Turn a $5,000 Brand Deal into $7,500 with Your Brand Sponsorship Contract (7 Essential Money Terms)
Do you want to earn more from your brand deals? I’m sharing the essentials you need in your brand sponsorship contract to easily 1.5x your income!
As a creator, a big portion of your income comes from brand deals, and if you’re anything like me, you want to get the most out of your brand sponsorships. As a lawyer myself who drafts contracts for influencers and creators like you, I am sharing everything you need in your brand sponsorship contract to earn more.
You will learn all about the key money-making terms you need in your brand sponsorship contract to create the ultimate brand sponsorship contract template for every brand sponsorship.
After learning about the essentials you need in your brand sponsorship contract, you’ll easily get 1.5x your income for your brand deals!
This post is all about the crucial money-making terms you need in your brand sponsorship contract to maximise your income.
Ultimate Brand Sponsorship Contract
Essentials for your brand sponsorship contract template
1. Fixed sponsorship fee
The first basic fee you’ll need to include in your brand sponsorship contract is a fixed sponsorship fee. It’s the fee you charge for creating the sponsored content and posting it on your platform. When determining this fee, you should take into account the following:
The number of sponsored posts
On what platforms those sponsored posts will be posted
The type of content (photo or video)
When the sponsored content must be posted (if the brand wants you to create and post your content within a few days, you can include a rush fee)
The number of revisions included (if any)
Will you include a link in your bio, and for how long?
Exclusivity (How long is the duration of exclusivity, and how much money is in other opportunities are you foregoing?)
The number of followers across your platforms
Your average number of views/impressions
Your average engagement rate, likes and comments per post
The average engagement rate for your sponsored posts versus your organic posts
Your number of brand mentions
Your CPM (cost per mille), which is the cost per thousand impressions
Your CPE (customer engagement rate), which is how much a brand is paying for every like or comment on a piece of content that features that brand
Your conversion rate (what percentage of your audience will convert into paying customers of the brand)
Your experience and what value you give yourself
How much time it will take to create the sponsored post
What influencers in your niche with similar platforms charge (based on their audience size and taking into account all of the above factors)
Yes, this is a lot to consider, but having all this data gives you negotiation power from the get-go.
If the brand presents you with its first offer and it seems low to you, you can ask them what they base that price on. They will probably say your number of followers or that it’s based on other influencers they worked with. You can then ask for a higher rate based on your data. For example, you may have a higher-than-average engagement rate or conversion rate.
So, let’s say the brand offers you $5,000 for a sponsorship campaign with 5 posts on your Instagram. Based on your data, you can come back with $5,500 because your engagement or conversion rate is higher than that of the influencers they worked with.
You just increased the value of your brand sponsorship by 10%, and we’re not even done yet!
2. Compensation for costs
This part is often overlooked or not fully considered, but it’s absolutely crucial for you to really take into account all the costs you’ll make for the brand sponsorship deal. I already mentioned the time investment you’ll need to factor into your fixed fee, but here are some examples of other (separate) costs you may need to incur:
The tools and props you’ll need to use or purchase to create your post
Travel costs for if you need to travel to a different location
Production costs, like photo/videographers or editors, you may need to hire
Now, let’s say your brand sponsor is a gym brand that is paying you to create a video of you using their equipment at one of their gyms. You need to travel to that establishment, so you should charge the brand the travel costs. Otherwise, you would be losing money. In our example, we were already charging $5,500. Let’s say you’re taking an Uber, and your travel costs are $50. Now, you’ve turned your $5,000 deal into a $5,550 deal (so far).
You could include these costs in your brand sponsorship contract:
Include these costs in your fixed fee, and state in your contract that the costs are included in the fee.
Or include the costs separately in your brand sponsorship contract so it’s clear to both parties that these specific costs are being charged.
3. Revision and (future) editing fees
The brand could ask you for revisions to the first draft of the video or photo you’ve created. As mentioned under the fixed fee, you could include 1 or 2 revision rounds in your fixed fee. Or, you could decide not to include any revision rounds at all. In any case, this must be specified in your brand sponsorship contract.
However, the brand may ask for additional revisions, and in that case, you want to make explicitly clear that additional fees will be charged.
That is why, in my (creator-friendly) brand sponsorship contract template, I require creators to include a price list for additional services, such as additional revisions, edits and new posts. That way, it’s crystal clear what the brand is paying for, and there can be no discussion with the brand about charges for additional fees.
Maybe the brand paid you to post a video on Instagram but later wants you to repurpose that video for TikTok or another platform. Or, the brand wants you to create a shorter video to repost.
In either case, you’ll need to re-edit the video or repurpose it. That is why you’ll also want to include an additional fee for additional edits and repurposing. Of course, you must also make those fees subject to change, as you may want to increase your prices in 6 months from now (when you have doubled your followers).
Let’s say, in our example, the brand asks you to create a different version of the video and post that on your Instagram 4 weeks after your original sponsored post. Let’s say you charge an additional $750 for that.
Now, you’ve turned your $5,000 deal into a $6,300 deal (so far).
4. Fixed usage fee for the brand
If the brand wants to post your sponsored post on its own platform, the brand must pay you a fee for that. This is usually a fixed fee just to use it in the brand’s feed.
Usually, this fee will be included in the fixed fee, but ensure you specify the following:
On which platform(s) the brand may use the post
On which account(s) the brand may use the post
Clarify that the brand may only use it for its feed as an organic (not for ads (if you haven’t agreed to that))
That way, you don’t run the risk of the brand repurposing your video for other purposes for which you have not been properly compensated.
Let’s say that in our example, you charge an additional $300 for that. Now, you’ve taken your $5,000 to a $6,600 deal!
5. Royalties for ads
However, the sponsored post may perform so well that the brand may want to use your post for paid ads.
In that case, you’ll want to charge royalties, which are periodic recurring fees for the amount of time the brand uses your content for its own advertising campaign.
Let’s say that in our example, you charge $150 per month for the brand to use your video for its ads, and the brand uses it for 2 months.
You should, therefore, have an additional optional clause for royalties in your brand sponsorship contract so you can agree to the amount of the royalty payments in advance and include these periodic payments as separate payments (which must be paid in advance).
Now, you’re at $6,900 for a single brand deal!
6. Commission
Another fee you could negotiate with the brand is a commission for sales made with your discount code or (affiliate) link (if the brand is selling its products or services online).
Usually, brands that sell products or services online will use special discount codes or links to customers linked to the influencer. That way, they can track exactly how well your sponsored post has converted.
But let’s stick to our gym brand. The gym brand could offer a discount code to new customers who sign up for a gym membership. You could then negotiate a commission for every member who signs up using your code. Let’s say the brand offers a membership of $50 per month (with a minimum subscription period of 1 year). You could then negotiate that you get 10% of the first month. So, that’s $5 for every new member.
Let’s say that 70 new members sign up with your discount code. In that case, you would make an additional $300 just in commissions!
Now, you’re at $7,250 for your brand deal.
7. Success fee
The last fee you can negotiate with the brand, depending on the situation and the type of deal, is a success fee for if a certain metric is reached. Now, you should be confident that whatever metric you have in mind will be achieved. Otherwise, this could have an adverse effect.
But, if you are confident you will hit that metric, such as the brand making at least 50 sales with your discount code, then you could negotiate a success fee. Especially if the brand simply does not have the budget to pay you your usual price, but you really want to work with this brand because you think it could be a fruitful collab for both of you, you could negotiate a success fee. Or, perhaps you already have a really good relationship with a brand, and a success fee might be appropriate (especially if you don’t want to ask for a higher base fee yet). These are situations in which you could ask for a success fee, which is usually a percentage of the base fee. What percentage is appropriate depends on the deal.
Let’s say that in our example, you have included a success fee in your brand sponsorship contract of only 5% if at least 50 new customers sign up for a gym membership using your discount code. In our example, your sponsored post converted into 70 (trackable) sales. Now, you get an additional commission of $250 (5% x $5,000).
Congratulations! With all these key money-making terms, you just turned your $5,000 brand deal into a $7,500 deal!
Need a brand sponsorship contract that includes all the proper terms you need for the 7 money-making terms discussed in this blog post? Get your influencer-friendly brand sponsorship contract template on this page of my contract shop!
All the protections you need for your brand sponsorship
Now you know what terms you need to make more money, but it’s crucial that your brand sponsorship contract also includes proper protections to ensure you keep your hard-earned cash. To learn more about the protections you need, read this blog post on the 9 Key Terms Every YouTuber Must Have in a YouTube Sponsorship Contract Template to Earn More & Keep a High Income.
Has a brand sent you its own brand sponsorship contract template? Make sure you read this blog post on the 7 Key Things Influencers Must Consider Before Signing Sponsorship Contracts.
The best brand sponsorship contract sample
Need a (creator-friendly) brand sponsorship contract that includes all the money-making terms (and protections) you need for every brand sponsorship?
Get your brand sponsorship contract template on this page of my contract shop!
This post was all about the key money-making terms you need for your brand sponsorship contract to earn more.
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