Laura LeBoutillier posts garden tours and DIY landscaping projects on her Instagram account, and plant brand Proven Winners has sponsored her content for nearly a decade. If you’re a creator who finds this kind of brand partnership appealing, here’s how to get sponsored on Instagram.
A sponsored post is any content that features or promotes a brand in exchange for monetary pay or product. Through these posts and brand deals, companies rely on more than the sheer size of an influencer’s following. They’re investing in the relationship an influencer has built with an audience. Influencers help marketers reach niche audiences whose purchasing decisions are shaped by the content they consume.
Brand deals are one of the primary sources of income for influencers, accounting for 50–70% of creator revenue, according to Goldman Sachs Research. Instagram remains the leading platform for creator campaigns, making it one of the strongest places to build an influencer’s social media presence.
1. Make a profile that brands will say yes to.
First, you’ll want to switch to a professional account, whether creator or business. This unlocks Instagram Insights—the source of the analytics you’ll need to pitch brands and close deals—as well as the monetization tools Instagram has to offer (more on that in a bit).
Once you establish a professional account, focus on clearly defining your niche and your audience. Whether you’re appealing to skincare enthusiasts, aspiring artists, or cinephiles, the lane you grow in will determine the type of brands you work with. The more distinct your audience is at a glance, the easier you’re making it for a company to say yes to partnering with you.
These days, your relationship with your followers matters more than the size of your follower count. Your engagement rate measures that relationship. After all, brands are buying into your bond with your audience: 90% of marketers say sponsored influencer content beats brand-created content on engagement, according to Sprout Social research.
Finally, package all of this by building a media kit. The goal is to make it easy for brands to hire you. Your kit should contain everything a marketer needs: audience demographics, engagement numbers, and best portfolio examples with statistics.
2. Pitch brands directly.
You might think getting sponsored on Instagram is a bit of a waiting game: Grow your audience, keep posting, and eventually brands come to you. While that may be the case for some, most creators need a more proactive approach to get the ball rolling. That means learning how to pitch brands directly.
Before reaching out to any company, warm up the relationship by engaging with it organically. Tag the brand in stories or posts as you use its products or visit its stores. Most companies monitor this activity and tend to repost the content. It makes your pitch a bit less out of the blue.
The method of outreach varies depending on the brand’s size. For small or local brands, send a direct message so they can immediately see your Instagram with one click. For larger companies with a marketing team, email is a better bet, since DMs can get buried. Find the appropriate partnerships or marketing contact using LinkedIn or by reaching out to other brand partners you might know. Send a compelling message with a distinct yet clear subject line like: “Collaboration proposal from [handle] (100k engaged followers in outdoor climbing).”
Your pitch deck should contain relevant statistics like your audience data, engagement rate, and content examples, which will already be organized in your media kit. It should explain who you are, why you're a good fit for the brand, and include a content idea tailored to its audience.
3. Use creator marketplaces and casting platforms.
To gain more visibility from brands seeking to collaborate with influencers, join Meta’s Creator Marketplace— a matchmaking tool that connects brands with creators who are a great fit for their campaigns. To be eligible for Meta’s Creator Marketplace, you must be at least 18 years old, have a professional Instagram account, and have a minimum of 1,000 followers. If you meet all of these requirements, you can access it by going to the Professional dashboard, navigating to Your tools, and clicking Branded content.
Outside of Meta, our UGC creator marketplace and casting calls list can also help bridge your profile and services to brands. Companies that post on casting platforms are actively looking to work with influencers and already have budgets in place.
4. Know your rates and negotiate.
While the industry-standard rate for content creators tends to be around $100 per 10,000 followers, rates vary widely depending on several factors. Engagement is becoming more valuable than follower count for brands. Some niches also command higher rates because the markets—and brand budgets—are larger. On Instagram, the format of the content will also influence the rate, with Reels warranting a premium over grid posts and Stories typically packaged in bundles. Gifted partnerships may seem appealing, but they often aren’t a lucrative long-term strategy.
To help brands understand the value you bring to the table, prepare an influencer rate card: a sheet that outlines what you offer, prices for each type of content, and what a brand will see as a return on its investment.
