Ask an Influencer: Why Aren't Influencers Responding to My Emails?
Hello, all!
Chloe here again. I’m an Aspire campaign success manager and blogger at www.consciouslychloe.com.
As I sit here writing this blog post, I’ve already had four emails from brands hit my inbox. Some of them might be asking me to buy into a service that “guarantees” followers, and others are asking me to try a new product in exchange for a post on my feed.
I have already ignored most of these emails, and most likely I won’t respond to them at all.
I know, it might sound harsh, but you have to understand. For many influencers, creating content is our full-time job. We have to be strategic about the brands we work with so our feeds don’t become an overwhelming gallery of product placements.
Yet, as a Campaign Manager at Aspire, I understand how disheartening it can be when an influencer you really want to work with doesn’t respond to your collaboration proposal. In order to help you get the attention of potential influencers – and to get them to read your emails - I will break down the biggest reasons why influencers might be ignoring you. Plus, I’ll offer a few examples of amazing and not-so-great emails I’ve received from brands. So let’s get started!
Top 3 Reasons Your Emails Aren’t Working:
1. Lack of personalization
First things first, please address the influencer by first name. Please don’t just say “Hi.” Some of the brands I automatically ignore are ones that don’t even personalize their emails. If you’re a gaming brand asking me to promote your new app, it’s apparent you haven't spent much time looking at my Instagram to understand that I usually talk about travel, lifestyle, and beauty products that I love. It will save us time down the road if you reach out with relevant products with a bit of personalization.
2. Signs of automation
I get it, you are busy and can’t craft each email individually. I’m not new to email automation programs. However, if you are going to use a tool like this to send out mass invites, make sure that everything looks professional before sending it off. The worst case is when I am addressed as “{{First_Name}}” – that shows true automation at its finest.
3. Lack of details about your collaboration
If a brand emails me and by the time I’m done reading their email, I still have no idea what they are asking for, I’m most likely not going to spend the time responding. Please don’t ask me to join your affiliate program or ask me to provide a service if you haven’t given me information about your brand and product. I am not a huge fan of when brands start a conversation off by offering a lot of money before talking about any of the fun collaboration ideas. This automatically makes the conversation seem like a business transaction rather than the start of a long-term relationship. Outline your thought-out collaboration idea and then let us know if it is something we would be interested in!
How to send an email the right way:
Check out the sample email below. I’ll point out what I love about it.
- The brand says, “Hi Chloe.” While it is simple, you’d be surprised by the number of brands that don’t take the time to do this. This brand already has my attention!
- The brand mentions who they are and why they think I would be a good match for their campaign. They mention that my “colorful and fun content” will be really great for their campaign idea. They have done their research.
- The brand gives me a brief overview of their campaign ideas, timeline, and the deliverables they are looking for. They also let me know that they are free to jump on the phone to talk more about the collaboration.
You can guess I responded to this email! Even if I wasn’t interested in working with this brand, I would respond telling them why.
Moving forward, here are three tips to increase your response rate with influencers
- Make your outreach personal! Address an influencer by their first name and let them know why you’re reaching out to them specifically.
- Provide details about the campaign overview, timeline, and deliverables you are looking for. This not only helps cut back on the back and forth, but the influencer can then get back to you with a response, and without a ton of questions!
- Make sure there is a call to action at the end of the email. What do you want the influencer to send you? Insights, media kit, rates, or more ideas on what their ideal collaboration would be? Is there a date you need to know if they have opted into the campaign or not? Add it in!
I hope this helps score your next collaboration with an influencer! If you really think the influencer just doesn’t have the time to respond back to you, make sure you send them a follow-up email after about 48 hours. This will make sure that influencer will respond right away if they are interested in collaborating.
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