• Many influencers land paid partnerships by reaching out directly to brands.

• Some slide into a company's DMs on Instagram or TikTok, while others email the influencer team.

• Several influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok shared the exact templates they use.

For many influencers, brand collaborations are one of the main ways to earn income, especially for those who work full-time as content creators.

Making the first move by DMing or emailing a brand is usually the best way to get in touch for a potential collab, according to several influencers that Insider previously spoke with.

Some influencers, like Jalyn Baiden, focus their outreach efforts on a specific social-media platform, like Instagram. Baiden left her day job in digital marketing last year to pursue content creation more seriously, and now has almost 6,000 Instagram followers. Her Instagram template that she used to successfully pitch brands has helped her earn enough to sustain her lifestyle in Virginia.

"So far, I've made 40% of my old salary in the last four months," Baiden previously told Insider. "It's crazy to even say that out loud."

Take a look at the exact template she's used to get paid deals and earn five figures this year

Meanwhile, influencer London Lazerson, who has 9.1 million TikTok followers, uses one of two LinkedIn templates he's perfected to reach out to brands. The strategy has earned him six figures in 2021.

Read the LinkedIn templates he uses to get in touch with CEOs for brand deals

Although social media is a powerful tool to get in touch with brands directly, some influencers, like Gigi Kovach, who has 12,800 Instagram followers, prefer to focus their efforts on email outreach. Kovach has a "pitch bank" of email templates, and chooses one depending on the company, product, or experience. Each template has a clear indication of her rates and what goes into that amount, so that brands know what they're paying for.

"It's not just some arbitrary, 'you owe me $500,' it's a breakdown of everything that they're getting in return for that $500," she previously told Insider.