How to Make the Perfect Influencer Outreach Messages (Templates You Can Steal Right Now)

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with new links and content.
Original Publication Date: November 27, 2018

Influencer marketing is one of the fastest-growing digital marketing channels, and it's accessible to businesses with any size budget.

With the rise of influencer credibility and the number of influencers in different industries, we’ve hit a point where any brand, big or small, is capable of using influencers to generate a massive revenue boost and social proof in places that were previously inaccessible for most brands.

According to a study by Linqia, 35% of influencer marketing managers said that their biggest challenge in running influencer campaigns was the time commitment it took to set them up and manage them.

At CloutHQ, our goal is to save you time and money on your influencer marketing campaigns by streamlining every aspect of the process.

We're even sharing some top-performing influencer outreach email templates that can increase your open rates and reply rates below.

But there are a couple of internal steps you'll need to take before you get started.

Step 1: Align Your Vision with Potential Influencers

“Content creators say their most important method for vetting brand partnerships is by determining which opportunities are most relevant for their audiences.” This means you need to take a moment to figure out what is relevant to them and craft your messages accordingly.

Yeah, I know — this is everyone’s “first step”. But this one is the most important.

Once you know you're aligned with the broader marketplace, you can filter influencers quickly instead of reaching out to everyone who fits a half-defined criteria. These are the questions you need to ask yourself:

• Does your product support a specific cause?
• Is there a community around that cause, or do you need to make one?
• Are long-term relationships a requirement?
• Are you willing to pay for placements or do you only want to exchange products?

Step 2: Choose Your Approach Based on Your Answers

If you answered yes to the cause-based questions above, that’s a great place to start. You'll have a little more leverage to get lower rates and better placements.

But if your product doesn't support a specific cause (other than filling your bank account), you will need to be a little more creative with your approach and make the upside greater for the influencers.

Cause-Based Outreach Template Structure

1. Brief Intro About Your Company (1–3 lines)
2. Why You're Reaching Out (1–2 lines)
3. The Pitch (1–2 Lines)
4. Link to site and Instagram
5. Give them a compliment (optional)

Example 1:

Hey {NAME},

We’ve created {Cool Product Description} and we’re giving half the profits to charities that are {Supporting Cause}. As a fellow {Cause} Supporter, we thought this might be something you’d be interested in and would love to work with you in any way possible.

Please let us know if you’re interested, and keep up the great content.

You can check us out at {Website} or {Instagram}

All the best,

{Your Name}

Example 2:

Hi {Name},

I found your profile while browsing through a list of the top influencers who support {Cause}. Our company has been passionate about {Cause} and support the efforts by {cause-related action/activity} regularly. To date we have {insert cool milestones or donation numbers}.

We would love to have your support and wanted to inquire about sponsored placements on your profile. Do you have standard rates for brand placements?

More About us: {Website} & {Instagram}

All the best,

{Name}

General Influencer Outreach Messages

1. Keep it short and sweet
2. Include all essential info
3. Link to website and Instagram
4. Ask for rates

Example 1:

Hi {Name},

I found your profile while browsing the top influencers in {industry} and was wondering if you would be interested in sharing our {Short & Sweet product description} with your followers?

We can set you up with a flat rate payment or as an affiliate.

More about us: {Website} & {Instagram}

Do you have standard rates for this?

All the best,

{Name}

Example 2:

Hey {Name},

We would love to sponsor some of the posts on your profile. Is this something you offer?

We are {Short & Sweet company description} and would love to share it with your fans.

More about us: {Website} & {Instagram}

All the best,

{Name}

Subject Lines For Influencer Outreach

The subject line is one of the most important aspects of your outreach. After all, you can spend all the time in the world crafting the perfect message. But if they don’t get opened, you may as well have not sent them in the first place.

To see the 10 Best Influencer Outreach Subject Lines, check out 10 Influencer Outreach Subject Lines You Can Steal Right Now.

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