Tired of getting brand offers that don’t pay? Let’s change that! In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly how to respond to brand emails—especially when they’re offering “exposure” or product instead of cash. These situations come up all the time, and knowing how to reply with clarity and confidence is key to turning freebies into paid gigs.
👉 Grab my email response templates!
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Working with brands is something that can be super, super fun and very lucrative, but there are so many different pieces that go into it that can cause a bit of stress from wanting to just connect with the brands, figure out how to show up in their inbox, how to get them to respond, how to actually get a deal signed.
Then also looking at the contract, making sure they're not taking advantage of you and everything else that comes along with it. So in this episode, I want to help you take a couple of those pieces that are challenging and make them a little bit easier. So in this episode, I am going to share a couple of.
Email responses that are commonly popping up in people's inboxes, and sometimes we just don't know how to correctly respond to make it go the way that we're really wanting to make sure we're not being taken advantage of. So I'm gonna share those with you now. And then after this, I have an entire document full of over 10 email response templates that I'll tell you how to get your hands on.
So what do we do when a brand shows up in our inbox? Or maybe you've pitched them and they don't want to pay you, they just want to give you the product. Maybe it's a $20 product, maybe it's a $200 product, but you know, in your gut, you deserve to be paid for this. So do we respond? So if you already know and use the brand, here is a template you can use.
Hello, whoever their name may be. Thank you so much for reaching out. I love this brand and this product is one of my favorites. I would love to work with you, however, I am no longer doing sponsored content in exchange for product only. My brand has been growing and I have a loyal audience who would love to hear more about your product.
There are over. X amount of people in my audience on this platform with an engagement rate of this rate. So I know that your content would perform really well. Would you be interested in moving forward with the sponsored post? If so, I am happy to send you over some options with my rates. Short, sweet, confident, right?
Owning your worth, showcasing. I have the audience you're wanting to get in front of. You need to work with me. This is confident and kind. And if they are serious and are really ready to pay people, then they're going to respond and want to work with you. If not, no harm, no foul. You had an easy template that you're able to send out.
All right, let's look at another one. That is popular. What about if you've worked with a brand for free in the past? So maybe you did do a gifted exchange, but now you've got a little bit more experience. You don't wanna do that anymore. Here's how we can respond if they come back to you and are wanting to just send you product again.
And before I read this email, I want to say I have been on the flip side, I have worked. For a brand and manage their influencer program. And what I can tell you is that there is a budget and if you are the right fit, there is money for you. However, there is not money for you if you do not ask for money because at the end of the day, and I had content creators in my inbox constantly when I was running this program.
And the amount of times I had bloggers, influencers show up in my inbox asking for the product and never asking me for money. Ugh. Broke my heart. I was always hopping into our Facebook community meeting like you guys ask for money, because I am also representing the brand. It put me in a very hard position, right?
Because I'm like, I'm just reading these emails, screaming at them like, ask me for money. Because at the end of the day, if you are not asking for money and you're willing to perform these deliverables in exchange for a $300 product. Awesome. That saves me money for the content creators that are going to ask me for money.
So now I can make that dollar stretch further because I have more products that I can send out, no problem. But I do have a limited marketing budget, and if you're not asking for the money, I'm not going to offer it. So always, always ask. Alright, so back to this email template of if you've worked with them for free in the past.
How do we respond now when you want to get paid? Hello to the name. So great to hear from you. I truly loved working with you last time, and my audience really enjoyed the content I produced for. Your brand. You can insert a screenshot of somebody saying they tried it because of you. Maybe you got a really awesome comment or a dm.
Totally like put that proof there. I would love to work with you again. I'm no longer doing sponsored content in exchange for product only. My brand has been growing and I have a loyal audience who would love to see me working with you again for this new campaign. What's your budget for this campaign?
If you can provide me with that and any details of what you're looking for, I'd like to send you over some options. Can't wait to hear more. So this just reaffirms that like your audience is perfect. You've had people talking to them, you had success with the last one that you did for free, and now you deserve to be paid.
So again, firm, confident, kind, all of the things wrapped into a pretty bow. So these are two that are super common, but obviously there are a hundred other scenarios that pop into our inboxes. So if you're like, Brie, I just need templates for every scenario. So like, what if they shoot you an offer and it's too low?
What if you need help just negotiating a rate and how do I approach this confidently and in a way that is going to get results? How do I. Increase my rate for a return brand partner, or what do I do if I've sent a PR package and I wanna turn that into something more? All of those and more, we have over 10 email response templates that you can go and grab right now at Thrive Together blog slash script, and we will leave that link in the description of this podcast for you.
And when you go to that link, there is a special little discount because you're coming there from the podcast. So go check it out. Go grab your templates if you're wanting to work with brands and increase how much money you're making. You need 'em. Alright, I'll see you guys back here in a few days.
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