I undercharged on my first brand deal
But you can make things differently
You don’t need a million followers to start making money on Instagram.
I know, I know- “ What a trite phrase to say”, but it’s so damn true. You can make money with 5k followers.
My first paid collaboration came when I had around 12k followers. A client reached out asking for a reel with a tutorial of their service. I had never done a paid collab before, so I had absolutely no idea what to charge. So I googled it and ended up on Social Bluebook. It suggested something around $900.
That felt… reasonable, but also slightly off. I figured their calculator assumes a broad audience, and mine was niche, but very relevant to the brand. So instead of following the number, I asked for $1200.
They came back with $600.
And because it was my first deal, I got a bit nervous. I didn’t want to lose the opportunity, so I agreed. At the time it felt like a win. Now I understand we probably could have met somewhere around $900.
What’s interesting is that nothing about that deal required a big audience. It required the right audience and the willingness to say a number out loud.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that if I had actively reached out to brands, I could have started making money even earlier, somewhere around 5k followers. Most people don’t do that because it’s complicated, because it feels uncomfortable.
If the idea of outreach sounds time-consuming, there’s also a very simple workaround. You can hire someone to do it for you on a percentage basis. Which means you’re not really risking anything — you’re just sharing what you wouldn’t have earned otherwise.
And collaborations are not only one option. You can sell your own services — videography, coaching, design, whatever you actually know how to do. Or you can work with affiliate programs if your content gets good reach.
There are multiple ways to monetize. Most people just wait too long to start.
After my last email, one person replied. Not a lot, but enough to remind me that behind all of this there are real people dealing with very real — and sometimes very strange — situations.
The story was simple. A client came in with a full list of requests: merch, videos, promo content, everything. They aligned on the concept, discussed visuals, agreed on timelines, even planned the shoot. On paper, it looked like a perfect collaboration.
At some point, it came down to the obvious next step: 50% upfront and final details to start production.
The client said they would send everything “in a moment.”
That “moment” stretched into a month.
And then into a loop.
Follow-up → “yes, in a bit.”
Another follow-up → “yes, in a bit.”
No rejection, no conflict, no actual progress either. Just a very polite version of nothing happening.
And I think this is the kind of situation most people run into at some point. Not a dramatic failure, not even a bad deal — just a slow, slightly absurd standstill where you’re not sure if you should keep pushing or quietly walk away.
These situations are useful in a strange way. Sometimes they teach you how to handle clients better, set boundaries, or read signals earlier. And sometimes they just become very good stories.
Ideally, both.
And if you’re the one who shared this — thank you. This is exactly the kind of thing people don’t talk about enough.
Next time I’m gonna share how much I earn from my blog now and how to get money you want from collaborations. Also, my marketing manager will reveal some negotiation techniques to get you more money.
Consider this your warning.
Warmly,
AL.
