There are many ways you can go about influencer outreach.
It can be a time-consuming task to figure out the best approach, so today we’re sharing a few tips so that you can grab someone’s attention in your next influencer marketing campaign.
By now we’ve already established that you should be considering influencer marketing as your next marketing strategy. We talked about how B2B businesses can take advantage of this opportunity in a previous post.
Approaching a potential influencer is not the same as approaching a potential customer. After all, if you’re trying to sell your product to an influencer, you’re doing it wrong. But there is a common challenge in approaching influencers and customers: getting them to pay attention to your email.
Ideally, you’d send one message that gets noticed and replied to right away. This doesn’t always happen, especially with macro influencers that may receive thousands of emails per day.
5 Tips to Improve Your Influencer Outreach
The main purpose of your initial approach to an influencer should be to show them how you can be valuable to them, and not the other way around.
For that, you need to know the influencer well. Follow their content, share it around, engage with them on social media. If an influencer is going to notice you, you have to notice them first and make sure that you’re clear on why they are a right fit for your influencer campaign.
Getting past the first email with a response is the most difficult. Although there are many email templates for influencer outreach available out there, the problem is that they can be used by anyone which also means they can be overused.
Your email should be as personalized as possible to fit the person you are contacting.
Here’s how you can do this.
1. Show them why you care
Start by explaining how you found them, why you follow them and why their last article interested you.
Be creative, tell them why you think their post from 2 years ago on a topic that you know well should be updated with new information.
Having a template can be quite helpful, but it should be adapted to show the other person that the email they are receiving is unique. After all, the relationship you want to have with them should (and will) be unique as well.
2. Explain your value
For example, if your intention is to write a guest post on a blog you really love, explain why you think the influencer and their audience would benefit from having your content on their page.
The same goes if you just want them to mention your product, either in a future blog post about a relatable topic or, perhaps, a simple tweet.
You want someone to mention you because they genuinely see value in your brand and believe their followers will too. If they have to waste too much time researching your brand to figure this out, you’re doing something wrong.
It should be clear from the first email what that value is.
3. Be clear with your intention
The art of being subtle can be useful when you’re hoping to get someone to share your article, but there are certain times where it’s easier and more effective to be clear about what you want.
If you want to write a guest post, ask someone to write on your blog or be apart of your affiliate program, you shouldn’t go around it in circles. Be straight-forward and, once again, focus on the value you have to offer.
4. Don’t be pushy with requests
Remember you are the one who’s interested. The influencer doesn’t owe you anything and, therefore, if you sound like you’re demanding a fast reply and an immediate interest, no one is going to bother.
Asking someone to share your article with their followers should feel like a suggestion and not a request.
5. Keep it short
Short and simple is the best way to grab someone’s attention.
It may seem hard to sum up all those previous tips in just a few sentences, but try to think about the kind of email you would like to receive. If it was overwhelmingly long, would you bother reading it?
Influencer Outreach Email Templates
Still not 100% sure how to make it work? Well, there is no right answer, as it ultimately depends on the influencer, the type of content they post and, of course, what it is that you want from them.
Though it is nice to have a template for guidance, remember the key is personalization, which we’ve already established can’t be achieved if you’re just copy-pasting the same email to all.
Here are some influencer outreach email examples.
Pitching an idea for a guest post
Sharing an article
The ‘feature’ emails
Requesting a review
Affiliate programs
Influencer Outreach: when you get no response
It’s entirely natural if you don’t get a lot of responses on your first try. However, this doesn’t mean your efforts to get noticed should stop.
A follow-up email to remind the influencers of your first email can sometimes make a difference, whereas with some you might have better luck engaging with them on social media. Comment on their posts and try to reach them through other means. An email can easily get lost or forgotten in a busy inbox, whereas comments are usually responded to.
Of course, it goes without saying that, if after a few tries you don’t succeed, it’s best to assume that they are not interested.
Give it a go
If you’ve already forgotten, I’ll say it again: the key is personalization. Don’t forget that the approach should be focused on the value that the influencer can take from you, and not how their audience can become your next client. At the end of the day, this should not be hard when you’ve got the right people in mind.
If you’re looking to explore your influencer marketing opportunities but are not quite ready to go macro, check out our case study on the power of micro-influencers.
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