Free influencer outreach templates for email and Instagram DM

A good influencer outreach message tells a creator who you are, why their work fits, what you want to buy and what happens next. These six templates help a brand start that conversation without disguising a paid campaign as a favor. Copy a message below or download the complete plain-text pack. No signup required.

These are starting points, not messages to send unchanged. Replace every bracketed field with a fact, remove anything that does not apply, and use the creator's stated business-contact channel. A template cannot guarantee a reply or a campaign result.

Before sending commercial email, complete the sender's valid postal-address and opt-out footer as applicable. Use truthful sender details and an accurate subject, make the commercial purpose clear, and make a request to stop easy to honor. The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide explains U.S. requirements, including business-to-business messages. A copyable template is not a compliance determination for your location.

Before contacting a creator

Look at several recent posts, their audience context and their published collaboration preferences. Find one specific piece of work that relates to a genuine customer problem you can help solve. “Love your content” is not a substitute for that research.

Decide the following before you ask for time:

• Fit: why the creator's subject, audience and market match the campaign.
• Scope: the platform, publishing account, format, quantity and approximate timing.
• Commercial model: paid, affiliate, product-only with agreed work, or a gift with no posting obligation. Do not blur them.
• Budget: a genuine gross fee or range if approved, currency, and whether rights and fees are included. If you have no approved budget, say you are collecting quotes.
• Rights: organic publication, brand reposting and paid advertising are different purchases.
• Next step: one easy question, such as availability or permission to send a short scope.

Use the creator network page for Swayed's planned discovery approach. The platform is in prelaunch; these messages work independently of it. Never imply that you represent Swayed or another brand unless you actually do.

First-contact email for a paid collaboration

Use this when the creator lists a business email or a representative's contact. Name the relevant post and make the offer concrete. Keep the first message short; do not attach a long contract or demand a full concept before discussing paid scope.

Subject: Paid [format] collaboration with [Brand]

Hi [Creator name],

I'm [Your name], [role] at [Brand]. Your [specific post or series] explained [specific useful detail], which fits our audience of [relevant customers].

We're exploring a paid collaboration for [quantity and format] on [platform/account], around [date window]. The idea is to help viewers understand [one product question], with room for your own approach and honest experience.

Our approved gross creator budget is [amount/range and currency] for that scope. [State any platform deduction and whether shipping, tax and rights are separate.] Paid advertising use and exclusivity are not included unless separately agreed.

Are you available and interested in seeing the short scope? If you work through a representative, I'm happy to use your preferred route.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Role, Brand and brand website]
[Valid business postal address, where required]
To stop further collaboration emails from us, reply "no thanks".

If the budget is not approved, replace that paragraph with: “We are collecting quotes for this scope and have not approved a budget yet. Could you share your rate and what it includes?” Do not invent an attractive range just to obtain a reply.

For software, replace a vague “review our app” request with a real workflow: for example, demonstrate how to turn meeting notes into a project plan. Offer appropriate product access without asking for passwords or private customer data.

The SaaS influencer marketing guide helps turn that workflow into a safe demonstration, an agreed budget and a measurable trial or evaluation path.

Short Instagram DM to open the conversation

Use a DM only when it fits the creator's stated contact preferences. Its job is to establish relevance and agree where to discuss details, not to negotiate an entire campaign in a paragraph.

Hi [Creator name] — I'm [Your name] from [Brand]. Your [specific Reel/series] on [topic] looks relevant to [customer/use case]. We're planning a paid [format] collaboration around [window], with [gross budget/range and currency, or "budget still being scoped"]. Would you be open to a short brief? Happy to use the business contact or representative you prefer.

Avoid sending the same request through several accounts or switching from an unanswered business email to personal channels. Do not put tracking links, attachments or a request for sensitive account information into an unsolicited opening message. See the Instagram campaign guide for format and disclosure planning.

One polite follow-up after no reply

For a non-urgent opportunity, our suggested default is one follow-up after about five to seven business days, then close the conversation if there is still no reply. This is an editorial workflow suggestion, not a response-rate benchmark. Respect any opt-out immediately and never treat silence as acceptance.

Subject: Re: Paid [format] collaboration with [Brand]

Hi [Creator name],

One follow-up on the [Brand] opportunity below: [one-line paid scope], around [window], with [gross budget/range and currency, or "a quote requested"].

If it fits your work and availability, would you like the short scope? If not, no problem — I won't keep following up about this opportunity.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Role, Brand and brand website]
[Valid business postal address, where required]
To stop further collaboration emails from us, reply "no thanks".

If the creator declines, stop. If a genuine launch deadline passes, close the opportunity rather than manufacturing urgency. Do not add creators to a marketing newsletter because they received a pitch.

Ask for an itemized quote after interest

Use this once a creator is interested. The request should help both sides quote the same work. Do not ask them to deliver unpaid sample content or a finished campaign strategy just to be considered.

Subject: Scope and quote for [Brand campaign]

Hi [Creator name],

Thanks for your interest. Could you quote for:

- Publication: [account/platform], [quantity and format; for Stories, number of frames].
- Content: [product question/demonstration], with [included revision rounds requested].
- Timing: product/access by [date], draft by [date], feedback by [date], posting during [window and time zone].
- Organic live period: [duration].
- Reporting: [available metric labels/source], captured at [agreed times].
- Rights included: [specific organic use, duration and territory, or "creator publication only"].
- Optional extras, quoted separately: [paid use/partnership ads, additional assets, exclusivity, or "none"].

Please show gross creator compensation in [currency], any deductions or transaction costs you expect, applicable tax, payment timing and what is not included. [If using Swayed's planned model, disclose its 10% creator deduction; the brand's 5% is on top.] Please flag any scope or deadline that is not workable.

We'll confirm the final scope and commercial terms in writing before you start. Nothing is commissioned by this quote request alone.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Role, Brand and brand website]

Separate creator gross pay from brand platform fees and the creator's eventual net. For example, under Swayed's planned model a $600 gross offer means $540 to the creator before payout costs, while the brand funds $630 before tax. Those fees are not universal terms for deals conducted elsewhere. See the cost guide and planned pricing.

For a performance deal, attach the eligible metric, source, tracking window, earning conditions, funded gross cap and any bonus trigger. Agree extra-video permissions and aggregation before acceptance. Do not summarize a contingent maximum as a guaranteed fee.

Negotiate by adjusting scope

If a quote exceeds your budget, explain the actual constraint and propose less work or narrower rights. Avoid pressuring a creator to deliver the same package for less on the promise of unspecified “exposure” or future work.

Subject: A smaller scope for [Brand campaign]?

Hi [Creator name],

Thanks for the quote of [amount and currency] for [original scope]. Our current approved gross creator budget is [amount and currency].

Would [reduced deliverables] with [narrower rights and live period] be workable within that budget? We'd remove [specific extra work/rights] rather than expect the original package for less. [State remaining deductions, separate costs and tax treatment clearly.]

If that does not fit your rates, I understand. We won't treat this as agreed until we both confirm a revised written scope.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Role, Brand and brand website]

If the revised scope works, update the actual offer and brief, not just the email thread. Do not remove a mandatory disclosure or ask for unsupported claims to make the economics work.

Respectfully decline a quote or close a conversation

Close the loop when you have made a decision. You do not need to criticize a creator's rates or share other creators' private quotes.

Subject: Closing the loop on [Brand campaign]

Hi [Creator name],

Thank you for the time you put into discussing [campaign/scope]. We won't move ahead with this opportunity because [brief, truthful reason: timing, scope or current budget].

No work is commissioned. [If appropriate: May we contact you about a genuinely relevant future opportunity?] We won't assume permission to reuse your ideas, images or content.

Thanks again,
[Your name]
[Role, Brand and brand website]

This is for an uncommissioned opportunity. If work has already been accepted or started, use the agreed change or cancellation terms and settle earned obligations; a polite decline is not a substitute for paying for contracted work.

Personalize, confirm the brief, then stop pitching

Before sending, search your message for square brackets. Check the creator's name, platform, date window, currency and exact rights. Make sure the person sending it can approve the proposed budget. Use a recognizable brand identity and a working website, not a misleading sender name.

Once a creator accepts, switch from persuasion to a clear working agreement. Use the campaign brief template, the Instagram brief and checklist, or the TikTok campaign guide. Record scope, review, disclosure, payment and evidence in one accepted version. These outreach messages are not a contract or legal advice.

Use only legitimate business-contact details and follow applicable email-marketing, privacy and platform rules. In particular, a collaboration pitch does not justify scraping personal contact data, bypassing an opt-out or pretending to have an existing relationship. For U.S. commercial email requirements, consult the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide; the appropriate requirements can vary by location and message.

Common outreach questions

Should a brand include a budget in the first email

Include a genuine approved range when you have one, along with currency, gross-versus-net treatment and the scope it covers. If you are gathering quotes, say that instead. Do not call a maximum contingent performance payout a guaranteed budget for the creator.

Is offering a free product the same as paying for a post

No. A no-obligation gift does not purchase deliverables. If you require a post, agree the exchange and scope before sending the product. Either kind of material relationship can require disclosure when an endorsement is made; see the FTC's Disclosures 101 and the platform's relevant rules.

Can creators use these messages to pitch brands

These six are written for brands contacting creators. A creator pitching a brand should instead lead with their relevant audience, a specific content idea, evidence they can share and the paid scope they are proposing. Do not send the brand-side wording while pretending to be a brand representative.