You get brand deals on TikTok in four ways: through TikTok’s own creator marketplace, by pitching brands directly, through agencies and creator platforms, and from brands that find you and message you. At Earn by Creating, we write how-to guides for people who get paid to create, and for most small creators direct pitching brings the first paid deal sooner than waiting to be found.
Brands look at three things before they pay: a clear niche, steady views on recent posts and proof you can make a video that sells without sounding like an ad. Follower count matters less than many creators expect. A small brand selling one product to one kind of buyer can picture exactly who watches a narrow niche account, and that picture is what it pays for.
The Four Routes to TikTok Brand Deals
The fastest route to a first TikTok brand deal is a direct pitch to a brand whose product already fits your videos. The other three routes work too, and most creators end up using all four. This table shows how they differ.
| Route | How it starts | Best for | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok’s creator marketplace (TikTok One) | Brands search creator profiles and send offers inside TikTok | Creators who meet TikTok’s eligibility and want deals tracked in the app | Requirements vary by country and change, and you wait for brands to pick you |
| Direct pitch | You email or message the brand | Small and mid-size creators with a clear niche | Replies are slow at first, and many pitches get no answer |
| Agencies and creator platforms | You apply on a site like Collabstr or a UGC job board | Creators who want a steady flow of small jobs | Platforms take a cut or charge brands, and rates can run low |
| Inbound | A brand messages you after seeing a post | Creators with a few videos that already sell a product | You cannot control timing, and some inbound offers are scams |
Your reply rate on direct pitches depends on fit, timing and the quality of your examples. Plan to send pitches every week for a month or two before you judge the results.
Set Up Your TikTok Profile So Brands Can Say Yes
A brand that clicks your profile decides in seconds. Fix these before you pitch anyone:
- Add a contact email to your bio. Brands need a way to reach you that is not a direct message (DM) buried under fan messages. Keep a personal account if you also want Creator Rewards, since TikTok currently lists a personal account as a requirement.
- Write a niche line. “Home workouts for new moms” or “Budget tech reviews for students” (pick your own words) tells a brand who watches.
- Pin three videos. Pin the posts that best show you using or explaining a product.
- Post on a steady schedule. Brands check your last ten posts. A three-week gap makes them worry you will miss their deadline.
- Build a short media kit. Use our influencer media kit guide or the media kit builder to put your median views and audience on one page.
If your views are still low, spend a month on growth first. Our guide on how to get followers on TikTok covers posting and hooks.
TikTok One and TikTok’s Creator Marketplace
TikTok One is TikTok’s creator marketplace, where brands search for creators, send campaign offers and track results inside TikTok. TikTok folded its older Creator Marketplace into TikTok One. TikTok sets the entry requirements, such as age, follower count, recent activity and country, and those rules have changed over time and differ by region. Check the current requirements in the app or the TikTok Help Center before you plan around them. Our TikTok Creator Marketplace guide covers sign-up and how to get picked.
If you qualify, fill out every part of your marketplace profile. Brands filter by category, location and audience, so a blank field can hide you from a search. Add your rates if TikTok asks for them, and set them at a level you would accept without negotiating.
Treat the marketplace as one channel among four. In practice, brands with set campaign budgets use it most, and many smaller brands still reach creators by email or DM. If you only wait for marketplace offers, you leave the direct route unused.
Pitching Brands Directly From TikTok
A direct pitch works because you choose the brand, and you can show it a video idea made for its product. Find brands in three places:
- Your own feed. Brands already running ads or creator posts in your niche have a budget for it.
- Products you already use. You can film a pitch video with no extra cost and talk about the product with real detail.
- Other creators’ sponsored posts. Look for posts tagged as paid partnerships in your niche and note the brand.
Send a short email with one video idea, three linked examples and your media kit. Our guide on how to pitch brands has three example emails you can adapt, plus follow-up timing.
The detail that gets more replies: attach a rough 15-second sample of the idea, filmed with a product you already own. A brand manager can forward a clip to a boss far more easily than a paragraph describing one.
How Spark Ads Codes Work in a TikTok Deal
Spark Ads let a brand pay to promote your post as an ad while it still shows your handle and links to your profile. You generate an authorization code in TikTok for a specific video, choose how long it stays valid and send the code to the brand. The brand then runs that video as an ad from its ad account.
Price Spark Ads access separately from the post itself. The brand is buying paid reach on your content, which is a form of usage rights. Most creators price it by duration, for example 30, 60 or 90 days, with a higher price for longer windows. Our influencer rates guide shows how to set those add-on prices.
Before you send a code, confirm three things in writing:
- Which video the code covers
- How many days it stays active
- Whether the brand can edit captions or add a call-to-action button
When the window ends, the code expires and the brand stops running the ad. If the brand wants to extend, that is a new fee.
Disclosure Rules for TikTok Brand Deals
Every paid TikTok post needs a clear disclosure. Turn on TikTok’s branded content toggle when you post, and also say it out loud or on screen, plus in the caption. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated its Endorsement Guides in 2023, and they call for disclosure of any material connection, including payment, free products and affiliate commission, made clearly and conspicuously.
“#ad”, “Sponsored” and “Paid partnership with [brand]” are all plain options. Put the words where viewers see them before they would tap “more”, not after a pile of hashtags. A platform toggle alone may not be enough, so do both.
Free products count. If a brand sends you a product and you post about it, you have a material connection even if no money changed hands.
Getting Paid and Handling TikTok Deal Taxes
Ask for payment terms in writing before you film. Common setups are 50% up front and 50% on posting, or full payment within 30 days of the post going live. Send an invoice with the deliverable, the post date and your payment details.
In the US, brand deal income is self-employment income. Self-employment tax is 15.3% on net earnings once those earnings reach $400, and you may need to make quarterly estimated payments with Form 1040-ES. Free products you receive for promotion are generally taxable income too. The Modern Wallet explains how much to set aside from each payment. This is general information, so talk to a tax professional about your own situation.
Who Should Not Chase TikTok Brand Deals Yet
If your account is under a month old or your recent videos get very few views, pitching brands will mostly bring silence. Spend that time posting in one niche and building three examples a brand would want to copy. If you want paid work before your audience grows, UGC (user-generated content) jobs pay for videos that brands post themselves. Start with our UGC hub.
What would change this advice: if TikTok’s creator marketplace opened to smaller accounts in your country, joining it would move to the top of the list, since offers there come with built-in tracking and payment.
Pick five brands you already use, film one 15-second sample idea for each and send your first five pitches this week.