My Experience with Bento: Email Pitching Service for UGC Creators

Hey guys!

I wanted to share my experience so far with Bento, an email pitching service for UGC creators. It’s a small startup run by a fellow creator, and I’ve found it super useful for connecting with brands. This post isn’t sponsored, I just genuinely think it’s a great tool for creators.

Here’s my story:

What is Bento?

Bento is an email pitching service that helps UGC creators reach brands. It has a free plan, a Pro plan, and a VA (Virtual Assistant) service that automates outreach for you.

• How I found it: Discovered Bento on Twitter (now X).
• First try: Started with the free plan (20 emails/month). Got a few opens and replies, but the platform felt overwhelming initially.
• Side experiments:
  • Tried my own lead generation and email campaigns, but targeting was tough, and the learning curve ate up too much time.
  • Hired a VA to send ~10 emails/day to brands. After a 2-week trial, I got one response but no gigs.
• Bento VA service: Went for Bento’s VA service (100 emails/week, sent via your connected Gmail). They onboard you, collect detailed info, and create personalized email templates. Result: Landed $1,000 in gigs, including one with a well-known national pet food company!

What I Like:

• Awesome customer service: Small team, quick responses, often from the founder.
• Great templates: Way better than my own. They use formulas to insert specific names (e.g., “Hi [Brand Name]” instead of “Hi Team”).
• Saves time: No need to send pitches manually. I check Bento a few times a week for metrics.
• Detailed metrics: Tracks opens, responses, and more. Emails target specific contacts like “name@brand.com” or “marketing@brand.com,” not generic “support@brand.com.”

Things to Consider/Improve:

• User Interface (UI): Can feel overwhelming at first, but it gets easier with time.
• Cost:
  • VA service: $50/month + $100 one-time onboarding fee (waived if you pay annually upfront).
  • Pro plan: $15/month for 1,000 emails (vs. 20/month on free plan).
  • My take: I landed enough gigs in my first week to cover ~2 years of costs, so it’s worth it if you’re serious.
• Portfolio & responsiveness: You need a strong portfolio. Bento doesn’t reply to responses for you, so reply fast (I aim for same-day, always <24 hours).

My Metrics (Last Month):

Sent 99 emails, scheduled 70 emails, sent 251 follow-ups, with a 37.1% open rate and 5 responses (2.0% response rate).

I’m in the top 10% of Bento users.

Template performance:

VA - Pets (129 emails, 62.3% open rate, 3.8% response rate)

VA - Tech/SaaS/Apps (125 emails, 55.2% open rate, 3.2% response rate)

VA - Tools (119 emails, 49.6% open rate, 2.5% response rate), Outreach Template - Apr 4 (43 emails, 40.9% open rate, 9.1% response rate)

VA - General (4 emails, 50.0% open rate, 0% response rate).

Referral Link:

Use this link to sign up for a Pro membership, and we both get a $20 credit!

Hope this helps and feel free to ask me any questions about Bento or my experience, Ill do my best to answer any questions!