Instagram influencer marketing has become a powerful way for brands to connect with their audience in a more authentic and organic way. Currently, over 72% of marketers use Instagram for their influencer marketing campaigns as it allows them to easily boost their visibility and engage an already targeted community.
But how do you contact Instagram influencers effectively—DMs or emails? A strong outreach strategy and a compelling message are key to securing collaborations. In this article, we’ll cover the best ways to reach influencers, provide message templates, and share essential tips for successful partnerships.
The success of any influencer marketing campaign comes down to a well-defined strategy. A clear plan that aligns with your brand's goals and target audience will ensure that you partner up with the right influencers. Before reaching out, make sure to define key aspects such as:
Why do you want to work with influencers? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, get more newsletter sign-ups, drive conversions for a new product launch, or generate more UGC (User-Generated Content)?
Clarifying your goals will help you define the type of influencers you want as well as your content strategy - whether you need Instagram Stories, Reels, Carousels, or in-feed posts.
After defining your goals, it’s time to look for the right influencers. There are 5 types of influencers to consider:
Often, the ones that have the most following charge the highest prices, and while they can be great to increase your brands visibility, depending on your goal in some cases it’s best to work with smaller creators that have higher engagement rates.
How will you know if your campaign succeeded? By setting clear and specific KPIs you can measure your campaigns to see what worked and what didn’t. Influencer marketing KPIs often include:
Reaching out to influencers is not only about sending them a quick DM, you need a strategic approach that shows that you’re serious in wanting to collaborate with them for a partnership.
Here’s how to do it:
Unless you have a well known brand like Coca Cola or Sephora, chances are that many influencers don’t know your brand. To make a strong first impression, start by building rapport - follow them, engage with their content by liking and commenting, and overall showing genuine interest.
What’s important to keep in mind is that you need to connect with influencers who genuinely align with your niche and target audience. When influencers resonate with your brand, they’re more likely to be receptive to collaboration.
After building that first impression, it’s time to get in touch with them. Luckily, finding influencers' emails on Instagram is easy, as all you need to do is go to their profile and tap on email.
Most influencers have this enabled as they know it's easier for brands to reach out to them for potential collaborations. If, for some reason, an influencer doesn’t have this option make sure to check their bio and look out for their links.
Influencers often use bio link tools like Linktree to share access to their social media platforms and contact information in one place.
This method works well if you’re only reaching out to a few influencers. However, for large-scale outreach, using influencer databases or discovery platforms is more efficient. These tools let you filter and find thousands of influencers in seconds, streamlining the process.
The best way to contact influencers on Instagram is through email mostly for two reasons:
When sending your first outreach email, keep it concise yet personalized—show that you’re familiar with their content. Clearly state:
Avoid overwhelming them with too much information upfront—keep it short, engaging, and to the point.
Here’s a useful template to contact Instagram influencers:
SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} – ENTER YOUR BRAND NAME Partnership
Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},
My name is ENTER YOUR NAME and I’m from ENTER YOUR COMPANY NAME. We are ADD ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION ABOUT YOUR BRAND.
We are looking for potential partnerships and we love the video content on your TikTok account {{influencer_handle}}!
It would be awesome if you could test our ENTER YOUR PRODUCT.
HIGHLIGHT YOUR USP AND YOUR PRODUCT IN ONE SENTENCE
I’m happy to send you one ENTER YOUR PRODUCT for you to test and share with your followers. We also offer a 20% commission or a discount code to give out to your followers. Please get back to me if you are interested in this opportunity.
Can I send you one of the ENTER YOUR PRODUCT?
Thanks!
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
While DMs can be harder to get noticed, they’re still a great way to reach influencers, especially nano and micro influencers, who are more likely to check their messages.
Since DMs have limited space, keep your message short, engaging, and to the point. The goal is to spark interest and encourage a follow-up conversation via email.
Here’s a DM template you can use:
Hi [Influencer’s Name],
I love your content, especially [mention a specific post or theme they focus on]! I’m [Your Name] from [Your Brand], and we’d love to collaborate with you on [briefly mention the type of partnership—e.g., a paid campaign, gifting, affiliate collab].
Let me know if you’re interested, and I’d be happy to share more details! You can also reach me at [Your Email] for a quick chat.
To send a DM, all you have to do is go to the influencer’s profile and tap where it says “Message”
If an influencer hasn’t answered yet, don’t be discouraged. Especially when they have a large following, influencers may take their time to answer emails as they have to go through different proposals.
As a rule of thumb, if they haven’t answered in 4-5 days, consider sending them a follow up. Keep the tone polite and show your interest in making this collaboration happen. Through Influencer Hero’s automated email flow system, we’ve noticed that sending follow-ups can potentially increase your reply rates up to 40%.
Here’s a follow-up template for influencers that haven’t responded yet:
Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},
How are you? I hope you’re having a great week!
I just want to make a quick follow-up on our offer. We would like to send you our ENTER PRODUCT NAME + RETAIL PRICE
If you're still interested, please provide your shipping details including your full name and contact number so we can send you the product.
Also, please feel free to browse through the website if you want to know more about our brand: ENTER WEBSITE URL
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
Conducting influencer marketing campaigns can be time consuming especially when you don’t have the right tools. From finding the right influencers, to sending personalized outreach messages and tracking all KPIs all of these processes take time. Luckily you can optimize them through influencer marketing CRM like Influencer Hero.
Influencer Hero is an all-in-one influencer marketing software designed to save you time and improve results. With powerful features like:
You can manage it all in one place, making influencer marketing easier and more efficient. Curious about how Influencer Hero can streamline your marketing efforts? Book a free demo and let us show you how our platform can help you reach your goals!
First impressions matter, especially when you’re trying to partner with influencers, you need to be careful with the way you approach them. Here are two common mistakes to keep in mind:
Avoid sending generic messages, it’s always useful to include something about the influencer themselves. While sending the same message can be an easier way to reach out to hundreds of influencers at once, this will only lead to low open rates.
When influencers notice that you actually care and like their content, it’s easier for them to take your proposal seriously.
A big mistake is failing to clearly outline the details of the collaboration. Right from the first email, make sure to explain:
Without these key details, influencers may lose interest or feel uncertain about the partnership, leading to missed opportunities.
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Reaching out to Instagram influencers can be a powerful way to boost your brand’s visibility and connect with your target audience. By taking the time to craft personalized, clear, and professional outreach messages, you set the stage for a successful collaboration. Whether you choose to contact influencers via email or DMs, always remember to outline your goals, set expectations, and build a genuine rapport.
Using tools like influencer marketing CRMs can further streamline your efforts and help you scale your campaigns effectively. Avoid common mistakes like sending generic messages or failing to clarify campaign details. With the right approach, you'll be well on your way to forming valuable partnerships that drive long-term results for your brand.
To find influencers on Instagram:
While both methods are viable, consider the following:
Your initial message should be:
To build a relationship you can start by engaging with their content through likes, comments and shares.
Avoid these mistakes:
Schedule a Demo with one of our media experts below.
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