Here are a few steps you should take to help maximize your chances of securing that coveted response (and maybe even a deal)!
The toughest part of reaching out to brands may be getting a reply—but you’ve got more control over this than you might think! You could go ahead and shoot messages left and right, hoping for someone to open your email, but mastering the art of successful outreach is worth investing your time.
1. Polish your profiles
As a creator, your image is at the center of your job. It might seem obvious to many, but it's crucial to make sure that your social media profiles don’t just look interesting, but appear professional as well. Your bios should be up to date and include your contact information.
On Instagram, you can check and review which photos you're tagged in, and organize your highlight reels for easy viewing (e.g., feature previous collaborations, use stickers as cover photos, and categorize your highlights by theme). Think of your profiles as if you were a brand. What are the little details that you can polish?
2. Does your content shout “influencer”?
Even if you're just starting out as a creator, it’s still super important to show that you’ve got an influencer’s chops! Tag brands (but not too many) in your posts and in your captions, and use relevant hashtags. Don’t forget to tag a brand in a post before you reach out to them.
Putting the work into writing your captions can go a long way: it demonstrates that you can talk about something you care about with your own style. Avoid generic captions like, “I’ve tried [this product] and I’m obsessed.” Don’t forget to regularly interact with your community. Did someone take the time to comment on your post? Reply! Prove that you care about your community because it’ll show the brand that you know how to engage your followers.
3. Do some research on the brand
Once your profiles and your online “image” are good to go, you can start brainstorming how to reach out to the brand you want to collaborate with. Your eventual email should show you've done your research about the brand you're contacting: what kind of collaborations they do, their latest products, their brand story.
Fifteen to 30 minutes of browsing through the brand’s website and social media should do the work. Personalize your email, and include what caught your attention as you were doing your research. You can read our article on how to draft the perfect email to a brand; it includes five outreach email templates to help you take that first step.
4. Have your insights ready
Linking to your social media profiles is a good start, but brands will want to know more about your audience and your engagement as a creator. Anticipate that need by sharing relevant data with them. You can take screenshots of your stats on Instagram and YouTube, and collect them in a PDF to attach to your outreach email. Include audience demographics, number of views, reach, and any other compelling insights.
5. Proofread your email
A polished email without typos or spelling errors is basic business. (Sloppy emails may make the author look careless.) So, be mindful of the first impression you’ll be giving off to a brand. Before sending your outreach, make sure your email looks clean with a structured format, caps, and proper punctuation. Don't forget to insert hyperlinks where useful, and to attach any necessary files.
6. Reach the right person
Now that you've spent some time drafting the perfect email, short and sweet, it's finally time to send it! We can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is to connect with the right person. Maximize your chances of getting a response by making sure you're using a valid email address and reaching out to the person in charge of influencer relationships. We have an article on demystifying brand titles to help you navigate the many job titles you might encounter. You can browse LinkedIn to research, or you can also download the Createur app, where we provide up-to-date, valid contacts for hundreds of brands.
Final thoughts
Reaching out to brands can be intimidating, and you might not know where to start. But if you take the time to do some research, work on your outreach, prepare professional documents, and check that you’re contacting the right person, you’ll be getting the responses you deserve. By following the tips above, you can ensure yourself more agency in any future conversations, too.
Stay tuned for more insights and support on how to build your brand as a creator!