Creator pitching to brand representative unfamiliar with influencer marketing collaborations Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

How to pitch brands that haven't worked with creators before

Pitching a brand that's never worked with creators is like teaching someone to ride a bike while also convincing them bikes are worth learning about. You're not just selling yourself — you're selling the entire concept of creator partnerships.

The good news? These brands often become your most loyal sponsors once you prove the value. They're not jaded by dozens of pitches, they don't have rigid rate structures yet, and they're genuinely excited when a campaign works. Last year, 42% of brands increased their creator marketing budgets, meaning thousands of companies are exploring this channel for the first time right now.

The challenge is that these brands don't know what questions to ask, what deliverables make sense, or what success looks like. Your pitch needs to educate while it sells.

Focus your pitch on business outcomes, not follower counts

When you're pitching a creator-hesitant brand, they don't care that you have 50,000 Instagram followers. They care about what those followers will do for their business.

Start every pitch by connecting your audience to their specific business goal. If you're pitching a local coffee roaster, don't say "I have 30,000 engaged food lovers." Say "My audience of 30,000 Bay Area foodies generates an average of 150 clicks per sponsored post, which means approximately 15–20 new customers trying your coffee based on typical 10% conversion rates for food brands."

Include these three business-focused elements in every pitch to a new brand:

A creator friend of mine landed her first deal with a boutique furniture maker by projecting that her audience's average household income ($85,000) matched their target customer perfectly. She proposed a $400 test post that would reach 12,000 qualified buyers. The brand agreed because she made it feel like a strategic business decision, not a creative experiment.

Create a pitch deck that educates them on creator partnerships

Traditional advertising people understand billboards and Facebook ads. They don't yet understand why paying a person to post about their product works. Your pitch needs an education component built in.

Build a simple 8–10 slide deck that includes these sections:

  1. Why creator partnerships work (1 slide): Include industry statistics. "Creator recommendations drive 4x higher purchase intent than display ads" or "73% of consumers trust influencer recommendations over traditional advertising."
  2. Your audience demographics (2 slides): Go beyond age and location. Include income levels, buying behaviors, shopping platforms they use, and how they discover new products.
  3. Content examples (2 slides): Show your best work with engagement rates clearly labeled. If you've done sponsored content, show those. If not, show organic posts with strong engagement.
  4. Campaign structure (2 slides): Lay out exactly what they'll get — deliverables, timeline, usage rights, and your posting schedule.
  5. Performance tracking (1 slide): Explain how you'll measure success together. Custom discount codes? UTM links? Tracked affiliate sales?
  6. Investment and next steps (1 slide): Your rate, payment terms, and what happens if they say yes today.

The education slides (1–2) do the heavy lifting here. When a brand sees that creator marketing isn't some trendy gamble but a proven strategy with measurable outcomes, their resistance drops significantly. You can build this deck once and customize slides 3–6 for each brand. Tools like Dealsprout's media kit builder can help you organize this information into a professional format.

Offer a hybrid model that feels familiar to them

Brands that haven't worked with creators often feel more comfortable with advertising structures they already understand. Meet them halfway with a hybrid approach.

Instead of pitching "3 Instagram posts for $2,000," try "A 30-day brand awareness campaign including 3 Instagram posts, 5 Stories, email newsletter feature, and monthly performance reporting for $2,000." This sounds like a media buy, which their marketing team knows how to budget for.

Consider offering these familiar-feeling structures:

A creator in the B2B space landed a $12,000 annual deal with a software company by positioning it as "thought leadership partnership" rather than "influencer marketing." Same deliverables (LinkedIn posts and article features), different framing that matched their corporate comfort zone.

Anticipate and address their specific fears directly

Brands new to creator partnerships have predictable concerns. Address them proactively in your pitch before they even ask.

Fear: "What if the content doesn't align with our brand?" Solution: Offer a content approval process. "I'll send you the draft post 48 hours before publishing for feedback. You'll have one round of revisions included."

Fear: "What if we don't get any results?" Solution: Propose performance tracking with a money-back guarantee for the first campaign. "If we don't generate at least 100 clicks to your website, I'll refund 50% of the fee."

Fear: "What if our competitors see this and get upset?" Solution: Include a category exclusivity clause. "I won't work with competing brands for 60 days after our partnership ends."

Fear: "What if this takes up too much of our team's time?" Solution: Handle everything yourself. "I'll create the content, schedule it, track performance, and send you a one-page report. Your time investment is 15 minutes reviewing the draft."

When I worked with a traditional retail brand on their first creator partnership, their main concern was approval turnaround time. I built a shared Google Doc with pre-approved messaging guidelines so they could review content in real-time without endless email chains. That structure made them comfortable enough to sign a 6-month deal worth $8,400.

Start with their existing marketing calendar

Brands that don't work with creators usually have traditional marketing calendars built around product launches, seasonal sales, or industry events. Insert yourself into their existing plans rather than proposing something new.

Research their business to identify these opportunities:

This approach works because you're solving a marketing need they already have budget allocated for. You're not asking them to create a new budget line item for "influencer marketing" — you're proposing a more effective way to spend existing launch or event marketing dollars.

Check their social media posting patterns too. If they post twice weekly about sustainability initiatives, pitch content that aligns with that existing messaging priority. One creator landed a deal with a sustainable fashion brand by proposing a "behind-the-scenes supply chain" video series that matched the brand's existing transparency campaign.

Make the contract process painless

Brands new to creator partnerships often don't have standard contracts ready. If you wait for their legal team to draft something, you might wait months. Provide the contract yourself.

Create a simple 2-page agreement that covers these essentials:

Dealsprout's contract templates include creator-friendly agreements specifically designed for first-time brand partnerships. Send this with your pitch and say "I've prepared a standard agreement to make this process simple — just review and sign if you'd like to move forward."

Having a contract ready signals professionalism and removes a major friction point. It also lets you control terms rather than reacting to whatever their legal team drafts (which might include unreasonable usage rights or payment terms).

Follow up with education, not just sales pressure

When a brand doesn't respond immediately, they're usually not ghosting you — they're trying to figure out internally whether creator partnerships make sense at all. Your follow-up should continue educating them.

After your initial pitch, send follow-ups like these at 7-day intervals:

First follow-up: Share a case study of a creator partnership in their industry. "I saw this campaign by [Similar Brand] that generated 200% ROI using creator partnerships. Thought you might find it interesting as you consider your marketing strategy."

Second follow-up: Offer a free consultation. "Would you like to hop on a 15-minute call where I can answer questions about how creator partnerships work? No pressure to commit — happy to share what I know about the space."

Third follow-up: Send a time-limited proposal. "I have availability for one new partnership starting next month. If you're interested in testing this out, let me know by Friday and I can hold that slot."

This approach gives them time to warm up to the concept while keeping you top of mind. A creator colleague landed a $3,500 deal by sending a fourth follow-up that included a video she'd made explaining exactly how she'd promote their specific product. The brand founder watched it, sent it to his marketing director, and they signed within 48 hours.

Managing these follow-up sequences across multiple potential brand partners is where Dealsprout's deal pipeline tracker becomes essential. You can track which brands need education versus which are ready to close, ensuring your follow-ups stay strategic rather than pushy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I find brands that haven't worked with creators before? A: Look for smaller companies (5–50 employees) with active social media but no sponsored creator content visible. Search LinkedIn for marketing managers at these companies and check if their job descriptions mention "influencer marketing" — if not, they're likely new to the space. Local businesses and B2B companies are often underserved by creator marketing.

Q: Should I offer a discount for their first creator partnership? A: Offer a "test campaign" at your normal rate but with reduced deliverables (1 post instead of 3) rather than discounting your actual rates. This protects your pricing credibility while still lowering their entry barrier. Position it as "Let's start with a single post to prove the value, then we can discuss a larger package."

Q: What if they ask for free content to "test the waters" first? A: Never work for free, even with hesitant brands. Instead, propose a consulting call where you review their current marketing strategy and provide creator partnership recommendations at a small fee ($100–200). This establishes paid work from day one while still feeling low-risk to them. If they won't pay for consulting, they won't pay for actual content either.

Q: How long should I wait between follow-ups when they're not responding? A: Space follow-ups 7 days apart for the first month, then move to every 2 weeks after that. Brands new to creator partnerships need time to discuss internally, get budget approval, and educate their teams. After 6 weeks with no response, send a final "closing the loop" email asking if they'd like to revisit this in 3 months, then move on to other prospects.