How to approach an influencer for a paid collaboration (with a message you can copy)

Updated 8 November 2026.

Approach an influencer with one short, specific message: who you are, one honest line on why them, what you'd like (one Reel, roughly when), and that the full terms are ready to share. Leave the fee out of the first message; it belongs with the full terms. Send it by email if you can find one, otherwise by DM, and follow up once after a few days.

The message

Hi Maeve, I'm Anna, founder of Norra Skincare. Your evening-routine Reels are exactly how I'd want our serum shown. I'd like to pay you for one Instagram Reel on your account, posted in early October. The fee and the full terms are ready; if you're interested, I'll share them and we can sort the details in chat.

Four sentences. Each does one job: who, why them, what, next step.

Why most outreach is ignored

A creator with 30,000 followers gets ten to twenty brand messages a week. Most say "love your content, let's collab" and nothing else: no deliverable, no date, no mention of money, no way to see the terms. Those get ignored, not because the creator is rude, but because answering them means doing the brand's thinking for free. The message above gets replies because it does that thinking first: it says what, when, that it's paid, and where the full terms are. Inviting someone to a workflow with written terms, rather than to a DM thread, is itself the signal that you're a brand worth replying to.

What to leave out

• The fee. It reads as a take-it-or-leave-it offer and starts the conversation on money. Share it with the full terms, where the creator sees what the fee is for.
• Your product's life story. One line on why them is more persuasive than three paragraphs on you.
• "Collab" with no detail. Creators get a dozen of these a week. Say what, roughly when, and that it's paid.
• Free product as payment. For a creator you'd actually want, gifting is not a deal; it's a request for a favour.

Email or DM?

Email, if their bio or link page has one; it's where creators handle business. DMs get lost. If you must DM, keep it to the four sentences and ask for an email address.

If they don't reply

One polite follow-up after three or four days. After that, move on. Silence is an answer, and the creator who replies to a clear, paid, specific message is the one you want.

How UpShout helps

UpShout drafts this message from your brief and sends it in your name; the creator reads the full terms, fee included, at a link without needing an account. If they go quiet, UpShout follows up. Create a brand account

Questions people ask

Should I DM or email an influencer? Email where you can; DM only when there's no email, and keep it short.

How many influencers should I message at once? For a first collaboration, one or two. You're learning; keep it manageable.

What if they ask for more money? Normal. Decide what the post is worth to you and negotiate inside that; a creator who asks a question is a good sign.