How to Get Influencers to Promote Your Product (+ Free Templates)

April 25, 2025
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Published
April 25, 2025
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Updated
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Teresita Houssay
Peter Nettesheim
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How to Get Influencers to Promote Your Product (+ Free Templates)

Influencer product promotion is no longer a “nice-to-have” marketing tactic, it’s in fact one of the most effective ways to promote your product in 2025. With the creator economy booming and consumer trust in traditional ads declining, influencers have become the go-to bridge between brands and buyers.

However, reaching out to the right influencers makes all the difference. Whether you're launching a new product or scaling your strategy, knowing how to approach the right influencer can make all the difference.

Whether you’re a large brand launching a new product or a startup looking for organic reach, this guide breaks down how to collaborate with influencers effectively to drive real, measurable results.

What Is Influencer Product Promotion?

Influencer product promotion is a strategic collaboration between a brand and an influencer to promote a product through authentic content, usually across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Unlike traditional advertising, these promotions often feel natural and personal, which leads to higher trust and better conversions. There are a lot of different types of collaborations: brands can choose between paid partnerships, gifting, affiliate links, or long-term ambassador programs.

Influencer promotion isn’t just about visibility, it’s about trust, storytelling, and driving real results. Influencer Product Promotion allows you to reach your target audience through someone they trust.

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Why Influencer Promotion Works 

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, 89% of marketers say influencer marketing’s ROI matches or beats other channels. Here’s why it works so well:

  • Authenticity: Consumers trust real opinions over scripted ads.
  • Engagement: Influencers have conversations. It´s a two-way communication.
  • Data-Driven Strategies: Brands use analytics to track and optimize campaigns.

Influencers can produce relatable and creative content that resonates with followers and in consequence, drives conversions.

Unlike conventional advertising, this approach uses the influencer's credibility and relationship with their audience to generate genuine engagement.

Types of Influencers in 2025

Choosing the right type of influencer depends on your goals, budget, and audience. You need to figure out which type of Influencer is right for you since each one has its own strengths and is suitable for specific needs. Here's the breakdown:

Nano influencers (1–10K followers)

Strengths: High engagement rates and close communities.

Ideal for: Niche markets.

Micro influencers (10K–100K followers)

Strengths: Balanced reach with authentic audience connections.

Ideal for: Targeted campaigns requiring both reach and trust.

Macro influencers (100K–500K followers)

Strengths: Significant reach within specific demographics.

Ideal for: Scaling brand awareness in defined markets.

Mega influencers (500K+ followers)

Strengths: Extensive reach across diverse audiences.

Ideal for: Large-scale product launches and broad visibility campaigns.

Celebrity influencers (1M+ followers)

Strengths: Widespread recognition and influence.

Ideal for: Enhancing brand prestige and global campaigns.

While celebrity influencers offer massive reach, nano and micro influencers tend to drive higher conversion rates. That’s because their audiences are often more engaged and trust their recommendations.

A study by SocialPubli, found that micro-influencers see up to seven times more engagement on Instagram compared to bigger influencers. Other research shows they can deliver up to 60% higher engagement rates than macro or mega influencers.

Still, it’s important to align your influencer choice with your campaign goals. Big reach isn’t always the best metric.

Tools like Influencer Hero’s influencer search can help you filter by niche, platform, and audience fit to find the perfect creators for your campaign.

How to Launch a Product Promotion with Influencers

Let’s dive into the key strategies for effective Influencer Product Promotion. These are the essential elements of a well-rounded campaign:

  1. Identifying the Right Influencers
  2. Gifted vs Paid Campaigns
  3. Writing a Personalized Pitch
  4. Letting Creators Be Creators
  5. Measuring, Optimizing, Repeating
  6. Repurposing the content
  7. Building Long-Term Relationships

1. Identify the Right Influencers

Before reaching out, you need to understand your ideal influencer profile in order to identify the right influencer for your brand. Look beyond just the follower count, prioritize engagement, brand fit, and audience insights. Here you have the 3 key aspects to consider:

  • Content Relevance: Alignment with brand values and target demographics.
  • Engagement Metrics: Consistent interaction rates indicating active audiences.
  • Authenticity: Genuine content that resonates with followers.

Use a tool like the influencer search tool from Influencer Hero to filter by niche, platform, and region.

Takeaway

Focus on engagement, brand fit, and authenticity rather than just follower count. Using the right tools can help you find influencers whose content truly aligns with your brand and resonates with their audience.

2. Gifted vs Paid Campaigns 

Gifted Collaborations
This type of collaboration works best with Nano and Micro creators and is ideal for early-stage brands with limited budgets.If you’ve chosen the right influencer and genuinely believe in your product, sometimes the best approach is to simply let it speak for itself. 

The most engaging and effective content often comes from real, unscripted experiences. Today’s audiences can quickly tell the difference between a forced ad and an honest recommendation.

Gifted campaigns are a great way to get authentic exposure without needing a big budget. Here’s how to do it right:

  • Thoughtful Gifting: Send your product to influencers you believe are a good fit, but without requiring them to post. This shows respect for their creativity and encourages genuine content.
  • Make It Easy:  Include a clear, concise product description, usage tips, or inspiration. The easier you make it for them to understand and enjoy the product, the more likely they’ll want to share it.
  • No-Pressure Approach: Don’t chase them for posts. Give them space and time to try it out and post if it resonates. That kind of freedom often leads to more natural and higher-quality content. Show flexibility in type of content if they decide to post.

Done right, gifted campaigns can build strong, long-term influencer relationships and generate trustworthy word-of-mouth buzz. You just have to keep in mind you can´t be strict and demanding.

Paid Collaborations

Paid collaborations are best suited for influencers with larger followings , like Macro, Mega, or Celebrity level. At this scale, content creation becomes more structured and strategic. You're not just sending a product and hoping for a post,  you're investing in a partnership with clear expectations, defined outcomes, and often broader reach.

Here’s what a strong paid collaboration usually includes:

  • Professional Agreements: you have to agree on deliverables, timelines, compensation, and content rights. Everything is spelled out to ensure both sides are aligned.
  • Combination of incentives: It’s common to combine a flat fee with other perks. For example, many brands give the product as a gift and also offer affiliate commissions to reward performance.
  • Performance Tracking: brands often track metrics like reach, clicks, and conversions to measure impact..

Takeaway

Paid campaigns work best when your offer matches the influencer’s tier and your campaign goals. The key is balancing creative freedom with structure so the collaboration feels authentic, while still delivering on your KPIs.

3. Write Personalized Pitch

Once you’ve identified the right influencer, crafting a strong and personalized message is crucial. Avoid generic outreach like "Hey, want to collab?" Instead, here you have what to Include in your message:

  • Use their first name in the Subject Line: may seem like a minor detail, but it can be powerful. It can increase open rates by up to 30%.
  • Get Personal: mention something recent they posted or explain why you’re reaching out to them specifically. It shows you’ve done your homework and aren’t just sending the same message to everyone. There are AI tools to help tailor each message, so it still feels personal while saving you time and boosting your response rates.
  •  Keep It Brief: creators have short attention spans and a lot of collaboration proposals. Get to the point quickly.
  •  Make the Value Clear: what interests them the most is what’s in it for them. Free product, paid collaboration, affiliate deal, whatever it is, make it crystal clear.
  •  End with a CTA: A direct and simple question like “Can I send you our product?” 

Influencer Outreach Email Template

<img src="influencer-outreach.png" alt="Influencer outreach email for Instagram">

SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} – ENTER YOUR BRAND NAME Partnership

Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},

{{personalized_sentence}}

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 content on your 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. 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

Takeaway

Tailored, personalized, simple messages makes it much more likely an influencer will actually reply and be open to working with you. You can also use AI tools (like outreach generators or CRM integrations) to scale this process without losing the human touch.

Let Creators Be Creators

Influencers know their audience best. Instead of scripting them, collaborate. Agree on key talking points, allow content in their own voice and style and ensure proper disclosure and tags. 

Here are 2 key elements to consider in Influencer Product Promotion that help creators be creator while also benefiting your brand:

  1. Provide a Clear Brief: Once an influencer agrees to collaborate, you need to send a content brief that sets expectations. Here is what to include in a brief:
  • Key product features
  • Deliverables (e.g., 1 IG Reel, 3 Stories)
  • Posting timeline
  • Do’s and don’ts creatively

    Make it simple and clear, not controlling. Provide inspiration but let them use their voice. A clear and friendly brief helps influencers create content that matches your brand goals while keeping authenticity that helps their audience trust.
  1. Use Promo Codes or Affiliate Links: Track their performance to help incentivize conversions through:
  • Customized Discount Codes: Offering influencers unique codes for their audience.
  • Affiliate Programs:Offer commissions per sale.
  • Performance Monitoring: Analyzing data to assess campaign effectiveness. Use platforms like Influencer Hero to track results.

Brands employing affiliate links have seen conversion rates increase significantly, making it a key component of influencer-driven campaigns.This allows you to track conversions and incentivize sales. 

A 2024 Influencer Hub survey found brands using affiliate links with influencers saw a 2.3x higher ROI. Tools like Influencer Hero allow you to generate affiliate links and monitor performance.

Measure, Optimize, Repeat

You can’t call a campaign complete until you’ve reviewed how it actually performed. Key metrics to monitor:

  • Engagement Rates: Likes, comments, shares, and saves.
  • Conversion Rates: Sales or leads generated from the campaign.
  • Earned Media Value (EMV): The equivalent advertising value of the exposure gained.

Takeaway

Don’t guess, track. Data helps you improve future campaigns. Platforms like Influencer Hero offer influencer tracking and campaign analytics in one place.

Repurpose the content

When an influencer creates something that works, don’t let it disappear after one post, don’t let great content die on social media. When an influencer creates something that aligns with your brand and resonates with their audience, it’s worth finding ways to extend its value. Reusing influencer content as UGC is a simple way to get more out of your campaign across multiple channels.

Here are a few smart ways to reuse influencer content:

  • Paid Ads: Use high-performing photos or videos in your Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok ad campaigns. Influencer content often feels more organic and trustworthy, which can improve click-through and conversion rates.
  • Website & Product Pages: Feature real customer-style content on your homepage, product listings, or review sections. It adds social proof and helps shoppers visualize how your product looks or works in real life.
  • Email Campaigns: Drop influencer content into your newsletters or automated email flows. It adds a personal touch that grabs attention.
  • Re-use it in your own social media: Share the influencer’s posts, stories, or videos directly on your brand’s social channels. It gives the content a second life and shows your followers that real people are enjoying your products.

A great example of this is Rare Beauty, the cosmetics brand founded by Selena Gomez. Rare Beauty often shares influencer content and user-generated posts on their social media platforms, showcasing real people using their products. This not only provides social proof but also fosters a strong sense of community around the brand.

It´s important for you to secure content usage rights when negotiating collaborations, especially for paid campaigns. That way, you’ll have the freedom to share and promote it wherever it adds the most value.

Takeaway

Repurpose influencer content across ads, emails, and social media to maximize its impact. Just make sure you have the rights to use it! And remember: always make sure to ask for permission to the creator and to give them credit if you use it.

Build Long-Term Relationships

Influencer marketing works best when it’s not one-and-done. Repeat collaborations to perform better over time. Once you’ve worked with an influencer, keep in touch:

  • Send product updates
  • Offer exclusive discounts
  • Feature them on your social media
  • Invite them to new collaborations

According to a Reddit post discussing UGC strategies, brands that build long-term partnerships often see higher engagement and content quality.

Takeaway  

You need to build relationships, not just campaigns. With a change of focus to the big picture. Outreach matters. Personalize your message and lead with value, not just a pitch. Relationship-building leads to more authentic, impactful influencer marketing.

Influencer Outreach Message Templates

Template 1: Free product in exchange for promotion

SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} – ENTER YOUR BRAND NAME Partnership

Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},

{{personalized_sentence}}

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 content on your 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. 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

Template 2: Paid collaboration or Affiliate-based partnership

SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} – ENTER YOUR BRAND NAME (Paid) Partnership

Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},

{{personalized_sentence}}

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 content on your 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. We also offer a ADD COMISSION/ DISCCOUNT CODE 20% commission or a discount code to give out to your followers/ FIXED FEE. 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

Template 4: Follow-up messages

1st Negotiation Follow-up (No Response)

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

2nd Negotiation Follow-Up

Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},

I hope you’re having a great week!

I just want to make a quick follow-up on our offer. I know our offer is below what you usually receive for this kind of collaboration. However, we are looking for longer term brand collaborations which is why we need this initial post to see the match towards the brand.

If everything goes well with the initial story post, you can expect us to make an offer based on the posting’s performance.

[IF INITIAL OFFER IS INCREASED]

Usually, we only send out the ENTER INITIAL PRODUCT OFFERED, however, because we value your work and accommodation, we'd love to offer ENTER UPDATED OFFER

If you're interested, please provide your shipping details including your full name and contact number so I can send you the product.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best,

ENTER YOUR NAME

Final Thoughts

Influencer marketing isn’t just a trend—it’s a proven strategy. The brands that win are those that treat creators as partners, not just media outlets. With consumers craving real connections, influencers act as trusted bridges between brands and their ideal audiences. Whether you're partnering with a nano influencer for niche engagement or launching a high-visibility campaign with a celebrity, the key to success lies in authenticity, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making.

Start small, think long-term, and build campaigns that feel natural, not forced. Because when creators believe in your product, so will their audience.

Product promotion through influencers works best when it feels natural. Empower creators, track performance smartly, and always aim for value over volume.

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FAQs
How much should I pay an influencer to promote my product?

It depends on their category. Nano creators may promote in exchange for product, while Mega/Celebrity influencers often charge from $1,000 to $100K+.

What’s better: paying influencers or gifting products?

Start with gifting (especially for Nanos and Micros). Use paid partnerships when you want guaranteed visibility or content usage rights.

Which platforms are most effective in 2025?

Instagram and TikTok still dominate, but TikTok Shop and YouTube Shorts are emerging fast for product sales.

How do I know if an influencer is the right fit for my brand?

Look beyond follower count. Focus on engagement rate, audience demographics, and content alignment. Use tools like Influencer Hero’s influencer search tool to filter based on niche, region, and platform.

Can I reuse influencer content in my own ads?

Yes, but only if you have usage rights. Always include permission in your collaboration agreement. Many brands repurpose influencer content as user-generated content (UGC) for paid ads, websites, and emails.

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