Brands That Work with Micro Influencers: How to Reach Out and Top 15 Companies to Collaborate With

While there are plenty of larger influencers who have broken their way into the market and demonstrated the value of influencer marketing, fewer people talk about micro-influencer marketing, and how micro-influencers have the ability to draw in truly engaged audiences. The approach used to address these influencers is typically different from the approach used to address large-scale influencers, but their value is no less present.

As you navigate your own partnerships, make sure to place a particular emphasis on your size as a micro – influencer; that is where your value truly shines. I have put together a guide to reaching out, and the companies best suited to work with micro-influencers, to help you develop the best micro-influencer collaborations for your needs, and to help understand how best to communicate with social media and influencer marketing managers as you seek out those partnerships.  

Understanding the Role of Micro Influencers

Micro influencers are influencers with a smaller following than might typically be considered for marketing purposes. Micro-influencers possess the same basic traits as larger influencers–namely, a target audience who trust your opinion, and some sphere of influence–but have a much smaller audience, ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 followers. Because this is still considered a smaller audience, engagement rates are often higher, as you are better equipped to interact with your audience during micro-influencer collaborations–a key fact to bring before any social media manager with whom you are trying to collaborate. 

Knowing how to approach social media managers and brand professionals as a micro-influencer is important, because many may not be well-versed in the important differences between influencer sizes. Many may assume that marketing efforts are best spent on larger influencers and fail to give applications from influencers with smaller audiences the attention they rightly deserve.

There are many different pros to partnering with content creators who fall within the parameters of a micro influencer, but perhaps the most significant is the level of engagement you can expect to see from potential customers. Smaller audiences also typically mean a more localized or specific audience. This type of focused audience can be more easily or effectively reached. Not yet considered celebrities or willing to complete outlandish acts, micro influencers are frequently known for producing high-quality content and success on influencer marketing platforms. 

Micro influencers are also frequently less expensive to engage. This successfully demonstrates the value of utilizing micro influencers, as you see higher engagement while spending less. Dunkin Donuts, Disney, and Sephora are all examples of brands who have successfully used micro influencers–great news for you and your own marketing efforts as you move forward in your influencer career! 

Benefits of Micro Influencers Proactively Reaching Out to Brands

Although it is certainly possible to simply make yourself known on an influencer marketplace, being proactive is a more effective use of time and will get your own marketing efforts further. When influencers reach out to brands to inquire after ambassador programs or partnerships, it opens the door for more targeted opportunities and can create a spike in user-generated content.

Micro influencers reaching out can increase a brand’s visibility and the number of opportunities they have to build long-term relationships with other influencers like yourself, further expanding your relationships in influencer marketplaces. By reaching out to a company directly, to develop user-generated content and discuss content strategy, you can foster personal connections and increase the likelihood of seeing improved visibility levels and opportunities. 

As a micro influencer, you can also gain access to exclusive brand events and products, including travel opportunities and up-and-coming products. Over time, as you continue to reach out to brands, micro influencer marketing campaigns can lead to establishing a professional reputation within your given industry. 

Researching Potential Brand Partners

Now that I have demonstrated the why of it all, let’s talk about the how. Developing influencer marketing campaigns with a brand is not a rapid task, so make sure you do your research and make connections with brands that have a strong ambassador program or influencer program, and whose influencer marketing platforms best align with your own preferred platforms. Social media platforms are among the best places to research; a social media platform, after all, is going to show the most readily identifiable insights into a brand’s performance, content strategy, and typical influencer partnerships. 

As you determine which brands you should align yourself with, make sure your niche and audience are aligned. Someone who focuses entirely on health and wellness, for instance, really has no place reaching out to fashion brands, just as someone focused exclusively on fashion is unlikely to do well partnering with a wellness brand. Know your strengths and audience, and play them up whenever possible. 

As you continue your research on social media platforms, make sure you analyze the brand’s collaboration history and standard influencer engagement. Brands may not clearly identify which sources of high-quality content are their own and which are the result of influencer marketing campaigns, but you can still use social media platforms to closely look at any ambassador programs or influencer campaigns they may have going, to get a feel for what you may be coming up against in your partnership. 

Creating an Attractive Influencer Media Kit

To illustrate to brands that you are capable of developing high-quality content and are a good candidate for a micro – influencer collaboration, you need an influencer media kit, or a collection of essential elements. These elements include (but are not necessarily limited to) your influencer bio, any stats you have to present, and any previous collaborations you have been a part of in the past. 

Once you have compiled the elements of your kit, make sure you take the time to design a media kit that is visually appealing. Mega influencers may be able to get away with the bare bones, but remember that even macro influencers have more experience under their belt, and a longer list of brands with whom they have worked. This means that you need to focus clearly on your presentation and develop a kit that utilizes templates from Adobe Express or a similar program. By using these templates, you can plug in your information and maintain a professional and clear-cut design. 

Although all of this is true, you also need to highlight why you are set apart. Identify why your authentic content is going to be valuable for the brand to whom you are reaching out, and why you are uniquely fit for that partnership. To accomplish this, you can highlight your passion for the brand or niche, your followers’ passion and excitement, and even the quality of your followers and engagement rates. 

One example is below, to demonstrate the basics of an influencer media kit. You’ll notice that stats, a bio, goal, and previous collaborations are all clearly identified. Some kits will also include price sheets, while others prefer to leave those numbers up to an active collaboration. 

Take note: if you have previous experience working with brands, it is essential to highlight your micro-influencer collaborations. A brand or company is far more likely to actually consider your perspective and ideas if they can observe your work actively with a specific list of brands. Be sure to list any brands you have worked with in the past, and show how those were successful.  

Crafting the Perfect Outreach Email

From travel influencers to beauty influencers, your initial outreach email is the lifeblood of micro-influencer collaborations, because it is the source of authentic connection between you and the brand, and is your first introduction to a brand or company. The key components of an effective and compelling outreach email include your introduction, your value proposition, and your call to action. 

The first, your introduction, consists of two important parts: your introduction to a specific person within the brand and your introduction to yourself and your work. When you reach out to a brand, it is important to reach out to a specific individual whenever possible, rather than a generic “to whom it may concern.” Your introduction to yourself and your work should focus on your niche, your passions, and why you are reaching out. 

Your value proposition is going to include your explanation of why you are a good fit for the brand. If you are reaching out to discuss a partnership for beauty products, for instance, you can highlight your use of certain products from the brand, your follower count within the niche, and any marketing efforts you have completed previously near the brand in question to demonstrate why you are a great fit for a collaboration. 

Reaching out requires some amount of content strategy going in; rather than going in blind and hoping to meet an existing need, it is best to come to a brand with your own specific collaboration ideas, and a demonstration of why you would be the best influencer in the vast influencer marketplace to carry out that idea. 

Include basic examples of any past successful collaborations you have enjoyed, as these are a great indicator of your success and your ability to successfully partner with brands like the one to whom you are reaching out. You do not have to go into great detail, but you can offer a general overview of your partnerships. 

Finally, include a call to action and the next steps the brand can take in order to develop a partnership with you. Remember that brands receive applications from influencers on a regular basis, so if you are eager to catch the attention of a social media manager or brand manager, offer something actionable to conclude your email. 

Showcasing Your Love for Their Product

While you might be able to get contacted through your outreach, playing the long game can also be beneficial. What I mean by this is by showing your love for the brand that you want to collaborate with and posting content featuring their products. Brands are increasingly looking for micro-influencers and content creators who are authentic customers, so showing up in their hashtag feed with a vibe they are looking for can get you on their radar quickly.

Make sure you do your research on which branded hashtags each brand is currently promoting and make sure that you use those when posting your content. Go ahead and tag the brand as well to make sure it gets noticed.

Doing this before you reach out to brands can make your outreach all the more successful because now you can point to actual content that you have created and how it resonates with your audience.

Top 15 Brands Actively Seeking Micro Influencers

From beauty brands to lifestyle and wellness brands, there are countless companies who are actively looking for ways to develop successful micro-influencer collaborations. To help you in your search, I have pulled together 15 brands who partner well with micro – influencers, in order to help improve your engagement rates and theirs, and develop long-term relationships. 

1. Daniel Wellington

Daniel Wellington is a watch company that specializes in watches and accessors. The brand regularly collaborates with fashion influencers, and happily utilizes beauty micro-influencers to promote their products and encourage audience engagement and sales. Daniel Wellington does not only work within the fashion sphere; instead, it has a larger audience that might also include lifestyle influencers. 

One example of Daniel Wellington’s expansive marketing strategy comes in the form of a partnership with an artist. The artist partnered with the brand to create art around a watch, which allowed the brand to target different audience demographics without sacrificing content quality or losing direction. Daniel Wellington’s Global Ambassador Community is an inclusive program that requires little more than a genuine love of Daniel Wellington products and a public social media page. The application is a simple one found in the Daniel Wellington app, and requires only 3 days of processing. 

2. FabFitFun

FabFitFun is a subscription box brand that tries to set itself apart from its peers by virtue of its offerings, but that also sets itself apart for utilizing micro – influencers. One report shows that the brand operates with 500-750 micro – influencers on a regular basis, and focuses on audience segments within the lifestyle and wellness spheres. 

FabFitFun encourages some specific content in their social media posts, with a focus on video, but influencers can do unboxing videos, post images of box contents, and more, as long as the content receives meaningful engagement. By using micro – influencers, FabFitFun is able to forge genuine connections with its target market and encourage loyalty.

One example of FabFitFun’s collaboration with micro – influencers comes in the form of its partnership with kkeeaattoonn. In the first 18 hours of the post, the post received 7,000 likes, demonstrating the potential of influencer marketing campaigns with micro – influencers.  FabFitFun influencer partnerships are developed on an ongoing basis, according to what you can bring to the table and what you might expect from the partnership. For more information, reach out to FabFitFun here: FabFitFun’s Influencer Contact Email Address.

3. HelloFresh

From blog posts to dedicated social media posts, HelloFresh is a common name on the influencer scene. The brand is a meal kit delivery service, and most frequently partners with food and lifestyle influencers. HelloFresh is often happy to extend creative freedom to its collaborators, and many people work their use of HelloFresh into seemingly unrelated posts. These often employ authentic voices to demonstrate the value of the service in standard, everyday lives. 

HelloFresh has been known to use nano- and micro-influencer campaigns, as well as influencers with millions of followers. HelloFresh social media campaigns focus on ease of use and convenience, without sacrificing health. This is seen in one case study looking at HelloFresh and its campaign involving 15 different micro – influencers. The campaign successfully showed a bump in impressions of 274%. 

Like FabFitFun, the HelloFresh influencer program is not a one-off program with set rates. Instead, influencers are encouraged to reach out to the company directly through their HelloFresh Influencer Collaboration Request Form to detail your follower count, your social handles, and how you might contribute to their marketing campaigns. 

4. Lululemon

Lululemon is an athletic apparel and accessories brand, whose primary products are promoted through partnerships with fitness and lifestyle influencers. Lululemon varies in the way that it approaches social posts with influencers; some offer a product code to provide followers with product discounts and a cut of the resulting purchases, while others offer upfront pay. 

Lululemon has long leveraged micro – influencers for effective product seeding. The brand utilizes micro – influencers as their primary form of influencer marketing, and this approach has brought in over 86 million dollars from their influencer campaigns, which includes their #TheSweatLife campaign. 

Lululemon’s Creator Network is the portion of their influencer marketing program that focuses on contact creators on social media, rather than bloggers and people who write long-form articles. The primary means of earning comes through purchases made via your unique link. 

5. Sephora

Sephora is a beauty and cosmetics retailer that is typically well-known and well-respected. The brand usually works with beauty and makeup influencers, and influencer marketing campaigns partnering with Sephora revolve around a specific niche audience. 

Sephora has launched numerous micro – influencer collaborations, but one in particular that enjoyed success regarding engagement rates and ROI was Sephora’s #beautyuncomplicated campaign. The brand has reported seeing a 1013% increase in ROI following both micro – and macro – influencing campaigns.  The primary way to earn through a Sephora partnership is affiliate links. Influencers are given unique links, and those links can then be used to connect back to your account and deliver commissions. 

Further Reading: Micro vs Macro Influencers: Which to Collab With?

6. Airbnb

Airbnb is perhaps the best-known private hosting site that allows people to vacation in a room, a portion of a home, or a home while traveling. This particular form of travel became popular among people looking to both save money, enjoy the comforts of home, and experience a more immersive experience in the local lifestyle of a given place. 

Airbnb offers a position of “Superhost ambassador” to existing superhosts (i.e. people who rent out through Airbnb) who want to take a mentorship role through Airbnb and help bring more people onto the platform. This can be particularly useful for lifestyle and travel influencers. 

The Superhost Ambassador program can be useful for micro – influencers, as it is less about your follower count, and more about your ability to maintain a consistent hosting experience. 

7. Knix

Knix was the first leakproof underwear brand on the market, designed for comfort and ease during menstruation. While it started over a decade ago with this single, specific product in mind, it has continued to grow and expand, and has become almost synonymous with the concept of period underwear altogether. Knix has since expanded to include more than underwear lines, including other intimates and different cuts. Its content strategy is one that primarily centers inclusion, as it doesn’t merely use standard models and hope for the best; instead, the brand seeks to show what their products look like on bodies of all sizes and ages. 

Knix has partnered with micro-influencers in the past, including Aaliya, to successfully promote products using discount codes and free or discounted products. Because diversity is a key component of Knix’s content strategy, people from all ages and backgrounds can potentially fit the criteria for ambassadorship. 

The Knix ambassador program provides commissions, free products, exclusive discounts and codes, and launch previews. To learn more, head to the Knix Ambassador Page. 

8. Target

Target is a household name, and provides just about anything you can think of. Target has worked hard to differentiate itself from its competitors like Wal-Mart, and has largely succeeded through its bright branding, design forward styles, and smart content strategy and branding partnerships. Micro-influencer marketing campaigns are accepted in Target’s influencer programs, as they do not rely on a larger audience like some other, larger brands with similar audience demographics. 

Target does often partner with influencers with a larger audience, but they do not shy away from partnering with smaller influencers, who are given creative freedom. One example of this is cheridan.taylor, an influencer with around 40,000 followers, who blends ads into short videos of day to day life. 

Target’s Partners program allows some freedom in its social media campaigns, and offers a return capped at 8% for promoting your favorite products from the company. Target has resources for creators, and makes the process easy by providing Target storefronts from which to shop. 

Further Reading: The 13 Influencer Marketing Trends You Need to Know in 2024

9. Pura Vida Bracelets

Pura Vida started out as a jewelry brand that has since expanded into much more than that, including clothing. The company began as a small operation operating out of Costa Rica, and has since grown to sell millions of products each year. Pura Vida offers jewelry for all ages and backgrounds, and is offered at a variety of price points, making it a great option for many different influencers. 

Pura Vida specifically identifies their willingness to work with influencers of all sizes, and their social media campaigns reflect that. Although they work with plenty of larger names, they also demonstrate their happiness to work with micro and even nano influencers. One micro influencer is Kylea Paige (kylea.xo on Instagram), who has a following of 15,000, and is a regular Pura Vida partner. 

Pura Vida has a generous commission structure, offering 10% on all purchases made with your code as a partner. They also offer free products, event invites, and help creating content to successfully kick off social media campaigns. To learn more, head to their ambassador page.  

Further Reading: What is a Micro-Influencer and the 8 Benefits for Brands Who Work With Them

10. Babe Original

Babe original is a beauty brand, focused on clean skincare and haircare serums. The brand seeks to set itself apart from its competitors through its outlook: named for its desire to help your skin return to its original, healthy state. The brand is less about makeup, as many beauty brands are, and is more about nourishing skin and hair. Its target audience is vast, and its social media campaigns reflect a wide variety of people, including different ages, genders, and backgrounds. 

Babe Original does a great job of bringing in different partnerships from nano influencers to fellow influencers with a much larger following. One example of a micro-influencer partnered with the brand is Kailyn Baker (bakersbliss20 on Instagram), whose lifestyle-centered profile is a perfect fit for Babe Original. 

Incentives to influencers from Babe Original are not as robust as a brand such as Pura Vida, but are certainly something: first dibs on new product launches, exclusive discount codes, and a supportive community of others. To learn more, head over to the Babe Collaboration page. Influencers are limited to the United States. 

11. Honest Paws

Honest Paws is a natural petcare company, whose focus lies almost entirely on delivering pieces of content that align with the natural approach to petcare, with a hefty focus on CBD at its root. Niche content like this is not always well-received, but a team of passionate brand ambassadors can make all the difference, and Honest Paws has some genuine fans. The brand began only a few years ago, from a dedicated pet owner. 

Affiliate partners with Honest Paws may take advantage of common hashtags like “petlover” and “dogmom,” and span all walks of life. Due to the nature of the products being offered, the affiliate program is not actually limited to human faces. One example of a non-human partner facing the camera is the account run for Cosmo the Borzoi (cosmoborzoi on Instagram); while the majority of brands rely on attractive faces to sell products, Honest Paws suite of products is perhaps best sold by the four-legged creatures for whom they have been created. In only 1-2 posts, the aforementioned brand partner demonstrates the value of the brand in action. 

The Honest Paws affiliate program has a higher than standard commission rate of 15%, and offers discount codes for friends, family, and followers, and specifically runs toward micro-influencers in their campaigns. 

12. Soylent

Soylent is a meal replacement drink that is marketed as a science-backed solution to meal replacement. While it may have initially started out as a nutrient replacement shake, Soylent products have since expanded, and the brand now includes protein powder, snacks, and coffee drinks. 

Soylent’s social media program brings in many differently-sized influencers, many of which rely on the official hashtags for the brand, and others that contribute to a specific campaign. Micro-influencers like Maxine Hupy (@maxinehupy) successfully highlight both the brand’s purpose in offering meal replacement drinks and powders and their dedication to giving back by using the #soylentforgood hashtag. 

Soylent’s affiliate commission is fairly standard, offering 10% for products purchased using your link or code. The program provides free products and swag for participants, and offers insight into new campaigns and products before they are officially announced. To apply or learn more, head over to Soylent’s Ambassador page. 

Further Reading: How to Become an Influencer (in Any Industry) in 13 Easy Steps

13. Elon Novac

Elon Novac is a watch company that prides itself on designing affordable watches that are elegant and classic. The watch designs are not numerous, nor are they ostentatious, instead, the brand is one that prioritizes timeless style and simplicity. A Canadian company, Elon Novac values affordability, and its offerings all fall under one single, affordable price coming in under $200. 

Elon Novac partners are expected to show their timepieces in all of their simplicity and glory: in elegant settings, in clean backgrounds, or classic details. The brand remains somewhat small, compared to some other timepiece companies, but still manages to maintain a consistent air in its photo tags and partnerships. One micro-influencer who manages to strike the right balance between simple and elegant is Jen Halvorson (thatjennygirl). While she is a micro-influencer, Elon Novac does seem to favor those with lower follower counts on the lower side of micro-influencer or shifting into nano-influencer. 

The ambassador program is a simple enough one: you are given a unique code in response to posting an image post, and when that code is used, you earn a 20% commission on the sale. To learn more, head to the Elon Novac ambassador page. 

14. Frank Body

Frank Body is a beauty and personal care brand designed entirely around the concept of utilizing coffee in skin and haircare. A line of masks, serums, and creams, Frank Body focuses on simple ingredients and promises healthy, full, rich skin and hair, and works to maintain that image across its brand ambassadors and programs. Frank Body is an Australian-made brand, though its influencers span further. 

The #frankbodypartner hashtag is not a small hashtag, nor is it a large one, but it yields a consistent message: Frank Body products are great for returning a hydrated baseline to skin and hair. Even more consistent is the brand’s hashtag #thefrankeffect, utilized by micro-influencers and macro-influencers alike, and yielding over 40,000 posts. 

The Frank Body Ambassador program is a unique one, in that it partners both Frank Body and Ulta, and combines the two in influencer posts. Compensation, store visit reimbursement, free gifts, and guidance are just some of the perks associated with becoming a Frank Body ambassador. 

Further Reading: How Brands That Work with Micro Influencers Create Branded Content – and Replace Their Content Studio

15. Ana Luisa

Ana Luisa is a jewelry company founded in 2018. Ana Luisa sets itself apart from other jewelers through its focus on sustainability and affordability. These two concepts are often not easily paired, but Ana Luisa offers high-quality jewelry, some of which is made from recycled materials, starting at $14. 

Ana Luisa partners with influencers of many different sizes, and hone in on those who focus on fashion and lifestyle, though beauty influencers may also find themselves individual experts on the brand. Shanygne (@yagirltoomuch) is a great example of an Ana Luisa partner, as she seamlessly blends her standard content with snapshots of Ana Luisa products. 

Ana Luisa partners range, but both macro and micro-influencers access special discount codes, giveaway privileges, and products in exchange for reviews and further compensation. The particulars of the partnership are detailed according to the brand’s needs and the partnership in question. Learn more (and apply) at Ana Luisa’s Influencer program page. 

Next Steps

Micro-influencers are an invaluable part of the influencer landscape. While many up-and-coming influencers consider their lower numbers a liability, a smaller audience can actually be beneficial to brands you are interested in working with. High-quality photos, passion for your niche, and an engaged audience can go a long way in helping you partner with the brands and collaborators of your dreams. 

To make sure that you have the greatest chance of seeing some form of return on your pitch email, take time to prepare your influencer media kit, and proactively reach out to the brands I have identified above. Any relevant brands can be DMed on Instagram or other platforms, or can be reached by their influencer marketing manager on LinkedIn. 

Learning how to proactively market yourself to your ideal brands can be difficult, but there are countless campaign opportunities out there for micro-influencers on their brand ambassador journey. 

Have you reached out to any brands recently as a micro-influencer? Let me know in the comments! 

Hero Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash