As a small creator you get brand deals by selling what a brand cannot buy from a bigger account: a closely matched audience, content it can reuse, a local customer base or simply dependable delivery. Start with offers no follower threshold blocks, such as local businesses, UGC work and product seeding on clear terms, collect proof from every job, and use that proof to climb an offer ladder from gifted posts to paid packages and retainers.
The only follower minimums that are written down
No official follower count exists at which brands start paying. Brands decide that for themselves, deal by deal. The thresholds that are published belong to platform marketplaces, and they are worth knowing because they decide whether brands can find you inside those tools at all.
| Route | What the platform says you need | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok One projects | Age 18 or over, TikTok One launched in your region and compliance with TikTok's rules; projects also need at least 1,000 followers plus requirements that vary by project | TikTok One creator sign-up page |
| Instagram side of Meta Creator Marketplace | Age 18 or over, a public professional account, at least 1,000 followers and agreement to Meta's partner monetisation policies | Instagram eligibility page |
| Facebook side of Meta Creator Marketplace | A Facebook Page or a profile in professional mode that follows Meta's policies; no follower figure is given | Meta Business Help Centre page |
| YouTube Creator Partnerships | Age 18 or over, membership of the YouTube Partner Program, a listed country or region and no active Community Guidelines strikes | YouTube Creator Partnerships page |
| Deals agreed directly with a brand | Nothing is published; each brand sets its own bar and may change it | The brand's own brief |
YouTube's Partner Program changes page adds a detail that helps smaller channels: the entry thresholds changing on 1 February 2027 do not change eligibility for Creator Partnerships, which stays open from 500 subscribers plus either 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last year or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Our guide to YouTube monetisation requirements explains how those tiers fit together.
Notice too that Meta's two pages describe different apps, and only the Instagram page names a follower figure. When you see a threshold quoted on a blog or forum, check which platform and which official page it actually comes from.
What a small account can sell instead of reach
TikTok's guidance on being discovered for brand collaboration says advertisers working with creators usually want reach, reliability or business results. Reach is what small accounts lack. Reliability and results are open to anyone, and so are several qualities platforms don't measure at all.
- Audience match: a narrow audience that is exactly the brand's customer, shown with screenshots from your own analytics.
- Reliability: quick replies, drafts on time and no surprises, which TikTok names alongside reach as something advertisers value.
- Reusable content: well-lit, well-edited video and photos the brand can post on its own channels.
- Local presence: being a genuine regular at a nearby café, gym, salon or shop whose customers follow you.
- Specialist knowledge: a trade, qualification or skill that makes your review or tutorial more credible than a general lifestyle post.
Reusable content is where UGC comes in. UGC work pays you to make videos or photos that the brand posts itself, so your follower count matters far less than the content. Price the usage and any ad rights separately with the UGC rate card worksheet, and only appear as a customer of something you have actually used: the FTC's influencer disclosure guide says you cannot talk about your experience with a product you haven't tried.
Gifted or paid: the label does not shrink with your audience
Product seeding, where a brand sends you something free hoping you will post, is usually the first offer a small creator receives. The CMA's guidance for content creators says it applies no matter how many followers you have, that gifts and discounts count as payment, and that posts about gifts must be labelled as ads even when you had no obligation to post. The FTC tells creators to disclose free products even when the brand did not ask them to mention the item. Australia's Ad Standards makes the same point in its influencer disclosure guide: free products or services show a relationship that should be disclosed.
A gifted post still costs you planning, filming, editing and a slot in your feed, so decide whether each offer is worth it before you say yes.
- Would you use or recommend this product even if it had not been sent to you?
- Is posting optional, or does the brand expect specific content by a date? Expected content is a job, so ask whether a fee is available.
- Are you comfortable with your audience seeing an “Ad” label on this post?
- Does the product sit in a category your platform restricts? YouTube's branded content policy adds conditions for alcohol, gambling, financial services and healthcare, for example.
- Do you have to give it back? The FTC's endorsement guides FAQ recommends disclosing free use of a product even when you return it afterwards.
The offer ladder
Each rung asks a brand for a little more trust, so each needs a little more proof. Don't skip rungs with brands that don't know you; do skip them with brands that have already seen your work elsewhere.
| Rung | What you offer | What the brand gives | Proof that earns the next rung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gifted post | One honest post or story about a product you would use, labelled as an ad | The product, with posting either optional or agreed upfront | Dated screenshots of reach, saves, link clicks or code uses from that post |
| Paid single post | One agreed deliverable with a brief, an approval step and a link or code | A fee, plus the product where needed | A written comment from the brand and results set against what you promised |
| Package | Several deliverables across a period or platforms, with defined usage | A larger fee, often split into milestones | A record of on-time delivery and a recap the brand could forward internally |
| Retainer or ambassador | Regular content over months, sometimes with category exclusivity | A recurring fee under a longer contract | A track record with this brand and a renewal conversation |
| UGC side-rung | Content the brand publishes on its own channels, without posting on yours | A production fee plus a separate usage fee | Portfolio pieces you have permission to show |
Retainers and ambassador roles need extra care. An exclusivity clause can stop you working with an entire category, so price it, give it an end date and get advice before signing a long one. Where to find the brands for each rung is covered in our guide to finding brands to work with.
Talking about your size in a pitch
Small creators often undersell themselves in the first line of a pitch, either by apologising for their numbers or by offering to work for nothing. Neither helps the brand decide anything. Lead instead with the reason your audience is the right one, then offer a first job small enough to be an easy yes.
- Put the audience match first and the follower count later, next to its date and the platform it came from.
- Offer a defined first job, such as one post with a trackable link or code, so the brand can measure it without guesswork.
- Say what you will report afterwards and when, which shows you treat the work as a business arrangement.
- Quote a real price for paid work, even a modest one, because a free first job becomes the anchor for every later conversation with that brand.
- Mention the next rung, so the brand can see where the relationship goes if the first job works.
Our guide on how to pitch brands as an influencer turns these points into an angle worksheet and a brand-fit scorecard you can fill in before writing.
A prospect template for local brands
Local businesses are often the most realistic first paid partners, because your audience already overlaps with their customers. Keep one entry per business with these fields.
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Business and decision-maker | The owner or manager who decides on marketing, found in person or on the business website |
| Your genuine connection | How often you visit or what you have bought there, in your own words |
| Audience overlap | Where your followers live according to your own analytics, and why that matches the shop's customers |
| Their current marketing | Whether they post, run ads or already work with creators, checked on their profiles and in Meta's Ad Library |
| Your offer | One idea at the right rung, such as a gifted visit with an honest review or a paid launch post |
| Proof to bring | A few relevant posts and a one-page media kit, on your phone or printed |
| Contact route and follow-up | In person, their contact form or their published business email, plus the date you will check back |
The ACCC's social media promotions page gives an example worth remembering: an influencer paid to tweet that she loved a resort she had never stayed at is likely to be making a false or misleading claim. Only pitch places you genuinely use, and describe them honestly once the deal is done.
Emailing businesses you don't know brings in spam rules, which in Australia are strict; the compliance section of our brand pitch email templates covers Australian, UK and US requirements. Walking in and asking for the manager is fine too, and with local businesses it often works better than email.
Proof to collect from every job
- Insights screenshots taken once the agreed measurement period ends, with the date range visible.
- The brand's written feedback, along with permission to quote it in your kit.
- A link to the live post showing its ad label.
- A simple note of whether each deadline was met.
- For UGC, the final files and their usage terms, so you know which pieces you may show in a portfolio.
Move the strongest pieces into your influencer media kit. To choose the right figures, use the platform guides to Instagram Insights and TikTok Analytics.
Limits of this advice
Marketplace eligibility changes, and the figures above are what each platform's page said when checked on 1 October 2026. Nothing here means a brand will pay a small account; it means you will be offering things a brand can verify. Free products can also have tax consequences depending on where you live, so ask a registered tax agent or accountant how to treat what you receive. For every stage from pitch to invoice, see how to get brand deals.