If you’ve ever searched for a product review online, you probably know how useful they can be. Asking for companies to get free products to review on YouTube is a good way to help your viewers find the right product.
By doing product reviews, you will not only help your viewers, you might also get a commission or more free products later on. It’s a win for your viewers, a win for you and a win for the seller.
This is a beneficial practice for bloggers, but it has even more potential for YouTubers and vloggers in general.
See, 70% of marketers say video converts better than any other kind of content.
Companies that know this are eager to give their free samples to vloggers.
Here you will learn why you should do product reviews on YouTube and how to get free samples from companies.
How Can You Help Your Viewers with Product Reviews?
People search product reviews from bloggers that are honest and that point out the good and the bad about a product.
This is the only way of getting a truly honest perspective before buying. You won’t find a single marketer that talks about his product’s flaws.
Reviews are great because bloggers are just like other customers. There’s no way they are going to like everything about a product. As a vlogger, you will mark the difference by telling your viewers exactly what to expect from a certain product.
You will help your viewers by giving a non-biased review based on arguments and facts. This is the only way your viewers can trust you, and it’s the only way to truly help them.
Your audience will know when you’re being sincere, and they will pay you by coming back to your channel for more helpful videos from you.
Of course, your product reviews must be 100% honest for this to work.
How to Get Free Products to Feature on Your YouTube Channel
The most effective way to receive product samples is by asking.
Yes, it’s really that simple.
However, it will be harder to convince a company to give you free samples if you don’t have many subscribers.
It is still possible though. Some companies send coupons and small samples to simple individuals that just ask for them because they like the brand.
Watch first this video from the channel Remote Control where Eric explains how he gets free products (worth thousands of dollars) with a really small channel:
These are basically the steps to ask a company for a product sample or coupon for your YouTube channel:
1. Search for companies that are already giving products to vloggers – It’s much easier to convince a company to give you free samples if they’ve already done it before. When a company knows about the potential of giving samples to YouTubers for reviews, they will be open to sending products to you.
To do this, go search on YouTube:
*Niche* Product Review
Let’s say I’m a makeup artist that does makeup tutorial videos. I would just search Makeup Product Review on YouTube.
These results show some review videos of a recently launched product. These are potentially companies that give free samples to vloggers. They already know that it’s worth to send free samples, and they’re used to do it. It’s more probable to receive a free product from them for your YouTube channel.
2. Visit their website and look for their contact form – These companies will surely have a contact form that you can use to ask them for a product. You will need to give some of your data –country, name, etc. Make sure to give your real information.
If you can’t find the contact form, go to the “About” page and look for their email directions.
3. Write your letter – Tell them about what you do and nicely ask if they would be willing to give some free samples for review. Make sure you write as professionally as you can, although you don’t need to be so formal. Also, be brief and to the point.
Make sure you tell them that you will give a fair review by pointing out the good and the bad. If you have many subscribers, make sure to tell them.
Finally, if you’ve read Dale Carnegie’s classic book How to Win Friends & Influence People (affiliate link), you know that the most effective way to make companies give you something for free is by telling them the benefits they can get from that. Tell them that you you can help your viewers get to know the product, which will influence them into thinking about buying it.
Be clear that you could return the product after doing the review. This will make them trust you a little bit more.
Also, don’t forget to include your channel or website URL. This way they’ll know you’re not lying about being a vlogger.
The final result should look like this:
“To the [Name] Company
I’m a vlogger in the [Niche Name] niche. I’ve been searching for products to help my viewers achieve better results with [Activity Talk About in Your Videos]. I have come across your brand and I think I can get more eyeballs on your product for a really low cost.
I only ask for a free sample that I can use to try the products, show them and talk about them on my videos. I’ll put a link to it so they can purchase it online right away.
I’d like to clarify that my reviews are honest and fair. I will tell my viewers why I like the product, how they can use it and what things I think could be improved. This is an honest perspective that will make them gain more trust in your product because they will know exactly what to expect.
I wouldn’t mind returning the product afterward.
I’d also like to clarify that I won’t be doing any review if I don’t like the product at all. If this is the case, I will just return it to you.
Here is my YouTube channel: [Channel URL]
Here is my website: [Website URL]
Warm regards,
[Your Name].”
You can use the same template and just change the information between the [] when contacting different companies.
Also make sure to include any big wins that you have already.
For example, if one of your videos got tens of thousands of views, show it to them so you can give them more proof that it will be worth it.
4. Don’t get impatient. Just send one email to each company – You might have to wait weeks before you get a final response. Some of these companies won’t answer or will just simply tell you “No”.
Don’t be a spammer, just wait for a response and walk away if they reject you. You can write them back once you get more subscribers.
This is why you need to reach out to at least 10 companies. You won’t get any product from most of them. By contacting a lot of them you make sure you get at least one product to review.
5. Be prepared to do your review as soon as you get the product – Some companies will tell you to do the review within the first 7 days and then return it.
Some others will just tell you to keep the product.
6. Tell the company when you finish the review – Use their contact form again and send them the link to your review. If they like it and see that people are watching your video, they’ll probably send you more free samples later on.
If they like the review, they might ask you if they can share it on their social networks.
If this happens, you can start building a relationship with the company. You might end up being sponsored by them if your channel keeps growing.
Will has been a full-time content creator since 2014. He’s an audio, video, and tech hobbyist dedicated to reviewing products and giving you the best tips he knows to grow your audience.