Are you a blogger looking for collaboration pitch email templates? Did you know you can reach out to land brand collaborations?
Last week I reached out to you guys on Instagram and asked you, “What questions do you have about grad school, a full time job, blogging, and balancing all of those things?” One question that really stood out to me was:
“what does your marketing kit include when contacting companies for collaborations?”
@MrsCourtneyHogg submitted this question and inspired me to pull together what I’ve learned over the years about pitching.
One thing I’ve learned over my blogging journey so far is that even when brands are reaching out to you, you still have to pitch your value. So even if you aren’t first reaching out to the brand, you still have to communicate and ask for your value from your brand partner. So whether you’re goals are to reach out to the brand first or respond back to brand to work out a partnership, this blog post is for you.
I’ll be sharing my exact email pitch template and the 7 things you need to include in your next brand email pitch.
Part One: How to reach out and pitch to brands via email
Here is the exact template I pitch to brands:
Hi Brand,
My name is Emma and I’m a Seattle fashion/lifestyle blogger. I’ve been wearing BRAND for the last few years and I’m reaching out to you today in hopes of collaborating with you for the winter season.
My blog Emma’s Edition aims to inspire the modern woman with fashion, career, and life tips. I believe my audience would resonate well with your brand’s mission to X. I would love to showcase BRAND’s PRODUCTS/SERVICE on my blog and social media channels.
I would love to create blog and social content to support any upcoming winter campaigns for the BRAND. Is this something you’d be interested in or find helpful?
For your reference, here are my Blog & Instagram Stats:
Instagram:
· 125,100 impressions last 7 days
· 5.1% engagement rate, 21,566 followers
Blog:
· 13,740 Monthly Page views, 12,400 Unique Monthly Page views
· 6,300 Monthly Unique Users, 7,400 Unique Monthly Sessions
Previous Examples of brand collaborations:
Bobbi Brown Lipstick
Travel Oregon/Oregon Wine Country
Simon Malls/Tacoma Mall
If you’re interested in working together, please let me know! I would love to discuss a collaboration and rate that would be beneficial for both BRAND and Emma’s Edition.
Thank you!
The 7 Things to Include in Your Next Brand Email Pitch:
Brand Email Pitch Introduction:
1. Should include your name and who you are
2. Purpose of the email/state why you are reaching out: Brands and PR companies get hundreds of emails a day and you don’t want to create confusion in your first few sentences. You want to be clear and explicit on why you are reaching out.
Brand Email Pitch Body:
3. Include your mission statement or what your blog/Instagram is about
4. Include how you think the brand could work well with your brand (aligned mission statement, similar target audience, etc.)
5. Must include blog and social media stats: If you don’t include items 3 and 4, you must include your social media stats. I pull my blog and social media stats from Google Analytics, Instagram, and Fohr.
6. Optional: include previous brand collaborations that showcase your work and what you could potentially do for the brand. I always include a few examples of previous brand work I’ve done to show the brand what type of content I create.
Brand Email Pitch Closing:
7. Wrap it up with one or two sentences and say thank you!
Part Two: The brand reaches out to you, now it’s your turn to pitch your value and rate
When a brand reaches out to you, you still have to pitch your value and your rate. Please don’t be afraid to recognize and ask for your value as a blogger! And also don’t be afraid to figure out your price and negotiate. If you need some tips, you can check out 15 tips on pricing and negotiating as a blogger.
Here is the exact email pitch I send to a brand who reached out to me first:
Hi Brand,
Thank you so much for reaching out! I’ve been wearing your stuff/I’d definitely be interested in working with you for the winter season. Before we agree to a collaboration, may you please let me know the goals and the deliverables of the campaign? May you please also share with me the budget?
For your reference, here are my Blog & Instagram Stats:
Instagram:
· 125,100 impressions last 7 days
· 5.1% engagement rate, 21,566 followers
Blog:
· 13,740 Monthly Page views, 12,400 Unique Monthly Page views
· 6,300 Monthly Unique Users, 7,400 Unique Monthly Sessions
Previous Examples of brand collaborations:
3 Musketeers + Love is Louder
Bobbi Brown Ultra Violet Palette
Stitch Fix
I’m excited to learn more about the brand collaboration. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,
Emma
5 similar things to include in the email when you’re replying back to a brand:
Brand Email Pitch Introduction:
1. A thank you and a sentence about your interest
2. You should always ask for the goals, the deliverables, and the budget of the campaign
Brand Email Pitch Body:
3. Include your social media stats
4. Include previous brand collaborations OR original content that shows you can create great content for the brand
Brand Email Pitch Closing:
5. Wrap it up with one or two sentences and say thank you!
Email Negotiation Templates:
If all of this seems like a lot, I’ve bundled together 10 email negotiation templates you can use for your next brand collaboration. How to Negotiate (Paid) Brand Collaborations is available for $120.
In this course, I include:
10 email negotiation templates
3 bonus email templates (including a pitch template to brands)
3 real life brand email negotiations – these brand collaborations are from 2019!
and tips on negotiating and pricing.
Part Three: When is it the right time to pitch to brands?
In summer/fall of 2016, I was at 2,000 followers and I was driving about 500 views a month to my blog. I had no idea at I could even pitch to brands. I was approached with American Eagle Outfitters to become a style ambassador. After the shock wore off, I realized that there was value in the content I created and the audience I had cultivated.
My partnership with AEO gave me the confidence to start pitching brands like ThirdLove and local companies like Spavia. And as 2017 passed by, I also realized that more and more brands continued find and pitch me.
I realized now that there is no threshold of when you should pitch brands. If you’re at 2,000 followers and 500 page views a month, you can pitch brands. If you’re at 20,000 followers and 12,000 page views a month, you can pitch brands. If you have a clear point of view, high quality content, and an engaged audience, you have the power to pitch brands.
For more tips about reaching out to brands, you can also check out:
How to Reach Out Collaborate With Brands as a Blogger
4 Things Brands Look for in a Blogger Collaboration
Ask Emma: How do you increase traffic to your blog?
There you have it friends! My email templates on pitching brands + my advice about reaching out to brands!
What are your tips about pitching to brands?
Thank you for reading.
Love,
Emma
Photos: Karya
Thanks for this! I barely started pitching recently! So I am looking for all the tips I can get!
Briana
https://beyoutifulbrunette.com/
This is so helpful! I’ve been pitching travel brands for awhile but this is a great template for product reviews and kids clothing, too!
I was always curious about the social media kit. I have downloaded one from another website only to find myself even more overwhelmed. With that said, I haven’t pitched to brands. I have only been doing Instagram sponsored posts that I find through affiliate marketing agencies. Your template is super helpful and I can understand what is really needed for pitching to brands. I hope your week is going well so far and happy Thanksgiving!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Hi Emma I found your information verry helpfull. I’m looking for some tips of how we can reach the opportunity to connect to a local (chain)store,so we can sell our clothes. It’s hard because we are at the very beginning and still young not recognizable brand. Me and my partner will be very pleased if you share some tips about our situation. Thank you!
I’ve been pitching to a few tour companies while here in Mexico, and are in talks with two of them! For me, it’s really a matter of knowing how you would be able to promote their brand on your blog.
Thanks a ton for this! Have just started reaching out to brands and this helped a lot 🙂
http://www.shreshthabeautyblog.com/
Wow! Great info article what i looking for… I hope it will help me too collaboration with some brands. Let’s see… Keep it up.
Hi , Thanks for all these tips. I am a lifestyle blogger & I want to pitch brands & products through mail & Massage. So now I want a perfect mail strategy.
Thank You 🙂
https://tophatlifestyle.com/
Hi Emma, Thank you for your tips. I want to collaborate with brands and I have only 385 followers on Instagram. But, my content is good. My stylish photos are mesmerizing people with Fashion attaire. Is it possible to collaborate with this Figures? If it is so, what is the best way to pitch brands.
Thank you!
Thank you for these tips! I just started pitching to brands. If I want to email a specific person, what kind of job titles should I look for? I know that I should look for someone in PR. But is it also effective to email a product marketing, or social media manager? Thanks!
Thanks Emma for sharing these tips. I would love to hear about your brand and hope to have a chance to collaborate with you.
That was a really helpful blog. Thank you Emma.
Hey Emma, your tips were amazing. I’m a blogger as well. I’ll definitely use your tips.
Wow! just the article I was looking for ! Thank you for this <3
Thank you so much! This is beyond helpful!