How to Get Brand Deals on TikTok in 2026

There are plenty of ways for savvy creators to make money on TikTok. You're probably already using TikTok's Creator Rewards program to monetize your videos, earning anywhere between $0.40 to $1.00 for every 1,000 qualified views. With the right strategy, you can certainly make a nice chunk of change. But it's nowhere close to what you can earn with brand deals, which pay 10-50x more per video.

And you don't need millions of followers to get started. Brands are moving away from spending big on single celebrity spots and investing heavily in smaller creators instead. In 2026, 51% of brands plan to spend more on nano influencers (1-10K followers) and 53% plan to spend more on micro influencers (10-50K followers), according to Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 Benchmark Report.

Whether you're looking to lock down your first brand deal or aiming to snag higher-paying partners, this guide covers everything you need to know:

• Know what you can actually charge
• Get your profile and media kit brand-ready
• Get in front of brands through platforms and direct outreach
• Negotiate without leaving money on the table

All it takes is a little due diligence to make sure you're earning exactly what you deserve.

1. What TikTok Brand Deals Actually Pay

Before you begin negotiating with a brand, it's important to know some baseline stats on what kind of payments your peers are pulling in. Here's a rough rule of thumb for what to expect based on the size of your account:

Rate Ranges by Follower Count

Note that these are starting points, not ceilings. Your view reach, niche, and partnership terms can all shift the number.

Niches like personal finance, crypto, tech gadgets, AI tools and software can command considerably higher rates since the brands tend to have bigger advertising budgets and their audience has a higher disposable income and is more likely to make a purchase. Some health and wellness and specialized beauty and skincare creators can also earn more, thanks to their highly-engaged audiences.

What Moves Your Rate Up or Down

Brands often quietly get more value than they're paying for from creators who don't know they can charge more for these common rate modifiers.

Other Terms You Should Understand Before Signing

Besides usage rights and exclusivity, here are a few more terms you should understand before signing a deal.

• Scope of Work (SOW): Precisely defines what you are creating (e.g., one 60-second TikTok), including deadlines and the number of revision rounds. If you'll spend hours on multiple rounds of edits, keep that in mind.
• Ownership/Intellectual Property (IP): Ideally, you retain ownership of the content, and the brand only licenses it. If the brand owns it, they can reuse it forever.
• Payment Terms & Net Days: Confirms how much you get paid and when (e.g., "Net 30" means 30 days after invoicing). Ensure this includes late fees.
• Kill Fee: A percentage of the fee (e.g., 50%) paid if the brand cancels the project after work has begun but before completion.
• Termination Clause: Details how either party can end the contract and the conditions for doing so.
• Non-Disparagement: A clause stating you will not speak negatively about the brand, its products, or leadership.

2. Get Your Profile and Media Kit Brand-Ready

TikTok thrives on raw, authentic content, but a little professionalism goes a long way towards convincing brands you can be trusted with their hard-won ad budgets. A quick audit of your profile and media kit can make sure you look like someone they should pay.

What Brands Check in 30 Seconds

When a brand evaluates your profile, they're looking for:

• Clear niche: Can they tell what you cover immediately?
• Content quality and consistency: Does your content have strong storytelling, high-resolution visuals, clear audio, and a gripping hook within the first 3 seconds? Do you post regularly?
• Engagement: Is your audience commenting, saving, liking and sharing your posts?
• Email in bio: Can they easily get in touch?
• Link-in-bio with relevant links: Can you easily provide a URL to drive traffic to their website? Where are you currently directing your followers and is it a fit with their brand?

Build a Simple Media Kit

Your media kit should include:

• A short bio (under 150 words) that captures your niche, tone, and personality.
• Key stats like follower count, average views, view reach, average watch time and retention, video completion rate, and shares and saves.
• Audience insights: age, gender, location, and top interests.
• Services offered: sponsored posts, Spark Ads/whitelisting, ambassadorships, and content creation‚ Available a la carte or as a bundle.
• Past collaborations with brands: logos, screenshots, or campaign highlights work great.

If you're just starting out, don't worry. You don't need a long list of past partnerships. Instead, showcase videos with products you've organically featured in your content, even if it wasn't paid. If you don't have any, create 2-3 mock brand posts to show you can create that type of content. The goal is to convey that you understand how to authentically spotlight products.

Consider using Canva for a free and easy way to design or refresh your media kit. Search terms like "media kit," "influencer media kit," or "press kit" to pull up dozens of templates. Just make sure the design matches your brand's color palette, vibe, and overall style.

3. Where to Find TikTok Brand Deals

In an ideal world, brands would be flooding your email and begging for partnership opportunities, but in the real world, even macro influencers frequently have to track down, pitch, and secure brand partnerships. There are three main paths for finding partners, and each one has its own pros and cons for nano and micro influencers.

TikTok One (The Official Marketplace)

TikTok One is the app's unified, all-in-one platform designed to streamline collaboration between brands and creators. It replaced TikTok Creator Marketplace in 2025, merging it with TikTok Creative Challenge and other tools. You can easily find and secure partnerships in TikTok One, and both parties have access to real-time performance tracking for campaigns.

Eligibility requirements:

• 10,000+ followers
• 3 posts in the last 30 days
• 1,000+ post views in the last 30 days
• 18+ and account in good standing

It's worth joining if you qualify, but don't rely on TikTok One as your only strategy for finding paid partners. Brands on the platform often pay less than direct, negotiated deals.

Third-Party Platforms For TikTok Brand Deals

Plenty of third-party platforms and marketplaces specialize in connecting TikTok creators with brands for paid partnerships, but these are some with a proven track record of success:

Pitching Brands Directly

Cold outreach can be intimidating, but it pays off. Pitching brands directly gets the best rates because there's no platform charging the brand or taking a cut from your earnings. Here are some basic guidelines for reaching out:

• Target your approach. Focus on reaching out to 5-10 brands per week that you know your audience would love and personalize your pitch. 
• Find the right contact. Search for the brand name and "influencer marketing" or "partnerships" on LinkedIn, peruse the brand website, or use tools like Hunter.io or Apollo.io to find contacts. 
• Use email over DMs. Most brands prefer it.

Most importantly, keep it short. Marketers get bombarded with offers, so you only have a moment to pique their interest. Here's what your email should include when pitching brands directly:

• Clear, concise and relevant subject line: The recipient should understand your ask right away. (Examples: "Excited to help Fidelity reach 20,000 Gen Z investors," "Paid TikTok partnership in April?" or "Loved your #retirementIQ series - partnership idea.")
• Short, engaging bio. Introduce yourself, the type of content you create and what makes your brand unique. (Example: "I'm a finfluencer who helps my Gen Z audience understand money management and trends like 'loud budgeting.'") 
• Why the brand is a fit. Mention a specific product, campaign or value you love about the brand, and why your audience will, too. (Example: "I loved how your #retirementIQ series helped demystify 401Ks. My followers ask about this all the time!") 
• Content idea. Show how you envision working with the brand. (Example: "I have an idea for a #MoneyIQ TikTok video series that will break down Fidelity's budgeting tools.") 
• Proof of value. Establish credibility by pointing to a previously successful partnership, if you have one. (Example: "My UGC campaign for Kudos Technologies had a CTR of 2%!")
• Media kit. Attach or include a link to the media kit you've already brushed up. (Example: "Here is a link to my portfolio, which includes audience stats and previous partnerships.") 
• Call to action. End with a question that encourages a reply. (Example: "Are you open to paid partnerships this quarter?" or "Would you be open to a quick chat about this collaboration?")

4. How to Negotiate Without Getting Lowballed

If you always accept the first payment that brands offer, you're probably leaving money on the table. Here's how you can respectfully negotiate fair deals that net you every penny possible from your partnerships:

• Know your worth. Use the rate table from earlier as a baseline, then adjust for the specific deliverables, usage rights, and exclusivity being asked for. Before any negotiation, know the minimum you'll accept (your "floor"), but don't reveal that number to the brand. A good rule of thumb: your floor should be about 70% of your fair market rate, and your opening ask should be about 50% above it.
• Ask for a budget first. Ask "What is the budget for this campaign?" rather than stating your price up front. If a brand's first offer feels low, it probably is. Their first number is rarely their budget ceiling.
• Negotiate beyond cash. If the budget is low and the brand won't budge, suggest reducing deliverables (e.g., fewer stories, no whitelisting) or usage rights (e.g., 6 months instead of permanent).
• Define clear deliverables: Clearly outline everything expected (e.g., 2 TikToks, whitelisting rights) to avoid "scope creep" where brands expect more work later.
• Be prepared to walk away. If the compensation is far below your worth, save your time and focus on partners who pay fairly.

What to Say When a Brand Lowballs You

It may be tempting to send a sharply-worded response when a brand makes a ridiculously low offer, but a professional response could salvage the deal, and, at the very least, make you look like a trusted partner if they ever reconsider a collaboration in the future. Here's what to do when you're being lowballed:

• Acknowledge the offer professionally.
• Restate what's included (deliverables, usage, exclusivity) so the value is clear.
• Counter with your rate and a brief explanation of why.
• If they can't meet your rate, ask what they CAN offer. (Sometimes there's flexibility on deliverables, timeline, or usage terms instead of price.)

Red Flags in Brand Deal Offers

While today's creator economy offers plenty of ways for influencers to earn cash, unfortunately it also offers lots of ways to lose it, too, from unscrupulous partners or flat-out scammers. Before creating content for a brand, look out for these signs it's a bad deal:

• When a brand says, "We pay in exposure/product only" for accounts with real engagement
• When contracts demand unlimited usage rights with no extra pay
• When brands ask for full content ownership
• When there's no contract at all
• When there's pressure to accept immediately
• When the payment terms go beyond Net 60

Your First Brand Deal Is Closer Than You Think

Now that you know all the basics for getting brand deals, it's time to put your plans into action:

• This week: Audit your profile, make your email visible, build or update your media kit and create 2-3 mock brand posts if you need portfolio pieces.
• Next week: List yourself on TikTok One if you qualify and sign up for 2-3 of the third party platforms above.
• Then: Send your first 5 pitches and start negotiating terms.

Remember, the barrier to snagging more brand deals isn't your follower count. Over half of marketers are planning to spend big on nano and micro influencers this year.

Opportunities are endless for influencers who are willing to get creative, work hard and learn from what's working for their peers. And if you want to explore other revenue streams alongside brand deals, there are plenty of other ways to monetize your TikTok content, too. All it takes is getting started.