10 Do’s and Don’ts for Effective Influencer Agreements (for Influencers)

Creators

Apr 8

Want to know what you need in your influencer agreements and what NOT to accept from brands? I’m telling you exactly what the do’s and don’ts are to protect your money, content, and energy!

Brand collaborations are a great way to earn money, but if you’re anything like me, you want to make sure you get paid and keep your money while protecting your precious content. As a lawyer myself who has drafted an influencer-friendlyinfluencer agreement template for influencers like you, I can tell you exactly what you need to include in your influencer agreements and what not to accept from brands.

In this blog post, I’m spelling out all the do’s and don’t for your influencer agreements. So, you’ll know exactly what you need in your influencer contract template and how to create the best influencer agreements for any brand deal.

After learning all about the do’s and don’ts, you’ll be earning more while protecting your money, content, and energy.

This post is all about the crucial do’s and don’ts for the most effective influencer agreements for influencers to earn more while safeguarding their money, energy, and content.

Effective Influencer Agreements

The do’s and dont’s for the best influencer agreements

#1: Don’t accept a potentially endless approval process

What it means & why it’s a don’t

Many influencer agreements of brands don’t include any timeline for reviewing your content. They include deadlines for you to deliver your work but no deadlines for the brand to provide feedback or approval.

Here’s why it’s a don’t:

If the brand does not have a deadline, the brand can drag out the approval process indefinitely.
That also means you’ll have to remain on standby while trying to manage your other projects.
That also means you have to wait even longer to get paid.

What to AVOID in influencer agreements

Here’s what you can’t accept in influencer agreements to avoid these issues:

No approval process: Many contracts don’t even have a step-by-step approval process, leaving it completely unclear for both parties what’s next and where the process ends...
No limit on revision rounds: Most brand-friendly influencer agreements do not include a limit on revision rounds, which could mean you’ll end up in endless revisions without getting fair compensation for that extra time and energy.
No deadlines for the brand: If the contract does not explicitly state within how many days after you’ve delivered your contract, the brand must provide feedback or approval; you might be waiting forever.

#2: Do establish a step-by-step approval process

What it means & why it’s a do

A proper influencer contract template should include a clear step-by-step approval process, including what happens if the brand does not provide feedback or approval.

Here’s why:

You and the brand will know exactly what to expect and when which will make the process way more efficient for both of you.
Even if the brand does not respond at all, you can still move on with the project without the brand’s cooperation.
You’ll get paid on time.

The step-by-step process to include in your influencer agreements

Here’s exactly what the approval process should look like:

Within how many days you’ll deliver the first draft to the brand so the brand will be prepared for when the brand can expect it and make time to review it ASAP.
Within how many days after the brand receives the content, the brand must provide either approval or feedback.
Within how many days after you’ve received feedback (if any), you’ll provide a new version
Within how many days after receipt of each new draft, the brand must provide feedback or approval.
What happens when the brand does not respond at all before the deadline (which is that the content will be deemed approved, and you’ll post the content (and get paid on time)).
When the content will be posted once it is approved by the brand (or you haven’t received a response)

#3: Don’t give the brand ownership rights or unlimited licenses

Brands usually don’t just want you to post the content on your platforms; they will likely want to use your content, too, whether that’s on their own channels or for ads.

In that case, two of the worst things you could possibly do as an influencer are giving the brand (1) full ownership or (2) an unlimited license to your content.

Here’s why:

The obvious reason is that you lose control over your own content and your own face!
That results in the brand being able to use your content for whatever they want and however they want for as long as they want.
You are losing out on a lot of money because you are not charging the brand.

What to AVOID in influencer agreements

Here’s what you can’t accept in influencer agreements to avoid these issues:

A clause that states that you grant the brand a license, but it does not state any limits on where, for how long, and for what purposes the brand may use your content.
Any description of the license that includes the words “in perpetuity,” “worldwide,” or “limitless.”
A clause that states that you transfer or assign all your intellectual property rights to or ownership of the content.

#4: Do grant a limited license specifying how your content may be used

What it means & why it’s a do

You must only grant the brand a limited license that states exactly where, for how long, and for what purpose the brand may use your content.

Here’s why:

You’ll remain in control of your content
The brand can’t use your content for anything you don’t like or might hurt your reputation
You’ll receive fair compensation for the use of your content

What to include in your influencer agreements

You must specify the following for the license you grant the brand:

Where the brand may use your content (on Instagram, in newsletters, in YouTube ads, on flyers, etc.)
When you may cancel the license
What purpose the brand may use the license for (organic vs paid usage?)

With these limitations in your influencer agreements, you’ll remain in full control of your content.

#5: Don’t let the brand use your content for free

When you let the brand use your content (and you’ve granted the brand a limited license), you should be fairly compensated for those usage rights of the brand.

The brand is gaining more reach and, thus, getting more value out of the usage of your content on the brand’s own social media platforms, in its newsletters, and wherever else the brand may use your content.

Don’t give your value away for free!

You should be fairly compensated for that extra value.

Don’t accept a contract that does not include an additional fee for the brand’s usage rights.

#6: Do charge royalties for usage rights

A royalty is a recurring, usually monthly, fee charged for a license to use something, in this case, the usage of your content.

Always charge royalties for the brand’s usage rights.

What to include in your influencer agreements

You must specify the following in your influencer agreements:

The amount of the royalty fee
How often that royalty fee is charged (weekly, monthly, quarterly? Usually, it’s on a monthly basis)
When payment of the royalty fee is due. Make sure it’s in advance, like prior to the 1st day of each calendar month.

#7: Don’t be liable for third-party claims & fines

Another thing you really must watch out for in influencer agreements is liability for third-party claims. Brands will try to hold you responsible and make you pay for all kinds of legal claims and fines, like the following:

Legal claims from customers who bought the brand’s product because of something you said about the product that is not true.
Legal claims for intellectual property (IP) infringement because something in your content is actually their IP, like their music.
Fines from the FTC or another governmental authority for a violation of (influencer) marketing or advertising laws.

What to AVOID in influencer agreements

Here’s what you can’t accept in influencer agreements to avoid these costly issues:

Any guarantees or warranties stating the above.
Any indemnities that are included in the contract, including anything that states that you “indemnify the brand” or “hold the brand harmless.”

#8: Do make the brand pay for any claims

Sure, you could do something wrong, like not including the proper disclosures, using copyrighted sounds, or stating something about the product that is not true.

However, the brand will approve your content before you post it. So, ultimately, the brand also approved those mistakes. Sometimes, the brands make you make those mistakes, like asking you to use music the brand does not have a license for or stating something false about their product.

Thus, the brand should be held responsible, not you.

What to include in your influencer agreements

So, here are the protections you should include in your influencer agreements:

Indemnities that ensure the brand will hold you harmless for any third-party claims and fines
Limitations of your liability: If you are still held liable in court for anything, your liability is still capped in any case (unless you’re committing fraud, of course). Always cap your liability at the fee you’ve actually received from the brand, so you never lose more than what you get.

A proper influencer contract template should include the exact wording you need to cover all bases.

#9: Don’t let the brand’s reputation affect yours

A brand’s can change it’s product’s quality.

A brand can do something controversial.

A brand can do or say something that does not align with your brand.

A brand’s reputation can change at any time after your content is posted.

What you definitely don’t want is losing your audience because of a change in the brand’s reputation (and you’re associated with that brand).

However, a brand’s contract may prohibit you from dissociating from that brand, and thus, you’re stuck. You end up losing followers and, thus, money than you actually made in that brand deal.

What to AVOID in influencer agreements

Here’s what you can’t accept in influencer agreements to avoid these issues:

The obligation to keep that content published for a certain amount of time with no exceptions
No rights for you to terminate the contract.

#10: Do include termination rights that protect your interests

So, here’s what you need in your influencer agreements to ensure the brand’s bad reputation can’t hurt yours:

The right to terminate the contract at your sole discretion if the brand’s reputation changes or the brand no longer aligns with your brand
The right to remove all content of the brand
The right to immediately revoke the brand’s license (usage rights) to your content

10 MORE do’s and don’ts for any influencer marketing agreement

In this blog post, I have only spilt the tea on 10 do’s and don’ts for influencer agreements.

Want to know what else you should include and what to watch out for?

Read this blog post on the 10 other do’s and don’ts you MUST know about!

The ULTIMATE influencer contract template every influencer needs

Now, you know about all the do’s and don’ts for creating the most effective influencer agreements for your brand deals.

But how are you going to actually make sure your contract includes everything you need and eliminate all the dont’s? You could spend hours trying to figure out the right wording for each influencer marketing agreement. Or, you could spend thousands on lawyer fees by having a lawyer create and negotiate your contracts for you.

Or, you could simply save time and money with the ultimate influencer contract template designed for content creators and influencers like you!

It includes all the protections and money-making terms you need to avoid getting hurt by a brand and earn more. And my influencer contract template is fully customizable to your specific niche!

Learn more about my influencer contract template here!