How do you write an influencer outreach email or DM (templates that get replies)?

What is influencer outreach?

Influencer outreach is the first message a brand sends a creator to suggest working together, usually by email or DM, followed by a short run of follow-ups. Its only job is to get a reply that opens a conversation about a gift, a paid post or an ongoing partnership. An influencer outreach email does this in writing: a subject line, the reason you picked this creator, the offer and one next step.

Outreach sits between finding creators and negotiating with them. It is not the contract, the brief or the rate discussion; those come after the creator says yes. Treat the first message as an invitation, not a proposal document. A creator should be able to read it on a phone at a glance and know who you are, what you want, what they get and what to do next.

How do you find the right influencers for your brand

How do you write an email to an influencer?

Write it in six parts: a specific subject line, one personalised line, the offer, the deliverables and timing, the pay and usage terms, and one easy next step.

Short beats thorough. Instantly's 2026 Cold Email Benchmark Report found that the best-performing first emails stay under 80 words with a single call to action. It measures B2B sales email rather than creator outreach, but creators sorting a stack of brand pitches behave much like any busy inbox owner. Put the detail in a linked or attached brief and keep the email itself to the decision the creator has to make.

Send from a named person on a work domain, never a no-reply address, and sign off with your role and a link to the brand's site or Instagram so the creator can check you are real.

Subject line

Name the creator or their content and the offer: '[Name] x [Brand]: paid Reel for our SPF launch?' beats 'Collaboration opportunity'. Keep it short enough to read in full on a phone, and never use fake 'Re:' or 'Urgent' tricks. Creators share screenshots of bad pitches with each other.

Personalised opening

One sentence that could only be written to this creator: the video, series or caption that made you pick them, and why it fits your product. 'Your 6am gym-bag Reel is exactly how we'd show our protein bars' works. 'I love your content' tells them you didn't look.

The offer

Say in one line what kind of deal this is: a gifted product, a paid post, an affiliate code or an ongoing ambassador role. Creators sort pitches by deal type first, so burying 'paid' in paragraph three costs you replies from exactly the people you most want.

Deliverables and timing

List the format and number of pieces (for example, two TikToks and one Story frame), the go-live window and whether you need drafts for approval. Specific deliverables let a creator check their calendar and quote quickly instead of replying with five questions.

Pay and usage

State the fee or budget range, when you pay, and how you want to use the content: organic reposts only, or paid ads on your handle for a set period. Usage changes the price, so raising it now saves you renegotiating after they say yes.

One next step

End with one low-effort question, such as 'Shall I send the brief?' or 'Is this a yes in principle?' Leave booking links and multi-part asks out of a first email. People answer a yes-or-no question from their phone, but they save a calendar invite for later and forget it.

Which influencer outreach email templates get replies?

The three templates below cover most first emails a DTC brand sends: a cold paid pitch, a gifting offer and a campaign brief with fixed deliverables. Each one is short, names something specific the creator made and ends with a single question. Replace every bracket before sending. An email with '[Name]' still in it is worse than sending nothing.

If the offer includes free product, say up front how the post should be labelled. According to the ASA and CMA influencers' guide, free products count as payment even when there is no obligation to post, so the resulting content needs a clear 'Ad' label in the UK. For US creators, ask for a clear '#ad' or 'ad' placed with the post itself, not hidden among hashtags.

Template 1: cold email (paid)

Subject: [Name] x [Brand]: paid TikToks for March? Hi [Name], your [specific video] on [topic] is why I'm writing. I run creator partnerships at [Brand], a UK [skincare] brand. We'd like two TikToks in March for [£fee], organic use only. The brief is short and unscripted. Shall I send it over? [Your name], [role], [brand link]

Template 2: gifting offer

Subject: Can we send you [product]? No strings. Hi [Name], your [morning routine Reel] made the whole team want to send you our [product]. We'd love to post you a full-size set with no obligation to share. If you do post, please label it 'Ad' (UK) or '#ad' (US), as gifted content still counts as advertising. Want one? Just reply with an address.

Template 3: paid campaign brief

Subject: Paid brief: 3 Reels for [Brand] launch, [£fee] Hi [Name], your [series] fits our [product] launch. Deliverables: 3 Reels and 3 Story frames, live [dates]. Fee: [£fee], paid within [X] days of going live. Usage: [90] days of paid ads on our handle. Disclosure: 'Ad' label up front. Interested? I can send the full brief and contract today.

What is influencer gifting / product seeding and how do you run a gifting campaign

What should an influencer DM say?

A DM does the same job as an email in half the words: who you are, why this creator, what you are offering and whether they want the details in the chat or by email.

Creators with sizeable followings get many brand messages, so your preview line decides whether yours gets opened. Open with the creator's name and a specific piece of their content, never 'Hey babe' or 'Collab?'. Message from the brand's business account so they can check your grid before replying.

Keep the disclosure expectation in DMs too. The FTC's Disclosures 101 guide treats free or discounted products as a material connection that must be disclosed, and it warns against vague terms such as 'collab' or 'spon'. If the creator is US-based, mention that you'll expect a clear 'ad' or '#ad' on the post.

Template 4: DM

Hi [Name], it's [your name] from [Brand]. Your [specific Reel] on [topic] is exactly how we'd want [product] shown. We're paying [£fee] for one Reel in [month], and the brief is five lines long. Shall I send it here, or by email?

Instagram creators

Send from the brand's own business account, not a personal profile, so the creator can see your posts and tagged content. Keep the first message to three or four lines, with no voice notes or attachments. Once they say yes, move details to email so the terms are in writing.

TikTok creators

Many TikTok creators list a business email in their bio. If they do, email them and keep the DM to a one-line note saying you've emailed. If there's no address, send the DM template, name a specific video by its topic, and never pitch in their public comments.

What cold outreach replies look like

• 3.43% Average reply rate across B2B cold email campaigns in 2025; most outreach earns single-digit replies.
• 10.7%+ Reply rate of the top 10% of senders, who segment tightly and personalise every message.
• 42% Share of all replies that came from follow-ups rather than the first email.
• <80 words Typical length of first emails from the best-performing senders, each with a single call to action.

Source: Instantly, Cold Email Benchmark Report, 2026

Should you reach out by email, DM or a marketplace?

Email when the creator lists a business address, DM when they don't, and use a marketplace when you need replies at scale from creators who have already said they want brand work.

Cold outreach puts all the effort on you: finding addresses, personalising every message and chasing silence. Marketplaces turn this around. You post a brief and interested creators apply, or you invite creators who have opted in to brand work. Platform-native tools such as Instagram's creator marketplace work this way, as do independent marketplaces. #Collabz is one fit for UK and US DTC brands in beauty, supplements, fashion and lifestyle that want vetted creators, with briefs, usage rights and payments handled in one place.

Whatever the channel, get the agreed terms in writing before any content is made.

Email

Use email when the creator lists a business address in their bio or link page. It keeps attachments, terms and approvals in one thread, and it's where most creators expect paid offers. Send from a work domain, with a real name and a signature that links to your brand.

DM

Use a DM for smaller creators with no listed email, or as a short nudge after you've emailed. It's fast but informal, so move pricing, usage and contracts to email or a platform as soon as the creator shows interest.

Manager or agency

If the bio mentions management or lists an agency, email the manager directly. DMing a represented creator usually just gets your message forwarded. Lead with budget and dates, because managers sort enquiries by whether the money and timing work.

Marketplace

Post one brief and let the creators who want the work apply, or invite matched creators who have already opted in. You give up a little control over who you pitch, but you spend far less time chasing, and terms, content and payment stay in one place.

How do you find the right influencers for your brand

When should you send and follow up?

Send the first message early in the week, follow up three to four days later, and stop after two follow-ups if there's still no reply.

Follow-ups are where many replies come from. In Instantly's 2026 benchmark, 42% of replies arrived after the first email, Wednesday was the peak day for replies, and the report recommends spacing each touch three to four days apart. B2B sales sequences there run to four to seven touches. Creator inboxes are personal, though, so three touches in total is a sensible ceiling for a brand pitch.

Write each follow-up as a reply in the same thread, and add something new each time: a later date, a lighter deliverable or extra product. A message that only says 'just checking in' adds nothing.

Suggested cadence

Day 0 (Tuesday or Wednesday): first email or DM. Day 3-4: follow-up 1, sent as a reply in the same thread. Day 7-10: a final note with something new, such as a changed date or extra product. Then stop and log it. Try again next campaign, not next week.

Template 5: follow-up

Subject: Re: [original subject] Hi [Name], quick follow-up on my note below. We're still keen to have you on the [campaign] and can move the go-live to [later date] if timing is tight. Is it worth a look? [Your name]

Final follow-up

Hi [Name], last note from me on this one. If [campaign] isn't right, no problem at all. Would you like to hear about future briefs, or should I take you off our list? Either answer helps. [Your name]

What mistakes stop influencers replying?

Most ignored outreach fails for one of five reasons: it's generic, it's vague, it hides the pay, it asks for free work, or it leaves disclosure to chance. You can fix every one of these before you press send.

Read the message the way the creator will: on a phone, squeezed between other brand pitches. If they can't tell at a glance who you are, what you're offering and what you want back, rewrite it. If you've pasted the same text more than twice, personalise it again.

Mass DMs

Pasting the same message to hundreds of creators always shows: wrong names, mismatched niches, generic praise. Creators compare notes, and a brand known for spam DMs gets fewer replies from everyone. Send fewer, better messages to a shortlist of creators whose content you've actually watched.

Vague 'collab?'

'Hey, love your vibe, collab?' gives the creator homework: what's the deal, is it paid, what do you want? Most won't bother working it out. Name the deal type, deliverables and pay in the first message so the only thing left to decide is yes or no.

Hiding the pay

Writing 'let's discuss compensation', or asking for their rate before you've said whether there's a budget, reads as gifting dressed up as a paid deal. If it's gifted, say so. If it's paid, give a figure or a range. Honest framing gets honest replies.

Asking for 'exposure'

Offering reposts or 'exposure' instead of payment for agreed deliverables tells the creator you don't value their work. If your budget is product only, make it a genuine no-obligation gift and treat any post as a bonus, not a requirement.

Skipping disclosure

Leaving disclosure out of the offer puts you both at risk. The ASA's influencer guide advises against using labels such as 'gifted', 'sponsored' or 'collab' on their own, and says brands share responsibility for disclosure. Write the label you expect, 'Ad' up front, into every offer.

How do you collaborate with influencers (outreach, negotiation and payment)

Sources and further reading

• ASA and CMA, Influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads — Advertising Standards Authority
• Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers — Federal Trade Commission
• Disclosures 101: New FTC resources for social media influencers — Federal Trade Commission
• Cold Email Benchmark Report 2026 — Instantly
• ASA and CMA, Influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads (3rd edition), 2023

Frequently asked questions

How do you find an influencer's contact details?

Start with the creator's bio, their link-in-bio page and any email or contact button on their business profile; many also list a manager or agency there. If there's no address, send a short DM asking where they'd like to receive brand briefs. Avoid scraped email lists, which tend to be out of date and land you in spam.

What does a professional partnership outreach email look like?

It follows the same structure as a creator pitch: a specific subject line, why you picked this partner, the proposal in one line, what each side gives and gets, and one next step. Keep the email short, send it from a named person, and put the detail in a one-page attachment.

What is an influencer outreach strategy?

It's the plan behind the messages: who you contact, through which channel, with what offer and how often you follow up. Outreach is one step in a wider influencer marketing strategy, so settle the shortlist and budget first, then write the templates.

Can you send the same collaboration email to every creator?

You can reuse the structure, the subject line format and the offer wording, but the opening line and the content you reference must change for every creator. The template saves time on the parts that stay the same; the personalised line is what earns the reply.

What is a good PR outreach template for influencers?

For PR mailers, ask before you send: a short email naming the product, why it suits the creator, and a clear note that there's no obligation to post. If they do post, gifted content still needs an 'Ad' label in the UK and a clear '#ad' or 'ad' in the US.

Should you contact an influencer or their manager?

If a creator lists a manager or agency, email them, as they handle rates, dates and contracts and often reply faster. Copying the creator in is fine, but don't DM them separately to go around their manager.

Should you mention pay in the first message?

Yes. Saying whether the deal is gifted, paid or commission-based, and giving a fee or range if it's paid, is the quickest way to get a straight answer. Creators put messages that hide the budget to the bottom of the pile.

What if a creator replies asking for your budget or their rate card?

Reply with your budget range and the exact deliverables rather than asking them to quote blind, which saves a round of emails. If their rate is higher, trim the deliverables or usage period instead of pushing the fee down.