Quick answer: Get three numbers ready first: your engagement rate, your audience fit and your price. Then send a DM under 80 words that leads with the brand's benefit, shows you actually use the product, proposes one concrete content idea, states your rate and links a profile with verified stats. For bigger brands, email the marketing team instead. Follow up once, 4 to 5 days later, with one new piece of value, then move on.
Every creator has sent it: "Hi, I love your brand! Let's collaborate 🙌", and heard nothing back. Brand managers get plenty of these, and they all get the same treatment: ignored. Approaching brands works, but only when you look like a professional, pitch like a professional, and make saying yes easy. Here's exactly how.
Before you send anything: get your three numbers ready
When a brand opens your pitch, they check three things:
- Your engagement rate: not your follower count. A 15K creator at 4% beats a 100K creator at 0.8% for most campaigns. Don't know yours? Check it free with our Engagement Rate Calculator before you pitch.
- Your audience fit: city, language, age. A Mumbai skincare brand wants to hear "my audience is 70% women, 18–30, mostly metro" in one line.
- Your price: "whatever your budget is" reads as amateur. Know your range from our Creator Pricing Calculator and say it with confidence.
The DM script that gets replies
Keep it under 80 words, lead with THEIR benefit, and end with a specific ask:
Hi [Name]! I'm [you], a [niche] creator in [city]. [X] followers with [Y]% engagement, mostly [audience description]. I've used [product] for [time period] and my audience regularly asks about it. I'd love to make [one specific content idea] for you. My rate for a Reel is ₹[X]–₹[Y]. Can I send over my profile with verified stats? [your profile link]
Why this works: it proves you know your numbers, shows you actually use the product, proposes one concrete idea instead of "let's collaborate", and states a price like a professional. When a brand writes to you first instead, check it against our guide to brand collaboration offers, which covers the deal types and how to spot a fake one.
The email pitch (for bigger brands)
Larger brands route collabs through marketing teams, email beats DMs there. Subject lines that get opened: "[Niche] creator in [city], collab idea for [product]" or "[X]K engaged followers who keep asking about [brand]". The body is your DM script plus one paragraph of proof: your best past collab result or your top-performing content format. Attach nothing, link your profile instead (attachments trip spam filters). If a brand finds you through Instagram's own marketplace instead, the conversation happens in Partnership messages; Instagram Creator Marketplace in India covers that side. Hindi में पढ़ना चाहें तो Instagram collaboration कैसे करें देखें।
The one-link trick: instead of pasting screenshots of your analytics (which any brand knows can be edited), send your InfluencerMetric profile link. Connected accounts show verified stats pulled straight from Instagram/YouTube: a brand can trust the numbers without taking your word for it. That alone puts you ahead of most cold pitches.
The follow-up rule
One follow-up, 4–5 days later, adding one new piece of value ("this Reel just hit 40K views, the same format I'd use for you"). No reply after that? Move on. Chasing reads as desperate; a pipeline of ten pitches beats begging one brand.
The smarter route: make brands approach YOU
Here's what most "how to approach brands" guides won't tell you: the best deals usually start with the brand reaching out. On InfluencerMetric, brands search creators by niche, city and size, and message you directly in a private chat. From there:
- The brand can request a custom quote: you reply with your price for exactly what they need, right in the chat.
- Negotiation happens on offer cards inside the conversation, every agreed number is recorded, so there's no "but you said ₹5,000 on WhatsApp" confusion later.
- When you accept, the brand pays into escrow before you start: you'll never chase an invoice again.
To be findable, you need two things: a complete profile and at least one published gig with a clear price. Ten minutes of setup, and your pitch works for you 24/7.
Stop pitching into the void. Set up once, and let the DM scripts above be your plan B instead of your whole strategy.
Create my free profileFAQ
How many followers do I need before approaching brands?
There's no magic number, nano creators (1K–10K) close barter and small paid deals every day. What matters is engagement and audience fit. Read our guide on getting brand deals with a small following.
Should I pitch for free products (barter)?
Early on, barter builds your portfolio, take it strategically for brands you'd genuinely use. But set a boundary: once you have 3–4 solid collabs, start quoting money. On InfluencerMetric you can mark yourself open to barter and still list paid packages.
How do I know what to charge?
Benchmark with the pricing calculator, then read our full India rate guide.
Related: Barter Collaboration Meaning: Free Product Instead of Cash.