How to Pitch Yourself as a Micro-Influencer
Wondering how to pitch yourself to brands as a micro-influencer? Here’s how to pitch to brands the right way as a smaller creator—from a micro-influencer turned full-time creator!
This blog post is brought to you by my 💡 How to Pitch Brands for Paid Partnerships Course
As a micro-influencer it can difficult to know how to compete when it comes to brand partnerships.
It’s easy to think when it comes to getting paid (not just free gifted soap) that the real money’s reserved for those with 100k and beyond. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Brands have caught on that smaller communities usually mean more engaged communities, and brands want engagement.
They WANT micro-influencers.
Although my brand has grown immensely since, I went full-time as a creator with just 20k as a micro-influencer (with my primary income from brand partnerships), and it all started with knowing how to pitch.
In this post, I’ll be sharing everything you need to know to stand out amongst the crowd as a micro-influencer and get your pitches heard by brands. Let’s get into it!
About the Author
Hi! I’m Candace. I’m a full-time blogger & content creator @candaceabroad and social media strategist with 5+ years experience in startup & influencer marketing.
On this blog, I share no-fluff tips to help content creators and influencers grow a strong niche online community, pitch brands for paid partnerships and negotiate their worth as a creator. I’m glad you’re here!
How to Pitch Yourself as a Micro-Influencer
Step 1 – Understand Your USP As a Micro-Influencer
It’s an age-old question ‘does size matter?’.
When it comes to being a content creator, the answer is — not if you know your USP (your Unique Selling Point’).
Being a smaller creator has so many advantages when it comes to working with brands if you know what makes your content special. Is it…
- Your Niche – do you have expertise in an area or subject that aligns with certain brands? (for ex., me being a London influencer working with companies in London tourism)
- Your Content Style – do you have a particular content style unique to your channel? you can pitch creating this type of content in an ad for a brand!
- Your Engagement Rate – 9 times out of 10 smaller creators will have a higher engagement rate than larger creators, is your community more engaged with your content than others? highlight that in your pitch!
Step 2- Show Up Online As a Mega-Influencer
As a small (and mighty) influencer it’s important to never show up small online.
Similar to treating being a content creator like a job from the beginning if you want to monetize, if you want brands to take you seriously as an influencer they’d like to work with you have to show up like you’re a mega-influencer from the get go.
Now this doesn’t mean anything crazy, but it does mean being consistent, showing you have authority in your niche and engaging with your community frequently to prove to yourself and brands you’re an influencer who takes their work seriously and is ready to take on campaigns!
Step 3 – Have a Professional Media Kit (First Email)
The ‘resume’ for influencers has always been a media kit, micro-influencer or otherwise.
But particularly as a micro-influencer, having a professional media kit is guaranteed to help you stand above the crowd when it comes to getting paid opportunities.
We go over media kit creation in-depth in How to Pitch Brands for Paid Partnerships, but above all it’s imperative to make sure you share who are you, what type of content you create, content case studies, your analytics and best numbers and how brands can work with you.
I can’t describe how many companies responded to my pitches in my micro-influencer days simply because they were impressed with my media kit (regardless of my following size). It works wonders!
Step 4 – Always Pitch the Right Brand Contact
Now that you’re ready to get your ‘pitch pants’ on, it’s important to make sure you’re reaching out to the right contact.
Never email the generic brand or customer service email and instead, learn the skill of brand contact searches to make sure you’re pitching the right person on the brand’s PR, Marketing or Influencer Marketing team, every time.
Step 5 – Remember You’re Small & Mighty (and brands would LOVE to work with you)
There’s so much self-doubt that comes with being a micro-influencer. I know, because I was one!
Whether it’s comparing yourself to bigger creators, thinking brands won’t work with you because of your size or even doubting your own content and community, there’s so much noise that goes on when it comes to pitching brands as a micro-influencer that says ‘you’re too small’ and ‘you can’t do it’.
But I’m here to tell you, yes you flipping can!
You are small and mighty as a micro-influencer and brands would love to work with you. But you need to put yourself out there as a first step, and PITCH!
At the End of the Day…Pitching Is a Numbers Game
Like sales, like marketing, and like life, so much of pitching is simply a numbers game.
Once you let go of the expectation to hear back from every brand you pitch it truly becomes game-like, as you constantly learn and grow your pitching skills to become a better influencer, creator and business owner.
Final Thoughts on How to Pitch Yourself as a Micro-Influencer
I hope this post helped start your journey on pitching brands as a micro-influencer.
From understanding your USP as a micro-influencer, showing up as a big creator, having a professional media kit ready to go, always pitching the right brand contact, and remembering you’re small and mighty (and brands would love to work with you).
You’ve got this!
Happy creating,
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