Calling all my creator friends! Many of you know that I’ve been a content creator.. or influencer, for a number of years. People always ask me how I get brand partnerships with under 10,000 followers. Well first of all, this is a relationship based industry, as is 90% of all industries. Also, don’t forget that I am a marketing professional. I work full-time in an agency that creates and executes influencer campaigns but I also manage some AMAZING creators… like way cooler than me!
So let’s dive in. You’re here to find out how you can pitch to brands in an effective manner. We all know that influencer marketing is growing year after year. Brands are always looking for creators/influencers that align with their brand. Ultimately, your follower count is not the biggest priority anymore. Brands are looking for engagement, but you know that. A great thing to calculate is your engagement rate. You need to know this!
There are a couple ways to calculate this, I like to take the average of both.
Engagement Rate = (Likes + Comments) / Followers x 100
OR
Engagement Rate = (Likes + Comments) / Impression X 100
Surprise, it’s smaller influencers like me, who have the highest engagement rates (averaging at 7%) on their feed posts! (according to Fohr!)
What should your pitch include?
A brief introduction, maybe how you got their contact and why you thought they were the best contact to touch base with. In your pitch, you need to include why you’re the best option. There is no shortage of creators out there! Make it easy for the brand to say YES.
What about their brand/product do you love and how does that relate to your audience? You’ll want to include your media kit. For a larger brand, you can always update and customize your media kit for that brand. For example, to secure brand partners for my bathroom I shared why my project was unique and different than everyone else doing a renovation right now. I also included statistics and insights from past brand partnerships who worked with me on my kitchen renovation! Similar brands, similar content and therefore – relevant! Not to mention, the numbers were impressive! My followers are so curious about my living arrangements so this was what set me apart.
Here are some other tips that you should consider before pitching to a brand.
- Do you actually like this brand? Have you ever tried it, or used it?
- Do you actively engage this brand online? Ie. do you follow them? Have you commented on their posts before?
- Have you worked with their competitor in the last few months?
- What are you asking the brand for? What are you giving them? Make it clear. You need to be confident in your ask, as well what you’re delivering. Of course, this is ALL negotiable.
Feeling confident? Great! Feeling inspired but have no interest in pitching? Awesome! I can help. That’s what my influencer marketing and talent agency creator services does for some of the coolest creators!
