Pitching to brands DOES NOT have to be intimidating. The way I see it, the worst the brand can do is say no or ignore your email. But, what if they say YES?!? There is nothing more fulfilling than sending a great pitch that intrigues the brand. If you have a brand that you genuinely love and use in your day-to-day life, why not give it a try?!? Today, I’m sharing my techniques for landing the perfect pitch every time!
Share What Makes You Unique As a Creator
Start with a Personal Introduction
First, I like to introduce myself and share a little about my connection to the brand/product when pitching to brands. This shows that I’ve done my research and that I care to make a personal connection with the brand contact. Taking this small step can help lead to longer term collaborations!
Here is a snippet from an email I sent to a PR group to introduce myself as an influencer:
Popping into your inbox to introduce myself – I’m Emily Croslin (better known as @helloemilyerin), a Florida-based lifestyle and fashion influencer and blogger. I see that [X PR FIRM] has an impressive list of clients and I would love to be considered for any collaboration opportunities that align with the brands’ marketing needs and audience. Below is some information about my audience – I’d be happy to share my media kit for a deeper dive into my audience, past branded collaborations, and opportunities available to brands. Additionally, you can view my portfolio and website here, which showcases some of my past branded work.
In this email introduction, I clearly introduce myself and my brand and show that I know a bit more about the PR group and their clients. I urge you to get even more specific! When I reach out to boutiques, I pick one SUPER CUTE clothing item and share my love for the product with the team.
Here is a sample introduction I sent to a boutique:
I am reaching out with an exciting opportunity for a collaboration between [X BOUTIQUE] and Hello Emily Erin (IG: @helloemilyerin. My name is Emily Croslin and I am an influencer and blogger based in Florida focusing on fashion and lifestyle. I’m also based in St. Pete! I’ve been a long-time fan of [X BOUTIQUE] and have been visiting the store since you opened! I love your gorgeous, sunny style, especially the adorable Free People wrap dresses you just got in! I feel like our brands align really well and I would love to work together.
In this pitch, I share a product that I love and my connection to the brand. We’re both based in St. Pete, so I included this info as another way to make a connection!
Consider how YOU can do their MARKETING for them!
Stand Out by Getting Creative
You can try ,“Oh, love your brand SO MUCH – can we work together?” but I can almost guarantee they’ve heard it before. Consider what deliverables YOU can provide to them! Don’t just pitch yourself, pitch your SERVICES and CREATIVITY.
For example, say it’s a shoe company. Give them a detailed list of the deliverables you’d like to provide to them. Maybe it’s an unboxing video on stories and a 3 ways to wear IGTV. Maybe you’re teaming up for a giveaway. Provide some suggestions and let them know you’re open to their thoughts – I promise they will appreciate you going the extra mile to share some actionable marketing ideas!
Unique Concepts Get You Noticed
I love to pitch unique concepts for brands. I recently pitched one of my favorite wine brands, Poema Cava, for a fun Valentine’s Day photoshoot. Below is a snippet of the email I sent:
While I have you — would you be open to partnering up again, this time for a Valentine’s Day activation? I’d love to showcase The Seeker or Poema Cava as the perfect date night wine, perhaps with a picnic or with a cute breakfast in bed Valentine’s Day-themed shoot (think pops of pink, bubbly for breakfast, and a bouquet of roses).
They loved the idea and we were able to create some amazing content together! Holidays can be a great way to get inspired. At the beginning of 2021, I compiled a HUGE list of social media holidays (think National Donut Day or National Margarita Day). Once I had my list prepared, I created a content calendar to help other content creators come up with ideas for the year of 2021! Since we are getting close to the halfway mark of the year (time is flying!), I am offering my CONTENT CALENDAR for half off (just $6)! Use code “HALFOFF” at checkout! For more info on the content calendar, check out this blog post!
I also recently pitched the brand Skrewball with a unique concept for a reel. My idea was to create a peanut butter and jelly cocktail using Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. The brand loved the concept and I partnered with them on an Instagram reel and a static post.
Have Your Media Kit Ready
Have you put together your media kit yet? I’ve outlined everything you’ll need to include in your media kit in this post. Your media kit should serve as a one stop shop for your brand! It’ll introduce you, your social media channels and stats, audience demographics, packages, and past collaborations. Note – you should only include your media kit AFTER you’ve already been corresponding with a brand. Attaching your media kit to your initial email can cause the email to BOUNCE and never reach the intended recipient. Curious about other mistakes you can make when working with brands? Check out my 4 Mistakes To Avoid When Working With Brands post!
Know Your Personal Brand and Niche
Be REALLY CLEAR with yourself what you want this to be. When you have a clearly defined audience, brands can get more value out of the collaboration. For example, if you’re a food blogger, pitching a brand collab with a clothing store might not be the right fit. However, maybe a meal kit delivery service would be the perfect type of brand to pitch as the brand would know they have a captive audience!
Talk Analytics
As someone who works in marketing day-to-day, I know that most marketers are DATA-DRIVEN. I would even highlight these stats IN ADDITION to your media kit in your pitch, in the body of the email! I like to call out more instagram-specific analytics in my email, like my impressions over the last week, website clicks, saves, etc. – it’s good to get REAL SPECIFIC! Sometimes, I’ll even share screenshots from recent branded stories to really seal the deal.
One tip I heard from two of my favorite creators @MadCrayy and @EmmasEdition in a recent Clubhouse session is to gather insights from past brand collaborations into Google Drive folders to share accordingly. For example, say I’m pitching a wine brand, I could pull my stats from all of the previous wine brands I’ve worked with into a Google Drive folder to be shared with the brand I’m currently pitching. Sharing this folder allows the brand to envision what a collaboration with you might look like performance-wise, especially if you’re sharing stats from another collab in a similar niche.
Recent Insights
Last but not least, don’t forget to include some recent insights when pitching to brands. This will show your account’s recent performance overall. Since my media kit is a summary of averages, I like to share some updated stats for the past week when reaching out to brands. I like to share my reach, impressions, and interactions for that week. the more specific, the better!
Where to find your insights on Instagram
To find these stats on your Instagram profile, click on your profile, then select the “Insights” button circled below, right below your bio. Keep in mind, you will need to have an Instagram creator account in order to access these insights!
Once you’re viewing the insights section, you should be able to see detailed statistics about your past week’s performance on IG. In this section, you will see an overview of recent highlights from the past 7 days on your account. If you click the arrow at the top, you can view your same stats over the last 30 days.
My Insights section for this week:
This sample email excerpt includes my insights and updated info regarding my performance for that week:
For a little more information about my brand and audience, I would be happy to share my media kit which details some of my past brand collaborations, branded content samples, and collaboration opportunities. You can also check out my site for some branded content samples.
For added context, this week on Instagram (the past 7 days) I’ve received:
- 54,319 impressions
- 12,920 reach
- 2,230 actions taken on my account
- Engagement rate: 4.39%
My audience breakdown is as follows:
- 19,200 followers
- 70% women
- 22% in 18-24 range
- 45% in 25-34 range
So, what are you waiting for?!! Give these tips a try and let me know when you land your awesome brand deal!
Are you a new blogger or content creator looking for more resources? Check out these recent posts:
- How to Create Engaging Content That Will Get You Noticed
- What Rates to Charge as a Content Creator in 2021
- How to Choose the Best Platform for Blogging
- How to Provide Quality Content to a Brand
- My 2021 Content Calendar
- 9 Blogging Essentials You Need
- How to Maintain Relationships with Brands
- Pitching to PR Contacts (+ How To Find Them)
- Boost Your Instagram Story Engagement
- How to Get Noticed By Brands for Collaborations
- Pitching to Brands as an Influencer (+ real email templates that I actually sent!)
- The Tea on Instagram Giveaways
- Influencer Marketing Platforms to Help You Make Money
