In our “how to find affiliates” guide, we shared the eight most effective ways to find quality affiliates. More than half of those methods included reaching out to potential affiliates.

But how do you reach out effectively? More precisely, how to outreach such that you get a high response rate and potential affiliates to brand affiliates conversion rate? Well, one of the primary elements you need to nail is your outreach message.

And in this article, we’ll share a couple of affiliate program outreach templates that you can use to nail your outreach messages. We have shared a template each for both outreach DMs and outreach emails.

But Before You Pick The Outreach Template…

Know that:

• There are many aspects to getting a high open rate, high response rate, and high conversion rate. For example, your lead list quality, email subject line, message timing, follow-up message quality, number of follow-ups, etc., all affect the key metrics.
• Potential affiliates/influencers prefer getting contacted a certain way for “partnerships” queries. So look out for instructions first. For instance, if they have mentioned an email address for brand queries, do not DM them.
• Outreach direct messages (DMs) should be short and concise. After all, no one reads a lengthy Instagram message from a stranger.
• Outreach emails can be a bit in-depth but shouldn’t be too long. So, don’t share the details they don’t need to know. For example, you can skip mentioning how and when you payout in your first email.
• Whether it’s email or DM, the message must include two things: 1) A short intro to you and your brand, and 2) Why the influencer/affiliate marketer is a good fit for joining your affiliate program.

Last note: To show you the outreach templates in use, we’ll take the influencer example we discussed in the how to find affiliates article:

We’ll suppose Lauren, the founder at Mountain Moverz ⁠— a company that sells baby jewelry, among other things ⁠— is sending the affiliate program outreach DM and email to Jordin Ibrahim, an Instagram influencer with a relevant following. 

Noted? Let’s get to the outreach templates.

Brand Affiliate Program Outreach DM Template

Tweak the DM template depending on the platform you are reaching out on. For instance, an Instagram DM can be more casual than a Linkedin DM.

The template:

Hey [Influencer First Name],

[Your Name] here. I am [Your Job Title] at [Your Brand Name] – [A short intro to your brand]. [A personalized line that shows you have done your research] or [A vaguely personalized line that feels personal to a segment of affiliates/influencers].

[Introduction of your affiliate program]. [Invitation to your program]

– [Your Name] (optional)

P.S. [A tempting offer] or [A recent news of affiliate success or something new you are doing] or [Another CTA] (optional)

Template in use:

Hey Jordin,

Lauren here. I am the founder of Mountain Moverz – a mom-and-pop e-store selling apparel and jewelry for babies and moms. I just saw your profile and your cute feed 🥰, and I feel you’d like to collaborate with us (at least, we would).

We recently launched our affiliate program (that pays 12% per sale!), and I want to invite you to join it. Would you be interested in becoming a Mountain Moverz affiliate?

– Lauren

P.S. If you’d like to see our products first, I’d be happy to send over a free sample 🙂

Brand Affiliate Program Outreach Email Template

You can use the DM template in email as well, but let’s go a bit in-depth for the email, shall we?

The template:

Hi [Influencer First Name],

My name’s [Your Name], and I am [Your Job Title] at [Your Brand Name]. [A short intro to your brand]. 

[A line mentioning how you found them]. [A personalized line that shows you know what they do] or [A vaguely personalized line that feels personal to them and the segment of affiliates/influencers they’re part of].

Coming to the point: [Introduction of your affiliate program]. Would you be interested in becoming a [Your Brand Name] affiliate? I’ll get you set up right away!

Regards,

[Your Name] 

P.S. [A CTA that asks them to do something between joining the affiliate program and completely ignoring your email, in case they are hesitant to join right away]

Template in use

Hi Jordin,

My name’s Lauren, and I am the founder of Mountain Moverz. We are a small mom-and-pop e-commerce store selling apparel and jewelry for babies and moms.

I was looking through #babyjewelry on Instagram and found your profile. After looking through your cute feed👼, I felt you’d like to collaborate with us (at least we would love to see your Alèah (the baby’s name) wearing a Mountain Moverz bracelet!).

Coming to the point: We recently launched our affiliate program (that pays 12% per every sale the affiliate brings!), and I’d love to have you on as a Mountain Moverz affiliate. 

Would you be interested in becoming our affiliate? I can get you set up right away!

Regards,

Lauren

P.S. If you want to see our products first, I’ll love to send a free sample 🙂

P.P.S. Have any doubts about what an affiliate program is or how it works? I’d be more than happy to get on a call and explain it further.

Summing Up

There are four steps to affiliate marketing success:

Step 1: Create an affiliate program

Step 2: Find quality potential affiliates

Step 3: Properly reach out to them and convert the potential affiliates into affiliates

Step 4: Motivate your affiliates to bring you more sales and never leave you.

In this article, we shared a couple of affiliate program outreach templates that’ll help you with the third step. Of course, you don’t have to copy the DM or email templates as is, but they’ll definitely serve as a good base to create outreach campaigns that get high responses and conversions.

Good luck!