To get PR packages, make it easy for a brand's PR or influencer team to say yes: post consistently about products you genuinely use and tag the brands, keep a business email and a current media kit visible, then send a short, specific request to the brand's PR contact explaining your audience fit and what you might create. Once a package leads to a post, treat it as a commercial relationship, because regulators in the US, UK and Australia expect gifted content to be disclosed even when nobody asked you to post.
How PR lists work
Brands and the agencies that run their PR keep send lists for launches, seasonal ranges and restocks. Creators reach those lists in four main ways: being noticed through tags and mentions, joining gifting campaigns on creator platforms or marketplaces, meeting PR teams at events, and asking directly. None of these needs a large following to start, but every one rewards a clear niche and content a PR manager can picture their product sitting in.
Know which of two arrangements you are entering. An unconditional gift arrives with no obligation; a gifted collaboration is product in exchange for agreed content, which makes it a deal with deliverables that belongs in writing. Ongoing gifting can also be the first step towards a paid role, covered in our guide on how to become a brand ambassador.
Before you ask: a profile checklist
- A business email in your bio or contact button, checked regularly.
- A niche that is obvious from your last dozen posts, not just your bio.
- Honest, specific reviews of products you bought yourself, with the brands tagged correctly.
- A media kit with dated platform analytics, built from our influencer media kit template.
- A delivery address that is not your home, such as a PO box, business address or mail-forwarding service, because every package links your name to a location.
- A line in your media kit explaining how you label gifted content, which tells PR teams you will not create a compliance problem for them.
- A short list of categories you will not accept, including products platforms restrict in branded content; Meta's rules are summarised in our guide to the Instagram paid partnership label.
PR-list request template
Send it to the PR or influencer contact, not customer service, one brand per email. Replace every bracketed field with facts you can back up, and leave out any line you cannot.
Subject: PR list request from [handle], [niche] creator
Hi [name], I'm [your name], and I make [format] about [topic] for [audience] on [platform]. I have used [product] since [month] and featured it in [link to post], which reached [figure from your analytics] by [date].
I would love to be considered for your PR list for [range or upcoming launch]. If something arrives, I would explore [one or two specific content ideas], and I only post when a product genuinely fits my audience. Anything I post about a gifted product is clearly labelled as an ad.
My media kit is at [link], and the best delivery address is [business address or PO box].
Thanks for reading, [your name]
Keep the request about fit rather than demands: asking for paid work belongs in a separate pitch. Follow up once if you hear nothing, then move on and log the date so you do not chase the same contact twice.
Etiquette once a package arrives
- No post is owed unless you agreed one; if you did, post by the agreed date or tell the brand early that you cannot.
- Say what you actually think. The FTC's Disclosures 101 reminds influencers that they cannot talk about a product they have not tried, or call it terrific when they thought it was terrible.
- If a product is wrong for you, a private note to the sender is usually more useful to both sides than silence.
- Thank the sender by email whether or not you post, and keep the insert card or packing slip showing who sent it.
- Tag the brand's correct account and name it in your disclosure, not only in a tag.
Labelling gifted content in the US, UK and Australia
This is where the three markets differ most, and where a single habit can keep you compliant in all of them.
| Market | What the guidance says about gifts | Wording that works |
|---|---|---|
| United States | The FTC's Endorsement Guides count free or discounted products as a material connection whether or not the advertiser requires an endorsement; its FAQ says “Gifted” alone is ambiguous, “Gifted by” plus the brand can be enough when a free product is all you received, and #ad works for gifts too | “Gifted by [Brand]” or “Ad”, placed where people see it first |
| United Kingdom | The CMA's guidance for content creators, updated in September 2025, says posts about gifts must be labelled as ads even with no obligation to post, and lists #gift, #gifted, PR Haul and #PRTrip among terms to avoid; the ASA guide counts gifts whether requested or unsolicited | “Ad” upfront, optionally followed by “gifted by [Brand]” |
| Australia | The ACCC reminded influencers to disclose clearly where they have received free products, tickets or other gifts; the AANA practice note says “gifted” may not be sufficient and gives #ad, Advertising and Paid Partnership as clear labels | “#ad” upfront, with “gifted by [Brand]” added if you want detail |
The habit that covers all three is to open with “Ad: gifted by [Brand]”. It gives the UK regulators the word they insist on, gives US readers the name of whoever sent the product, and uses a label the Australian code recognises. Then run through this checklist before posting:
- The label sits at the start of the caption, on the image and inside the video itself, not just in a description.
- Every story frame or carousel item featuring the product carries its own label, as the CMA asks.
- The brand is named, not merely thanked or tagged.
- The platform's paid partnership tool is switched on where available, in addition to your own label; on TikTok, our guide to TikTok disclosure settings shows which one fits.
- Later posts about the same brand stay labelled while the relationship continues; the FTC's FAQ says an ongoing relationship still needs disclosing even when you buy the brand's product yourself.
- A haul video opens with the label and names each brand that sent something.
Declining or returning unsolicited gifts
You can say no, and a short reply keeps the door open: “Thank you for thinking of me. I'm not taking on [category] products at the moment, so please don't send anything for now, but I'd be glad to hear about [other range] in future.”
When something arrives unasked in the US, the FTC's consumer advice on unordered products says you never have to pay for or return merchandise you did not order and are legally entitled to keep it as a free gift. Other countries have their own unsolicited-goods rules, so check your consumer regulator before assuming the same. Keeping a gift is not the same as owing a post, but if you do post about it, the labelling rules above apply in full: the FTC's FAQ expects brands that send unsolicited products to ask for disclosure, and the ASA counts unsolicited gifts as payment.
If a package reaches an address you never gave the sender, ask how they obtained it and review where your address might be exposed; our streamer safety tips cover keeping identifying details out of public view.
Gift log columns for your records
A simple spreadsheet answers most questions an accountant, a brand or a regulator might ask later. In Australia, the ATO's page on what to include in assessable income says goods or benefits received as full or part payment for goods or services you provide count as income at their market value, and lists items such as clothing, make-up and flights, which is why the value column matters.
| Column | What to record | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Date received | The day the package arrived | Links each item to the right posts and tax year |
| Sender | The brand, plus any agency or platform that shipped it | Lets you name the right brand in every disclosure |
| Items | What arrived and how many of each | Settles later questions about what was gifted |
| Retail value | The normal selling price when it arrived, with a screenshot or link | Gives your accountant a market value to work from |
| Requested or unsolicited | Whether you asked for it, and through which route | Separates PR-list requests from surprise deliveries |
| Conditions | Any request or agreement to post, with the deadline | Distinguishes free gifts from product-for-content deals |
| Posts and labels | Links to each related post and the disclosure wording used | Shows every post about the gift was labelled |
| Outcome | Kept, returned, donated or given away | Records what happened to the item afterwards |
| Adviser notes | How your accountant or tax agent said to treat it | Keeps the treatment consistent from one year to the next |
Tax treatment of gifts depends on your country, your circumstances and whether anything was expected in return. Do not decide it from this page: give the log to a registered tax agent or accountant and let them advise.
Limitations of this guide
The disclosure table reflects FTC, CMA, ASA, ACCC and AANA material as it read on 1 October 2026. The ASA says its influencer guide will be updated for the UK's newer consumer protection law, the ACCC's reminders date from December 2023, and the FTC's pages are staff guidance, so check each source again before relying on a specific wording. Where your audience spans several countries, the strictest applicable rule is the safer one to follow.
This guide does not cover how gifts are taxed, which varies by country and situation, and it is not legal or tax advice. Getting onto a PR list is never certain, and nothing here guarantees that a brand will reply or send anything. If a gifting arrangement starts to include paid posts, exclusivity or usage rights, treat it as a contract and have it reviewed before you agree.