How to pitch brands (with email templates)

A good pitch is short, specific, and sent to a named person. The third part is the easiest to get wrong, because a good email sent to a support inbox may never reach the person with the budget. In CreatorIQ's July 2025 survey of 300 creators, 17% named "lack of consistent brand deals" as the biggest barrier to growing their business. Pitching is how you stop waiting for inbound.

Which brands should you pitch first?

The first brands to pitch are the ones you already buy and use on camera. You can talk about the product without a script, your audience has already seen it, and you can prove it with old posts. That makes the brand's decision easy.

Next, pitch brands that already pay creators your size. Search your niche for posts tagged "ad," "sponsored," or "paid partnership," and note which brands keep showing up with small creators. The Meta Ad Library shows ads currently running on Facebook and Instagram, so you can see which brands run creator content as ads.

Skip brands that only work with celebrities, and skip a brand if you already have an exclusivity clause with one of its competitors. Check your contracts before you pitch.

How do you find the right contact at a brand?

The right contact at a brand is the person who owns the creator budget, and the job title often includes "influencer," "creator," "partnerships," or "social." At a small brand that may be the founder. At a large one it may be an agency.

Find them in this order:

1. Check the brand's website for a creator, partnership, press, or affiliate page with an email address.
2. Search LinkedIn for the brand name plus "influencer marketing" or "creator partnerships."
3. Look at the brand's Instagram or TikTok bio for a business email.
4. Send a DM to the brand account asking, "Who handles creator partnerships? I'd like to send a short idea."
5. Use a general inbox like hello@ only as a last resort.

If a brand works through an agency, pitch the agency contact. Agencies book creators for many brands, so one good relationship can bring several deals.

When should you pitch a brand?

The best time to pitch a brand is when you have a reason it should care right now. That reason can be a product launch, a season, a trend in your niche, or a recent post of yours that did well. "I saw you're launching the new flavor in March" beats "I love your brand."

Pitch seasonal ideas at least six weeks ahead. Brands need time to approve the idea, send a contract, and ship product before you film. For holiday campaigns, earlier is better.

Pitch again after you have new proof. A post that beat your average, a new paid case study, or a jump in views gives you a reason to email a brand that ignored you three months ago.

What should a pitch email include?

A pitch email should fit on one phone screen and answer four questions: who you are, who watches you, what you want to make, and what you want from the reader. Anything else goes in your media kit.

• A subject line with your niche and the idea, not "Collaboration opportunity."
• One sentence on who you are and how you know the product.
• One line of numbers: average views on recent posts and your main audience.
• One specific content idea, described in two sentences.
• A clear question, such as "Do you have budget for a paid TikTok in April?"
• A link to your media kit and your best post.

Leave out your follower count if your views are stronger, your life story, and any price. Price comes after the brand says what it wants. How much to charge for a brand deal shows how to build the quote.

What pitch templates can you copy?

The three templates below cover a cold pitch, a timed pitch, and a reply that turns a gifting offer into a paid deal. Replace every bracket. A template sent unedited reads like a template.

Cold pitch to a brand you already use

Subject: [Your niche] creator, idea for [product name]

Hi [first name],

I'm [your name], and I make [niche] videos on [platform] for [audience, e.g. first-time runners]. I've used [product] for [time], and it's already shown up in [link to post].

My recent videos average [number] views, and most of my audience is [age range] in [top country].

Idea: a [length] video showing [specific scenario], ending with [the product benefit]. I think it would work for [the brand's goal, e.g. the spring launch].

Do you have budget for paid creator content this quarter? My media kit is here: [link].

Thanks, [Name]

Timed pitch for a launch or season

Subject: [Season or launch] video idea for [brand]

Hi [first name],

I saw [brand] is launching [product] in [month]. My audience asks me about [problem the product solves] every week, so I'd like to pitch a video for launch week.

The idea: [two sentences describing the video]. I can deliver a draft by [date] and post on [date].

Recent results: [one post] reached [number] views, and my average is [number]. Media kit: [link].

Would a paid post fit your launch plan? Happy to send a quote once I know the deliverables you need.

[Name]

Reply to a gifting offer

Subject: Re: [their subject]

Hi [first name],

Thanks for thinking of me. I'd be glad to try [product].

For posts with fixed deliverables and dates, I work on a paid basis. My rate for one [format] is [price], and that includes [usage terms, e.g. 30 days of organic reposting on your channels].

If paid isn't possible right now, I'm happy to receive the product with no posting commitment, and I'll share it if it fits my content.

Which would you prefer?

[Name]

The third template protects you twice. It puts your rate in writing, and it makes clear that a gift with no paid agreement creates no obligation to post. If you do post about a gifted product, the FTC says: "Disclose the relationship if you got anything of value to mention a product." How to disclose sponsored posts has the wording.

How often should you follow up?

A brand pitch gets two follow-ups, about a week apart, and then you stop. No reply to a first email is not a no, because it may never have been read. A third chase starts to read as pressure.

1. Day 0: send the pitch.
2. Day 5 to 7: reply in the same thread with one new thing, such as a recent post's results or a second idea.
3. Day 12 to 14: send a two-line close. "Last note from me on this. If the timing changes, my media kit is here."
4. After that: wait at least three months, then pitch a new idea with new proof.

Keep a simple sheet with the brand, contact, date sent, follow-up dates, and reply. It stops you from pitching the same person twice in a week.

What do you do when a brand says yes?

When a brand says yes, ask for the brief in writing before you quote. You need the deliverables, posting dates, usage rights, whitelisting or Spark Ads requests, exclusivity, and payment terms. Each one changes the price.

Then confirm the email domain matches the brand's real website, because a fake offer can borrow a real brand's name. How to spot a fake brand deal lists the checks. Quote using how much to charge for a brand deal or the rate calculator, price any ad rights with usage rights, whitelisting, and Spark Ads explained, and do not film until the contract is signed. When the post is live, follow how to invoice brands and get paid on time.

If pitching feels slow, run it alongside platforms that bring offers to you. How to get paid brand deals compares inbound, outreach, and each kind of platform.