Pitching to brands can be daunting β especially if youβre just starting your UGC journey. From writing a pitch email to finding the right person to send your email, weβre breaking down how to pitch to brands for UGC and land more collaborations.
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Before you pitch, it's important to do your research. The first step is understanding the brand and its target audience. Do they have a specific demographic they're trying to reach? What are their values and goals? If you can identify these things, it will help you create content that align with brand's marketing objectives.
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Next, look at what types of UGC the brand has already published on social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram. Are there any trends or patterns emerging from their posts that could inform how yours would be received by the same audience? If not, consider reaching out directly so that they can provide insight into what makes sense for them moving forward (and hey--you might get some free swag!).
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Here are five things to include in your pitch to brands:
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1. Create a Top Subject Line
When sending a pitch consider that the inbox of the person receiving it will be probably flooded with business emails, marketing offers, and other pitches. So, you want your email to stand out, in order to do so strong subject line is key. Make sure itβs short, clear, and highlight benefits. In other words: keep it simple and catchy. For example, a standard subject line format might look like: "[Top UGC For Brand Name]". You can also include a small greeting or emoji in the subject line to make it more friendly and capture their attention.
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2. Introduce Yourself
Building a sincere relationship with a brand is very important, especially if you're looking for a long-term partnership, and your pitch is the first step to achieve that. The recipient doesn't need to know every detail of your life, so you have to give them a sense of who you are and why you're introducing yourself. Instead of the generic phrases like "Our brands connect, and I think this relationship would be a terrific fit," consider highlighting a few of your key principles and how they enhance the brand. This could be a great moment to include links to your most popular social media!
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3. Connect With The Brand & Show Benefits
This is the moment to show that you made your research! Brands like creators who have already used (and loved) their products. It will also make it simpler for you to produce content and engage with your community. Use these questions as a starting point when coming up with ideas for what to emphasize in your pitch: What is your preferred method of using the product, and why do you like it so much? What is something about the product that you didn't know before using it? Have you produced user-generated content for similar company? You should then focus on your shared values and why youβd be the perfect match. You can also include some powerful metrics about UGC and how it can help their business grow! Here's an example to give you an idea: Β Β
"I'm an enthusiastic supporter/customer of [Brand] and inspired by [qualities of brand's products]. [Connection with Brand]. Iβm reaching out to offer my UGC services as a way to help [brand objectives - increase awareness, boost engagement, increase users] of your [product / service]. User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful marketing tool, where [cite 2-3 stats]."
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4. Attach your Portfolio
When pitching to brands, having a UGC portfolio is one of the best ways to highlight your previous work and show what you can offer in a future collaboration. Remember to include visuals, which can be as simple as photos or short videos of you using other products, possibly similar and aligned to the brand you're pitching. If you don't have a portfolio you can check out movig UGC portfolio example. Β
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5. Call-to-action (CTA)
A call to action is what it says, intended to persuade your recipient to do what you ask at the end of your pitch. It is intended to offer a clear choice, a strong reason to act. It can be something like this:
"Are you interested in exploring a potential collab? Iβd love to discuss further and see how we can partner to boost brand awareness and your sales."
TIP: you can use an AI generator to write a first draft and then refine it!
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It's crucial to make sure the right person receives your pitch once you've written it. There are a few ways to determine who to address your email pitch to:
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1) Look for anyone with the words "PR", "Collaborations," or "Social Media" in their job description while searching for the brand on LinkedIn. You can also contact a member of the marketing staff if you are unable to find them.
2) Ask the brand on social media via a direct message (DM) who is the ideal person to contact.
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If you don't hear back from the brand within a week, send them an email reminder. If you still haven't heard back from them by then, send another again--but only twice more!
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You should always evaluate the results of your pitch. Did you get that collab? Did you get a reply? If not, what could have been done differently? Refine your pitch for future collaborations by doing A/B testing and experimenting what worked and what didn't. Keep refining your pitching skills and you're gonna get there!
Learn how to start and scale your creator business here and check out our ultimate creator success bundle. Schedule a demo so we can answer any questions and to show you how our tool works.
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