You can land a paid brand deal under 5,000 followers by pitching small brands that already sell to your audience, with a short email that names one specific deliverable and shows one proof number. Do not wait for them to find you. This post gives you the email, the one-page media kit and a way to price without quoting a per-follower rate.
TLDR: Pick 10 small brands your followers already buy from, send each a five-sentence pitch with one deliverable, link a one-page media kit, and price the work (content plus usage rights), not your follower count. Expect to send 20 or more pitches before the first yes.
Who to pitch first
Large brands buy reach. Small brands buy trust and content, and that is what a small account has. Look for:
- Brands you already use and could talk about honestly.
- Companies whose products show up in your followers' comments.
- Local shops, indie products and newer direct-to-consumer brands with a few thousand followers of their own.
Find the person who runs social or marketing, and email them rather than sending a DM. Founders at small brands often answer both.
The pitch email
Keep it to five sentences. Replace the brackets.
Subject: Idea for [Brand]: a [format] on [product]
Hi [Name], I'm [your name], I post about [niche] to [number] followers, mostly [who they are]. I've used [product] for [time] and my audience keeps asking about [specific thing].
I'd like to make one [Reel or carousel] showing [specific idea], posted with the paid partnership label, with a link in my bio for [number] days. My last [similar post] reached [number] people with [number]% engagement.
My one-page media kit is here: [link]. Would a quick test post work for you?
Why it works: one clear ask, one idea, one number. Brands skim, and a vague "I'd love to collaborate" gives them nothing to say yes to.
The one-page media kit
Put it on a single page you can link, such as a link-in-bio page. It needs five things:
- Who you are, in one sentence.
- Your audience: country, age range and what they follow you for.
- Three proof numbers: average reach, engagement rate and one past result.
- Two or three example posts.
- How to reach you, and the deliverables you offer.
Engagement is your strongest card at this size. In Mydrop's data, the median Instagram post earned a 3.1% engagement rate, and the middle half of posts ran from 1.1% to 6.7%. If you sit above 3.1%, say so with the number.
Mydrop's link-in-bio pages let you build the media kit page and update it without touching your bio link.
How to price your first deal
Price the work, not your followers.
| What you charge for | What to define |
|---|---|
| The deliverable | One Reel, one carousel or a set of stories, and how many revisions |
| Usage rights | Whether the brand may reuse your content in ads, and for how long |
| Exclusivity | Whether you can post about competitors, and for how long |
| Timeline | Draft date, approval date, post date |
If you have no idea what to quote, ask the brand for their budget first. For a first deal, a fair payment plus a written agreement matters more than a high number. Ask for payment terms in writing and get a short contract or email confirmation of the scope.
Disclose the deal properly
Use the platform's paid partnership label where it exists, and say it plainly in the caption. In the US, the FTC expects clear disclosure of paid relationships, and brands will check. Hiding a deal can cost you the next one.
Deliver so the brand comes back
- Send the draft before the deadline, with the caption.
- Schedule the post for a time your audience is awake. In Mydrop's data, posts published between midnight and 6 am in the audience's local time ran 36% below the median on Instagram.
- Send a results screenshot at day 7: reach, saves, link clicks.
A content calendar keeps drafts, approval dates and post dates in one place when you have two or three deals running. For the full picture of income options at this size, see how to make money on social media with a small following.
Next step: write your ten-brand list and the media kit page today, then send the first three pitches before tomorrow. A reply within 24 hours often decides who gets the test post. To build the media kit page and schedule the posts for free, start with Mydrop.
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