How to Land Brand Partnerships: A PR Agency’s Must-Read Guide for Creators
As a PR, Marketing and Events agency, we often work with influencers in order to reach more people for their events!
Brands are actively seeking content creators, UGC producers, and micro-influencers who can tell authentic stories, build trust, and connect with niche audiences.
They want you!
Behind every brand collaboration is usually a PR agency juggling strategy, budgets, timelines, and client expectations.
So if you’ve ever wondered why a brand didn’t reply, how creators actually get shortlisted, or what makes a pitch stand out, this guide is for you.
Straight from a PR agency’s point of view, here’s how creators get brand deals.
1. Understand How Brands and PR Agencies Actually Work
First things first: most brand partnerships for creators are not handled directly by the brand. They’re managed by PR, influencer, or communications agencies acting on the brand’s behalf.
That means:
Agencies are pitching you internally to clients
Decisions are often made quickly
Budgets, deliverables, and KPIs are already set
When we’re sourcing creators, we’re asking:
Does this creator fit the brand’s tone and audience?
Can they deliver reliably and professionally?
Will this content feel authentic, not forced?
Follower count matters far less than fit, quality, and trust.
For example, when our agency hosted a press launch for Reindeer Lodge, we targeted family influencers and lifestyle creators that were based around Manchester, Liverpool and North Wales. If that’s you, you can pitch to us!
Takeaways for you:
Why not pitch directly to PR or influencer agencies? If there’s a specific brand your really, really want to work with, try to do some sleuthing to find out what agency works with them!
Check if your target brand regularly works with influencers.
Check what your target brand’s tone is – you can even tailor your content to make sure it is in-line with what they want! For example, if you’re looking to work with restaurants, create more restaurant review content!
2. Build a Profile Brands Can Instantly “Get”
When a PR executive clicks on your profile, you have about five seconds to make sense.
Make sure your profile clearly shows:
What type of creator you are (UGC, lifestyle, food, beauty, travel, etc.)
Your visual style and niche
How brands might work with you
Top tips:
Use a clear bio with keywords (e.g. “UGC creator specialising in food and hospitality content”)
Pin brand collaborations or example content
Keep highlights updated with past partnerships or testimonials
If an agency has to guess what you do, they’ll move on.
3. Create Content Brands Would Actually Want to Repost
One of the biggest mistakes creators make is focusing only on what performs well for them, not what works for brands.
From a PR agency perspective, we love content that:
Feels native to social platforms
Has clean visuals and strong hooks
Can be repurposed across brand channels
Aligns with campaign messaging
Ask yourself:
Could this sit comfortably on a brand’s Instagram?
Does it tell a story or solve a problem?
Does it feel natural, not overly promotional?
For our collaboration with Tootbus, we were only able to work with a limited number of influencers. So, we had to make sure their previous branded content was of high-quality and performed well, to make sure our investment in them is worthwhile!
4. Short and Sweet Pitches
Agencies receive a lot of emails and DMs. The creators who stand out know how to pitch efficiently.
A strong pitch includes:
Who you are
Why you’re a good fit for that specific brand
What you’re proposing
A link to your work
Keep it short, friendly, and personalised. Generic copy-and-paste pitches are easy to spot and rarely land.
Pro tip: pitching ideas is far more powerful than asking “Do you want to collaborate?”
5. Always Be Professional!
This one sounds obvious, but PR agencies remember creators who:
Reply quickly
Meet deadlines
Follow briefs
Communicate clearly
And yes, we also remember the ones who don’t.
Being professional means being reliable. Agencies often re-use the same creators across multiple campaigns, so making a good impression once can lead to long-term partnerships.
6. Don’t Undersell Yourself, But Be Realistic
Creators should absolutely value their work. However, pricing wildly above market rates without justification can be a dealbreaker, especially for first collaborations.
If you’re newer to brand partnerships:
Be open to gifted or lower-paid opportunities that build credibility
Focus on long-term value, not one-off wins
Increase rates as your portfolio and results grow
Agencies respect creators who understand both their worth and the commercial realities brands are working within.
7. Think Long-Term
The best brand partnerships don’t feel like ads, they feel like relationships. Brand ambassadorship is often the holy grail for many influencers, as they have a steady stream of income from a brand, understand what brands want better and get loads of fun perks!
Creators who win long-term work:
Engage with brands even when not paid
Show genuine interest in the product or service
Deliver content that performs beyond expectations
From a PR agency point of view, these are the creators we go back to again and again.
