How to Pitch & Land Collaborations (For Influencers)

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Influencer marketing is a whole industry in itself and there are so many attributes that go into working with brands from small companies and business owners to start-ups and growing corporations. As an influencer, it’s always good to know what different companies are looking for when it comes to collaborations! In this blog article, we are sharing more on how to properly pitch and land collaborations.

Understanding Different Campaign Options

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The first thing when it comes to collaborations is to understand what the brand you are seeking out is searching for! Every brand is different and there are so many different types of collaborations that one can participate in. As a personal brand, you’ll find that there are many different types of collaborations including:

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1. Unpaid collaborations where a company will send an influencer product in exchange for a featured post on their account with specifics in their caption, a tag, and a branded hashtag.

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2. Paid collaborations where a company will send an influencer product in exchange for a specific post on their account with specifics in their caption, a branded hashtag, and a tag. For these collaborations, the influencer will usually sign a contract and get paid a specific amount for their content and there will be terms and conditions regarding copyrights for the content and more. 

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3. Brand ambassador programs where an influencer (usually micro) is given an opportunity to become an ambassador of the brand. Often, they are given a product and a set of guidelines to continuously promote the brand and product. 

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4. Affiliate marketing program where the influencer (micro, macro, or celebrity-like) is an ambassador of the brand and is given a product and a set of guidelines to promote on their social media channels. In exchange, the influencer will also have a personalized discount code to share with their followers to get sales. With being an affiliate comes a commission, usually of 5-30%, which is often paid out monthly. 

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5. Additional campaigns that brands set up, which could include larger content needs and questionnaires, such as an interview about the influencer and their lifestyle habits. It could also include influencer campaigns that include retailers and more! 

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6. Celebrity-like branded campaigns are also quite popular with different brands, and can be very beneficial for the right influencer. This could be a larger campaign, where the influencer creates content to be featured as the face of the brand through content on the brand’s website, retail flyers, social media channels, paid ads, and more.

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Every brand is different and they are all seeking something specific for their company with their collaborations and knowing what they might be open to will help you as an influencer. As with anything, market research is important and knowing as much as you can on whatever you are about to try will always help you in the long haul. 

Understanding Payments

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​1. Depending on the Corporations

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The next thing to know about brand collaborations is to know what to look for when it comes to budgeting. Even with unpaid collaborations, brands are sending you products for free, which also includes shipping costs. It is common that small businesses have a lean budget, often resulting in unpaid collaborations. Start-ups usually have a small to medium sized budget, depending on the size of the company. Larger corporations usually have bigger-sized campaigns, resulting in a bigger budget for influencers.

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​2. Depending on the Following Size

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The size of your following and the results you get is also crucial. Micro-influencers often will have a following under 10,000, resulting in unpaid collaborations. Macro-influencers will often have a following of over 10,000, resulting in unpaid and occasionally paid collaborations. Celebrity-like influencers usually have a following of over 100,000 followers, often going into the millions with larger campaigns. 

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Knowing your following and what other influencers of the same size are getting paid, whether its product to be exchanged or a paid rate, will be important to help you in landing your next opportunity. It’s always also good to do your market research to understand what brands are paying for a collaboration. Oftentimes, you can figure this out from other influencers or you can do your research online. Another good thing to note are any companies that you know have seasonal campaigns or a big influencer marketing program. 

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As you discover brands you know will be a fit for you, making sure you have a proper media kit will help set the tone with your pitch and to create credibility for yourself with the brand. It’s also good to have a set rate for your collaborations so the brand knows what you charge and so the brand sees you as someone they are hiring to promote their products or services online. It will help you grow your personal brand and increase your value to get paid the right amount for your content.

Writing Your Pitch

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When it comes to pitching companies, having something written up about your personal brand will always help you in the long haul. When you are writing your pitch, it’s always good to acknowledge the brand you are reaching out to and then to share more about who you are, your audience, your online community, and your analytics. 

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Especially with paid collaborations, brands will want to look at your numbers and your results to see what your engagement rates are to see how you can benefit them. When a brand is paying you a set rate, they often will have their own internal set of guidelines that they follow. With that in mind, you can tailor your pitch to the kind of campaign you have a desire to participate in. 

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Given your knowledge, you should add a few simple aspects to your pitch:

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1. You always want to begin by introducing yourself as an influencer and share your personal brand and any relevant information about you and your interests, your audience, and your online community.

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2. You want to share your ideas for a collaboration, keeping the company you are pitching and your audience in mind. For example, you could pitch a potential collaboration idea for the holiday season about what to wear to your next holiday party or what to wear to your next family holiday get-together. 

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3. Share more information about previous engagement you’ve had with their brand, especially if you’ve already shared information about their products on social media. 

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4. If you’ve been collaborating with other brands, share previous collaborations and your results with other companies to help build credibility.

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5. Give them more information about what it is like to work with you and your process of collaborating with a company like theirs.

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This is a great example pitch of what could be a great pitch that would convert well with many brands: 

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Hi (name of employee or brand),

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My name is (name) and I am a (title) with (followers) in the (topic) industry and my (social channel or blog) gets about (number) views and an average engagement rate of (number) per (month/week/quarter). I’ve been very interested in your brand, (brand name), for some time for your (insert reason) and I feel like we could be the perfect fit to work together! My online community is very focused on (topics), are around (add descriptors), and are extremely passionate about (insert passion). 

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I love (insert what you love) about (insert brand) and would love to propose a potential collaboration with you over this upcoming holiday season highlighting (insert product or service). I think (insert item) would be a great item to focus on with my audience for a how-to wear it post this upcoming holiday season. Previously, I engaged in a collaboration with (insert company name) regarding (insert details about collaboration) and I wanted to share some of our results. 

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(insert relevant results and creative)

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When I work with a brand, I love to (explain the process) so we can both get the best results! I’d love to share my media kit and rates with you and asset up a call to chat about a potential collaboration in detail. 

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If you are open and available to chat, please let me know and we can set something up this week!

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Best Regards,

(Name)

Conclusion

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Pitching and landing collaborations as an influencer can be easy with the proper knowledge and effort. Understanding various campaign options and perceiving the budgeting process is necessary, whether you are a micro-influencer or a celebrity-like personality. Doing your research and writing a pitch that explains what you are looking for will help you find partners that can grow your personal brand. One way to do all these at once is to use the service provided by Vling. Check out whether you can get some help. We hope you enjoyed this blog and learned how to pitch and land collaborations for your personal brand! 

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