Email for Collaboration to Successfully Land Brand Sponsorships
When brand collaborations are done right, they can be beneficial for both the brand and the influencer/blogger. For the brand, it means getting exposure and new customers to their brand. For the influencer, it can mean landing a lucrative contract that will help them grow their following and/or make a great income. But, what do you need to know before approaching a brand for collaboration and how do you write an email for collaboration?
In this blog post, we will share our brand collaboration email sample, so you will know exactly what to include in your brand pitch email.
This blog post also includes the most important steps for approaching a brand for collaboration and how to send your brand pitch emails.
Psst…Want a quick solution to land paid brand deals? Check out our affordable brand pitch toolkit. This is what we use at my agency to land our clients paid sponsorships and collaborations.
Disclosure; This post probably contains affiliate links. We only recommend products we use and love and all opinions expressed here are our own.
How do you approach a brand for collaboration?
Now you might be wondering how to pitch yourself to brands and how do you write a collaboration email?
Are you struggling to land those sought-after paid collaborations? Or you might even not know where to start?
In our Brand Pitch Toolkit you get a complete roadmap for how to approach brands for collaboration. It includes templates, swipe-files, workbooks, and a list of 100+ brands that work with small bloggers and influencers to give you the exact steps you need to take to increase your chances of landing those sweet collabs.
GET THE BRAND PITCH TOOLKIT HERE
Here are some other tips on how to pitch brands for collaboration:
Preparation before reaching out
- Make them aware of your existence
Follow the brand on social media (they will check). Engage with their posts on Instagram.
Brands will more likely agree to work with you if they see that you are already a customer, or have the potential to purchase their product.
If you own a product from the brand, post content organically in your Instagram feed and on stories and tag the brand. Tell your followers why you love this product. This organic content will showcase your dedication to the brand, making you appeal as the ideal collaboration partner.
If you don’t own anything from the brand, consider sharing a story or a post from the brand in your stories and tag them. Comment on their posts and stories and don’t be a friend to send them a little love in their DMs.
2. Create a unique brand identity
To increase your chances of getting noticed you should create a unique brand identity. It’s important to have a cohesive and clear branding. Building your content theme and personality around a specific niche shows authority. Be consistent with your posting scheme and brand your posts.
3. Have your media kit prepared
Act like a real pro and have your media kit ready when you reach out to a brand. A media kit is essentially your digital influencer CV that you will include in your email pitch.
Check out our media kit templates if you want to look professional and stand out among your competitors to land brand collabs successfully.
4. Does your personal brand match the brand’s vibe?
When you pitch yourself to a brand, they will evaluate you to see if it makes sense to work with you. Ask yourself, does your personal brand match the brand’s vibe? Take a look and compare your aesthetic, your style, and your values to the brand you are pitching. Are they aligned? The brands you approach for collaboration should feel like they’re seamlessly fitting into your style on social media.
It’s especially important to be aligned if you are a micro-influencer because it will give you a competitive edge and make you appeal more interesting to the brand. But, don’t try to completely change everything about yourself, your brand, or your content to fit every brand that you’re pitching. It’s important to be yourself and be authentic.
If you need a little help with how to make your Instagram profile stand out, check out my DIY Instagram audit checklist.
Related: Brands that collaborate with small influencers
5. Find the brand’s PR contact
On the brand’s website try to find their Contact page. Here, you will most often find their Customer Service email (“hello@___.com” or “info@____.com”). Before you send an email to their customer service email, try finding their PR (Public Relations) email address first.
Because the influencer industry has really evolved in the past years, some brands make it obvious for you to find their PR email address. Some popular brands receive so many emails for collaboration every day and don’t want to have those emails mixed in the same inbox as the general customer service emails.
Look for words such as pr, public relations, partnerships or collaborations, on their contact page.
Emailing brands directly on Instagram can also be an alternative to get in contact with brands.
However, the person who runs a brand’s social media accounts isn’t always responsible for influencer collaborations. Your message might not be responded to because you aren’t reaching out to the right person. If you don’t get an answer, try another contact way or follow up and try asking for the responsible contact on PR.
Related post: Brand Ambassador Instagram – Get Sponsored and Collaborate with Brands
Email for collaboration what to think about
- Keep your email for collaboration short and clear
PR people receive many influencer inquiries daily so make sure your email is straight to the point and easy to understand.
2. Don’t make the brand do the research about you
Don’t make the brand have a hard time finding information about you. Clearly include links to your social media platforms, your media kit, and any other information you want them to know about
3. Be professional but show your personality
You are not only an influencer, you are also a business owner. This means you have to be professional. But, this doesn’t mean you have to act cold and formal. Actually, mixing in your personality and your unique tone of voice, is really important. It helps the brand understand who you are, and it can make you stand out from other influencers. Make sure to show them what you have to offer in a few sentences, including that unique tone of voice of yours.
4. Make each email for collaboration unique
It is important to customize each email pitch because it shows genuine interest in the specific brand you’re reaching out to. You need to learn how you should position yourself. A lazy copy and paste email will be seen as unprofessional and you won’t stand out among the rest.
This is why you need to make some research about a brand before reaching out to them. Who is their target audience, what are they interested in? What are the brand’s key values and goals?
Once you figure out what you have in common in your messaging and goals or where you can add value to their brand, mention that in your email pitch. Also, tell the brand why you love their products (if you have used them) or what your audience loves and engages with.
Related post: How to Become a Micro Influencer – Steps for Turning Social Media Into Profit
Use a brand collaboration contract
When you’ve done a successful email pitch and a brand wants to work with you it’s time that you send them a influencer collaboration contract.
This is a great contract template for sponsored post collaborations created by Amira from ASelfGuru.com who is a lawyer.
I always use this contract template for myself and my social media management clients when we’re doing a brand collab.
Email for collaboration sample
So, now you might wonder how do you write a brand collaboration email and what to include in your brand pitch email.
There are so many ways you can format a brand collaboration email. I get tons of requests to share my exact formula, so that’s what I’m going to do right now.
This is a brand collaboration email sample I’ve used a lot for myself and my clients and it works really well:
- Introduce yourself (Identify yourself and your brand, briefly state what you do.)
- Include a relevant achievement of yours to catch the brand’s attention and stand out
- Explain in a short way what you want (be specific)
- Try to pinpoint why working together makes sense (include the brand’s values and goals, and explain how you could benefit them) A hot tip is to go check the brand’s website and read their *About Me* page. Then, try to find their brand goals and values to use in your pitch.
- Directly link your social media accounts, LinkedIn and Media Kit
- Ask an open ended question (not a yes/no question) This invites the brand to engage in your conversation and to build a relationship
- Formal and professional closing
Conclusion
I hope this email for collaboration sample helped you on how to pitch to brands as an influencer or blogger.
Trust yourself and your ideas.
When faced with fear or rejection, don’t let it stop you from actively pursuing new opportunities. And remember, even if you don’t land a partnership this time, it doesn’t mean you won’t work with them in the future!
You got this girl!
