I have had several people reach out to me about how to pitch to brands -- SOOOOO, I wanted to provide you all with tips on pitching and getting well-deserved coins!
AND THAT'S ON MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB.
In this post, I am going to give you FOUR basic tips for pitching to brands! These tips have helped me get comfortable enough with pitching that I am able to give them to yall, so I hope they help.
After you get all of the pitching tea, make sure you download and save my free pitch template!
TIP #1: Create a Media Kit and Keep It Updated
If you don't know what a media kit is, it is basically your digital business card! Your media kit should be a representation of you and your brand so that the brands you're pitching to can get an idea of who you are. Your media kit can be created for free on Canva and should include a bio, social media statistics/analytics, your audience demographics and of course, your blog/website. Here's a detailed post on creating your media kit.
You should be attaching your media kit to every pitch email you send out -- I suggest sending it as a LINK when you are emailing brands for the first time (this is because your email may go to spam if you attach the media kit to your email and the file size is too big). **DO NOT ATTACH YOUR RATES IN YOUR INITIAL EMAIL.
TIP #2: Introduce Yourself and Your Brand
A BIG mistake that folks make when pitching to brands is jumping straight into business. Don't be rude! Introduce yourself! While your email should be as concise as possible, it shouldn't bypass basic email etiquette. It doesn't have to be your entire bio (because if you applied TIP #1, your elaborated bio is in your media kit), but it should grab the brand's attention. Here's the way I typically introduce myself when I pitch:
See, quick and simple! I pulled this from my brand mission statement so it's consistent with what brands will see when they open my media kit and when they visit my website, and even when they visit my socials.
TIP #3: Make the Brand Blush
Okay..so maybe they won't literally blush, but you can still put the effort in! Show the brand that you're not just after their money -- show them that their mission and values align with your's (THIS IS SO IMPORTANT).
When pitching, you want to make the brand feel like you've done AT LEAST the bare minimum research on their company and you're not just trying to get money from them (even though we want the coins also). So after introducing yourself and your own brand, tailor your email and make it personal to the brand you are seeking to collaborate with. That personal touch goes a LONG way. Here's an example:
Use key words that the brand uses often, tell them what you love about their brand, etc.
BONUS TIP: Look on the brand's website and IG for PR/MEDIA/INFLUENCER contact info. If you aren't sure whether or not you have the right contact information, try sending the brand a DM first. An IG pitch can go something like this:
Good afternoon!
I am a micro-influencer in the Raleigh/Durham area and I'd be thrilled to create social media content and/or blog posts for [brand name].
Could you please direct me to who I can send my pitch + media kit to?
TIP #4: PITCH PLEASE!
This is the fun(ish) part! Now is the time for you to give them an idea of what type of content they could expect from you and in what form the content will be delivered if they choose to partner with you. BE CREATIVE. Take ideas from how you already use the brand/products and create content that will draw other people to the brand.
A tip is to curate your pitch ideas around the season/upcoming holidays, or campaigns they have been promoting on their website and/or socials. Your pitch doesn't have to be SUPER detailed, but it needs to give the brand an idea of what you're going to create! The WAY you pitch may be different based on the industry you're in and the brand you're pitching to. Here is the format I've adapted:
Okay, yall. That's all I got for now.
GET YA PITCH ON AND GET THE COINS! I'm here to help if you need me!
OH. And here's a FREE pitch template...(:
