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01 How it works
A micro-influencer is someone with a small but engaged audience in one niche — roughly a few thousand to about 100,000 followers. Think home cooking for families, trail running, budget interiors, vegan baking, a specific dog breed. Brands pay you to show their product to exactly these people: a post, a reel, a few stories, sometimes a whole campaign.
Why brands want small accounts: your followers actually listen to you. Big accounts reach more people, but small ones often have more comments, more saves and more trust per follower. For a brand that sells hiking socks, 8,000 hikers who ask you for tips are worth more than 200,000 random followers.
- Niche
- Content
- Community
- Media kit
- Deals
- Repeat partners
02 Is this for you?
- have a topic you could post about for years
- enjoy filming, photographing and writing short texts
- like answering comments and messages
- can post regularly, even when numbers are low
- are okay with being visible — your face, your voice or at least your hands
- want quick money in the first months
- would promote anything that pays
- can’t take criticism in the comments
- plan to buy followers or likes
- don’t want to deal with invoices and taxes
03 Before you start: labels, taxes and contracts
As soon as you get anything in return for a post — money, free products, a discount code with commission, a trip — it’s advertising. And advertising must be recognisable as advertising. In Germany courts have decided this very clearly, and warning letters (Abmahnungen) are common.
04 What AI changes
Your face, your voice and your opinion are the product — AI can’t replace them, and your followers would notice. But it takes over a lot of the work around posting.
I’ve seen it with affiliate sites again and again: the recommendations that earn the most are the ones you’d give a friend for free. It’s the same with brand deals. Say no to the products you don’t believe in — your audience will thank you for it, and the right brands will find you because of it.
05 Step by step — from a small account to regular brand deals
All ten steps. Steps 1 to 5 build an account that’s worth something to brands, steps 6 to 10 bring the deals.
The narrower, the easier: not “fitness”, but “strength training for women over 40”. Not “food”, but “family dinners in 20 minutes”. Think about which brands would fit — if you can name ten, the niche works.
Three to four recurring topics that your followers can count on — e.g. recipes, shopping tips, behind the scenes, answers to questions. Pillars make planning easier and show brands where their product could fit naturally.
Three to five posts or reels a week, stories in between. Watch what people save and share — that’s the content to do more of. Answer every comment in the first months; that’s how a community starts.
A creator or business account shows you reach, saves, shares, the age and location of your followers. Brands will ask for these numbers. Write them down every month — growth over time is a strong argument.
One or two pages: who you are, your niche, followers and engagement, audience (age, country, gender), your best posts, what you offer and a contact. Be honest — brands check, and a fake number ends a relationship before it starts.
A common starting point is roughly €10 per 1,000 followers for a feed post — adjust for engagement, effort and usage rights. Reels cost more than stories, packages more than single posts. Extra for usage rights (the brand uses your video as an ad) and for exclusivity.
Don’t wait to be found. Make a list of 30 brands you really use, especially smaller ones and local businesses — they answer more often. Write short, personal messages with one concrete idea for a collaboration.
Deliverables, deadlines, number of corrections, fee, payment date, labelling, usage rights, exclusivity. A short email confirmation is better than nothing — for bigger deals use a contract. And send an invoice for every paid deal.
Make the content as good as your best organic posts — not like an ad. Mark it as advertising, use the platform’s partnership label, post on time. A week later send the brand a short report with reach, saves, link clicks and a few comments.
One-off posts pay less and convince less than a brand you show regularly. Offer packages over three or six months. And add services alongside: content the brand uses on its own channels (UGC), workshops, an affiliate partnership with a code.
06 Tools
Your phone and the platform apps are enough to start. These tools save time.
07 Realistic expectations
Most accounts get their first offers when they have a few thousand engaged followers — and these first offers are often products only, without money. That’s fine for a start, but keep an eye on it: free products are taxable too, and your time is worth something. The real money comes with repeat partners and packages.
What it can look like — a worked example
Invented example numbers with the small-business rule (no VAT). Prices differ a lot by niche — finance, tech and parenting usually pay more than lifestyle. And months without a deal are normal, especially at the start.
08 Tips & common mistakes
- Do: Say no to products you wouldn’t use yourself.
- Do: Label every paid post clearly at the start.
- Do: Track your numbers every month — brands love growth curves.
- Do: Charge extra for usage rights and exclusivity.
- Avoid: Buying followers or joining like groups.
- Avoid: Hiding “#ad” at the end of 30 hashtags.
- Avoid: Posting only ads — your followers will leave.
- Avoid: Working without anything in writing.
09 Pros & cons
- Almost no start costs
- You build an audience that belongs to your work
- Brands come back when it works
- Combines well with affiliate, UGC and own products
- Fun if you love your topic
- Takes months before the first money
- Dependent on algorithms and platforms
- Very uneven income
- You’re visible — also for criticism
- Labelling and tax rules need care
10 Risks & legal
- Advertising labels: every post with something in return must be clearly marked as advertising. Missing labels are a classic reason for warning letters from competitors and associations.
- Taxes: money and kept products are income. Register a business if you do it regularly, keep invoices and the value of products, and decide on the small-business rule.
- Contracts: without written agreements, disputes about corrections, payment and usage rights are common. Never grant unlimited usage rights for free.
- Product claims: health, beauty and finance products have strict rules. You can be held responsible for false claims in your posts.
- Platform risk: accounts can be restricted or hacked. Use two-factor authentication and build an email list or a website alongside.
- Children: if your children appear in paid content, special rules for child performers and their privacy apply. Think twice.
- Trust: fake followers or undisclosed deals can end brand relationships — and your audience’s trust — overnight.
General information only, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rules and get advice from a tax advisor before you start.
11 FAQ
How many followers do I need for brand deals?
There’s no fixed number. Many small brands work with accounts from a few thousand followers if the niche fits and people engage. Engagement and audience matter more than the follower count.
What should I charge?
A common starting point is roughly €10 per 1,000 followers for a feed post, more for reels and packages, extra for usage rights and exclusivity. Adjust for your niche, your engagement and your effort.
Do I have to label free products?
Yes. If you get a product for free and post about it, that’s something in return — mark the post as advertising.
Do I have to pay tax on free products?
Usually yes. Products you keep count as income at their value. Products you send back after testing usually don’t. Ask a tax advisor for your case.
Do I need a business?
If you do collaborations regularly and want to earn money, yes — register a Gewerbe. Depending on what you do, the tax office may see it as freelance work instead.
Should I use an agency or platform?
You can, but you don’t have to. Influencer platforms and agencies bring deals, but take a share. Pitching brands yourself is often more successful at the start.
Can I use AI for my content?
For ideas, captions and editing, yes. Your face, voice and opinion should be real — your followers and the brands pay for exactly that.
What if a brand wants to use my video as an ad?
Those are usage rights. Agree in writing for how long, on which channels and for what fee. Never give them away for free and unlimited.
The Brand Deals Starter Kit
- Niche & content pillar planner
- Media kit template
- Rate calculator for posts, reels and stories
- Pitch messages to brands
- Deal checklist: contract, usage rights, labelling
- Monthly creator tracker