At BrandBacker we guide hundreds of companies through the Influencer Content Marketing process using our innovative platform and first hand insights into what makes a successful Influencer/Brand Relationship. To share this knowledge with forward thinking companies like yours, we’ve created the BrandBacker Content Marketing Guide Series. This blog post is a featured section of our Pitching & Negotiating With Influencers Content Guide.
Everyday, influencers are bombarded by hundreds of collaboration emails from brands looking to harness the power of their networks. So when you go to pitch an influencer to work on a content collaboration, how do you ensure you are piquing their interest? We’ve seen our share of good and bad pitch messages over the years and came up with an outline to help you shape the perfect pitch message to attract influencers. We would checking out our previous posts on Finding Influencers and Building Influencer Lists as they are important steps to take before pitching influencers.
The Introduction
As mentioned earlier, influencers receive hundreds of emails a week and the best way to make your pitch stand out is to personalize the email so that it appears that it’s intended just for them. You should always be sure to address the influencer by his or her name. Never use generic introductions such as ‘Dear Blogger’. Also be sure to introduce yourself and the brand. This is a great time to break the ice and let the influencer know that there is a real person behind the computer screen and why your brand is interesting.
The Purpose
Now that you’ve introduced yourself and your brand to the influencer, you should jump right into the purpose of the email. Influencers receive hundreds of emails a day and the best way to assure that your email won’t end up in their email trash is to let them know your exact objective. Maybe you’re pitching a group of your favorite influencers for a fun new media project or perhaps you’re inviting them to connect and join you for future projects, whatever the purpose is be sure to be very clear and direct.
The Compensation
The influencer knows about your brand and what you’re looking to achieve but now needs to know what’s in it for them. Outlining the compensation offered or available clearly in your pitch will allow influencers to qualify your opportunity versus the hundreds of others they receive. Since there will be a negotiating period, you do not need to actually add the dollar amount or total budget you have but letting the influencer know that samples or payouts are available is enough for them to qualify your email.
The Call to Action
In order to truly have an effective influencer pitch you must create an easily identifiable call to action. For example are you asking recipients to sign up for something or respond with feedback? Maybe you’d like them to send back rate cards or proposals for collaborations. If you don’t give influencers a reason to respond or engage with you, they probably won’t. All pitches need to end with a clear call to action or next steps to move forward with a collaboration.
Sending The Pitch to Influencers
Now that you’ve crafted your pitches based on the different lists you will be sending to and the types of compensation you are offering, it’s time to send the pitch out. Typically pitches are sent via email but there are a couple of different alternatives brands can leverage.
Email & Contact Forms: This is the standard mechanism to pitch influencers. You have the ability to articulate your entire pitch including images and marketing materials if necessary. Follow ups and negotiations happen through email.
Social Media: Follow influencers on social media and engage with their content. Influencer’s are often flattered when brands follow, like, and comment on their posts. Select a group of influencers and create a strategy of social engagement to drive interest. Then direct message influencers on those platforms with your pitch and continue with content creation outside the network.
Influencer Networks: Influencer networks like BrandBacker, allow you to send and manage your pitches to vetted influencers. Influencers trust pitches coming from these networks and with social stats and content management tools, these networks help to keep your collaborations organized.
Gifting: If you have a product that you’d like an influencer to try, you may want to consider skipping the email back and forth and get straight to the point. You can send the influencer an email indicating that you’d like to gift him a sample and ask for a mailing address. If it’s a high profile influencer who works from an office or a publication you can simply send directly to their mailing address. Once the package has been confirmed as received you can then follow up with more information.
