What sits inside a media kit
A media kit is the one to three page document a creator sends brands to pitch themselves: a short bio, the platforms they publish on, follower and view figures, screenshots of recent posts, brands they have already shot for, and a price list. Every number in it is self-reported, so read it as a sales sheet rather than verified data. Companies use the same phrase for a press kit of logos and boilerplate; on the creator side it means the pitch document.
It is not the same object as a UGC portfolio. A portfolio is the footage itself, there so you can judge lighting, audio and delivery on camera. The kit is the summary wrapped around that footage: who watches, what gets made, what it costs. Creators selling production work often send both, and the kit alone rarely tells you whether someone can hold a hook.
Where the numbers get slippery
Screenshots can be cropped to a good week. A view total can be one viral post carrying a flat year. Follower counts say nothing about whether that audience buys anything, and an audience-quality claim with no method behind it is just a sentence on a slide. None of this is dishonesty; it is what any seller does with their own figures.
So read the document for shape rather than precision. Consistency across recent posts matters more than any single peak. If it quotes an engagement rate, ask whether the maths runs on followers or on reach, because those two numbers can land far apart. Request a screen recording of the analytics when the figures are driving real budget.
Ask for two things kits rarely volunteer. A recent brand video they made to someone else's brief, and a sense of how much they have shipped lately. A creator who delivered three sponsored jobs last month is a different proposition from one whose logo wall stopped updating four years ago.
How to read the rate page
The price list is usually the part you act on. A well-built kit separates production from permission: one figure per video delivered, then an add-on if you want to put media budget behind it. If the page shows a single lump sum with no scope attached, treat it as an opening position and ask what it covers before you counter.
Watch for missing lines. A page that quotes a per-video price but stays quiet on revisions, turnaround, unedited clips and usage rights has left four negotiations for later. Compare it against a published rate card if the creator keeps one, and against what similar creators in your category are quoting you this month.
Turning kits into a shortlist
Kits arrive one at a time, which makes them a poor first filter. Fifty of them in an inbox cost you a day of reading and still leave you guessing about category fit. Work the other way round: build the candidate list from the content people already publish, then request kits from the twenty or so who look plausible.
Take a concrete case. Say you need four skincare demos this month. You pull thirty accounts that post product routines, cut to twelve on format fit, and ask those twelve for a kit and a price. Eight reply, three sit inside your budget, and you brief two. The kits did useful work at the end of that funnel, not the start.
One habit worth keeping. File the kit you were sent next to the signed agreement, because it records what was promised at quote time. If a creator later argues the fee always included ad usage, the version they pitched you is the cleanest reference either side has.
How it's used
Sourcing review: her media kit says 40k on TikTok but the last six posts sat well under that, so let us price this as a production hire rather than a reach play.
Attaching my media kit, rates are on page two and cover two videos plus the unedited clips. Ad usage sits on a separate line if you need it, just tell me the term.