Influencer outreach is critical for any content marketing campaign, because influencers expose your brand to a larger audience, and because your audience values endorsements from third parties — often more than they value your word alone.
According to Zuberance, 92 percent of consumers trust brand advocates. Further, Visual.ly found that content shared by influencers receives 16 times more engagement than paid advertisements or content presented by a brand itself. Despite its importance, influencer outreach is often one of those to-do list items that marketers fail to get around to — mostly because it’s such a huge task.
Want to simplify things? Here are five free templates you can use to streamline the influencer outreach process.
1. Initial outreach template
Once you’ve compiled a list of potential influencers, I suggest you prioritize top influencers and send them personalized emails. For those a little further down the list, a template will do just fine.
Here’s an example:
Hi [name],
My name is [your name] from [company]. I’ve been following your blog since 2013.
Your recent post really resonated with me. I thought it was something my audience would appreciate, so I shared it with my social media and email subscribers.
I wanted to get in touch with you to discuss [topic] further, and see if we can work on something similar together.
If you’re interested we can set up a phone call this week to discuss starting a collaboration that would bring value to both our audiences.
Best,
[your name]
2. Curation template
A common way to build a relationship with a potential influencer is by asking them to contribute to your content. Here’s a clear, polite template you can use for this purpose:
Hi [name],
Can I feature you in a blog post?
I’m writing an expert advice piece and am reaching out to all the big players in the [topic] field, and I think your contribution would be very valuable. I plan to mention your brand in the post as well, so it could bring you some helpful exposure.
Here’s what I would like to know for the piece:
[insert question(s)]
I know you are probably busy and completely understand if you don’t have time to contribute. If you are interested, I would appreciate it if you got back to me within the next seven days.
Thank you,
[your name]
3. Influencer mention template
Once you’ve featured an influencer in your content, you have to make sure they notice.
Here’s a template you can use to let influencers know you wrote about them, and to politely request that they share the content with their networks.
Hi [name],
I wanted to thank you again for contributing to my expert advice post. I was amazed by how much great advice I got, including yours, and I think the post will bring a lot of value to my readers.
The post just went live:
[insert link]
Take a look at it if you have time. I would love to know what you think. It would be great if you could like and share it with your audience.
Thanks again,
[your name]
4. Guest blog template
This template can help speed up the process of contacting potential blogs to guest post, but be sure to note whether or not they have specific guidelines before you send a message.
Hi [name],
My name is [your name] from [company]. I’ve been following your blog since 2013.
I read all your posts and I loved your recent one on [blog topic]. However I noticed that it’s been awhile since anyone wrote about [your topic idea] on your blog.
I know a lot about [your topic idea] and think I would be a valuable contributor if you let me write a guest post about it.
Here are a few headline ideas that I think would really draw your readers in:
[headline 1]
[headline 2]
[headline 3]
Also here are a few samples of other pieces I’ve written in the niche:
[link 1]
[link 2]
Thanks for your time,
[your name]
5. Invitation template
Finally, this template will be helpful if you want to ask an influencer to review your product or feature your giveaway on their website.
Hi [name],
My name is [your name] from [company]. I really enjoy your [relevant content] and am impressed by how well you’ve done with [their company name].
I’m reaching out to you because I have a product that I think your audience would appreciate. Would you be willing to test and review [product]?
I can provide a free sample for you to review, and three extra ones that you can give away to your audience.
Please let me know if you are interested.
Thanks for your time,
[your name]
Influencer outreach is a huge task, which is why it’s important to take advantage of any tools you can to make the process a little easier. These five email templates are a great place to start, though you’ll want to customize their language to suit your business and your niche.
