Where to find influencers to contact
Start with people who already know you: customers, people who tag you, people who review your category. Then widen to hashtag and competitor searches, then marketplaces.
- Your own customers. Order emails, reviews, people who tag you. Highest reply rate, best content.
- People who tag competitors. They buy the category and film it already.
- Hashtag and keyword search on TikTok and Instagram for the problem your product solves, not your brand name.
- Creator marketplaces, where creators apply to your brief instead. See creator marketplaces.
Need a shortlist fast? The micro influencer finder builds one from your niche.
What the first outreach message needs
Three lines. Why them, specifically. What you are offering, with a number. One easy next step. Anything longer reads as a mass email, because it usually is.
- Why them. Name a video of theirs. One sentence.
- The offer. Product, fee or both. "A $150 flat fee for one 30-second video" gets more replies than "a paid collab".
- The next step. "Want me to send the one-page brief?" A yes is easier than a call.
Write the message itself with the influencer outreach email generator. It drafts a personalised first message and follow-up from the creator and your offer.
Director by Sprites · private beta
The ads, without the creator ops.
At scale: To sign 40 creators a month you message 120 to 160 of them. That is 160 threads across Instagram DMs, TikTok and email, each with its own follow-up date, rate question and "can you send more info?". Outreach is the single most expensive stage of creator management.
Director is a full creative team for your startup. Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns. No creators to manage.
- Strategy, hooks, scripts, shooting and editing, end to end.
- Every video is checked by a person before it reaches your inbox.
- You never write a prompt. No endless revisions.
Follow-ups and the outreach funnel
Follow up once, three or four days later, with something new: a date, a product detail, a higher number. Two follow-ups is the limit. Track every thread so nobody gets messaged twice by two people on your team.
| To sign | Message | Follow-ups | Threads to track |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 creators | 30 to 40 | About 25 | 40 |
| 40 creators | 120 to 160 | About 100 | 160 |
| 50 creators | 150 to 200 | About 125 | 200 |
DM or email? DM for creators under about 50,000 followers, where the DM is the inbox. Email for anyone with a management contact in their bio. Once they say yes, move everything to one channel and send the brief.
Questions
What is influencer outreach?
Influencer outreach is contacting creators to propose a paid or gifted collaboration: finding the right ones, sending a first message, following up and agreeing terms.
How do you reach out to influencers?
With a short, personal message by DM or email: why you picked them, what you are offering with a number, and one easy next step such as sending a one-page brief.
How many influencers should I contact?
Plan on three or four messages for every creator who signs. To sign 40 creators a month, expect to contact 120 to 160.
Should I DM or email influencers?
DM smaller creators, whose DMs are their inbox, and email anyone who lists a management or business contact. Move to one channel once they say yes.
When should I follow up with an influencer?
Three or four days after the first message, with something new such as a date or a better offer. Stop after two follow-ups.
What should I offer influencers in the first message?
A concrete offer: the product, a flat fee with the number in it, or both. Vague offers like "a paid collab" get fewer replies than a specific price for a specific video.
Ads every Monday, no creators to manage
Every Monday you get finished, on-brand video ads, reviewed by a human. You pick the winners. Sprites ships the campaigns.