Before you send the email
The best emails start before you write. Spend five minutes understanding the brand and the person you are contacting.
Find the marketing, partnerships or influencer contact. Check the brand’s recent campaigns and note one thing you genuinely found interesting. Then decide which of your formats would fit.
- Check the brand’s website and recent social posts.
- Find the right contact, not just a generic support email.
- Choose one specific product or campaign to pitch.
- Pick two metrics that are relevant to that brand.
- Decide your deliverable, timeline and starting rate.
Subject lines that get opened
The subject line should name the brand and the idea. Avoid vague lines like "Collaboration proposal" or "Hello".
- Collab idea: 30-sec Reel for [Brand]’s new [Product]
- [Brand] × [Your Name]: a [format] idea for [campaign]
- A [niche] creator idea for [Brand]’s [season] launch
The six-part email structure
A good pitch is easy to scan. Use these six parts in order and keep the whole email under 150 words if possible.
- 1Personalised opener: one specific line about the brand or campaign.
- 2Who you are: your niche, platform and audience in one sentence.
- 3The idea: one clear concept, not a list of everything you could do.
- 4Proof: two metrics or a relevant past collaboration.
- 5Commercials: deliverables, timeline and a starting rate or budget question.
- 6Next step: a simple question or a link to your media kit.
Copy-ready template
Replace the brackets with your details. Keep the tone direct and human. Do not send the same email to twenty brands without changing the opener and the idea.
Copy-ready email
Subject: Collab idea: 30-sec Reel for [Brand]’s [Product]
Hi [Name],
I loved [specific thing about the brand or campaign]. I’m [Your Name], a [niche] creator on Instagram with [followers] followers and an audience in [top cities].
I’d love to make a [format] showing [specific idea: how you would use the product, the story angle, the hook]. My recent posts average [reach/views] reach and [engagement rate] engagement.
I can deliver [deliverable] by [date]. My starting rate is [rate], and I’m happy to adjust the scope if you have a different budget in mind.
Would it help if I sent my media kit and two relevant examples?
Best,
[Your Name]
[Instagram link]
[Media kit link]Follow up without being annoying
People miss emails. One polite follow-up is normal. Two or three follow-ups in the same week is not.
Wait five to seven business days. Reply in the same thread with one short line and one new piece of information, such as a recent result or a new content idea. If there is no reply after that, move on.
- Wait five to seven business days.
- Reply in the same thread.
- Add one new detail, not pressure.
- Keep it to two or three sentences.
- Move on after one follow-up.
Common mistakes
Most rejected pitches are not rejected because the creator is too small. They are rejected because the email is hard to act on.
- Mass-copying the same email without personalisation.
- No specific idea, only "I want to collaborate".
- A long life story before the actual proposal.
- Fake or rounded-up metrics.
- Vague rates or no rate at all.
- Large attachments that trigger spam filters.
- Following up every two days.
After the brand replies
A reply is the start of a commercial conversation, not the finish line. Ask for the brief, deliverables, timeline, usage rights and budget before you confirm anything.
Send a short scope by email or a simple contract. Include the fee, payment terms, revision limit and what happens if the timeline changes.
- Ask for the campaign brief and deadline.
- Confirm deliverables and revision rounds.
- Clarify organic vs paid usage rights.
- Agree on payment terms and invoicing details.
- Put the final scope in writing before you start.