A creator media kit is a one-page document creators send to brands that summarizes positioning, audience, platform-specific engagement, case-study outcomes, rates, and AI-disclosure policy, packaged as a mobile-first PDF. In 2026 it is the gatekeeping document for almost every paid partnership: industry write-ups report roughly 78% of brands require a kit before any deal conversation, and brand budgets are surging, with 87.49% expecting their influencer spend to grow this year.
⚡ Key Takeaways
- 87.49% of brands plan to grow their 2026 influencer budgets and 72.22% expect a 50%+ increase per Influencer Marketing Hub.
- Lead the kit with engagement rate, not followers: 68% of brands prioritize ER, with TikTok nano ER at 8.1-10.3% and Instagram Reels nano ER at 7.9%.
- Anchor pricing to 2026 bands: nano $100-$500 per Instagram post, micro up to $5,000, macro $5,000-$50,000+, with CPM benchmarks $2-$25 by platform.
- Add an AI-disclosure slide. The FTC opened 15 formal actions in H1 2025 with penalties of $10,000 to $100,000+, and creators carry independent liability.
- Cold reply rates sit near 8.5%, but structured follow-up within two weeks can lift response by up to 49%.
- US creator marketing spend hits $21.10B in 2026 per eMarketer, and nanos and micros now own 49.9% of that spend.
Why does a 2026 media kit matter more than ever?
Brand managers are spending more on creators and being pickier about who they work with. US creator marketing spend will hit $21.10 billion in 2026, more than double 2022, per eMarketer. Goldman Sachs projects the total addressable market could reach $480 billion by 2027, with the global creator base of about 50 million growing 10-20% a year.
Where that money is going has changed too. Nanos and micros now claim 49.9% of US creator spend per eMarketer, and TikTok leads platform investment at 31% of 2026 brand plans per Influencer Marketing Hub. A kit built for 2026 has to lead with engagement and platform-specific proof, not a combined follower total.
What should you build in month one?
Treat month one as positioning and proof. Open the kit with a one-line value statement (who you serve, what you make, where you make it), then build three slides: platform-specific stats, audience psychographics, and a single case study with screenshots pulled straight from the native analytics dashboard.
The 2026 kit puts engagement rate above follower count. 68% of brands prioritize ER over reach and 73% weight authenticity over raw audience size per Influencer Marketing Hub. Headline your kit with platform medians like TikTok nano ER of 8.1-10.3% and Instagram Reels nano ER of 7.9%, both tracked by Influencer Marketing Factory.
Include in month one:
- A one-line positioning statement and three audience pillars
- Platform-specific stats, broken out (do not combine totals)
- Audience psychographics: values, purchase intent, brand affinity
- One case study with native-dashboard screenshots and named outcomes
How do you price yourself in month two?
Pricing is where most beginner kits fall apart. Anchor to published 2026 bands so brand managers recognize you as a creator who has read the same data they have. Influencer Marketing Hub reports rates that cluster predictably by tier, and pairing those with CPM and CPE per Influencer Marketing Hub shortens every negotiation.
| Tier | Instagram post | TikTok video | CPM range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nano (1K-10K) | $100-$500 | $50-$300 | $2-$8 |
| Micro (10K-100K) | $500-$5,000 | $1,000-$8,000 | $3-$8 |
| Macro (100K+) | $5,000-$50,000+ | $5,000-$50,000+ | $5-$25 |
List bundled deliverables, not per-post line items. Alex Cooper's Unwell Network closed multiyear bundles with SKIMS, Jimmy Choo, and a Google deal covering Pixel and Gemini, per The Hollywood Reporter. Mirror that structure with starter bundles like one Reel plus three Stories plus 30-day usage rights.
What goes in the AI and disclosure block?
The single biggest change in 2026 is an explicit AI policy slide. The FTC issued updated endorsement guidance in May 2026 covering synthetic influencers, AI testimonials, AI-edited content, and deepfake endorsements, and confirmed that creators carry independent liability even when contracts try to shift it to brands.
This is not theoretical. The FTC opened 15 formal actions against influencers and brands in the first half of 2025, a 40% jump over 2024, with penalties between $10,000 and $100,000+, per Arnold & Porter. Write one short slide that states what is AI-generated, what is human-led, and exactly how you handle #ad disclosures across platforms.
When should you actually start pitching brands?
Pitch in month three, once the kit, rate card, and AI block are locked. Industry data shows only 8.5% of cold creator outreach gets a reply, but a structured two- or three-step follow-up within two weeks can lift response by up to 49% per Influencer Marketing Hub.
Send the kit as the second touch, after a personalized opener that names a specific campaign you can improve. MrBeast's published kit lists Instagram posts at $1,000 with named partners (Feastables, Beast Philanthropy), and Beast Industries has publicly turned down eight-figure deals that did not match the audience, per Digiday. Even at the top of the market, fit beats reach.
Plan for diversified income alongside brand deals. Sponsored content drives 59% of creator revenue per eMarketer, but the remainder splits across platform payouts, affiliates, and creator-owned storefronts. Platforms like Fanvault (8% platform fee, 92% to the creator) let you stack subscriptions, paywalled drops, and authenticated memorabilia auctions on one storefront, so your kit can quote real product-revenue numbers, not just CPMs.
What does the 90-day checklist look like?
By day 90 you should have a one-page mobile-first PDF, a versioned rate card, a written AI policy, and a tracked outreach pipeline. The checklist below is the minimum bar to look professional to a brand manager in 2026.
- Days 1-30: positioning statement, three audience pillars, one case study with native screenshots
- Days 31-60: rate card with CPM and CPE, three bundled deliverable packages, two pricing tiers
- Days 61-75: AI and disclosure slide, two competitor benchmarks, refreshed analytics screenshots
- Days 76-90: 25 personalized pitches sent, two follow-ups each, response rate tracked in a sheet
- Ongoing: refresh stats monthly, swap case studies quarterly, re-version the PDF every 90 days
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a 2026 creator media kit actually be?
Aim for a single mobile-first PDF, usually one to three screens long. Brand managers open kits on their phones during outreach triage, so anything that requires pinch-zoom or a 10-slide click-through tends to get closed. Lead with a tight positioning line, then headline platform-specific engagement (TikTok and Instagram broken out separately), then one case study, then the rate card, then your AI and disclosure block. If you cannot fit it on one mobile-readable page, cut the kit down rather than splitting it.
Should I include rates in my media kit, or wait for the brand to ask?
Include them. A 2026 rate card should show two or three bundled packages with CPM and CPE attached, not per-post line items. Anchoring to public bands from Influencer Marketing Hub (
Do I really need a separate AI disclosure section?
Yes. The FTC issued updated endorsement guidance in May 2026 covering synthetic influencers, AI-generated testimonials, AI-edited content, and deepfake endorsements, and made clear that creators carry independent liability even when contracts try to shift it to the brand. A short slide stating what is AI-generated, what is human-led, and how you handle #ad disclosures across platforms protects you and reads as professional to legal-conscious brand teams in 2026.
When should I start pitching brands?
Begin in month three, once the kit, rate card, and AI block are locked. Treat the kit as your second touch, never your opener. Send a short personalized note that names a specific campaign or audience overlap, then attach the kit when the brand replies or in the immediate follow-up. Industry data shows roughly
How often should I update the media kit?
Refresh the stats every 30 days, swap in new case studies every quarter, and re-version the full PDF every 90 days. Brands assume any number in a creator kit is current within the last month, so a stale screenshot is worse than no screenshot. Date-stamp the cover slide and the rate card so brand managers can see at a glance that the kit reflects this quarter, not last year. Tie each version to the outreach pipeline so you can compare reply rates across versions.