Before you pitch
- A professional email address at your own domain. It’s the first thing the brand sees.
- A website with your best work, every account, and how to reach you.
- A one-page media kit: who you are, your audience (size, ages, locations, platforms), engagement, and past partnerships with results.
- Your numbers to hand: followers, average views, and your audience’s top locations and age ranges.
- A rough idea of your rates, even if you don’t put them in the first email.
Who to email
Look for the person who runs creator, influencer or partnership marketing: job titles like Influencer Marketing Manager, Partnerships Manager, Creator Partnerships or Brand Marketing. Places to find them:
- The brand’s website: a “Creators”, “Partners”, “Affiliates” or “Press” page, often with an address or a form.
- LinkedIn: search the company and the job titles above.
- Creator programmes and affiliate platforms the brand already uses.
- Other creators: a brand that sponsors people like you is more likely to say yes.
A named person beats a general inbox. If all you can find is partnerships@ or hello@, use it, and ask for the right person.
Subject lines that get opened
- Partnership idea: [your niche] x [Brand]
- [Brand] for [your audience], a video idea
- Creator collab: [your name], [audience size] [platform]
Specific beats clever. Keep it under about 50 characters so it isn’t cut off on a phone.
Pitch template
Subject: Partnership idea: budget tech x [Brand]
Hi [Name],
I’m [your name], and I make [what you make] for [who] on [platform]. My audience is mostly [ages] in [countries], and my videos average [views] views.
I’ve been using [product] for [how long], and I’d love to make [specific idea: “a 60-second video on setting it up in a small apartment”]. It fits because [one line on why their customers watch you].
My site, with recent work and my media kit: [yourname.com]
Would you be open to a quick call next week?
[Your name]
[you@yourname.com]
Follow-up template
Hi [Name], just bringing this back to the top of your inbox. Happy to send more ideas or my rates if it’s useful. Thanks, [Your name]
Send it about a week after the first email. If there’s still no answer, move on and try again in a few months with a new idea.
When a brand emails you first
Reply within a day or two, thank them, ask for their brief, budget range and timeline, and send your media kit. Agree the deliverables, usage rights, deadlines and payment terms in writing before you start.
Mistakes that get ignored
- Writing from a free email address with numbers in it.
- Copy-paste pitches that don’t name the product or say why it fits.
- Long emails. If it doesn’t fit on a phone screen, cut it.
- No link to your work, or a link to a page that’s out of date.
- Following up every day.
Questions
How many followers do I need to get sponsorships?
There’s no fixed number. Many brands work with smaller creators who have an engaged, specific audience; a clear niche and a professional pitch matter as much as size.
Should I include my rates in the first email?
Usually not. Lead with the idea and ask about their budget. Have your rates ready for when they ask.
Does it matter if I pitch from Gmail?
It can. Brands get many pitches, and an address at your own domain makes yours look established before they read a word. It also matches your website and signature.
Look the part with Bounley
Bounley is the platform built for personal brands: a website that shows your best work (free at bounley.me/yourname while in beta), and with Premium your own domain and a professional email address at it, with your signature on every pitch you send.