Understanding how much to charge as an influencer can be a daunting task. Rates can vary per campaign pending various factors, including, but not limited to deliverables, usages, exclusivity and term length. From the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with influencers, the most popular question across the board relates to fees. Many of them undercharge due to a lack of knowledge and a brand’s “limited budget.”
Agencies and brands cast influencers within their programmes to help support a purchase decision while leveraging the creator’s reputation, audience, expertise and knowledge. Due to the saturation within the marketplace, it is very important that influencers find ways to differentiate themselves and their business. A few things influencers can consider when pricing their brand’s worth would be:
- Knowledge and reputation – Influencers who do the research, and learn the data behind each product and service not only become authorities in the space but prove to have a higher impact on their audience’s decision to purchase. Influencers’ reputations and perspectives are key in differentiating themselves and their business.
- Creative – Brands appreciate it when influencers not only have the knowledge behind the product or service but also have a creative opinion on what could be the most impactful way to market the content in a way that will resonate with audiences.
- Quality of content – An influencer can charge premium rates when they’re able to provide a brand or company with high resolution, and high-quality video and images. This not only sets them apart in a creative way, but it allows opportunities for the brand to come back to the influencer for additional paid services like – paid usage rights, renewals, and extension of the partnership.
Furthermore, influencer assets are now being used for various marketing initiatives that don’t just include posting on the talent’s channel, including print, in-store, out-of-home, in-app etc. Creators can now leverage their production skills to create assets solely for agencies and brands to use for their social and digital channels, and not even post on their personal platforms.
- Analytics – Having strong engagement, impressions, reach, and conversion is key in negotiating an influencer’s rate. When a brand can calculate their return on their investment, they are more likely to meet an influencer at their premium rate, especially if they are strong converters.
I implore content creators to do their research to understand market value and leverage their network and community to understand what others are charging. I think pay transparency across the board is necessary for all parties involved, to create an equal and fair marketplace.
