You’ve optimized your channel to attract new subscribers (Step 1), developed a unique value proposition to offer your new collab partners (Step 2), and developed some awesome collab ideas for specific channels you want to work with (Step 3).
Now it’s time to reach out directly and “pitch” your collab ideas to potential collab partners! Most often, when reaching out to a new collab partner, you can use the information provided in the “About” section of their YouTube channel, or in the “Profile” section of their Instagram account (usually this will include an email address for business inquiries, Facebook or Twitter account, or their own website). Also, by reaching out directly through the Collabspace App, you can make use our suggested conversation starters to make the process even easier!
Remember to keep your first message relatively short (generally, just one or two short paragraphs), as you may otherwise lose their attention otherwise. It’s also a good idea, rather than recycling the same message over and over, to make your first message as personal as possible by including their name (or the name of their channel), complimenting one of their posts that you particularly enjoyed, or some other personal note which demonstrates you’ve taken the time to appreciate some of the content they’ve created. In fact, it’s also a good idea to subscribe or follow a new potential collab partner a few weeks before you reach out to them.
When crafting your first message to a new collab partner, it’s also important that you hit on these three main points: (1) why you want to collaborate with them specifically; (2) what you can bring to the table if you do collab with one another, including a link to your channel; and (3) any specific ideas or suggestions you might have for the collab itself, along with a question asking for feedback or any ideas they may have.
If you can do all of the above in less than six to eight sentences, then you’ve created a great collab pitch. Here’s a quick example:
Hi Jennifer,
I just subscribed to your channel last month because I’m starting to get into Yoga and your videos have been a huge help for me. I have my own vegetarian cooking channel with 150k subs [link] and thought it would be fun to do a collab video where we talk about the benefits of Yoga and healthy eating.
If that sounds good to you, perhaps we could even make two videos where we exchange lessons in yoga and cooking: I could post the cooking lesson on my channel and you could post the yoga lesson on your channel, then we could tell our audiences about both videos. I’m also completely open to any other ideas you might have!
I also have professional lighting and sound equipment in my kitchen at home, so I would be happy to host if that works for you. I could also pay for some of your travel expenses if that would help as well.
Thanks for your time Jennifer, looking forward to your next video!
That’s it for this post – we hope this 4-part series has been helpful. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below and be sure to check out our upcoming posts which will feature new tips for doing collabs on YouTube and Instagram.
One last thing! Collabspace is working hard to provide new ways for Creators to find each other for great collabs – remember to join our email list to receive news and early access to all the latest features of the site!