“How do I pitch myself to brands as a content creator” is one of the most asked questions for creators ready to take their creator business to the next level. There is definitely a right and a wrong way to pitch yourself to brands, so let’s go over what to do before you pitch, how to pitch, and the most important thing to do to land your next brand deal.
What To Do Before You Pitch Yourself To A Brand
Although it may be tempting to slide into a brand’s Instagram DM, it’s important that you do some research and pitch to the brand via email. This shows brands that you are serious about your business and allows you to reach the right department which increases your chances of landing a brand deal.
The first thing you want to do is ensure you start working with brands that you regularly use or that you truly believe in. This will help you establish trust with your audience and increase your sales conversion rate when you work with brands.
This is also a good way to share with brands that you are an established customer of theirs by sharing their products in your content and tagging the company so their social media department can see.
You can also use the content you shared in your pitch email so they can get a sample of what working with you would look like.
Once you have established your initial relationship with the brand on social media, you will want to research the brand to get the right point of contact. You can do this by going to the company’s website and looking for their marketing department contact.
If their marketing department is not available on their website, you can look up the company employee directory on Linkedin. Just ensure to get the exact name and email address to make your pitch email more personalized.
You can also use hunter.io to find email addresses for companies. Hunter is free to use and allows 25 searches per month with 50 verifications. You can simply type in a companies website and see a list of company emails that are connected to that website, making it easier to ensure you are contacting the right people.
Last, before pitching, you want to have your media kit made and ready to send to the brand. This should be a one-page “creator resume” showcasing information about you and your personal brand, your best stats, collaboration opportunities without prices, and brands you have worked with in the past.
How To Send A Pitch Email
Once you have done your initial research, it’s time to send your pitch email. The key to a good pitch email is to keep it short and sweet and highlight what you can do for the brand.
For me personally, I like to stick to 3-4 paragraphs that follow the same overall structure.
But before you get into the email, you need to master the subject line. This is the difference between a brand opening your email and you landing a brand deal and a brand sending you to spam.
You want to make sure your subject line lets a brand know you aren’t spam and that the email will benefit them. Some examples you can use are:
“(Brand name,) reach (follower count) organically”
“Lets (companies mission) together”
Then you want to open up the email by sharing a little about you, your target audience, and showcase your personality.
“Hi (contacts name)
My name is (your name) and I am a (your niche, platform name, and platform link.) I create high-quality content centered around (content you make) that has worked with (brands you have collaborated with in the past.)
I have been a fan of your company for years and love (name a product you love and/or something about the company such as their mission statement, or organizations they are involved in.)
My channel focuses on helping (who you target and what you help them with) and I know they would love to know more about your products. (bonus if you can add a screenshot of your audience asking questions about the product you shared in your content before.) I am planning (content you have planned that would easily showcase their company) and feel it would be perfect to help your brand increase your organic reach and share your company with new customers.
I have attached my media kit and would love to set up a time to discuss this further on a call or through email.
I look forward to working with you and your team,
(your name)
(your social links)
(Calendar link to book a call)
So I know that is a lot but key things to add to your email are:
- Personalized subject line
- Introduction to yourself and your platforms
- Compliment the brand and what you love about them
- What your channel does and how you plan to showcase them to your audience
- Direct them to your media kit and option to set up a call
- Sign off with optimistic close, links to your socials, and calendar link
The Most Important Thing
Now that you sent your pitch email, your job is not done. Something to understand is brands are very busy and their marketing department gets hundreds of emails from influencers and content creators looking to work with them.
There may be a couple of creators the brand is trying to decide to work with which is where the follow-up email comes into play.
You want to show a brand you are interested in working with them and truly believe it will benefit them to work with you. Also, if you are the only one who sends a follow-up email, it helps you stand out from the crowd which increases your chances even more.
The follow-up email should be professional, polite, give just enough urgency without feeling pushy, and sent 2-3 days after the initial email.
“Hi (contacts name)
I know emails can get lost in the shuffle and I just wanted to follow up on the email I sent to you two days ago about collaborating with me at (social media platform link.) I am planning to shoot my content for (the content idea you want to insert them in) and I would love to add your company to this campaign as I know my audience of (target audience) would love to hear more.
If the first content idea does not fit your advertising needs, I would love to discuss other ideas with you and your team. My last post on (showcase a post that did well) received (highlight the best stat such as views, comments, or search ranking) and think it would be a great opportunity for your company to take advantage of this reach.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this collaboration,
(your name)
(social media link)
Conclusion
When pitching yourself to a brand make sure you do your initial research and send a professional email to their marketing department. If you don’t hear back from a company, do not take it personally. I have had companies reach back out to me a year after the initial pitch was sent.
Remember, pitching yourself to brands is a numbers game. So continue to reach out to brands you align with and you will be closer to secure your next paid brand deal.
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