Plenty of brand deals go to creators with a few thousand followers. Brands, especially local and smaller ones, often care more about who your audience is and how much they trust you than about the size of your following. Here is how to get started.

Why brands work with smaller creators

  • Smaller audiences are often closer-knit, so recommendations feel personal.
  • Many smaller creators reach a specific place or community, like a city, a campus or a hobby.
  • Fees are more affordable, so a brand can work with several creators at once.
  • Smaller creators are often more flexible and quicker to work with.

Pick a clear niche

“Lifestyle” is hard for a brand to place. “Affordable skincare for oily skin”, “sneaker reviews in Joburg” or “braai recipes on a budget” is easy. A clear niche helps the right brands find you and makes your pitch obvious. You can still post about other things; just be known for something.

Make your profile easy to say yes to

  • Say what you make and who it's for in your bio, plus your city if you're local.
  • Add a contact email so brands can reach you outside DMs.
  • Pin your best few posts, including any past brand work.
  • Post consistently. A brand looking at your last month should see an active account.

On Vyral Sync, list the specific topics you cover. They're the strongest signal when a brand searches for something like skincare or sneakers.

Build a simple media kit

One page is enough. Include:

  • Who you are and what you make, in two sentences.
  • Your platforms, follower counts and average engagement (see how to work it out in our engagement rate guide).
  • Audience insights: age range, gender split and top locations, from your platform analytics.
  • Two or three examples of your best work.
  • What you offer, and your rates or “rates on request”.

Only use real numbers from your own analytics, and keep them up to date.

How to pitch a brand

Pitch brands you already use and like. Keep it short: who you are, why you like their product, a specific idea for a post, and what you can offer. Attach your media kit. If you don't hear back, one polite follow-up after a week is fine.

Or let brands come to you: on Vyral Sync, brands search by niche, platform and city and invite creators who fit, and you can apply to open campaigns with a short pitch and your rate.

Setting your rates

There is no fixed price list. Think about the time a post takes you (planning, filming, editing), how many people it reaches, how specific your audience is, and what the brand wants: extra rights to reuse your content in their own ads should cost more. Ask other creators of a similar size in your niche what they charge.

Gifted products can be a good start for brands you genuinely love, but be careful about giving away too much work for free. Agree in writing whether a deal is paid, gifted, or both.

Deliver like a professional

  • Confirm the brief, dates and fee in writing before you start.
  • Send drafts on time and act on feedback.
  • Share your post's statistics afterwards, even if nobody asked.
  • Invoice promptly and keep records for tax.

Brands rehire creators who are easy to work with. On Vyral Sync, delivering on time and getting approved first time also improve how you rank for future campaigns.

Always disclose

South Africa's Advertising Regulatory Board requires paid content to be clearly identified within the post, with identifiers such as #ad or #sponsored, and requires disclosure when you received free goods or services in return for coverage. Disclosing protects you, the brand and your audience's trust.