How to Become an Influencer in India: A Beginner’s Guide to Landing Brand Deals

Brief synopsis: The blog highlights ways through which one can become an influencer in India, even from scratch.

It also covers why nano creators are getting more work these days, how to get brand deals as a creator without a huge following, and what actually to put in your first pitch. There’s some rate info too, a bit about disclosure rules, and answers to a few common questions at the end.

What’s Going On In The Industry Right Now

Before we get into the steps, it helps to know why this is actually a decent time to start. India’s influencer marketing industry was projected to increase by 25% and reach INR 2,344 crore in 2024, while reaching about INR 3,375 crore in 2026. More expenditure is just one factor among many others.

They’re also spending it differently. Close to half the brands out there said they’d rather work with micro and nano influencers because it costs less to reach the same number of people. So if you’re starting with no followers, that’s actually not bad news. Brands want smaller creators right now, not just the big names.

There are already a lot of creators, though, around 4 to 4.4 million active ones in India, and most of them, about 3.3 to 3.7 million, are on Instagram. Yes, there’s a high level of competition, but there’s plenty of room for you if you don’t hail from Mumbai or Delhi.

The Follower Tiers, in Simple Words:

The terms such as ‘nano’, ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ are thrown around as though everybody knows what they mean. Let’s define them briefly here:

This is roughly how EY’s India report splits it too: mega at 1M+, macro at 100K to 1M, micro at 10K to 100K, and nano starting from a few hundred followers up to 10K. Don’t stress too much over the exact numbers; different agencies count it a little differently. What actually matters comes next.

How to Start Content Creation With No Followers India

More often than not, this is where the problem begins. People start thinking that brands will never consider them unless they have followers. It’s really vice versa.

You need content before followers, and followers come once you’re consistent for a while.

• Pick One Niche And Just Stay There

Don’t post about skincare on Monday and then crypto tips on Thursday. Pick one thing you know or enjoy, food, fashion, fitness, whatever, and stick to it for a few months at least. Brands look for creators by niche, not personality.

• Post Regularly Even If Nobody’s Looking

Initially, you’ll receive almost no likes or views. You shouldn’t be worried about it – it’s completely natural; there’s nothing wrong here. Think of it like building a habit, not chasing a result right away.

A lot of people ask how to start content creation with no followers India, and honestly, the answer is just to post every day or every other day for about a month before you judge anything. Buying followers or using growth apps doesn’t fix this. It just gives you numbers that don’t actually convert into anything later.

• Become a Nano Influencer: India Brands Actually Notice

And here’s a very important tip for beginners. The engagement rate of nano influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) is usually 3 to 8%.

That’s way higher than the 1 to 2% that big macro accounts usually see. Brands know this. A smaller but active audience often sells better than a big but quiet one.

So, if you are aspiring to become a nano influencer desired by Indian brands, here’s an approximate order of priorities:

• Respond to commenters and DMs, no matter how tiny they may be.
• Post regularly in your niche.
• Try product gifting collabs before asking for paid ones.
• Monitor your engagement rates, not just your follower count.
• Make sure your bio is clean and easy to read right away.

A small account that actually talks to people beats a bigger one that just posts and disappears. Brands can tell the difference pretty fast when they check a profile.

How do I get brand deals as a creator

After you’ve posted consistently for a month or two, you can reach out to them. People make a huge fuss over this step. Having 100K followers is not the end all be all, as long as you have an understandable pitch.

When making a pitch, there are three basic elements: whether your content aligns with what the brand is trying to sell, your reach and finally how trusting your following is of your pitches. For low-budget campaigns, the third aspect usually takes precedence over the other two.

Put Together A Basic Media Kit

Nothing fancy needed here. Just a short line about who you are, a few of your best posts, your engagement rate, and a couple of testimonials if you have any. One page is more than enough when you’re just starting.

Agencies matter here too. At Influencer Bazaar, we do outreach for brands looking specifically for micro and nano creators, so a good chunk of first deals for new creators actually happen through an agency and not just a cold DM. It’s worth applying to a few creator programmes along with doing your own outreach, not one instead of the other.

First Brand Collaboration Tips That Actually Work:

Ideas that tend to work always include an explanation for how the target audience relates to the brand, use engagement rather than followers as a measure, propose one idea, and have a rate quoted, along with a brief media kit attached to it. Make it short. The brand will only scan these emails; they don’t spend time reading lengthy emails from people they haven’t worked with before.

A few more first brand collaboration tips worth keeping in mind:

• First of all, warm up the brand a little, follow them, comment on one or two posts, and then send the pitch.
• Don’t bombard fifty brands with the same copy-paste email; it’s pretty clear when people do that.
• If you haven’t received a response in a week, send a follow-up email, not five.
• Don’t undersell yourself because you’re just getting started; quote a fair rate and let them negotiate down if they need to.

Barter or Paid: What to Take Early On

Barter deals, where you get free products instead of money, can be fine when you’re starting out and need something to show. Just check if the product is actually worth the work before saying yes. Doing two or three barter deals for your portfolio is fine. Doing it forever isn’t really a business.

What Are You Able To Earn With It

That depends on the field you’ve chosen and the city, but generally speaking, nano-influencers in India tend to charge around ₹500 – ₹2,000 per post.

That number goes up once your engagement and past work start adding up. Don’t compare your rate to a celebrity’s; compare it to other creators around your size.

The Legal Part People Skip:

This matters more than people think. If there is any relationship that might influence the perceived objectivity of your review, including money, giveaways, affiliate commission, or even a job, it is considered a material relationship by ASCI. In that case, you must add a conspicuous disclosure such as #Ad, #Sponsored, or #PaidPartnership at the beginning of your caption, not hiding it under the hashtags at the end. This is true regardless of whether you have 2 thousand or 2 million subscribers, so it is better to develop this habit from the start.

Conclusion

Being an influencer in India today is less about having an incredible number of followers and more about choosing the right niche and being consistent.

The nano- and micro space is where most of the real opportunities are sitting right now, not at the top. 

Influencer Bazaar notices that the chosen influencers among creators joining our programme are not necessarily those with the largest number of followers but those with a clear niche and high engagement level. Start small and be consistent, and deals will follow.

FAQs

Q1. How do I even start if I have zero followers?

Just post regularly in one niche for about a month before worrying about brand deals. Followers usually follow good content, not the other way around.

Q2. How much can a nano influencer earn in India?

Normally, ₹500-₹2,000 on an individual basis while beginning, and it will gradually increase as your engagement and experience level increase.

Q3. Do I need a minimum number of followers to bag such brand deals?

Not necessarily; most of the brands prefer nano creators since it is more cost-effective and the engagement rate is good in most cases.

Q4. Should I pitch on Instagram DM or email?

DMs work fine for smaller, casual brands. For bigger companies, email or their official contact form usually gets taken more seriously.

Q5. How long does it usually take to get a first paid deal?

There’s no fixed time for this, but most creators get their first gifted or paid collab within two to three months of posting and pitching regularly.

Q6. Should I take unpaid or barter collabs early on?

A few are okay for building proof of work. Just avoid making it a practice for a prolonged period of time.

Q7. Disclosure of gifted products along with paid ones?

Yes, gifted products count as a material connection under ASCI rules, so you still need to disclose them.