How to Contact Instagram Influencers: The Perfect Process for 2021 [Free Template] - inzpire.me Blog (2023)

With more and more brands collaborating with influencers, it can be difficult for you to make your brand stand out and successfully connect with Instagram influencers for collaborations.

So what can you do to get their attention?

Below is a handy guide on how to reach Instagram influencers and get them to promote your business.

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What is influencer reach?

Influencer outreach is the process of finding and contacting influencers you want to work with.

You need to define your outreach strategy to convince influencers to work with you. If you can't craft messages that pique their interest, you could end up spending hours researching and sending emails — and never getting a response.

How to contact Instagram influencers

Step 1: Know your campaign goals

Before contacting influencers, you should first define marketing goals and objectives for your campaigns in yourInfluencer Marketing Strategy. They can include increasing brand awareness, creating content, or increasing sales.

(Video) How To Launch An INFLUENCER MARKETING CAMPAIGN in 7 Simple Steps (Strategy, Outreach and Examples)

Without defined marketing goals, it becomes difficult for you to determine which oneskind of influencerYou should work and how you will succeed with yoursThe Influencer Campaign. You also have no way of measuring your results!

With a poorly planned campaign, influencers will not understand what you want to achieve with your collaboration. This can limit their willingness to work with you and affect their ability to deliver a strong brand message with Sponsored Posts.

Step 2: Ask influencers for relevance

Search, search, search! Your outreach strategy will be more successful when you reach relevant influencers for your business.

To maintain their authenticity, influencers want to partner with brands that match their profiles and values. They are also more likely to promote products they already love. Influencers ignore messages from random brands, especially when they see you haven't bothered to verify them before contacting them.

If you want to work with an influencer who doesn't belong in a typical category for your brand, you need to convince them why you want them in your campaign and what you think they can contribute. Sometimes influencers are willing to take risks by collaborating with brands that aren't an obvious option and can create creative content.

Connecting with relevant influencers not only increases your chances of getting positive responses to your outreach messages. It will also increase the success of your influencer marketing campaigns in general. When your brand aligns with influencers' social media profiles, your sponsored posts will resonate with your audience. This will help you drive positivelyROI of your influencer marketing.

Before you start reaching out to influencers, ask yourself:

  • Would you like to work with micro-influencers or macro-influencers?
  • Does the profile category (e.g. fitness, food and drink, etc.) match what you want to promote?
  • Does their content align with your brand aesthetic and values?
  • Do they have good engagement and quality content?
  • Do they have an audience relevant to your brand?
  • What types of brands have you worked with before? Any competitors?
  • Do you think they would promote your products?

Find more tips herehow to find influencersrelevant to your brand.

Step 3: Engage with influencers on social media

To make it easier to reach out to an influencer, start following and interacting with them on Instagram about 2-3 weeks before you start reaching out! You can do this on the influencers' other social media channels if they are available. This shows them that you've done your research and are interested in what they're creating.

When it's time for you to reach out to an Instagram influencer, they may recognize your brand because you've already engaged with them. This makes it easier to start a conversation and increases your chances of a successful contact.

Step 4: Organize campaign logistics

Before approaching you, you should already have a clear idea of ​​what you want the influencer to do, when to complete the collaboration, and how much they are willing to pay. This will give you an idea of ​​how much time it will take you to start reaching out to influencers and anticipate any questions you may have.

For an average campaign, you have a list of around 20 influencer leads to contact. We recommend sending outreach messages at least 2 weeks before the start of the campaign. If the campaign is larger, you should start the process earlier.

(Video) Thank You For Being There For Me... ❤️

When creating oneInfluencer Marketing SummaryBy outlining your campaign and marketing goals, you'll have all the information you need to get influencers excited about the opportunity to work with you.

Without sorting out the logistical aspects of your campaign, your campaign summary and responses will be vague. As a result, the influencer cannot assess whether they are interested in working with you or whether you would be a reliable partner, which can lead to them ignoring your messages.

Finally, remember to schedule your outreach process. Create a table with:

  • The names of the influencers
  • Links to your Instagram profiles
  • Key Instagram Metrics
  • Notes to remember
  • Date you want to get in touch
  • Date you actually made contact
  • Data you want to track
  • Data you actually tracked

Write down the dates you will start contacting and when you will follow up. Having a set schedule will help you keep track of your reach and give you an idea of ​​how long the process will take.

Step 5: Choose a contact method

There are several ways to target influencers. The most common methods are Instagram direct messages (DMs) and email.

Direct messages do Instagram

Instagram DMs are a casual and informal way to reach influencers.

When using DMs for public relations, you must keep them short and concise as you are limited to 1,000 characters. Keep in mind that your DMs are likely to be read on mobile phones as well. So the shorter you can keep them, the easier it will be for influencers to get through!

E-Mails

Email is a more formal way to reach influencers than Instagram. And it can be more effective. often you canFind influencer emailsbelow their Instagram bio under "Contact" or "Email".

When an influencer has your email address in their bio, you can be sure that they are ready to promote business on their Instagram.

Because you don't have a message limit, you can add more information to an email to get influencers excited about potential collaborations. However, they should be kept short.

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For emails, you need to consider which subject lines to use. You need to intrigue the influencer and pique their curiosity without being too vague about what the email is about. To find subject lines that work for you, try different ones and don't be afraid to get creative!

Step 6: Promote your brand

Influencers receive dozens of collaboration offers every day and may be too busy to go through them all. So how do you craft a message that grabs their attention and makes a great first impression?

Here's our recommended template for contacting cold influencers.

Download our proven influencer outreach models we use for clients like Nescafé, Subway, Warner Music and many more.

Here are some best practices to follow:

Customize your messages

When reaching out to influencers, ditch the generic templates and work on customizing your outreach messages. Personalization helps you get a better response rate from influencers and shows that you're genuinely interested in connecting with them. It will also help your brand stand out in your crowded inbox.

To tailor your outreach messages to specific influencers, you should:

  • Use influencer names in your greeting
  • Explain why their content resonated with you - avoid general comments!
  • Introduce your brand and explain why you think it would be a good fit
  • State your expectations and how you will benefit from the cooperation
  • End the message with your name so they know who you are.

Keep the message short

Because influencers are busy, you want to make sure the length of your outreach messages is short and to the point. Avoid submitting paragraphs with information about the collaboration and their brand. They will probably stop reading the entire email if they don't get what you want in a few sentences.

Instead, mention just enough information to encourage them. Once connected, you have the option to share more information or attach a summary that describes your brand and collaboration details.

Be clear and concise

(Video) Free Instagram Course: Influencer Marketing with Gretta van Riel

For an influencer to get excited about potential collaboration opportunities, they need to understand what you're asking about. If your messages aren't clear, it will affect how likely they are to reply to you.

Good outreach messages are well-structured, clear, and concise. It should be easy for influencers to review your messages and decide whether or not they're interested in working with you.

To write messages that are easy to understand, try to keep your sentences short and to the point. Avoid too many emojis and complicated vocabulary. Check the flow of your sentences, and if you reach out to influencers in other countries, try to translate your messages into the local language.

Add a call to action (CTA).

Every outreach message you send to influencers should include a clear CTA so they know what to do next. Your CTA could be a question or a reference to a meeting or call.

Step 7: Follow up

After sending your first wave of outreach messages to influencers, update your spreadsheets or lists with the dates you contacted them. This will help you know when you made your first contact. You'll also find it easier to know when to send follow-up messages and give them a friendly nudge.

You should follow influencers for several reasons:

  • The influencer may not have seen your messages because their inbox was full
  • If the influencer isn't following you on Instagram, they'll need to accept your DM request to see your messages
  • They may have seen your messages but forgot to reply to you.
  • They increase your chances of being seen.

You can send up to 2 follow-up messages before risking spam. We recommend sending follow-up messages 2 days apart as it helps your brand stand out. If you wait too long to send a follow-up, the influencer may not remember your original message.

Both follow-up messages should be short, but provide influencers with value that can convince them to work with you. Remember, you're still marketing your business to them. You can offer to answer their questions or send them a brief summary of what you're offering.

Step 8: Be professional

Throughout the outreach process, be sure to communicate with influencers in a respectful and professional manner. After all, your outreach messages could be their first interaction with your company, so you want to give them a good impression!

You can offer influencers a great experience by answering all questions promptly. In this way, your company becomes a reliable partner.

Even if the influencer refuses to work with you on a collaboration, thank them for reading your messages. This will help you maintain a healthy relationship with influencers who may be interested in working with you in the future.

If influencers are interested in working with you, send a formal email with a campaign summary detailing potential collaboration. You can also discuss the terms of yourinfluencer contract. For easier tracking and providing influencers with more information, we recommend using your email address.

(Video) How to Find Influencers on Instagram to Promote Your Business

Related topics
  • Brand Insights

FAQs

How do I contact an influencer on Instagram? ›

Plus, if the influencer isn't following your brand, your DM will end up in their “Request” inbox and may go unnoticed. To find an influencer's email address, check their Instagram bio or their website. If you can't find contact information, comment on one of their posts and ask them to share their email address.

How do I email an influencer template? ›

Hey [insert influencer name], We've been following your Instagram account and really love your post(s) about [insert topic]. [Insert personalized compliment about their content]. My name is [insert name here] and I'm the [position] at [insert brand name].

How do you contact influencers to promote your product template? ›

One of the best ways to ask an influencer to promote a product is to send a quick message introducing yourself, telling them why you like their content and why you think they'd be a good fit for your brand, and asking them to schedule a phone call with you to further dive into the details.

How do you reach out to influencers for collaboration template? ›

Reaching out to an influencer with a free sample

Subject line: Sample for you to try! My name is [your name], and I'm a big fan of your work. I saw you mention on [platform] that you were looking for free samples, so I thought I'd reach out to see if you'd be interested in trying some of ours. We make [product name].

How can I contact influencers directly? ›

Many influencers have specific guidelines for how to contact them. Most likely, you'll find them on their social media profiles or their website. Sometimes you may have to fill out a form with info about your brand and why you're interested in a collaboration.

How do you DM an influencer? ›

Let's go!
  1. Step 1: Find Your Influencers on Instagram.
  2. Step 2: Prepare Your First Direct Message Template.
  3. Step 3: Promise Value in Exchange for Influencer Marketing.
  4. Step 4: The Follow-Up DM.
Nov 9, 2022

How do I reach out to influencers message template? ›

How to Write a Perfect Influencer Outreach Email
  1. Know Your Goals.
  2. Write a Catchy Subject Line.
  3. Personalize Your Message.
  4. Keep Your Email Short and "To-The-Point"
  5. Give Them Creative Freedom.
Nov 26, 2021

Is it better to DM or email influencers? ›

Although you might be following an influencer on Instagram, it's often best to contact them via email, not via DM. Emails are more professional, and they tend to elicit a higher response rate. You can probably find an influencer's email address on their social media bio or website.

How do you ask for free stuff as an influencer? ›

The Golden Rule of Getting Free Stuff
  1. Be Nice. ...
  2. Don't Ask for Free Stuff. ...
  3. Explain Why Your Audience is the Perfect Fit for Their Product. ...
  4. You are Basically Making a Sales Pitch. ...
  5. It's Okay Not to Have a Lot of Views or Subscribers. ...
  6. Offer Companies More Than Just One-Off Cooperation.
Aug 25, 2019

How do you ask for collaboration on Instagram template? ›

I'm reaching out because [insert what you saw in their feed, posts and what they are passionate about and relate it to your brand's purpose]. We'd love it if you would collaborate with us [insert any collaboration specifics in mind]! Please let me know if you're interested and I'll share more details. Thanks!

How do I approach Instagram influencers to promote my product? ›

Download the free guide: How to do high-impact influencer marketing on a budget.
  1. Meet The Four Tiers of Influencers. ...
  2. Look For Brand Mentions & Audience Demographics. ...
  3. Create Relationships With Influencers. ...
  4. Understand Different Content Types For Your Influencer Campaign. ...
  5. Understand Different Payment Models.
Nov 2, 2021

How do you ask influencer for paid collaboration? ›

Most direct is sending an email or social media message to the influencer and asking them to collaborate. Another method is used by Amazon and a few other large companies: having a page where influencers who are interested in collaborating can sign up. Many other businesses do a combination of these techniques.

How do you DM a brand for collaboration template? ›

How to Pitch a Collab to a Brand on Instagram
  1. Select Relevant Brands. First things first; for a successful brand collaboration, you must choose the right brands for you. ...
  2. Write Your Pitch. ...
  3. Find The Brand's Best Contact Details. ...
  4. Follow Up. ...
  5. Finalize Your Contracts. ...
  6. Execute the Campaign. ...
  7. Measure the Results.
Oct 14, 2022

How do I ask an influencer for help? ›

Know which form of communication the influencer uses most.

Often, it's best to direct message an influencer on their main social channel with a brief offer to send them a gift. If the influencer responds, ask them how they prefer to communicate as a courtesy.

Why are influencers not responding? ›

They're just busy.

Don't forget that for most influencers, posting on social media isn't a full-time job. They're busy running businesses, meeting with people and directing organizations. They (and their assistants) don't have time to respond to every message they receive -- especially when they receive so many.

Do influencers reply to DMS? ›

They're more likely to respond if it's the founder themselves who's reaching out. They're less likely to respond if it's an intern or a VA.

How do you ask for collaboration? ›

I'm [name] from [company name]. I sent you an email [duration from when sent] that I think could benefit us if we partner up. I've come across your work and enjoyed it [maybe mention one particular project]. I thought you would be interested in partnering for this project because [give reasons].

How do you get an influencers attention? ›

Don't rush into a major request for your influencer. Instead, start with some basics of social media networking. Follow your influencer and interact in a helpful, friendly, engaging way. Start by simply reading what the influencer posts and watch how he or she engages with others; just get to know this person.

Is it better to start a blog or Instagram page? ›

It doesn't matter. As long as you are using Instagram, you are an Instagrammer. A person who owns a website where he/she writes blog posts about different subjects. It could be travel, fashion, food or anything else.

How do you get designers to send you free stuff? ›

To get companies to send you free stuff, including samples and coupons, you can take a direct approach by simply asking. You can also try signing up for newsletters, as well as complaining when a product is bad. Most companies want to keep their customers happy, so they'll often send you products if you just ask.

How many followers do you need to become a paid influencer? ›

10,000–50,000 followers = Micro-influencer. 50,000–500,000 followers = Mid-tier influencer. 500,000–1,000,000 followers = Macro-influencer. 1,000,000+ followers = Mega-influencers.

How do you email a influencer for collaboration subject? ›

Pique the influencer's interest by including their name in the subject line. This personalizes the message and grabs their attention. Something like, “Melanie, we'd love to work together” or “Your followers will love this product, Melanie” will get an influencer's attention.

How much do influencers charge to promote a product? ›

Micro influencers (10,000 - 50,000 followers): $100 - $500 per post. Mid-tier influencers (50,000 - 500,000 followers): $500 - $5,000 per post. Macro influencers (500,000 - 1,000,000 followers): $5000 - $10,000 per post. Mega influencers (1,000,000+ followers): $10,000+ per post.

Do influencers get paid before or after? ›

This decision is entirely up to the brand but data suggests that influencers prefer to be paid upfront for their content. Research highlights that 68% of influencers require brands to pay them before they begin their sponsorship.

How do you approach brands for paid collaboration on Instagram? ›

5 ways to find Instagram brand collaborations
  1. Do in-depth research on brands. ...
  2. Check your competition. ...
  3. Check influencer marketing platforms. ...
  4. Reach out to brands that engage with you. ...
  5. Check the brands that use Instagram paid ads.
Jun 20, 2022

How do you DM an Ambassador brand? ›

Tell them why you're interested in partnering with them and indicate (specifically) what you love about their content. Then, introduce yourself and introduce them to your brand. You could mention the specific product that you're going to be promoting and then any benefits that the influencer might be interested in.

How do you contact brands for collaboration? ›

What should I do before reaching out to brands as a micro influencer?
  1. Have an engaged community of followers.
  2. Know the brand you want to collaborate with.
  3. Have a media kit ready.
  4. Tag 'em (everywhere in relevant content)
  5. Make it easy (and personal)!
  6. Do a joint-pitch.
  7. Build a network through events.
Jan 17, 2020

Should I DM an influencer on Instagram? ›

By contrast, IG DMs are best for getting a creator's attention and building a deeper connection with them. Using DMs well can more quickly endear a creator to your brand. And it's that brand affinity that is key to a successful influencer campaign.

How much do you pay an Instagram influencer? ›

According to InfluencerMarketingHub, the standard Instagram influencer rate sheet based on reach is as follows: Nano influencers (1000 - 10,000 followers): $10 - $100 per post. Micro influencers (10,000 - 50,000 followers): $100 - $500 per post. Mid-tier influencers (50,000 - 500,000 followers): $500 - $5,000 per post.

Can I speak to a representative at Instagram? ›

You can contact Instagram support via the online Help Center, or by reporting a post directly. If you shake your phone while using Instagram, a pop-up will appear that lets you report bugs. Instagram support has an email address and phone number, but you probably won't be able to reach a live person.

How do you write an influencer proposal? ›

How to Write a Successful Influencer Campaign Proposal
  1. Be Clear From the Start. Your first sentence in a pitch should be attention grabbing, but clear from the start. ...
  2. Throw them a hook. ...
  3. Sell Yourself. ...
  4. Provide an example of your best work in your influencer campaign proposal. ...
  5. Apply for campaigns within your niche.
Feb 6, 2018

How many followers do you need for Instagram to start paying you? ›

Post a picture with the specified hashtags on Instagram and get paid. You need at least 700 engaged followers to be eligible.

How many followers do I need for Instagram to pay me? ›

The good news is, there's no strict minimum. Five influencers Insider interviewed — all with under 6,000 Instagram followers — said they got paid by brands to post to their small audiences.

How much does Instagram pay for 1,000 views? ›

$250 – $750 per 1000 engagements (or $0.25 – $0.75 per post engagement).

How do I get influencers to reply? ›

It can be disheartening when an influencer you really want to work with doesn't respond to your collaboration proposals.
...
How To Increase Your Response Rates
  1. Reach Out to Well-Aligned Influencers. ...
  2. Make Your Outreach Personal. ...
  3. Provide Campaign Details. ...
  4. Include a Call-to-Action. ...
  5. Follow Up When Necessary.
Nov 9, 2021

How do you ask for collaboration on Instagram? ›

Step 1: Follow the usual steps to create a new Feed post or Reel. Step 2: On the page where you can add your post details, tap on the “Tag people” option. Step 3: Choose the “Invite collaborator” option. Step 4: Search for the user you want to collaborate with and select their username.

Does Instagram respond to emails? ›

If you described the problem properly, Instagram help support will consider the request and reply by email.

Can I chat with an Instagram agent? ›

No, Instagram doesn't have live chat support.

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