Platform · Outreach

Influencer outreach, sent and answered for you

Influencer outreach is the work of contacting creators about a campaign and getting them to a yes: the first email, the follow-ups, the replies and the fee. Our team does all of it from an approved shortlist. Below is where every outreach contact we have made stands today, why creators say no, and the emails we send.

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9,763
outreach contacts made for brands since March 2025

8,089 creators, across 50 campaigns.

25%
have a recorded answer from the creator

2,476 contacts. A reply that changed nothing is not counted.

1,727
creators told us why they said no

The reasons are below.

Our own record

Where 9,763 outreach contacts stand today

Outreach tools quote a reply rate and stop there. This is the whole of ours: every creator we have put into an email sequence for a brand, by where they stand now.

  • Emailed, no answer recorded yet4,68848%
  • No reply2,44225%
  • Said no1,96720%
  • Asked for more than the budget1301%
  • Asked us to come back later941%
  • Dropped by the brand after we wrote1572%
  • Replied, then went quiet10under 1%
  • Talking about the fee40under 1%
  • Fee agreed or with the brand for approval1231%
  • Signed, and making the content521%
  • Posted and completed601%

Share of all outreach contacts.

What the record says

  • Outreach is a numbers job. It took 9,763 contacts to bring 112 to a signed deal or a finished post, which is about 87 contacts for each one.
  • About one contact in 4 answers. Most answers are a no, and a clear no is useful: it carries a reason.
  • 130 creators said yes at a fee above the budget. Those are not lost: a creator who wants the work is worth writing to again when the budget is larger.
  • 94 asked us to come back later. A creator we have written to before gets a different sequence, which names the fee.

How we counted. One grouped read of our campaign records. A contact is one creator in one campaign’s email sequence, so a creator contacted for two campaigns counts twice. A stage is where the contact stands today and not the path it took. "No answer recorded yet" includes old campaigns that closed without the stage being changed. Read on 5 October 2026.

The creator’s side

Why creators say no

1,727 creators gave a reason when they declined. Outreach guides are written from the sender’s side. This is the other side.

  • Not based near the place56933%
  • Asked for a cash fee on a gifted offer53931%
  • Not interested46327%
  • Not free at the time1569%

Of the creators who gave a reason.

Not based near the place

A restaurant or a shop needs a creator who can walk in. Our database records where a creator is based from their own posts, and the contract makes the location a condition.

Asked for a cash fee

A gifted offer sent to a creator who charges gets a no. Our subject lines say whether the offer is paid, so nobody opens the email expecting something else.

Not interested

The product did not fit the creator. A tighter shortlist beats a better email, and the shortlist is the step you approve.

Not free at the time

A no for this month, not for good. These creators are worth a second email when the next campaign starts.

The emails

The sequence we send, word for word

Three emails over 3 days, sent Monday to Friday between 06:30 and 20:30 in the campaign’s time zone. This is the sequence from a recent paid campaign, as it was sent. The names in double braces are filled in for each creator.

Day 0

The first email. Subject: {{firstName}} x Syncron Paid Partnership - @{{instagram_handle}}

Hi {{firstName}}, How are you? I am reaching out from Syncron, and we would love to work with you this month! We are looking for athletes to showcase Syncron's various drinks. Syncron's isn't just another sports drink, it's the fuel behind next-level performance. Inspired by insights from elite athletes like Shohei Ohtani.  Syncron was created to bring world-class sports science into everyday life. With clean, proven ingredients and no artificial fillers, it delivers the before and after workout care you need. That being said, please let me know if you are interested in partnering and what your rate would be for 1 IG reel reposted to TikTok + 1-2 stories + 60 days of white-label boosting rights.  We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully working with you on this campaign! Best, Matt Influencer Marketing at Syncron https://livesyncron.com/

Day 2

The first follow-up, as a reply in the same thread

Hey {{firstName}}, Just following up to see what you thought of my last email. Thanks! Matt

Day 3

The second follow-up, as a reply in the same thread

Hey {{firstName}}, Just checking to see if you got my last two emails. It would be great to know if you are interested! Thanks, Matt

It says paid, and it asks for a rate

The subject line names the kind of deal. The email lists exactly what is wanted and asks the creator what they charge. Nobody has to guess.

The follow-ups are two lines

A long second email reads like pressure. A short one in the same thread puts the first email back at the top of the inbox.

A creator we know gets a different one

Someone we have worked with gets three emails over 8 days that name the fee up front and ask for a yes, a no or a later.

Writing your own? Read how to write an influencer outreach email and how to do influencer outreach.

Done for you

Who does what, from shortlist to signed contract

Every outreach tool sells a faster way to send the emails yourself. This is what it looks like when you do not send them at all.

  1. 01

    The shortlist is approved

    You can say yes or no to each creator before we write to them, or leave the choice to our team. A creator you drop is not contacted.

    Who:
    You or our team
    You:
    Can approve each creator
  2. 02

    We write the email from your brief

    What the product is, what the creator would make, and whether the offer is paid. It goes out in your brand’s name.

    Who:
    Our team
  3. 03

    We send it from our own addresses

    On weekdays, in the daytime. Cold emails go out from our own sending addresses, so the reputation of your company’s domain is never at risk.

    Who:
    Our team
  4. 04

    We follow up twice, then stop

    Day 2 and day 3, in the same thread. The sequence ends the moment a creator replies.

    Who:
    The sequence
  5. 05

    We answer every reply

    Questions, rates, counter offers, managers. Every reply gets an answer from our team, and you do not get a full inbox.

    Who:
    Our team
  6. 06

    You approve the final fee

    When a creator names a fee, it comes to you for a yes or a no. 123 contacts stand at that step today. Nothing is booked until you approve it.

    Who:
    You
    You:
    Approve each fee

Past the reply

What happens after a creator says yes

Outreach pages end at the reply. The reply is where the slow work starts. These are the stages after it, with the number of contacts at each one today.

StageWhat happensContacts today
Talking about the feeThe creator has named a rate, or asked for ours. We work towards the campaign’s target fee.40
Fee agreed, or with you for approvalYou see the creator, the fee and the cost per engagement, and say yes or no.123
Signed, and making the contentThe agreement is signed, the brief is out and drafts are being approved.52
Posted and completedThe post is live and checked, and the creator has been paid.60

A common mix-up

Creator outreach is not link outreach

Search for an influencer outreach tool and half the results are about blogger outreach: software that finds website owners and asks them for links. That is a different job with a different end. A link pitch ends at a yes. A creator pitch starts there, because a yes leads to a fee, a contract, a draft and a payment.

So judge an outreach tool, or a team, by what it does after the reply. Ask who answers the creator, who agrees the fee and who sends the contract. If the answer is "you do", the tool has sped up the easy part.

Matt Greenwell

Written by

Matt Greenwell, Co-Founder and CEO of Sup

Matt started Sup in 2024 with Hassan Munir. Before Sup he co-founded Storefront, the marketplace for booking pop-up retail space. Before that he worked at Goldman Sachs.

The figures are counted from Sup’s own campaign records. The emails are quoted as sent. No creator is named. Updated 5 October 2026.

FAQ

Influencer outreach questions

It is the work of contacting creators about a campaign: finding the right address, writing the first message, following up, answering replies and agreeing a fee. It ends when a creator has said yes to terms, not when the email is sent.

It depends on the offer far more than on the email. Tools quote rates from 10% to over 40% and rarely say how they count. Our own record: 2,476 of 9,763 outreach contacts (25%) have a recorded answer, and most of those answers were a no. A paid offer to a creator who fits gets more replies than a gifted offer sent widely.

We send two. The first goes 2 days after the first email and the second a day later. After that we stop, because a fourth email to someone who has not answered three does more harm than good.

Email for a paid offer. It reaches the creator or their manager, it can carry the terms, and it leaves a record. A direct message suits a small gifted offer to a creator with no public email address.

Say whether the offer is paid or gifted, always. Our subject lines say "Paid Partnership". The second most common reason creators gave us for saying no was that they wanted a cash fee and the offer was a gift. Whether to name the figure depends on the deal: for a first contact we ask for the creator’s rate, and for a creator we have worked with we state the fee.

With most tools, yes, and that is the risk: hundreds of cold emails a week can hurt the reputation of the domain your company uses for everything else. We send from our own addresses, in your brand’s name.

A blogger outreach tool is built for link building: it finds website owners and sends pitches for links. An influencer outreach tool, or a team like ours, contacts creators about making content, and then has to handle fees, contracts, drafts and payment. Lists of "outreach tools" often mix the two.

Everything between an approved shortlist and a signed contract. We write the email from your brief, send it, follow up, answer every reply, agree a fee inside your budget and send the contract. You approve the shortlist and the final fee.

What is influencer outreach?

It is the work of contacting creators about a campaign: finding the right address, writing the first message, following up, answering replies and agreeing a fee. It ends when a creator has said yes to terms, not when the email is sent.

What is a good reply rate for influencer outreach?

It depends on the offer far more than on the email. Tools quote rates from 10% to over 40% and rarely say how they count. Our own record: 2,476 of 9,763 outreach contacts (25%) have a recorded answer, and most of those answers were a no. A paid offer to a creator who fits gets more replies than a gifted offer sent widely.

How many follow-ups should I send?

We send two. The first goes 2 days after the first email and the second a day later. After that we stop, because a fourth email to someone who has not answered three does more harm than good.

Email or direct message?

Email for a paid offer. It reaches the creator or their manager, it can carry the terms, and it leaves a record. A direct message suits a small gifted offer to a creator with no public email address.

Should the first email say what you will pay?

Say whether the offer is paid or gifted, always. Our subject lines say "Paid Partnership". The second most common reason creators gave us for saying no was that they wanted a cash fee and the offer was a gift. Whether to name the figure depends on the deal: for a first contact we ask for the creator’s rate, and for a creator we have worked with we state the fee.

Can outreach be sent from my own email address?

With most tools, yes, and that is the risk: hundreds of cold emails a week can hurt the reputation of the domain your company uses for everything else. We send from our own addresses, in your brand’s name.

What is the difference between an influencer outreach tool and a blogger outreach tool?

A blogger outreach tool is built for link building: it finds website owners and sends pitches for links. An influencer outreach tool, or a team like ours, contacts creators about making content, and then has to handle fees, contracts, drafts and payment. Lists of "outreach tools" often mix the two.

What does done-for-you outreach include?

Everything between an approved shortlist and a signed contract. We write the email from your brief, send it, follow up, answer every reply, agree a fee inside your budget and send the contract. You approve the shortlist and the final fee.

The rest of the platform

One team does all six

Contracts

The agreement our creators sign, clause by clause, and the terms that are usual in it.

Creator search

How we find creators for a brief, with one real shortlist and the reasons brands drop creators from it.

Tracking and reporting

One real campaign report, open to read, and where each number in it comes from.

Payments

How creators are paid, how long it takes on our campaigns and what you pay for.

Briefs and approvals

The approval process step by step, how many versions a draft takes and a checklist to copy.

The campaigns we run

UGC, Spark Ads and partnership ads, gifting, influencer posts, ambassador programs and TikTok.

Tired of sending the emails yourself?

Sup writes, sends and answers every outreach email from a shortlist you approve, agrees each fee inside your budget and sends the contract. You only pay for posts that go live.

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