In short
- A good kit shows dated audience data, median views, verifiable past brand work and a rate card with inclusions. Anything undated, rounded or 'up to' needs checking.
- Check every headline number against public data: kit views against recent Reels, claimed engagement against the last 12 posts, past brands against partnership labels.
- Watch the wording. 'Monthly views', 'total reach', 'impressions' and 'average' each hide a different denominator.
- Nano creators often have no kit. Ask for a one-page version or the same screenshots instead of marking them down.
Read an influencer media kit as a sales document that contains some data. A good kit shows dated audience location, age and gender, median views and reach for the last 30 days, engagement with its formula, recent content, past collaborations you can verify and a rate card with rights and exclusivity as separate lines. Check every headline number against the public profile, and ask for dated insights screenshots for anything the kit cannot prove. The kit tells you what the creator wants you to see. The audit tells you what is true.
This post covers reading the kit. For where creators come from, see how to find influencers in India. For the audit that follows, read how to read influencer audience insights and our influencer vetting checklist. The wider picture is in the complete guide to influencer marketing in India.
What a good media kit contains
| # | Section | What it should show | What a weak version looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Profile snapshot | Handles, niche, language, city and followers, with the date | "100K+" with no date |
| 2 | Audience | Top cities and countries, age and gender, as dated screenshots | A pie chart with no source |
| 3 | Performance | Median Reel views and accounts reached over 30 days; engagement with the formula | "Up to 2M views" |
| 4 | Content examples | Three best posts and three typical ones, with links | Only the best |
| 5 | Past collaborations | Brand, date and a link to each post | A logo wall |
| 6 | Rate card | A price per deliverable; rights, exclusivity, revisions and GST as separate lines | "DM for rates", or one price for everything |
| 7 | Contact and business details | Email, manager if any, GST and PAN status | A form that never replies |
| 8 | Brand feedback | A named brand contact or a linked post | Unnamed praise |
The wording that hides the denominator
Most inflated numbers are not false. They are true of something other than what you assumed.
| Phrase in the kit | What it can mean | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| "3M monthly views" | All views across all content in 30 days, including old Reels and reposts | Median views on the last 10 Reels |
| "Total reach" | Daily reach added up, which counts the same person many times | Unique accounts reached in 30 days |
| "Impressions" | Every view, including repeats; always at least as large as reach | Reach, and which metric a 'views' figure uses |
| "Average views" | A mean, which one viral Reel can lift | The median |
| "Up to 800K views" | Best ever | Typical, across the last 10 |
| "Engagement 9%" | Unknown formula: followers, reach or views | The formula and the last 12 posts |
| "88% India" | No city split | Top cities, with shares |
| "70% women" | No age bands | Age ranges |
| "100K+ followers" | Rounded or stale | The count today |
| "Worked with 14 brands" | Includes events, gifted posts and reposts | Links to each post |
Platforms have used different names for the same figures over time, such as plays, views, impressions and reach. This is general product knowledge, not a published statistic, so ask the creator which metric each number is.
Check the kit in ten minutes
| Claim | Where to check | A mismatch means |
|---|---|---|
| Followers | The profile today | A stale kit, or a follower drop to ask about |
| Average views | Public view counts on the last 10 Reels; take the median | Mean inflated by one spike |
| Engagement rate | The last 12 posts in the engagement rate calculator, against the tier ranges | A number well above the range with low views needs an audit |
| Audience cities | A dated insights screenshot | The kit's audience is not the real one |
| Past brands | The brand's tagged tab and the creator's grid, looking for a partnership label | No sign of the work, or no label |
| Rates | The ranges in our influencer rates guide | Far above, so ask what is included |
| Dates | Every screenshot | Anything older than 30 days is stale |
Marketers weigh quality over size: in a 2025 study reported by MediaNews4u, 39% said engagement rate and 36% said content quality are better indicators of performance than reach. Check the engagement line first.
A kit decoded
Red flags: pause, ask or walk
| Red flag | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No dates on screenshots | You cannot tell how old the data is | Ask for fresh ones |
| Inconsistent fonts, cropped dates, a different account name | The images may be edited | Ask for a live screen-share; walk if refused |
| Only peak metrics ("up to") | Cherry-picked | Ask for medians |
| A logo wall with no links | Unverifiable | Ask for links to the posts |
| Audience data from a third-party website | Modelled, not the platform's own | Ask for platform insights |
| Engagement far above the tier range, but low views | Possible pods or bought engagement; see engagement pods explained | Audit before booking |
| One price for everything | Scope is unclear | Ask for itemised lines |
| A promise of sales or results | No creator can guarantee them | Agree what you will measure instead |
| Refuses to share insights after two requests | Possible fraud, or unprofessional | Walk |
| Past brand posts without a label | Disclosure risk, which you share as the advertiser | Ask how they label |
One flag is a question. Two or three together are grounds to pause. Our guide to spotting fake followers shows how to weigh them.
Reading the rate card line by line
| Line | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Base fee | The deliverable, length and format it covers |
| Usage rights | Platforms, paid or organic, and months. One published guide puts usage rights at +30 to 50% of the base fee |
| Whitelisting | Priced separately; see creator ads and whitelisting |
| Exclusivity | The category and the window. One guide puts 30 days at +30 to 50% |
| Revisions | How many rounds are included |
| Turnaround | Days from product delivery to draft; rush fees |
| Tax | Whether GST is added and whether the creator is registered |
Those uplifts come from one published rate guide and are asking prices, not audited data. In the 2026 vendor survey reported by Campaign India, only 15.2% of creators were registered as a business entity or GST individual, so many will invoice as individuals. See TDS 194R and GST on influencer payments.
What a kit cannot tell you
A kit cannot show brand safety, comment quality or how a creator's sponsored posts perform against organic ones. It cannot tell you whether the audience buys. Those come from your own audit, which is what the Gully Score covers: audience authenticity 30 points, engagement quality 25, buyer fit 20, content craft 15 and brand safety 10. A beautiful kit can still belong to a creator who scores 55.
A kit also says nothing about disclosure habit. ASCI requires a clear label on any post with a material connection, and the brand shares responsibility for it. Open a few past sponsored posts and check how they were labelled; see the ASCI guidelines. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Nano and new creators: kits are optional
Many nano creators do not have a kit, and that is not a flag. In the 2026 survey above, 61.1% of creators were nano. Ask them for five facts on one page instead:
- Followers today
- Median views on the last 10 Reels
- Top three audience cities, from a dated screenshot
- Links to three recent brand posts, if any
- Rates for a Reel and a Story set, with rights stated
You can send them this list in your first message; the wording is in influencer outreach message templates. For small accounts, see also how to find micro-influencers in India.
Mistakes brands make with media kits
- Reading the kit as the audit. It is a claim, not evidence.
- Comparing kits as if they used the same definitions. One creator's "reach" is another's "impressions".
- Rejecting small creators for having no kit. Ask for the five facts instead.
- Accepting "all-inclusive" without a list. Rights, ads and exclusivity are where costs hide.
- Forgetting to date everything. A kit from three months ago describes a different account.
If you want kits read, numbers verified and creators scored before you see their names, send us a brief. We return a creator plan with Gully Scores within 48 hours of the brief call.
Sources
- Indian consumers and influencers: coverage of a 2025 Kantar-backed study of consumers and brands, Campaign India (12 Jun 2025)
- India's influencer marketing industry set to grow 25% in 2025: WPP Media and Kantar report, MediaNews4u (11 Jun 2025)
- Coverage of a 2026 India creator-economy report: creator numbers, engagement and cost by city tier, Campaign India (21 May 2026)
- Instagram brand deal rates in India 2026 (usage rights, exclusivity), FluxNote (4 Mar 2026)
- ASCI Guidelines for influencer advertising in digital media, ASCI (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What should an influencer media kit include?
A profile snapshot with the date, audience location, age and gender, median views and reach for the last 30 days, engagement rate with its formula, examples of recent content, past collaborations with links, a rate card with rights and exclusivity as separate lines, and contact details. Anything undated is a question, not an answer.
How do I check if an influencer media kit is accurate?
Compare the kit with the public profile: followers today, views on the last 10 Reels, engagement from the last 12 posts, and past brands against partnership labels. Then ask for dated insights screenshots, and a live screen-share if anything looks edited. Our engagement rate calculator does the maths.
What is the difference between reach and impressions in a media kit?
Reach counts unique accounts that saw content, while impressions count every view, including repeats by the same person. Impressions are always equal to or higher than reach, so a kit that leads with impressions looks bigger. Ask for accounts reached over 30 days, and which metric any 'views' figure refers to.
Do nano influencers need a media kit?
Not necessarily. Many nano creators have none, and a missing kit is not a red flag at that size. Ask for the five facts that matter on one page: followers today, median views on the last 10 Reels, top three audience cities, three recent brand posts and rates.
What are the biggest red flags in an influencer media kit?
Screenshots with no dates, cropped or inconsistent fonts, 'up to' metrics, a logo wall with no links to posts, an engagement rate far above the tier range with low views, and a refusal to share insights. One flag is a question. Three together is a reason to pause. See how to spot fake followers.
Should a rate card in a media kit include GST?
It should say. Many kits quote fees before GST, and not every creator is registered. Ask whether the creator is GST registered and for the number if so. Our guide to TDS and GST on influencer payments explains what applies to brand deals.