How to follow up with an influencer on YouTube

Four days to a week after the first email is a sensible default, with a longer gap before a second follow-up. It isn't a magic number, it's a judgement call: creators often deal with email in batches between filming and editing, and a week covers a full cycle for anyone who uploads weekly. It's long enough that you're not pestering, and short enough that they may still remember your first message.

• Wait longer around holidays, big launches in their niche, or when their channel says they're on a break.
• Wait less only if your timing is genuinely tight, and only if your first email said so.
• Reply in the same thread, so the creator sees your first message without searching for it.

A creator who doesn't reply to three messages has usually decided, or is too busy to take on anything new. A fourth and fifth email won't change that. It will only make your brand the one they remember for the wrong reason.

If your first email ended with "if it's not a fit, just say so and I won't follow up", you've promised to stop when they decline. A follow-up or two after silence keeps that promise, as long as each says something new and the last says it's the last. A string of chasers that repeat themselves doesn't.

A follow-up earns its place by giving the creator a reason to answer that the first email didn't. Pick one:

• A newer video. If they've uploaded since, mention it. It shows you're still watching, and it may be a better fit than the one you named first.
• A clearer offer. If the first email was vague about money, fix that now: the fee or range, the product, the commission. A creator may have skipped your email because they couldn't tell whether it was paid.
• A smaller ask. Instead of a sponsored video, offer to send the product with no obligation to post (see product seeding), or just ask where you should send details.
• A real date. If your campaign has an actual deadline, say so once. Don't invent one.

Each of these is under 80 words and goes in the same thread as your first email. Replace everything in [brackets].

For first messages, see our outreach email templates.

If two follow-ups get no reply, stop. Mark the creator as no reply and move on. Months later, with something genuinely new, such as a new product or a bigger budget, one fresh email is fair. A monthly check-in is not.

When a creator says no, thank them and leave it there. Don't argue, don't ask them to reconsider, and don't ask why unless they offer. A kind reply costs nothing and leaves the door open.

When a creator sends a rate card you can't afford, say so plainly and give your budget once. Ask whether a smaller version works at that level, such as a shorter mention or a description link, then accept the answer. Their rate reflects their views and their time; how much to pay YouTubers explains the arithmetic, and the outreach templates include a reply to a rate card above your budget.

Nakodo follows up for you when a creator hasn't replied, in the same conversation as the first email. It does so twice by default, and you can choose anywhere from none to three, spaced 4, 7 and 10 days after the email before. Each follow-up runs 40 to 80 words, keeps the same offer and never says "just following up".

An out-of-office reply pushes the follow-ups back. When a creator does reply, Nakodo answers what it can from your offer and notes and brings you the rest, such as a rate card above your budget, and your answer goes out in the same conversation. A creator who says no isn't followed up, and one who opts out is never emailed again by any brand through Nakodo.