A Head of Digital Marketing recently asked me to share some examples of good pitch emails others brands had sent to me ( influencer marketing ). I was unable to think of a single one.
Led me to think what my criteria is for deciding what’s a good pitch email. It should be brief – mention brand name / product, expected deliverables, why they considered my profile, commercials, how much creative leeway I have, mentions that they’re open to discussion.
Most emails I receive are trash, sadly. No mention of brand / product, no mention of commercials ( even if barter, mention it upfront ), no mention of why they think I’m a brand fit, wax on ( non-lyrical ) about how amazing it will be if I say “yes”.
Most emails I receive are fishing for price that they can tack their agency commission onto & mislead the client brand. After more than a decade of being in this business, I can tell. I still respond because that’s the professional thing to do but I expect nothing.
It’s ok to say, “Hi Naina! We like your work, especially the latest street style you shot at fashion week. We are a clothing brand & are curious about how you work & how we can put our brands together & make something. How do we take this forward?”
What I generally find “not-ok” is, “Hi! We are excited <300 word spiel about campaign without disclosing brand>. We want 1 Instagram post. What are your charges?”, especially from complete strangers.
“Hi! Thank you for getting in touch. That’s not how I work.” is my usual response. With some, depending on how curious I am & how much time I have available to waste, I might add a, “Here’s my number, call me & let’s chat.” Even so, I hear from maybe 1% such emailers.
My attempt to help simplify their decision-making hasn’t worked as far as I can tell. Whenever I’ve put everything upfront : pricing, 100% advance, how I work, what’s a complete no-no, etc. I’ve been told I’m too “process-oriented” or I’m “difficult” to work with.
How would you know if you’ve never worked with me eh?
When an assignment does work out, however, the joy is palpable because it means it met almost all criteria! So, all clients I end up working with are the best in the industry & they’ve met my very-basic standards. Thanks to the people behind these client brands 
The point of this thread was to share my incredible clients with you. One of the things I did this year was make a “Clients” page on my website. These brands have extracted some of my best work from me & I’m grateful.
See list of my clients here : The Best Clients
