Statistics

Brand deal statistics for 2026

With the source next to every number, and the places where the big studies contradict each other.

Aayush Upadhyay·Co-founder & CEO, Snippet·Last updated
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Most brand deal statistics pages quote a number and name nobody. Here every figure sits next to the study it came from, the date and the sample, and a section near the end lists where the major sources disagree.

It also has numbers you will not find anywhere else. The 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark tracks what happened to 9,443 real pitch emails that 105 creators sent to 3,852 brands: who replied, after which message, how fast and what they said.

Headline figures from the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark

of brand replies came after a follow-up
32.7%
median wait for a brand reply
17.6 hours
of replies pointed to a different contact
26.3%
third follow-ups got a reply
0 of 80

The 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark

Snippet sends brand pitches from creators’ own Gmail accounts. These figures come from those outreach records, counted in aggregate. The benchmark reports shares and comparisons, with the sample next to each one.

Source: Snippet, 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark (November 2026). 9,443 pitch emails from 105 creators to 3,852 brands, February 13 to November 8, 2026.

  • The 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark found that 32.7% of brand replies to creator pitches came after a follow-up, based on 9,443 pitches to 3,852 brands.

  • 44% of the replies where a brand was interested came after a follow-up (24 of 54), according to the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark.

  • In the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark, 67.3% of brand replies answered the first email, 23.4% answered the first follow-up and 9.3% answered the second.

  • Two follow-ups produced about 50% more replies than the first email alone, the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark found across 8,904 pitches that were at least 21 days old.

  • A third follow-up produced no replies across 80 sends in the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark.

  • The median brand reply to a creator pitch arrived 17.6 hours after the pitch, according to the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark (205 human replies).

  • The 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark found that 52.2% of brand replies arrived within 24 hours, 62.4% within 3 days and 79.5% within 7 days.

  • Replies to the first pitch email came faster, with a median of 1.5 hours across 138 replies in the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark.

  • 26.3% of brand replies pointed the creator to a different contact, the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark found.

  • Of 205 brand replies in the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark, 26.3% were interested, 32.7% declined, said not right now or asked to stop, and 14.6% were unclassified.

  • Pitches to addresses from a general brand directory got replies less than half as often as pitches to contacts researched from the brand’s own team (539 versus 8,904 pitches), per the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark.

  • Creators with 100,000 to 500,000 followers got brand replies about 1.8 times as often as creators with 1,000 to 10,000 followers in the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark.

  • The 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark found no dependable best day or hour to pitch: reply rates by weekday and send hour differed by too little, on too few replies each, to plan around.

How often do brands reply to creator pitches?

Only one other dataset reports a reply rate for creator-to-brand pitches. The rest are general cold email studies, which measure different senders and count replies in different ways.

  • PitchBrand measured a 4.1% reply rate across 29,223 creator pitches to more than 24,000 brands (March 2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

  • PitchBrand found that campaigns sent to 1 to 25 brands got an 8.1% reply rate, against 1.8% for campaigns sent to more than 250 brands (2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

  • Influencer marketing and partnerships contacts replied to 4.8% of creator pitches, against 1.2% for founders and CEOs and 0.7% for e-commerce managers, according to PitchBrand (2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

  • Hunter found an average cold email reply rate of 4.1% across 11 million emails, which leaves 95.9% unanswered (2025).

    Source: Hunter, The State of Cold Email 2025 (2025). 11 million cold emails sent through Hunter in 2024.

  • Cold email campaigns sent to 50 or fewer people averaged a 5.8% reply rate, against 2.1% for campaigns sent to 1,000 or more, according to Hunter (2025).

    Source: Hunter, The State of Cold Email 2025 (2025). 11 million cold emails sent through Hunter in 2024.

  • Instantly reported an average cold email reply rate of 3.43% for 2025, with the top quarter of senders at 5.5% and the top 10% at 10.7%.

    Source: Instantly, Cold Email Benchmark Report 2026 (January 2026). cold email sent through Instantly during 2025.

  • Belkins measured a 0.45% reply rate across 7,530,489 cold emails sent in 2025.

    Source: Belkins, Cold email response rates study (2026). 7,530,489 emails and 34,393 unique replies from agency campaigns in 2025.

  • Backlinko and Pitchbox found that only 8.5% of outreach emails got a reply (2019).

    Source: Backlinko with Pitchbox, We Analyzed 12 Million Outreach Emails (April 2019). 12 million link-building and PR outreach emails sent through Pitchbox.

How many follow-ups does a brand pitch need?

Three datasets agree that a large share of replies only arrive after a follow-up. They differ on how large.

  • The 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark found that 32.7% of brand replies came after a follow-up, and that a third follow-up earned none across 80 sends.

    Source: Snippet, 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark (November 2026). 9,443 pitch emails from 105 creators to 3,852 brands, February 13 to November 8, 2026.

  • PitchBrand found that 26% of brand replies came from a follow-up: 74% answered the first pitch, 19% the first follow-up, 5% the second and 2% a third or later one (2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

  • In Instantly’s cold email data, 58% of replies came from the first email of a sequence and 42% from follow-ups (2026).

    Source: Instantly, Cold Email Benchmark Report 2026 (January 2026). cold email sent through Instantly during 2025.

What makes a brand reply to a pitch?

Two pitching tools have published what separates pitches that get answered from pitches that do not. Both are vendor data from their own users.

  • First pitches that opened with something specific about the brand got about 16% more positive replies, in Bento’s analysis of nearly 1.3 million first pitches (October 2026).

    Source: Bento, What 1.3 Million Brand Pitches Taught Us About Getting Replies (October 2026). nearly 1.3 million first pitches sent through Bento, June to October 2026; effects on positive replies.

  • Pitches that mentioned rates or budget in the first email got about 12% fewer positive replies, according to Bento (October 2026).

    Source: Bento, What 1.3 Million Brand Pitches Taught Us About Getting Replies (October 2026). nearly 1.3 million first pitches sent through Bento, June to October 2026; effects on positive replies.

  • PitchBrand also found that mentioning rates lowered replies, from 4.2% to 3.9% (2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

  • First pitches that asked for a call or meeting got about 15% fewer positive replies, according to Bento (October 2026).

    Source: Bento, What 1.3 Million Brand Pitches Taught Us About Getting Replies (October 2026). nearly 1.3 million first pitches sent through Bento, June to October 2026; effects on positive replies.

  • Pitches with a clickbait or fake “Re:” subject line got about 29% fewer positive replies, according to Bento (October 2026).

    Source: Bento, What 1.3 Million Brand Pitches Taught Us About Getting Replies (October 2026). nearly 1.3 million first pitches sent through Bento, June to October 2026; effects on positive replies.

  • Pitches that included a portfolio or website link got a 10.1% reply rate, against 7.0% without one, according to PitchBrand (2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

  • Pitches that included a specific content idea got an 8.3% reply rate, against 5.1% without one, according to PitchBrand (2026).

    Source: PitchBrand, The State of Pitching in 2026 (March 2026). 29,223 creator pitches to 24,000+ brands on PitchBrand, January 2025 to February 2026.

How much do brands spend on creators?

The answer depends on what a source counts. IAB counts all US advertising placed with or around creators. EMARKETER counts US influencer marketing only.

How much of creator income comes from brand deals?

Sources split widely here, because some survey working influencers and others survey everyone who earns anything from content.

What do brands pay per post?

These figures come from one marketplace and one creator survey. Treat them as a floor for small deals, not a market rate.

Do smaller creators get better engagement?

Engagement falls as audiences grow. Check whether a figure is measured against followers or views before comparing two sources.

  • HypeAuditor’s median Instagram engagement rate is 1.78% for nano creators, 0.54% for micro creators and 0.33% for creators with more than 1 million followers (2026).

    Source: HypeAuditor, State of Influencer Marketing 2026 (2026). HypeAuditor creator database; median engagement rate.

  • On TikTok, HypeAuditor’s median engagement rate is 11.6% for nano creators and 9.3% for micro creators, measured against views (2026).

    Source: HypeAuditor, State of Influencer Marketing 2026 (2026). HypeAuditor creator database; median engagement rate.

  • 81.5% of Instagram influencers have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, according to HypeAuditor (2026).

    Source: HypeAuditor, State of Influencer Marketing 2026 (2026). HypeAuditor creator database; median engagement rate.

  • The median Instagram engagement rate for brand accounts fell to 0.30% in 2025 from 0.36%, according to Rival IQ’s 2026 benchmark report.

    Source: Rival IQ, 2026 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report (March 2026). 150 companies per industry; median engagement rate by followers.

  • 52.83% of marketers surveyed by Influencer Marketing Hub plan to start or increase work with micro creators and 51.43% with nano creators, against 20.59% for macro creators (2026).

    Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2026 (May 2026). survey of 600+ marketing professionals; stated intent.

How many creators have a manager, and what do managers charge?

No measured study of manager commissions exists. The commission figures below are what people in the industry say they charge.

UGC statistics

UGC is content a creator makes for a brand to post or run as an ad, without posting it to their own audience.

  • The average asking price for UGC on Collabstr was $198.06 in 2024, down 44.37% from the year before (Collabstr, 2025).

    Source: Collabstr, 2025 Influencer Marketing Report (2025). 15,000+ collaborations on the Collabstr marketplace in 2024.

  • 66% of creators on Collabstr offered UGC services in 2024 (Collabstr, 2025).

    Source: Collabstr, 2025 Influencer Marketing Report (2025). 15,000+ collaborations on the Collabstr marketplace in 2024.

  • UGC campaigns more than doubled on Collabstr, from 15% to 35% of engagements year over year (Collabstr, 2026).

    Source: Collabstr, 2026 Influencer Marketing Report (2026). 21,000+ collaborations on the Collabstr marketplace in 2025.

Late payments, disclosure and pay gaps

Payment surveys ask different questions of different groups. Read the sample before quoting one against another.

Where the sources disagree

These numbers get quoted against each other as if they measured the same thing. Most of the time they do not.

Share of brand replies that need a follow-up

  • 32.7% (2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark)
  • 26% (PitchBrand, 2026)
  • 42% (Instantly, 2026, all cold email)

Why they differ: Different senders and follow-up schedules. Snippet and PitchBrand measure creator pitches. Instantly measures sales email.

How fast brands reply

  • Median 17.6 hours; 52.2% within 24 hours (2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark)
  • 42% within 60 minutes (PitchBrand, 2026)

Why they differ: Snippet’s median counts replies that arrived after a follow-up, which are slow. Replies to the first email alone had a median of 1.5 hours.

Best day to send a pitch

  • Tuesday best at 5.1%, Saturday worst at 2.1% (PitchBrand, 2026)
  • No dependable difference by weekday (2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark)

Why they differ: Daily differences rest on a few dozen replies per weekday in Snippet’s data, too few to separate from chance.

Cold email reply rate

  • 0.45% (Belkins, 2025 data)
  • 3.43% (Instantly, 2026)
  • 4.1% (Hunter, 2025)
  • 4.1% for creator pitches (PitchBrand, 2026)
  • 8.5% (Backlinko with Pitchbox, 2019)

Why they differ: Different senders, years and ways of counting. Belkins divides unique replies by every email sent to new contacts. Backlinko measured link-building outreach.

Size of the creator economy

  • $250 billion in 2023 (Goldman Sachs Research)
  • $37 billion of US creator ad spend in 2025 (IAB)
  • $32.55 billion of global influencer marketing in 2025 (Influencer Marketing Hub)
  • $10.5 billion of US influencer marketing in 2025 (EMARKETER)

Why they differ: Scope. Goldman counts everything creators earn and platforms pay. IAB counts US ad spend with and around creators. EMARKETER counts US influencer marketing only.

Brand deals as a share of creator income

  • About 70%, the main source (Goldman Sachs Research, 2023)
  • 12.7% of US creators’ annual income (The Influencer Marketing Factory, 2026)

Why they differ: Goldman describes working influencers. The Influencer Marketing Factory surveys a wider group that also earns from platforms, products and other work.

Creators who have a manager

  • 24.9% (NeoReach, 2025, 3,000+ creators)
  • About half (Amp Agency, 2024, sample not stated)

Why they differ: Amp is an influencer agency surveying creators it can reach, who are more likely to be represented.

Creators paid late

  • 48% paid late in the year (Lumanu, 2024)
  • 87% had a payment problem (Tipalti, 2022)

Why they differ: Different questions. Tipalti counts late, wrong or missing payments among all paid content creators, including writers and designers.

Manager commission

  • 10% to 20% (Business Insider, 2020)
  • 15% to 20% is the norm (Pfeiffer Law, 2023)

Why they differ: Neither is a measured study. Both report what managers and lawyers say is typical.

How this page was built

How the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark was measured

  • Source: Snippet’s production outreach records, read with a read-only query on November 8, 2026. Only aggregate counts were pulled. No names, email addresses, brand names or message text were read.
  • Pitches: 9,443 emails sent from creators’ own Gmail accounts through Snippet between February 13 and November 8, 2026, by 105 creators to 3,852 distinct brands. Internal and test accounts and 287 bounced sends are excluded.
  • Replies: 205 human replies recorded on the pitch thread. Out-of-office messages, bounces, mailing-list mail and other automatic replies are excluded. A reply that points to another contact counts as a reply.
  • After a follow-up: a reply counts as coming after a follow-up when at least one follow-up in that thread was sent before the reply was recorded.
  • Follower tiers: each creator’s current total followers across connected platforms, not the count on the day each pitch was sent.
  • Limits: 105 creators is a modest sample, and a few creators sent a large share of the pitches. Every pitch was written and sent with Snippet, so results can differ for hand-written outreach. The benchmark reports shares and comparisons, not an overall reply rate.

How the other figures were chosen

  • Each figure was read on the page of the organization that did the research, on November 9, 2026. A number that could only be found repeated on other blogs was left out.
  • Each line names who did the research and when. The source line under it gives the report, the sample as the source describes it, and a link.
  • Vendor data is labeled as vendor data. PitchBrand, Bento, Collabstr, Instantly, Hunter, Lumanu and Snippet all sell tools to the people they measure.
  • Older studies stay only where no newer edition exists, and the date is in the line.

You can quote any figure on this page. For Snippet’s own numbers, please name the Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark and link to this page.

Cite this page

Snippet. (2026). Brand deal statistics for 2026. https://usesnippet.app/statistics

Changes

  • : Page published with the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark and third-party figures checked the same day.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of brand pitch emails get a reply?

PitchBrand measured a 4.1% reply rate across 29,223 creator pitches (March 2026). General cold email studies range from 0.45% (Belkins, 2025 data) to 4.1% (Hunter, 2025). In the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark, creators with 100,000 to 500,000 followers got replies about 1.8 times as often as creators with 1,000 to 10,000.

How many follow-ups should a creator send after a brand pitch?

Two. In the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark, 32.7% of brand replies came after a follow-up. The first follow-up produced 23.4% of replies and the second 9.3%. A third follow-up produced none across 80 sends. PitchBrand’s 2026 report puts the follow-up share at 26%.

How long do brands take to reply to a creator pitch?

The median brand reply arrived 17.6 hours after the pitch in the 2026 Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark. 52.2% of replies came within 24 hours and 79.5% within 7 days. Replies to the first email were faster, with a median of 1.5 hours, because slower replies usually follow a follow-up.

How much do brands spend on creator marketing?

IAB projected $37 billion of US creator ad spend in 2025 and about $44 billion in 2026. Influencer Marketing Hub estimates global influencer marketing at $32.55 billion in 2025. EMARKETER puts US influencer marketing alone at $10.5 billion in 2025. The three use different definitions.

What share of creator income comes from brand deals?

It depends on who is asked. Goldman Sachs Research called brand deals the main source of creator revenue at about 70% (2023). The Influencer Marketing Factory found brand partnerships are 12.7% of US creators’ annual income (2026), in a wider group that also earns from platforms and products.

How many creators have a talent manager?

About one in four. NeoReach found that 24.9% of more than 3,000 surveyed creators are under formal management (2025). Amp Agency found about half of the US creators it surveyed are represented (2024), without stating its sample size.

How much commission does a talent manager take?

Usually 10% to 20% of what the creator earns. Business Insider reported that range from industry insiders in 2020, and entertainment law firm Pfeiffer Law described 15% to 20% as the norm in 2023. Neither figure comes from a measured study.

How often are creators paid late?

48% of influencers surveyed by Lumanu said they were paid late for work done that year, and 38.5% of those were paid more than a month late (2024). Tipalti’s 2022 survey found 87% of paid content creators had some payment problem, using a broader group and a broader question.

Where does the Snippet Brand Pitch Benchmark data come from?

From Snippet’s own outreach records: 9,443 pitch emails that 105 creators sent to 3,852 brands from their own Gmail accounts between February 13 and November 8, 2026. Only aggregate counts were used. Automatic replies and bounces are excluded. The benchmark reports shares and comparisons, with the sample next to each one.

Where these numbers are used

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