What brands actually look for in a creator media kit

Brand managers open dozens of kits a week and decide in under a minute. Here is the checklist they run, in order.

1. Is the audience the right audience?

Before size, they check fit: niche, age, gender and country split. A 200k audience that cannot buy the product is worth less than a 20k one that can. Put your traffic by country chart near the top.

2. Does the engagement look real?

They compare likes and comments against reach, look for suspicious spikes, and prefer saves, shares and story clicks over raw likes. Show the formula and the window you used (engagement rate, properly calculated).

3. Has this creator delivered before?

One concrete case study with a number beats ten logos. Sales lift, promo-code redemptions, sold-out inventory, link clicks — anything measurable. Structure explained in case studies that win brand deals.

4. Is the content on-brand?

They look at your gallery as if it were their campaign. Show your best-performing, most brand-safe work — not your most personal. Vertical, well-lit, current.

5. Can they buy without a meeting?

Clear deliverables, prices or ranges, usage terms, turnaround, and a contact. Ambiguity costs you the deal to the creator who was easier to brief (rate card pricing).

6. Does the link look professional?

A live URL like adliked.com/yourname loads on a phone in a meeting, always shows current numbers, and can be forwarded internally. A 12MB PDF often does none of those. Assemble all six in one media kit and send it with a tight pitch email.