How to get brand deals
Brand deals rarely just appear. They come from being easy to find, obviously relevant, and willing to pitch. The good news: every part of that is something you can build on purpose.
A practical guide to landing your first — and next — brand deals, whatever the size of your audience.
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How do creators get brand deals?
Most brand deals come from three routes: pitching brands directly, being found through a clear niche and discoverable profile, or repeat work from brands you've impressed. Early on, pitching is the one you control — a specific, relevant message to brands that genuinely fit your audience. Inbound deals follow once your niche and past work make you easy to say yes to.
Make yourself easy to say yes to
Before you send a single pitch, it's worth understanding what a brand is actually deciding when they consider working with you. They're asking: is this creator's audience relevant to us, do they make content we'd be happy to be associated with, and are they going to be easy and reliable to work with? Every part of getting brand deals is really about answering those three questions before they're even asked.
That's why a clear niche beats a big vague following, why a tidy profile with visible past work matters, and why being responsive and professional turns a first deal into a fifth. You're not just trying to get noticed — you're trying to be an obvious, low-risk yes.
How to get brand deals, step by step
From setting yourself up to land deals, through to the pitch and the all-important follow-up.
- 1
Pick your niche
Brands pay for a clear, relevant audience. A defined niche makes you an obvious fit for the brands in it, rather than a maybe for everyone.
- 2
Make your value obvious
A tidy feed, a pinned example of branded work, and clear contact details. A brand should see in ten seconds that you take this seriously.
- 3
Build a simple media kit
One page: who your audience is, your engagement, past work, and how to reach you. It answers the questions a brand asks before replying.
- 4
Make a target list
Brands you genuinely use or fit your niche. A specific list of 20 beats blasting hundreds — relevance is what gets replies.
- 5
Pitch
A short, specific message about why you and this brand fit, with a clear idea. This is where most deals actually start.
- 6
Follow up
Most deals come from the second or third message, not the first. Polite, spaced follow-ups are where the deals hide.
Relevance and follow-up win deals
Two things separate creators who land deals from those who don't, and neither is follower count. The first is relevance: a specific pitch to a brand you genuinely fit will always beat a generic message to a brand with a big budget. Brands can tell the difference instantly, and relevance is what earns a reply.
The second is follow-up. Most deals don't come from the first message — they come from the second or third, sent politely and spaced out. Brand contacts are busy and inboxes are full; a friendly nudge a week later isn't pushy, it's how deals actually get made. When you start getting replies, the next skill is the pitch itself — see how to pitch brands. And once deals come in, keep them organised from day one with a brand deal tracker so opportunities don't slip.
Related on Poppi
Getting brand deals, answered
Land the deal, then keep it on track
When the deals start coming in, Poppi keeps every one organised from first reply to final payment. Free for 60 days.
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