How to build an influencer media kit brands actually read
EMARKETER found more than half of marketers spend 30 minutes or less vetting a creator, and follower count is not in their top five checks. Here is what to put in front of them instead.
8 minute read
What a media kit is, and the half hour it has to survive
A media kit is the document you send when a brand says 'can you send over your info'. At its plainest it is one to three pages: who you are, who watches you, what you make, proof that it works, and how to hire you. It is not a portfolio and not a CV. It is a sales page for a specific transaction, and the useful way to think about it is in terms of how little time it will get. EMARKETER and Viral Nation surveyed 117 US marketers in June 2025 and found that more than half spend 30 minutes or less vetting a single creator, with a further 21.4% unsure how long it takes them at all. Whatever matters most about you has to survive that half hour.
What brands actually check
That same survey asked what marketers prioritise when vetting a creator, and the ranking is not the one most kits are built for. Alignment with brand values came first at 55.6%, followed by follower authenticity at 44.4%, a history of controversial content at 23.9%, past collaborations with competitors at 22.2%, and platform violation history at 11.1%. Raw audience size does not appear anywhere on that list. Two of the top five are risk checks rather than performance checks: is this person safe to attach our name to, and are these followers real. The sample is small, 117 marketers in one country, so hold the exact percentages loosely and read the shape instead. A brand is deciding whether you are a liability before it decides whether you are a bargain.
Why follower count is a weaker signal than creators assume
Follower count still opens doors, but it has been quietly demoted, and the reason is distribution. Sprout Social's 2026 Influencer Marketing Report, fielded by the research firm Panoplai to 2,250 social media users across the US, UK and Australia between 14 and 20 May 2026, found that only 17% of consumers check a creator's follower count before deciding to engage, and that 60% of Instagram Reels reach audiences made up of more than 70% non-followers. Your followers are no longer the audience for your work; the recommendation feed is. Brands have noticed. Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 benchmark survey of more than 600 marketing professionals found 51.43% intend to expand nano-creator work and 52.83% micro, against roughly 20% expansion for macro. Smaller and more specific is where budget is moving.
The ROI figure everyone quotes does not trace
While researching rates you will meet one number repeatedly: that influencer marketing returns $6.50 for every dollar spent, or its cousin, $5.78. It is worth knowing where it came from. Adweek reported it in 2015 under the headline "Study: Influencer Marketing Pays $6.50 for Every Dollar Spent", describing a survey released by the Minnesota company Tomoson whose respondents were bullish on the space, 59% of them planning to spend more. It is widely repeated as a poll of 125 marketers, but neither Adweek's write-up nor Tomoson's own study page states a sample size, a field date, or a method, and a critique published on CustomerThink argues the number is simply not realistic. A marketer opinion poll from 2015, of undisclosed size, is not a benchmark. Keep it out of your kit.
Which metrics to include, and where to get them
Include reach and views for a recent, representative window, the last 30 or 90 days, plus engagement rate calculated against reach rather than followers, saves and shares broken out from likes, average watch time or retention on video, and audience demographics: top countries, age bands, gender split. Pull all of it from the platforms rather than a third-party estimate, so Instagram's professional dashboard and Insights, TikTok's analytics tab, YouTube Studio. One trap to know about: Instagram deprecated impressions and plays on 21 April 2025 and replaced them with views, which count every play including repeats from the same person. Any impressions figure still sitting in your kit measures something the platform no longer reports and will not reconcile with current numbers. In-app analytics also roll off, so export or screenshot monthly.
Lead with video: the reel does more than the stats page
This is the part most kits get wrong. In the same EMARKETER and Viral Nation survey, 81.2% of marketers said manual review of a creator's social content is part of their process, and Viral Nation estimated that a 30-minute pass covers roughly 0.01% of a creator's content history. They are going to watch you, briefly and unsystematically. Hand them the tape instead of making them hunt for it. A 30 to 60 second showreel, three or four of your strongest vertical clips cut together with your face and voice in the first two seconds and captions burned in, does more work than another page of averages, because it answers what the numbers cannot: is this person good on camera, and would our product look right in their hands.
Present rates without underselling yourself
Publish ranges rather than a single number, and price by deliverable rather than by follower. A workable structure lists a starting rate for each thing you actually make, one vertical video, a three-video package, a Story set, a long-form integration, then lists usage rights, paid amplification and category exclusivity as separate line items rather than folding them into the headline price. Those terms are what quietly multiply the work, and creators who bundle them end up doing licensed advertising at organic prices. Resist anchoring on the rate-card benchmarks that fill search results; almost none disclose who was surveyed or how, and the ones citing a study rarely name it. Put 'starting at' in front of your numbers, ask the brand's budget before you name one, and never drop a rate without removing a deliverable.
Keep it current, and build the reel from footage you already have
A media kit rots quickly. Numbers move, the reel ages, and a kit quoting last year's metrics reads as neglect on the one document meant to prove you are organised. Keep it as a live link, a simple page or shared doc, rather than a PDF you re-export, so the version forwarded internally in March is the version opened in August. Set a recurring reminder to refresh metrics and swap the top clip every quarter. The showreel ages worst and takes longest, which is the argument for cutting it from footage you already own rather than shooting something new. If your archive is long-form video, podcasts, webinars or livestreams, FrameOS can pull vertical clips with captions burned in: 300 credits for 3 days · no card.
FAQ
What should be included in an influencer media kit?
A short bio and what you cover, audience demographics from your own platform analytics, recent reach and views with engagement rate calculated against reach, saves and shares broken out, two or three past collaborations with real outcomes, a short showreel of your best clips, starting rates by deliverable, and contact details. One to three pages is enough.
How many followers do you need before making a media kit?
There is no threshold. Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 survey of over 600 marketers found brands expanding nano and micro creator work far faster than macro, and Sprout Social's 2026 research found only 17% of consumers check follower count at all. A clear niche with engaged viewers is more pitchable than a large vague audience.
Should you put your rates in your media kit?
Put starting ranges by deliverable rather than one fixed number, and list usage rights, paid amplification and exclusivity as separate line items. Ranges signal you have priced work before without capping the deal, and separating the add-ons stops you licensing advertising at organic rates. Ask the brand's budget before naming a figure.
Do brands actually read media kits?
They skim them fast. EMARKETER and Viral Nation's June 2025 survey of 117 US marketers found more than half spend 30 minutes or less vetting a creator, and 81.2% include manual review of your content in that process. That is an argument for a short kit with a showreel at the top, not a longer one.
Sources
- FAQ: The importance of creator vetting for brand safety · EMARKETER
- New research finds influencer reach is no longer tied to follower count · Sprout Social
- Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2026 · Influencer Marketing Hub
- STUDY: Influencer Marketing Pays $6.50 for Every Dollar Spent · Adweek
- Instagram Insights Metrics Deprecation (April 21, 2025) and Views Integration · Emplifi
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