This TikToker went to the White House with Selena Gomez to talk about mental health. He shares the exact 2-page media kit he uses to showcase the brands.

• Jorge Alvarez started posting on TikTok in April 2021 because he wanted more Latinx representation.
• He has posted videos on mental health topics and recently spoke at the White House with Selena Gomez.
• He shares the 2-page media kit he uses to partner with brands like BetterHelp, Dove, and Taco Bell.

Jorge Alvarez started posting mental health content on TikTok last April because he didn’t think there was enough Latinx representation on the social media platform. There were creators posting about yoga, therapy sessions and other ways they took care of their emotional well-being, but he said they were mostly white.

“I realized that people of color like me needed our stories and narratives, and what better way to do that myself?” Alvarez told Insider.

Today, 23-year-old Alvarez has nearly 135,000 followers on TikTok, where he posts videos about dealing with his emotions, how the current US healthcare system fails people of color and a series of journaling, which he created to share mental health tips with his audience.

His growth on the platform has allowed him to push his passion beyond posting videos – he recently accompanied Selena Gomez to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden and senior government officials to discuss how to improve mental health services for young people in the country. Alvarez has also joined TikTok’s first Latinx Creatives incubator program, which was designed to support creators in this community through workshops, grants and networking events.

Alvarez first realized he could make a serious income from social media after the incubator program paid him $4,000 in August 2021 to post a video. A few months prior, he was working at a hospital in New Jersey and earning about $1,000 every two weeks. So he couldn’t believe how much brands were willing to pay for his content.

The following month he created a media kit to help him pitch to the brands he wanted to work with – the two-page document with his biography, engagement analytics and previous collaborations and the press played a central role in closing deals with companies like BetterHelp and Colombe.

Since he began posting regularly, Alvarez has earned $30,200 from brand collaborations and speaking engagements, according to documentation verified by Insider.

Here’s what the latest version of his media kit looks like.

Alvarez chose not to include rates so he could negotiate

Alvarez first learned about the idea of ​​a media kit after participating in a 30-minute pitch and brand collaboration session hosted by Lisette Calveiro, founder of social media consultancy Influence With Impact. During this session, she explained the importance of having a concise document to present brands, after which Alvarez created one via Canva.

This session also taught Alvarez how to set prices and convinced him not to put fixed amounts on his kit like many other creators do. Instead, Alvarez makes it clear on its document that its pricing depends on the company or brand, the campaign, and the deliverables. It also highlights five areas that require additional compensation from a brand: delivery time, exclusivity, number of posts, sustainability, and usage rights.

“You shouldn’t put tariffs on your kit because you might limit yourself and brands might not be open to negotiation,” he said. “It’s better to let them show their hand first and see what they are ready to offer.”

The White House and other collaborations raised his profile

When Alvarez started reaching out to brands with his media kit last September, some asked him to list his pricing first. He decided to charge a rate based on 1-2% of his social media audience at the time, as he didn’t yet have many big brands under his belt. However, his visit to the White House marked a turning point due to its high-profile nature.

“I communicate to brands that I’m now a trusted person in the mental health community, so if they want me to talk about something specific, they have to pay me fairly,” he said.

Now he charges a minimum of 4% of his social media followers, or $5,400, and tries to prioritize partnering with brands he believes are making a difference in the mental health space for all people. people of color, not just the Latinx community.

“I’m not the typical person you think of when looking for mental health content – ​​I have piercings, a beard and I’m a guy – but maybe that’s why it works,” did he declare.