Brands Hiring Creators Under 10k Followers (Real Examples)

Think you need 100k followers to land a brand deal? Here are real brands working with nano-creators right now.

Big Brands, Small Creators

These household names partner with creators under 10,000 followers:

Fast Food & Restaurants

• McDonald's — partners with food/lifestyle creators in the 3-10k range
• KFC — hired @lyfe.with.nadi (3k followers) for food content
• Sonic — works with micro food reviewers
• Arby's — runs nano-influencer campaigns

Retail & Fashion

• Amazon — works with creators as small as 400 followers
• Windsor — actively hires fashion creators under 5k
• SKIMS — spotted working with smaller lifestyle creators
• H&M — mixes mega-influencers with nano-creator content

Fitness & Supplements

• Gymshark — famous for building their brand with small creators
• Legion Athletics — works with fitness creators under 3k followers
• YoungLA — partners with gym creators at 500+ followers

Beauty & Personal Care

• Cetaphil — skincare content from nano-creators
• Dove — inclusive campaigns featuring smaller accounts

Tech & Apps

• CapCut — partners with video creators at 1-2k followers
• Ford — yes, Ford. Worked with a creator at 73 followers.

Why Big Brands Hire Small Creators

It's not charity. There are strategic reasons:

1. Authenticity — Nano-creators feel like real recommendations, not ads
2. Cost efficiency — 10 nano-creators might cost less than 1 macro-influencer
3. Niche targeting — Small creators often have hyper-specific audiences
4. Testing — Brands test messaging with small creators before scaling up
5. UGC farming — Content can be repurposed for paid ads

How To Get Noticed By These Brands

Based on what we see in successful nano-creator partnerships:

1. Already Be Creating Content

Every brand deal in our data went to creators who were already posting in their niche. Zero "I just started, give me a deal" success stories.

2. Tag Brands Naturally

The creators who land deals often have organic mentions of brands in their content history. They were genuine customers first.

3. Focus on One Niche

Brands hire nano-creators for niche credibility. A 5k fitness account beats a 20k "lifestyle" account for Gymshark.

4. Quality > Quantity

Your last 9 posts are your portfolio. Make them good.

5. Make Outreach Easy

Bio should have: what you do, location (if relevant), contact info.

The Reality Check

Not every brand hires small creators. SHEIN, for example, focuses almost entirely on larger accounts. Same with luxury brands.

Best odds for nano-creators:

• DTC brands trying to scale
• Fitness/supplement companies
• Food & beverage (especially local/regional)
• Apps and tech products
• Brands with affiliate programs

Worst odds:

• Luxury fashion
• High-end beauty
• Automotive (except as UGC)
• Enterprise B2B

Ready to Pitch These Brands?

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Source: CollabFeed partnership data