How do you become a content creator? Starting without a big following
Lucian Calistru·Updated on 3 augustus 2026
You become a content creator by regularly making photos or videos about a clear theme and sharing them, whatever your follower count. The first collaborations with businesses do not come from big reach but from a consistent style, a niche and an audience that trusts you, however small. In Belgium those first collaborations almost always run on barter: you get a product, a meal or a service instead of money.
In short
- You do not need a big following to start; 500 to 1,000 engaged followers is enough for your first barter deals.
- Pick a clear theme (food, fashion, fitness, interiors) instead of "a bit of everything".
- Build three to five strong examples before you approach businesses.
- First collaborations usually run on barter, not on money.
- Getting paid in Belgium requires being 18 and having a VAT number; barter works without it.
- Advertising must stay recognisable, also for a barter deal. Always disclose the collaboration.
Start with a theme, not with a follower count
The question "how many followers do I need?" is the wrong first question. What matters more: what do you make content about? Businesses look for creators who are credible in a niche, food, fashion, beauty, fitness, interiors, and you recognise that niche by a few recurring themes in someone's posts, not by a number.
So first pick a direction that fits your interests and that you can keep making content about. A food creator who visits a new place every week builds a recognisable style faster than someone posting at random.
A practical test: can you write down ten ideas within your theme without thinking? Then you are on track. If that stalls, the theme is too narrow or not really yours yet.
Pick one channel to be good at
Instagram and TikTok are where most local collaborations happen. Instagram works well for businesses with a visual side (hospitality, fashion, interiors) because images stay put; TikTok gives new accounts reach faster because the algorithm cares less about your follower count. YouTube and Pinterest are slower but their content stays findable much longer.
Start on the channel where you are already active. Opening a new account only for collaborations means starting from zero, while your existing audience, however small, is already proof that people watch you.
If you later want your reach verified on Plekt, that works for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest. Those are the four channels where the numbers can actually be pulled; anyone can make a screenshot and a business knows that.
Build a small portfolio first
Before you approach businesses you need something to show. Make three to five posts that are your best work, even if they are (still) about your own experiences rather than a collaboration. Mind the light, the editing and a clear style: that is what a business looks at, not your follower count.
Make it varied enough to show your range: one reel where you show a place, one where you explain or taste something, and a few stills that stand on their own. A business wants to see you can do more than one trick.
Put those examples front and centre on your profile. A business looking at your profile should see within ten seconds what kind of content you make and whether it fits them.
Find your first collaboration
The fastest route to a first collaboration is responding to what local businesses are looking for, instead of waiting for them to find you. On a platform like Plekt businesses post a deal with what they want and what they give back; you show interest and the business picks who they work with.
Concretely: you look at an open deal, you propose a visit slot within the moments the business itself opened up, and you send your interest. If the business accepts, a chat opens and the visit is locked in. You then deliver your pieces and the business approves them or asks for a revision. Only after that approval does the work appear publicly on your profile.
Start small and local. A free lunch, coffee or product in exchange for a reel is a fine start. It builds your portfolio without pressure on big results, and most businesses value a creator who is professional and punctual over a creator with many followers and little engagement.
Businesses can also invite you directly for a deal. That happens more as your profile shows more finished collaborations, so those first few are the investment.
What to ask for, and when to move to money
Look at barter the way you would look at an amount. A free product is not a favour, it is your payment. Is the value proportionate to what is asked in time, travel and number of pieces? If not, negotiate or skip it.
The move to paid work usually does not come from more followers but from proof: finished collaborations, reviews from businesses and numbers you can show. A creator with ten delivered jobs and good reviews asks for money more easily than someone with twice the followers and nothing to show.
Mind the Belgian conditions for paid work: a payout requires you to be 18 or older and to have a valid VAT number, because you then invoice as a self-employed person. Barter works without a VAT number. If you are considering the step to paid, first look into which status fits you.
The rules you have to follow
In Belgium advertising must be recognisable as advertising, also when you are paid with a product instead of money. A post about a free meal or a gifted item therefore needs a clear disclosure, so your followers know it is a collaboration.
That is not a detail: the FPS Economy checks this and the responsibility is also yours as the creator, not only the business's. A short, explicit line at the top of your caption is enough. Do not hide it among the hashtags at the bottom.
Also keep track of what you receive. A free product or meal can be a taxable benefit, certainly once it becomes structural. A simple overview of your collaborations saves you work and discussion later.
Grow through consistency, not luck
After your first few collaborations your portfolio grows and your credibility with it. Ask for a review after a good collaboration; that builds trust for the next business looking at your profile. On Plekt business and creator review each other, so a clean collaboration works both ways.
Keep posting, also between collaborations. A profile that stays active looks more reliable than one that only lives around paid or bartered content.
Measure what works. Which of your posts got the most views, saves or comments? That is the kind of number you later put in a media kit and that sets you apart from someone quoting only a follower count.