Most creators chase paid brand deals based on what sounds good to outsiders rather than what their audience actually wants. That’s backwards.
If you want to get paid more consistently, maximize value, and develop brand relationships that stick, you need to pull your audience into the conversation, not just pitch them stuff you think they should/must/will like.
Data from Statista shows that creator-led marketing isn’t a fad, but it’s actually a $30B ecosystem delivering ROI that most traditional ads sometimes can only dream of. A 2024 global report found that more than 50% of respondents found travel influencers useful, and over 40% of participants in six countries studied said they discover new brands from influencers on a weekly basis.
So, while some creators guess, hope, and wing it when it comes to brand deals, that approach can cost you credibility, money, and long-term opportunities.
You want deals that hit
Most creators depend on paid brand work, whether it’s sponsored posts, paid campaigns, brand partnerships, or paid brand deals. Most of them depend on paid brand work, and at first glance, choosing paid brand deals feels like a numbers game. More followers = more offers. Right?
But the real metric that matters isn’t how many deals you get, it’s how well those deals resonate with the audience you already have.
If you just choose ANY deals that bring big buck there are some things you have to consider:
- Followers feel sold to instead of listened to.
- Engagement drops because the content feels forced.
- The brand sees impressions but not actual impact.
Marketing research repeatedly shows that audiences value authentic UGC content over polished ads. When brands want a real connection with customers, they partner with creators whose voices actually fit the brand’s personality, not just their follower count.
And, authentic creator recommendations convert better than most paid campaigns done by a brand’s own marketing team.
So if you ask your audience what brand deals to do, you simultaneously validate which collaborations will feel authentic to them and work for the brand.
Your audience is your best first filter
Here’s what data tells us:
- 84% of influencers report that relevance to their audience is the number one factor in choosing what brands to promote.
- Micro and niche creators (the ones closest to their audiences) often drive stronger engagement than mega influencers or even celebrities because their content feels authentic.
- 61% of brands plan to ramp up influencer-brand partnerships, but only when they see real engagement.
Across platforms and industries, creator marketing yields measurable results:
- Typical influencer campaigns deliver roughly $5.78 in revenue per $1 spent – and top campaigns can reach up to $18-$20 per dollar.
- Some studies find influencer marketing yields 11× the ROI of traditional banner ads.
- Influencer programs outperform linear TV and paid social in long-term effectiveness.
There’s something you should not forget: the ROI is tied to relevance, not reach. So, big views are amazing, but if viewers just watch and don’t buy, that is not successful (for the brand)
That’s exactly what asking your audience which brands they want you to work with does, it gives you a direct lens into relevance. So the lesson here is simple, your audience is your best first filter for figuring out what campaigns will work, and what…won’t.
Audience feedback helps create better branded content
Of course, not all brand campaigns feel like you and when creators take deals that don’t fit their voice or target audience expectations, engagement tanks and trust can be gone in a blind of an eye:
But when you figure out
- what products your audience actually wants you to try
- which brand partnerships they trust
- how they’d like the product introduced
Then you get insights that inform the content itself, making your videos (and, by extension, sponsored content) feel natural and relevant, which translates to more money.
And brands love that because it means their messages get delivered seamlessly with the creator’s voice. And that’s exactly what paid collaborations should be and why they work so well, because they should not be or feel like forced ads.
There’s also the case when you pitch to the brand. If you pitch a brand because you think it should work, you’re guessing. But if you pitch a brand because your audience told you they want it, that’s evidence…and that’s measurable.
That means:
- higher engagement
- higher click-through rates
- stronger conversions
A brand sponsorship doesn’t just need reach. Paid brand deals want ROI (even smaller brands). And when you show them audience demand first, you’re basically handing them a performance forecast.
That means you can negotiate for more money, because you’re not just pitching reach, you’re pitching conversion potential. And data shows that creators with audience insight often get higher offers on paid collaborations.
Basically, when it comes to paid brand deals, strong engagement PLUS audience quality (authentic followers, right markets, campaign goals, purchasing power) lets smaller creators charge 2-3x more than larger but poorly aligned accounts.
How can you ask your audience without asking your audience?
There are some ways you can go about it:
- Analyze engagement by topic: Note which content themes (fitness, productivity, travel, finance, etc.) get the strongest saves, comments, and watch time, then target those paid partnerships that naturally fit those themes. Use that to narrow future pitches and brand deals toward categories and angles your audience already “voted for” with their attention and clicks.
- Track outbound behaviour: Even if you don’t ask, which links get tapped tells you what products, brands, or services excite your audience. How to do that? If you already link to tools or products (even unsponsored), see which links get the most clicks and then pitch those categories or similar brands as potential sponsors. This will fundamentally impact how you get paid, their sales, and your partnership.
- Use “soft” questions: Instead of “what brands do you want?”, ask things like “What’s the hardest part about XYZ?” or “What tools do you currently use for this thing or that thing?” and infer relevant sponsor categories from their answers so as to increase sales and earn money for yourself. Combining performance metrics with audience feedback lets you validate which brand integrations your audience will respond to.
- You can mine existing conversations: For additional information review comments, DMs, email replies, and even Discord/Reddit messages for repeated mentions of products, frustrations, or wishlists, and map those to brand types from which you can create strategies and increase interest.
- Look at which brands your followers already follow: For this, you can check insight tools. See also which creators or different content styles they follow, which reveals preferred categories and price tiers, which will make you feel confident when you approach brand deals. Use that affinity data to shortlist brands and even show “your fans already follow X, Y, Z” screenshots in pitches when you find brands. As a bonus, if you land a deal, it will help you provide more value when creating content.
- Check what search terms bring people to your content: Check YouTube Search, Google Analytics, TikTok search analytics to see problems they’re actively trying to solve. Group those queries into “problem clusters” (e.g., “late invoices”, “oily skin”, “plastic clothes with expensive price tags” – depending on the industry) and match each cluster to sponsor categories and campaign ideas or a specific brand’s program.
- Read Amazon, app store, or review‑site reviews in your niche: to see what people love/hate about existing tools/services/products, then align brand deals with those unmet desires. Business people also suggest you borrow their exact language about pains and desired outcomes to both pick sponsor angles and write content that feel native.
- Keep an eye on what sponsor categories are ramping spend on your main platform: E.g., fintech on YouTube, beauty on TikTok, etc., via creator-economy and ad-spend reports, and then cross-filter that with your strongest content themes to pick brand deals that are in demand when creating content and sponsored posts with similar values.
But what if they suggest a brand you don’t like?
- From allllll this data you come to the conclusion that your audience is suggesting something you don’t love. Before you start panicking, know that that’s okay.You STILL get valuable data despite everything:
- what types of products they care about
- why they care about them
- what problems they want solved
If the brand doesn’t feel right:
- decline politely
- explain your values
- offer alternatives
Your audience follows you for your taste and judgment, so promoting something you dislike risks eroding that trust more than missing one deal. But you can reconsider if it’s just a mild preference mismatch, and the brand meets your quality bar.
What this means for your brand strategy going forward
Your audience is constantly talking, even when they’re not answering polls or direct questions. Every comment, click, and swipe is a little whisper telling you what they want. The creators who listen without asking are the ones landing killer paid collaborations, building long-term relationships, and somehow seeming to always “get” their followers.
Now, a quick tip that makes execution easier, assuming you’re already gathering feedback. The next step is creating video content that nails the brief…fast and get paid…fast again.
When it comes to partnerships with brands, editing is often the bottleneck between concept and paid deliverables. If you find yourself spending hours cutting videos or polishing content, you can outsource that part.
You’re in luck because Vidpros is offering a $100 trial (1 week of pro video editing). You can choose between10 short-form videos OR 1 long-form video, depending on what you want.
