Landing your first brand deal at 10k followers

You don't need 100,000 followers to get paid. At 10,000 engaged followers in a defined niche, you have something brands buy every day: attention from a specific buyer. Here's how to package it, price it, and pitch it.

Step 1 — Decide what you're actually selling

Brands don't buy "a post." They buy a placement with a defined format, audience, and deliverable. Pick two or three products you can repeat:

• Integrated 60-second mention inside a long-form video
• Dedicated Short or Reel with a link in bio
• A three-post package across two platforms over one week

Step 2 — Price it with a defensible number

A common starting benchmark for sponsored content is a CPM-style calculation: expected views ÷ 1,000 × a rate between $15 and $30, depending on niche buying power. A creator averaging 20,000 views per video lands roughly $300–$600 for an integration. Finance, B2B software, and health niches sit at the top of that range; general entertainment sits at the bottom.

Quote one number with a clear deliverable. Discounting before you're asked signals the price wasn't real.

Step 3 — The pitch

Short, specific, and about them. A structure that works:

Subject: [Their product] + my [niche] audience

Hi [name],

I make [content type] for [specific audience]. Last month
my videos did [X] views, and [Y]% of viewers are [relevant
trait].

I've used [their product] for [real use case] — my audience
asks about this category constantly.

Proposal: one 60-second integration in an upcoming video on
[topic], plus a pinned comment link. $[price], published by
[date].

Happy to send a media kit or a sample script.

[Name]

Send it to a partnerships or influencer-marketing contact, not a general support inbox. Ten targeted emails beat a hundred generic ones.

Step 4 — Set up the paid infrastructure first

Have a place to send buyers before you pitch. Stan Store gives you a link-in-bio storefront that also sells your own products, so a brand sees a creator running a business rather than asking for a favor. Add a one-page media kit with audience demographics, average views, and two past examples.

Step 5 — Protect yourself on terms

• 50% upfront on first deals with a new brand.
• One round of revisions included; extra rounds billed.
• Usage rights limited to their organic channels unless paid ads are priced separately.
• Always disclose the partnership — required by the FTC and by platform policy.

Frequently asked questions