Brands That Work With Small Influencers

One thing I hear over and over from micro-influencers is that they think they’re “too small” to work with brands. But brand deals for micro influencers happen more often than you’d think.

These days, even a few hundred or a thousand engaged Instagram followers can be enough. You might be exactly who a brand wants to work with.

Don’t believe me? Read this piece I wrote for Huffington Post. It’s about campaigns that nano-influencers have worked on.

To help you identify brands that work with small influencers, I made a list. It includes brand deals for micro influencers I’ve worked with over the last year. These deals show that you don’t need a massive following to land paid partnerships.

In case you’re new here, let me introduce myself. I have about 11k Instagram followers, 9k TikTok followers, and just over 3k YouTube subscribers. But I’ve still managed to secure paid (yes, paid!) deals with brands I love. I was excited to work with each one.

If you want even more tips for how to work with brands as a micro-influencer, I have another post about that too.

To be clear, I’m not saying that all of these brands work will small creators all of the time.

Maybe they were testing working with micro-influencers and then they went back to paying mid-tier and mega influencers. Or maybe it was for a one-off product launch or very specific campaign.

But I hope this helps as a guide. It shows what types of brands might reach out to influencers for a partnership. It also shows where they tend to look for new influencers.

Brand Deals for Micro Influencers: Brands I’ve Worked With

Gleem

Category: Wellness
Posting platform: Instagram + TikTok
How we got connected: the brand reached out to me via email
View the post on Instagram

Sephora @ Kohl’s

Category: Beauty
Posting platform: Pinterest
How we got connected: the brand reached out to me via email through an agency
View the post on Pinterest

Country Life Vitamins

Category: Wellness
Posting platform: Instagram
How we got connected: I asked the agency that reps them if they had any active campaigns
View the post on Instagram

HelloFresh

Category: Lifestyle
Posting platform: Instagram
How we got connected: they reached out to me on AspireIQ
View the post on Instagram

Bandelettes

Category: Fashion
Posting platform: TikTok
How we got connected: they reached out to me via email
View the post on TikTok

Glossier

Category: Beauty
Posting platform: YouTube
How we got connected: the brand reached out to me via email
View the post on YouTube

Vitabrid C12

Category: Beauty
Posting platforms: IGTV, Instagram stories and blog
How we got connected: an agency that represents the brand reached out to me
View the post on IGTV

IGK Hair

Category: Beauty
Posting platforms: Instagram feed and stories
How we got connected: I applied to this campaign through Obvious.ly
View the post on Instagram

Jones New York

Category: Fashion
Posting platforms: Instagram feed and stories
How we got connected: a friend of mine who works for an agency representing the brand reached out
View the post on Instagram

Rael

Category: Beauty
Posting platforms: Instagram feed, Instagram stories, and a non-dedicated YouTube video
How we got connected: a friend of mine who was running an influencer campaign for the brand reached out
View the post on Instagram

Sorel

Category: Fashion
Posting platforms: Instagram feed and stories with in-person event attendance
How we got connected: the brand collaborated with a publication and someone from there reached out to me
View the post on Instagram

Joy

Category: Personal care
Posting platforms: Instagram feed and stories
How we got connected: I applied to this partnership through the InfluenceHer Collective
View the post on Instagram

Verizon

Category: Tech
Posting platforms: Instagram stories
How we got connected: Someone from Fohr reached out to me about this campaign

CVS Beauty

Category: Beauty
Posting platforms: Instagram feed, stories and blog
How we got connected: I applied to this partnership through Obvious.ly
View the post on my blog

HelloFresh

Category: Food
Posting platforms: Instagram feed and stories
How we got connected: they reached out to me through AspireIQ
View the post on Instagram

How I Started Landing More Brand Deals for Micro Influencers

So in previous years more of these deals would have come from me reaching out directly. In previous years, I landed more of these deals by reaching out directly. (But I’m always here to help you with pitching, don’t forget to check out my e-book!)

After I hit the 10k mark on Instagram, more brands and agencies started reaching out to me about collaborations.

However, most of those opportunities are still gifted collaborations, and I rarely accept them. I only accept them if I genuinely love the brand and see potential for a paid partnership later on.

Speaking of that, don’t forget to put your email in your Instagram bio. Don’t rely on the email button alone.

Many marketing managers search for creators on desktop. Having your email in your bio makes it easy for them to copy and paste it into their outreach list.

How to Land More Brand Deals for Micro Influencers

As you can see influencer platforms are a great place to find brand deals. So definitely sign up for some of those if you haven’t already.

If you want to work with certain brands, connect with the agencies that represent them. More on that in this blog post.

I landed three of these brand deals through personal connections. So be sure you’re constantly networking. Try to form connections with people who you want to get to know better.

Are you regularly reaching out to people at brands so you’re top of mind when opportunities arise?

Keep challenging yourself to make more connections. Say hi, and create content that brands have to take notice of.

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to explore the site for more posts about blogging and pitching. You can also check out this post to learn the secret to effective Influencer PR boxes.

yours,

Austen