How to get brand deals as a small creator

Short answer: decide who your content is for in one sentence, make a one-page media kit with your rates and three example posts, then pitch ten brands you already use with a short, specific email. Follow up once. Agree the deliverables, usage rights and payment date in writing before you start, and disclose every paid or gifted post clearly.

The short answer

Most creators wait to be discovered. The ones who land deals early send pitches. A brand marketing manager gets many vague "let's collab" messages. A short email with a real idea for their product, a clear price and proof that you deliver stands out because it saves them work.

What brands look for

• Fit. Your audience matches the people they sell to. A small account about trail running is a better fit for a running-sock brand than a big general one.
• Real engagement. Comments that are questions and conversations, not only emojis. Brands read your comments.
• Content they could use. Clear sound, good light, a style that would not look out of place in their own feed.
• Reliability. You answer emails, meet deadlines and follow the brief. Show this in how you pitch.

Get ready in one afternoon

1. Write your niche line

One sentence a brand can repeat to their boss: "I make 60-second budget meal videos for college students in the US." If you cannot write it, pick the topic of your three best posts.

2. Make a one-page media kit

Who you are, your niche line, where your audience is (the platform shows age, country and gender in your insights), three example posts, past brands if any, and your rates. Our checklist on what to include in a creator media kit covers each part.

3. Set your rates

Write a price for one post, a short package, and extra usage rights. Price from your time, the rights and exclusivity, not a follower formula. See how much to charge for a brand deal.

4. Make example posts

If you have never worked with a brand, film two or three posts about products you already use, made the way a sponsored post would be. They show brands what they would get, and they are honest because you chose the products.

5. Make yourself easy to reach

Put a business email in your bio. Brands that cannot find a contact move on.

Where to find brands

• Brands you already use. Look around your room, your bag and your camera roll. You can talk about these honestly, which makes the best content.
• Brands that sponsor creators like you. When a creator in your niche posts an ad, that brand already budgets for creators.
• The platforms' creator marketplaces. TikTok, Instagram and YouTube each run a marketplace where brands look for creators. Fill in your profile completely.
• Small and new brands. They often have less budget but more flexibility, and they reply faster.

Find the right person through the brand's website contact, a partnerships or press email, or the marketing team on LinkedIn. A named person beats a general inbox.

A pitch email you can copy

Keep it under 150 words. Change the parts in brackets.

Subject: [Your name] x [Brand]: [one-line idea]

Hi [name],

I make [niche line]. My audience is mostly [who, where], and they often ask me about [problem their product solves].

Idea: a [format, length] showing [how you would use the product], posted on [platform]. I already use [product] and could have it live by [date].

My rate for this is [price], including [usage rights]. My media kit, with three recent posts, is here: [link].

Would this fit what you are planning this season?

[Your name]

Follow up once after a week: "Hi [name], following up on my idea for [product]. Happy to adjust the format or timing if it helps." Then move on. A no-reply is normal and not personal.

When brands come to you

As you grow, brands write first, often by DM. Reply with your business email or a link where they can send details: product, deliverables, dates, usage rights and budget. Do not quote a price in a DM before you know the scope. Our guide on handling brand deal DMs has replies you can copy.

On a Loresta Page you can switch on the question box so brands can send an inquiry. Those always come to you to decide, and Loresta never quotes a price for them.

Terms to agree before you say yes

• Deliverables: how many posts, on which platforms, in what format and length.
• Deadlines: draft date, post date, and how long the post stays up.
• Revisions: how many rounds of changes are included.
• Usage rights: whether the brand can run your content as an ad, where and for how long. This is worth extra money.
• Exclusivity: whether you must avoid competitors, and for how long. Also worth extra.
• Payment: the amount, the date, and part of it upfront for a first deal with a new brand.

Put it in writing. A contract is best, but an email both of you reply "agreed" to is far better than a DM.

Red flags and common scams

• You pay to join. "Ambassador" programs that charge you a fee or require you to buy products first are selling to you, not paying you.
• Overpayment. A check or transfer for more than the deal, then a request to send the difference back. The first payment bounces later.
• Login requests. No real brand needs your password or a code sent to your phone. Never sign in through a link in a DM.
• Pressure and secrecy. "Reply in the next hour" or "do not tell anyone" are pressure tactics.
• Lookalike accounts. An account with a famous brand's name but few posts and no history. Check the brand's real website for the contact.

The FTC's list of scam signs fits brand scams well: someone pretending to be an organization you know, pressure to act before you have time to think, and insisting you pay in one specific way. A real brand pays you, and gives you time to read the terms.

Disclose it the right way

The FTC says to disclose any paid, gifted or family relationship with a brand. Put it where people see it, next to the endorsement, in plain words such as "ad", "sponsored" or "thanks to [brand] for the free product". In a video, say or show it in the video, not only in the caption. On a live stream, repeat it from time to time. Use the platform's paid partnership label too, but the FTC says not to rely on it alone.

Clear disclosure protects you with the law and with your audience. Viewers forgive ads. They do not forgive feeling tricked.