Brand Deals: How Small Creators Find and Land Them

Last updated: October 2026

A brand deal is a paid or gifted partnership where a brand gives you money, product or both in exchange for content. Small creators find and land them by building a clear niche, packaging their work in a media kit, and then pitching brands directly while also applying to open campaigns.

This guide is for nano and micro creators, UGC creators and anyone with a small audience who wants a repeatable way to get brand deals on any platform. If you only post on Instagram, read our Instagram-specific brand deals guide after this one.

What counts as a brand deal

Brand deals come in a few common shapes. Knowing them helps you say yes to the right ones.

• Gifted collaborations: The brand sends a product or service and you create content in return. Good for building proof when you are new, but check that the effort matches the value.
• Paid sponsored posts: The brand pays a fee for content posted on your channel.
• UGC deals: The brand pays you to make content that it uses on its own channels. Your follower count matters less here because the brand is buying your production skill. See our guide to finding UGC jobs.
• Affiliate or commission deals: You earn a share of the sales you drive. Some listings on the Jem Social Opportunity Board use this model.
• Ongoing partnerships: Repeat work with a brand after a first project goes well.

Step 1: Make your page easy to say yes to

Brands look at your profile before they reply. In a few seconds they should see what you make, who watches and how to contact you.

1. Pick one niche you can describe in a sentence, such as "quick dinners for busy students".
2. Post in a recognizable format on a rhythm you can keep.
3. Put a contact email and a link to your media kit in your bio.
4. Save your best three to five pieces where a brand can find them fast.

Step 2: Build a one-page media kit

A media kit is a short summary of who you are and what you offer. Include your niche, your platforms, audience details from your native analytics, average views or engagement, your best content and your starting rates. Use our engagement rate calculator for the engagement figure and the influencer rate calculator to set a starting price. You can also build and reuse a Jem Social media kit.

Step 3: Choose brands that fit

Start with brands whose products you already use. Your content will sound real, and you can explain why you fit. Smaller brands are often easier to reach than household names because fewer creators pitch them and the person reading the email may also be the person who decides.

Make a list of 20 brands. Note the product, the person to contact and one recent post or campaign you can mention.

Step 4: Pitch brands directly

Waiting to be discovered is slow. A short, personal pitch is the most direct way to start a conversation. Keep it to a few sentences:

• Why them: One specific line about their product or recent campaign.
• Why you: Your niche, your audience and one relevant piece of content.
• The offer: One clear deliverable, for example one short video, and your rate or a request for their budget.
• Next step: Ask if you can send your media kit.

Plan to follow up. A brand that did not reply may simply have missed your email. Here is a simple example of the math: if you send 20 pitches and 2 brands reply, that is a 10% reply rate. That is an illustration, not a benchmark, so track your own numbers.

Our guide to pitching brands has templates, and the free brand pitch email generator drafts one for you. The Jem Social Brand Pitch Tool costs $20/mo and offers AI-written personalized pitches, automatic follow-ups and access to 30,000+ brand contacts, as listed on that page.

Step 5: Apply to open campaigns

Pitching and applying work together. On the public Jem Social Opportunity Board, brands post open campaigns. Each listing shows the platform, deliverables, compensation and deadline, and some campaigns are gifted while others are paid. Check the listing details before you apply so you know what the brand expects.

Step 6: Agree on terms in writing

Before you create anything, confirm the deliverables, the fee or product, the deadline, how many revisions are included and where the brand may use the content. If the brand wants to run your content as an ad or post it on its own channels, that is usage and it should be part of the price. Ask for payment terms in writing. Payments for deals booked through Jem Social run through escrow, according to the Brand Pitch Tool page.

Step 7: Disclose the partnership

If you are paid or receive free product, you need to make that clear to your audience. The FTC explains what a clear disclosure looks like in its Disclosures 101 for social media influencers. Read it before your first deal, and follow it on every post, including gifted ones.

Step 8: Turn one deal into the next

After you deliver, send the brand a short recap with the results you can see, such as views and saves. Add the work to your portfolio, then ask if they have upcoming launches. A good first project is the easiest way to get a second one. Brands also use platforms like Jem Social's Influencer Finder to find creators, so keep your profile and media kit up to date.

How to price your first deals

Price depends on the deliverable, the platform, how much work it takes and how the brand will use the content. A single short video for your own channel is a different job from a set of videos the brand will run as ads. Start by listing your costs: filming, editing, props and revisions. Then add a fee for usage rights if the brand wants to reuse the content.

Here is an example of the arithmetic only. If a project takes you 6 hours and you want to earn $40 an hour, your floor is $240 before usage fees. Swap in your own numbers. The UGC rate card generator can help you turn your prices into a clean rate card.

When a brand has no budget, you can still say yes to a gifted deal, but set a limit. Ask yourself whether the product is worth your time, whether the brand is a fit for your portfolio and whether it could lead to paid work.

Mistakes that cost small creators deals

• Sending a generic pitch: Brands can tell when an email was sent to hundreds of people without a single personal line.
• Pitching too many niches: A page that covers everything gives a brand no reason to pick you.
• Skipping the follow-up: One email is rarely enough. Send a short second and third note a few days apart.
• Starting work without terms: Without a written scope, revisions and usage can grow beyond what you agreed.
• Forgetting disclosure: Hiding a partnership puts you and the brand at risk.
• Going quiet after delivery: The follow-up message after a project is where repeat work starts.

What to do when brands say no or do not reply

Most pitches will not turn into a deal, and that is normal. Treat each no as information. If a brand says the budget is closed, ask when they plan their next campaign. If nobody replies, check that you reached the right contact and that your first line was specific. Keep a simple sheet of brands, dates, replies and next steps, and review it each week. Improve one thing at a time, such as your subject line or your media kit, so you can see what works.

Land your first brand deal this week

Pick 10 brands, update your media kit and send your first pitches. Then browse the Opportunity Board and apply to any campaign that fits your niche. To pitch at scale with follow-ups handled for you, try the Jem Social Brand Pitch Tool, or create a creator profile.