Are you excited to start pitching brands for collaborations? Woohoo! I wanted to share a few of my favorite pitching pointers to help you ensure your pitch lands.
Pitching to brands can be absolutely worthwhile as you can begin a relationship that can last years to come. Some of my favorite brand contacts are ones that I have pitched myself! Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you reach out to brands for partnerships with your brand as a content creator or influencer.
Pitching Pointers
Timing is everything
The day and time of day you send your pitch over email MATTERS! Consider the time you are sending your email. I typically aim to send my emails between 1-3PM. Also, keep in mind the day you are sending emails. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT send pitch emails on the weekends (yes, this includes Friday!). I like to schedule my emails to be sent on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Follow up
Follow up! I usually aim for 2-3 follow ups after I send my first email. Brands get hundreds if not THOUSANDS of emails each day. Make their jobs easier by bumping your email to the top of their inbox!
Find the right contact
Use tools like LinkedIn and Hunter.io to find the right contact to send your pitch to! LinkedIn will be your best friend for finding brand contacts. I typically pull up the company and search a few different job titles in the “people” section. Some terms I’ve had luck with are:
- account executive
- marketing coordinator
- marketing associate
- influencer relations
- public relations
- social media
When I search for these terms, I’m looking for a first and last name of a contact who works for the brand. Once I have this info, I can start digging for that company’s email address format using Hunter.io. Using Hunter.io, I look for the company’s email format (ex. [email protected]). Then, I can plug in my contact’s first and last name and draft my email.
Create an eye-catching subject line
The subject line sets up the brand’s first impression of your email. You want it to be eye catching because this person receives so many emails saying the same exact thing. I typically use Partnership Opportunity: BRAND x Hello Emily Erin. Try different subject lines to see what seems to land the best with your prospects!
Personalize your pitch
Do NOT send a blanket pitch email to brands! They have seen this before a million times. Think about it this way, they have tons of influencers pitching them every day. Why would they pick someone that didn’t even bother to personalize their pitch messaging?
I always use a pitch template but there are KEY areas that I make sure to tweak. I never ever send it as is. Do your research about the brand! Enter in more personal information that can help the brand understand more about you and your personal brand. Look for that personal connection.
What next?
Do NOT be discouraged if you don’t hear back or even if the email bounces. Sometimes, the email bounces because of an inbox rule as the company knows you are from outside their organization. It is not always easy to find contacts, but worth a try!
When the email bounces, I typically will find their general press or info email address and send my pitch over that way. I prefer to try to make a personalized connection when pitching, but understand that it isn’t 100% foolproof.
I’ll find the more general email address by going to the company’s website and clicking “contact us.” There is usually a section dedicated to press, media inquiries, influencer inquiries, or just general questions. You can typically find the email here.
Another spot I’ll look is on the company’s Instagram page. NOTE: you can only see this on MOBILE. This is another reason YOU should have your brand’s email address in your Instagram bio – I explain why in this post dedicated to optimizing your IG bio. When you click the EMAIL button below their bio, it’ll often list a contact email address for the firm that you can shoot your pitch over to.
So why not give it a try? Let me know if you have any questions as you go through the pitching process! Go find contacts who you can truly connect with and grow your relationship with as an influencer! I’d also love to hear any tips or strategies that went well for you when pitching.
Want to see a sample pitch template? Head over to my Instagram for more!
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