Outreach is the part of the job nobody shows and the one that most determines what you earn. In Costa Rica it has a particularity: the calendar matters more than the message.
Where to find clients
| Channel | What it gets you |
|---|---|
| Booking platforms | Filter small hotels in your area and look for the ones with old photos and no video. That is your list. |
| The ads shown to you | If a brand is running ads at you, it has a media budget and consumes creative. |
| Tourism chambers and trade associations | Public directories, free, with direct contacts. |
| Coffee, food and tourism fairs | Twenty real contacts in an afternoon. |
| Free zone companies | They want human corporate content for recruiting, and almost nobody writes to them with that offer. |
The calendar comes first
This is the point that changes results most. Hotels and operators build their budgets between September and October for the dry season running December to April.
Writing in August or September puts you inside the budget. Writing in January puts you on next year's waiting list.
For retail and ecommerce, the peaks are Black Friday and Christmas, and they order four to six weeks ahead.
What a message that gets answered looks like
Three rules: short, specific and with a closed proposal.
What ruins a message is starting by talking about yourself. Start with them: a real detail about their business that proves you looked before writing.
Close with a question that is easy to answer. "Shall I send two examples for the high season?" works better than "let me know if you are interested".
In which language
Send the first message in the language of their website. If the hotel's site is in English, write in English. It sounds obvious and almost nobody does it.
Through which channel
Email works with hotels, companies and agencies. WhatsApp works surprisingly well with local businesses, where the number is public and the owner answers personally. Instagram, with small brands.
No reply means one single follow up after five days. Then move on.
Realistic volume
Ten personalised messages a day, five days a week. That is two hundred contacts in a month, and with that any creator with a decent portfolio closes work.
Keep a simple sheet: business, date, reply, next step.
Passive outreach, in parallel
While you write, make yourself findable. A profile on a UGC marketplace with your niche, your languages and your rates brings enquiries from abroad without you lifting a finger.
Where to go next
Outreach is a habit, not a campaign. Our guide on how to become a UGC creator places this piece within the whole craft.
