Micro to Macro: How Much to Charge for Sponsored Posts

11 St. Studio

By the way, if you’re new here — welcome, I’m Jaye and I’m the creator of 11 St. Studio influencer agency and I’ve been helping influencers like you price their rates for brand deals, and negotiate brand contracts, since 2019. With that said, I recently launched a NEW webinar where I share exactly what goes into calculating rates for brand deals — IN DETAIL —  because let me tell you, it is NOT a one-size fit’s all approach. And in that webinar I also reveal how to get your hands on my personal influencer rate calculator, because trust me when I say, it’s a MUST-HAVE if brands are asking for your rates.

Again, I reveal IT ALL in the webinar. So make sure to click the link below this video to join the webinar because I don’t want anyone (who’s interested in learning how to price their rates for brand deals the RIGHT way) to miss it.

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What to Charge for Exclusivity

In a recent report by Mavrck it was mentioned that the majority of brands are now requesting exclusivity rights from influencers. More specifically, of the influencers they surveyed, 61% said they’re receiving exclusivity requests from brands, particularly in the fashion and beauty industries. So, it’s a pretty common situation to find yourself in, and if you haven’t experienced this yet, well you may want to prepare yourself for it to be brought up in the future. 

Exclusivity: What You Absolutely Need To Know

So before we dive into all the details, keep in mind that an exclusivity contract is created to protect the brand. They essentially want to make sure that your audience will only see branded content that was created for them and in no way is it competing with content you’ve also created for their competitors. And that really does make sense, if you think about it. And from your audience’s perspective too, because how can they truly take your recommendations seriously if you’re partnering with a brand one week to promote a new mascara, for example, and then the next week promoting their direct competitors mascara? SO, really the million-dollar question is… Where does this leave you, the influencer?

How Much to Charge for Sponsored Post

But back to the original question: how much to charge for sponsored posts. Let’s break it down, because many brands are willing to pay A LOT OF MONEY for influencers to recommend their products, but they’re also willing to pay exclusivity fee’s that are double or triple your base rate. As I’m sure you’re aware, the influencer marketing “space” is crowded, so now more than ever before and brands are finding it pretty difficult to stand out from their competition so it makes sense that some many people are wondering how much to charge for sponsored posts. 

SO, because of this, they often negotiate “exclusivity windows” that prevent influencers from partnering with their competitors/or posting competitive content during an exclusive time period before or after a campaign (or both). I’ve personally seen this window of time range from 24 hours for a one-off post to a week or months for a series of posts and up to a year (or longer) for long-term branded content partnership deals. 

Influencer Rate Calculator 

Now, it’s important that you also know that exclusivity can be limited to not only a brand’s competitors but can include entire industries (for example, beauty/fashion) depending on the brand running the influencer campaign. Meaning, you’re agreeing to not accept opportunities from the industry as a whole, not just their direct competitors. And, keep in mind that most influencers have said that the average exclusivity contract involves not posting content (including products from a set list of competitors) for 30 days after the content goes live, but occasionally involves not posting with competitors for a set timeframe before and after the post goes live (most commonly 30 days).

SO, again what does all this mean for YOU? Well, if a brand approaches you and mentions they’re interested in exclusivity you have every right to increase your rate. Many influencers feel that they should be compensated for every month they are asked to turn down opportunities and incentives from other brands. And that makes sense. And, realistically, exclusivity may vary from one contract to another, which is why it’s important to read the fine print.

Sometimes exclusivity can be limited to those brands that are in the same industry, other times it’s limited to their competitors. Meaning, when signing an exclusivity contract you may agree to not accept paid campaigns with the brands competitors, or products in a certain category, for a specific timeframe.Or, it’s extremely restrictive, preventing you from working with any other brand at all. 

As you can imagine, all of these scenarios may cause you to “lose” other brand opportunities, so I strongly recommend that you think over any exclusivity contracts and really analyze their pros and cons. Both short term and long run. So, like I mentioned, In the world of influencer marketing, brands often pay MUCH more for influencers to sign contracts with an exclusivity clause. Agreeing to a window of exclusivity prevents you from accepting new business for a specific timeframe, so it’s no surprise that influencers expect additional compensation for these types of requests. 

That is why brands expect influencers to double (or triple) their rates since they’ll be losing paid opportunities with other brands during that contract’s time frame. Now, on a side note: As an influencer your rates should never be the same from one campaign to the next because each partnership is uniquely different! If you want to learn how much to charge for sponsored posts (and all the factors that are involved in pricing your rates from one brand campaign to the next) make sure to watch my video called “How To Price Sponsored Posts” or read the blog post.

Exclusivity Terms

So now that you have an idea of what exclusivity is, let’s break down how (exactly) exclusivity works. SO, for example let’s say it’s summertime and a skincare company wants an influencer they’re working with to partner with them on an upcoming campaign for their new SPF. Now, while it’s occasionally normal for a brand to require an influencer not work with their top few competitors during the length of the campaign, this brand wants to extend that timeframe for 3 months total. In this scenario the influencer would increase his/her current rate to offset that future income loss. So, for example charging 3 times their normal rate.

OK, now let’s pivot and chat about holiday exclusivity, because exclusivity is a request that you’ll see during the holidays too. And, given that brands turn to influencers for partnerships during the holidays MORE than other times of the year, if a brand requests exclusivity at this time of year you could charge significantly more to offset the additional income loss.

If you think about it, you’ll inevitably have to turn down more offers than normal since brands are reaching out for partnerships quite frequently before (and during) the holidays! In this scenario you can calculate your estimated earnings for that time period and charge them that rate.

How Much to Charge for Sponsored Posts

Another way to think about is this way: say you determine your “base” rate for a sponsored post is $3k, and a brand approaches you and requests you sign a contract with an exclusivity clause that totals 3 months… and the following month their competitor offers you $10k. Well, you are legally required to turn down their competitor’s offer. Meaning, you lose the opportunity to earn $10k.

OK so as you can see, tripling your rates would basically offset any potential loss in income during the timeframe you agree to remain exclusive. Hopefully that makes sense! Just remember, in any situation where you find yourself in a position where you can potentially lose revenue (since you won’t be able to work with other brands until that contract ends) brands fully EXPECT to be charged more, to cover potential lost revenue.

I’m curious, have you ever signed an exclusive contract with a brand? Let me know in the comments below the YouTube video! I’d love to hear from you and how it worked out.

Influencer Contracts

Now, at this point I want to mention that …by all means, run this type of contract by a lawyer if you are approached by a brand requesting exclusivity. OK? It certainly can’t hurt, especially if you’ve never agreed to exclusivity in the past. Now, I think it’s also important to know that you can charge an additional fee if a brand wants to run your campaign as an ad in addition to a normal campaign. In this scenario the ad could cause you to potentially lose future campaigns with the brand’s competitors, because if they were to see it they (or their target market) may then associate your image (from the ad) with the previous brand, which could cause you to lose partnership opportunities.

So if you’re in any way “becoming the face of the brand”, go ahead and charge more because that could seriously limit your opportunity to work with similar brands in the future. It’s complicated, I know! Again, I 100% recommend you run contracts like these by a lawyer prior to signing anything or negotiating payment. While these scenarios can be few and far between depending on your niche, they do exist so it’s important that you’re aware of the outcomes and plan accordingly.

So now let’s chat quickly about a few things you’ll want to consider when approached with an exclusivity contract.

• Ask what the brands expectations and goals are in terms of the It’s important that you are clear on what is expected from you to prevent any future misunderstandings on the terms and conditions of the contract.

• Find out if there is any room for flexibility during the exclusivity period. This way, if an opportunity comes along (for example towards the end), you won’t have to miss it, or you’ll be aware of the consequences if you are to end the exclusivity contract early.

• Most importantly, consider whether (or not) you’re comfortable working with these types of restrictions and being exclusive with a brand for a month or more. Because, as you can imagine, not everyone is!

• Consider your audience. Is this something that they will appreciate and will help you engage more with them while staying authentic to yourself and your brand?

• Last but not least, make sure to request a list of specific brands that you can’t work with during the contract so that everyone is clear and it’s in writing.

While an exclusivity contract can be intimidating at first, it’s important to remember that there are benefits to exclusive contracts too! To start, exclusivity with a brand can help increase your authenticity and credibility among your audience because by being exclusive with a brand you’re demonstrating loyalty rather than accepting every sponsored opportunity that comes your way which could potentially cause distrust in your followers.  

Also, other brands will notice your loyalty as well, and may view this approach positively, and see that you’re taking a very professional approach towards your content and audience, which can increase the chances they’ll also want to work with you in the future! So, keep those things in mind because you always want to think optimistically and how things will benefit you long term. Ideally you want to always be relatable, and partnering with brands long-term can increase your appeal.

Plus, long-term partnerships are often highly sought after by influencers, because it not only shows loyalty to a brand but is a consistent form of income! From a brand’s point of view it’s ideal because it looks good for the brand if an influencer is consistently working with them, because they’re treating them (and paying them ) well rather than saying “yes” to all the other brands that are approaching them!

At the end of the day, whether or not you agree to an exclusive contract is entirely up to you, but hopefully this helps clear things up, and like I mentioned before, always consult with a lawyer before signing a contract that mentions exclusivity so that you’re clear as to exactly what you’re agreeing to. 

OK, that pretty much covers how much to charge for sponsored posts! Hopefully you now understand how much to charge brands for sponsored posts and how to calculate your rates for all kinds of brand deals. Make sure to check out the video I made about How to Price Sponsored Posts if you want to learn how much to charge for sponsored posts in even more detail, and of course, check out our Shop for more resources for influencers and feel for to join our influencer community too!

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