How to get brand deals as a small creator

There’s a myth that brand deals only happen once you hit some magic follower count. They don’t. Brands work with small creators all the time, often preferring them, because a smaller account with a tight, engaged audience gets better results than a huge one full of people scrolling past.

If you make content people genuinely care about, you’re already closer to a paid deal than you think. Here’s how to actually land one.

You don’t need millions of followers

Big vanity numbers look impressive and convert badly. A creator with 4,000 followers who all care about, say, home coffee setups is worth more to a coffee brand than someone with 200,000 followers who followed for memes.

What brands actually buy is trust and attention. If your audience listens to you and acts on what you recommend, that’s the product. Followers are just the headline.

Engaged niche beats big vanity numbers

Focus on being the obvious person for one thing. A clear niche makes you easy to describe and easy to pitch. “I make videos about restoring vintage furniture” gets a yes far faster than “I post a bit of everything”.

Track and highlight the numbers that show engagement: saves, shares, comments, watch time, click-throughs. Those beat raw follower count in almost every pitch.

Build a simple media kit

A media kit is just a one-page summary that answers a brand’s questions before they ask. You don’t need a designer. A clean single page or PDF is plenty. Include:

• Who you are and what your content is about, in one or two lines.
• Your audience: rough size, where they’re based, age range, what they’re into.
• Your best numbers: engagement rate, average views, standout posts.
• What you offer: the kinds of content you make (a reel, a set of stories, a YouTube integration).
• A way to contact you and a couple of examples of past work, even unpaid ones.

Keep it honest. Inflated numbers get found out, and a brand that feels misled won’t come back.

Pitch brands directly

Don’t wait to be discovered. Most small-creator deals start with the creator sending a message.

• Pick brands you actually use and like. It shows, and it makes the content better.
• Find the right person. A marketing or partnerships email beats a general enquiry inbox. A polite DM can work too.
• Keep the pitch short. Who you are, why you fit them specifically, what you’d make, and one line on results you can point to. Attach the media kit.
• Make it about them. Lead with what you’d do for their launch or product, not with what you want.

Expect silence sometimes. It’s normal. Follow up once, politely, then move on to the next.

Know your rates and deliverables

When a brand asks “what are your rates”, have an answer ready. There’s no fixed formula, but base it on the work involved and the value you bring, not just follower count. Factor in filming, editing, usage rights and how long the content stays live.

Be crystal clear on deliverables: exactly what they get. “One reel plus three stories, one round of revisions, posted within two weeks” leaves no room for scope creep. Vague deals turn into you doing five times the work for the same money.

If a brand only offers free product, that can be fine early on for a brand you love. Just know that “exposure” doesn’t pay your bills, and it’s fine to say you charge for your time.

Get it in writing

Even a small deal deserves a simple contract or a written agreement over email. It should cover:

• What you’re delivering and by when
• What you’re being paid and when
• Usage rights: where and how long they can use your content
• Whether there’s any exclusivity

This protects both of you and makes you look like a professional, which is exactly what gets you rehired. Keeping your deliverables, deadlines and payment terms in one place stops things slipping. lets you track each deal, what’s due and what you’re owed, so nothing gets lost between DMs and your inbox.

Deliver so they come back

The first deal is the hard one. After that, being easy to work with is your biggest advantage. Hit deadlines, communicate clearly, and make content that quietly outperforms what they expected.

A brand that trusts you becomes repeat income, and repeat income is what turns “I got a brand deal once” into an actual creator business.