How do I send PR packages to influencers the right way?

A package is an invitation, not a booked post. The creators you want most usually don’t post without a reason. If you want posts you can plan for, the real task is activating creators, often many at once, and then seeing who actually sells. A post only becomes something you can plan with an agreement; the package is then payment rather than a gift, and the post is advertising.

Ask first, address second: any processing of personal data needs a legal basis under Art. 6(1) GDPR, for example consent. The data is collected for a specified purpose and only as far as needed (Art. 5(1)(b) and (c) GDPR). If you said you’d use the address only for shipping, it doesn’t go onto your mailing list for promotional post afterwards.

1. Pick creators who already show products like yours and whose community matches your audience. Look at their recent posts, not just the follower count.
2. Ask first, by DM or email, if they would like the package; if their bio lists a management agency, send it there. Say in the same message if you expect a post. We suggest treating even “we’d love a story” as an expectation.
3. Ask for the address only after a yes, and only for what shipping needs: name and delivery address. Say, among other things, who you are, what you will use the data for and on what legal basis (Art. 13(1) GDPR).
4. Put a card in the box: what is in it, what you expect, if anything, how a post should be labelled and how to reach you.
5. Enter the package in your gift log. Gift expenses must be recorded individually and separately from other business expenses, or they cannot be taken into account when calculating profit (§ 4(7) EStG).
6. Check in once after a week or two to see if everything arrived and fits. If you didn’t agree on a post, don’t ask for one. Expect some packages to go unposted: each person decides for themselves if and what to post.

The table follows rows B (products received free of charge where publication is tied to agreements, conditions or expectations) and F (discount codes) of the German media authorities’ labelling matrix, as of May 2025. It reflects their supervisory practice under the Interstate Media Treaty and the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG, German Digital Services Act). The courts decide independently if a post must be identifiable as advertising under § 5a(4) UWG (Unfair Competition Act).

“Werbung” and “Anzeige” both mean advertisement. The package itself can be something in return (guidelines, section 1.1). Even without an explicit agreement, a post is advertising if the free package means the motivation is not entirely independent (section 1.2). Under § 5a(4) UWG, something in return is presumed unless the creator credibly shows there was nothing.

According to the guidelines, abbreviations such as “ad” and phrases such as “PR sample” or “sponsored by” are not enough. Platform tools that display “Werbung”, “Anzeige” or “bezahlte Werbepartnerschaft” (paid partnership) are fine as long as the other requirements are met. So put the labelling on your card.

Under the income tax guidelines, a gift requires a transfer for nothing in return (R 4.10(4) EStR). Wanting to promote your product does not rule that out on its own. But if the package is payment for a specific service, such as an agreed post, it is not a gift, and the €50 limit does not apply.

Gifts are subject to an all-or-nothing limit, not an allowance: they are deductible only if your purchase or production costs for everything one person receives in the financial year do not exceed €50 (§ 4(5) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG). Go above it and the whole deduction is lost, along with the input VAT on it (§ 15(1a) UStG). Packaging and shipping don’t count. If you can’t reclaim input VAT, for example under the Kleinunternehmer (small business) scheme, the VAT counts too, so the gross amount applies (R 4.10(3) EStR).

For gifts in kind and for benefits on top of an already agreed service or consideration, you can take over the recipients’ income tax at a flat rate: 30% of your expenses including VAT (§ 37b(1) EStG). A package that is itself the agreed payment for a post is not “on top” by the wording of the law. The flat rate is ruled out for a single gift over €10,000 and, where your expenses for one person exceed €10,000 in a financial year, for the amount above that. The choice applies uniformly to all such gifts in a financial year. You must inform the creators, and the gift then does not count as income for them (§ 37b(3) EStG).

If the package is the payment for a post with the creator’s own photos or videos, it can also count towards the Künstlersozialabgabe (artists’ social security levy). According to the Künstlersozialkasse, the fee for this kind of influencer advertising is part of the assessment basis, and it makes no difference if it is paid in money or in kind.

• Say you can reclaim input VAT, your financial year is the calendar year, and you send a creator a package in March with no post agreed that costs you €38 net, plus €5.49 shipping. €38 counts towards the limit.
• In October the same person gets a second package costing €19 net. Together that is €57 in the financial year.
• That exceeds the €50 limit: neither package reduces your profit any more, not even the first.
• If you send your own products, your production costs count, not the retail price.

With your own products, your production costs can be well below the shop price. The guidelines don’t say which value counts for the €100 threshold, so if in doubt go by the shop price. A package can then stay under €50 for tax purposes and still be above the €100 threshold.

The DM request is meant for packages. If you are offering a fee or commission, use the templates in the guide on contacting influencers, which also covers the rules on promotional email.

Hi [name], this is [your name] from [brand]. We make [what your brand makes] and would love to send you [product] because [a specific reason from their posts].

You don’t have to post anything. If you’d like to show it, please label the post as advertising (“Werbung”).

Interested? Then send me your name and delivery address. We’ll use them only to ship this package. More in our privacy policy: [link]

Best wishes
[name]

Hi [name],

as discussed, here is [product]. [One sentence on why we thought of you.]

[Option A] You don’t have to post anything.
[Option B] As agreed, we’re looking forward to [story, video] by [date].

If you show it: please label the post with “Werbung” or “Anzeige” at the start. In videos, show “Werbung” on screen for the whole video or ad sequence. Under the German media authorities’ guidelines, “PR sample” or “ad” are not enough.

Questions? [email]
[name], [brand]

Date | Person | Product | Cost (net; gross if no input VAT deduction) | Shipping (not counted towards the €50 limit) | Post agreed: yes/no | Total per person this year | Flat-rate tax § 37b: yes/no | Informed on

With wyrld Boost, you put a campaign budget behind creators instead of hoping packages turn into posts. You set the products, the period and the KPIs the payout is based on, such as sales, clicks, watch time or reach, and you decide in which shops people buy. A campaign is meant for many creators at the same time, who feature your products in their own videos and storefronts. Taking part is up to each creator, so how many join is not fixed in advance. Creators label their campaign videos as advertising.

To choose who gets a package, the brand and shop subscription helps. It shows you which creators already feature your products, who drives clicks and who sells. wyrld measures clicks through the links and sales where your shop reports them. With the creators who sell, wyrld sets up individual terms.

Your products are connected either directly with wyrld or through an existing affiliate programme with one of the major affiliate networks, through which creators can usually already pick them. That alone does not bring posts. Pricing for the subscription and Boost is on request, and in a meeting wyrld is happy to work out with you what fits first: the connection, the subscription or Boost.