How to Get Brand Deals in 2026

AJ Eckstein is the founder of Creator Match, an agency building creator programs for the world's biggest tech brands and matching brands with B2B creators. In this episode he lays out the full process of a creator brand campaign, how to get a brand deal while getting paid the most for it, and how to build a reputation that brands come back for. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles __ open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video __ AJ Eckstein - Creator Match: https://www.creatormatch.com - AJ's Website: https://www.ajeckstein.com/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aj_eckstein/ __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing AJ Eckstein 00:48 Paying out $10M to creators 05:14 How to get a brand deal in 2026 10:25 What are brands looking for in creators? 17:57 The full process of a creator brand campaign 22:57 Which creators get paid the most? 31:44 Why outbound reach is so important 34:12 From demand to brand — building a reputation