9 Must-Haves for Your YouTube Sponsorship Contract Template to Earn More & Keep Your Money

Want the best YouTube sponsorship contract template to maximise your earnings and protect your money? I’m sharing the crucial money-making terms and protections you need!

Becoming a YouTuber and securing brand deals is an incredible achievement. But if you’re anything like me, you don’t just want to get the most out of your brand deals.

As a lawyer myself who has crafted a YouTube sponsorship contract template for creators, including YouTubers like you, I know exactly what essential terms you need to boost your income and protect your money.

In this blog post, you’ll learn:

• What key terms you need to earn more than just a fixed base fee (which should be included in any Youtube sponsorship contract template free of fluff)

• What payment terms you need in your YouTube sponsorship contract template doc to make sure you actually get paid and avoid costly mistakes

• What protections you need to safeguard your money when things go wrong, like when the brand terminates the YouTube sponsorship agreement

After learning about all these money-making terms for your YouTube sponsorship contract template, you will earn more with your brand deals and keep your money!

This post is all about the key terms a YouTube sponsorship contract template must have to earn the most from your brand deals and keep your money.

Money-Making YouTube Sponsorship Contract Template

The 9 key money terms for your YouTube sponsorship contract template doc

1. Get paid (partially) upfront

When you create sponsored content, you invest a lot of time and effort into planning, filming, and editing. Most brands will also require pre-approval before the video goes live, requiring you to invest even more time and energy.

But what happens if the brand suddenly cancels? Worse, what if they ghost you after you’ve already posted the video?

Here’s the reality:

• A contract helps protect your boundaries and against major claims from the brand, but it won’t help you much if you haven’t been paid up front and the brand screws you over.

• Suing a brand over a $1,000 or $5,000 deal often isn’t worth the legal fees.

Solution: Your YouTube sponsorship contract template should require at least a partial upfront payment (e.g., 50% before work begins). That way, if things go south, you’ve at least secured part of your payment.

2. Protect your money if the brand cancels

Brands can pull the plug at any time. That’s fine, as not every collaboration is going to work out. However, if you have already put in the work, you should be compensated for your time and energy.

That’s why an ironclad YouTube sponsorship contract template should include not only a deposit but also a tiered compensation system based on project progress in case of termination at any stage. For example:

• 25% of the fee if the contract is terminated before you send the first draft.

• 50% of the fee if the contract is terminated after you submit the draft.

  Non-refundable deposits. There’s no point in requiring upfront payments if you have to pay them back when the contract is cancelled!

Of course, a brand might not be so willing to pay you when the deal is terminated. That is why you charge a deposit, so you can keep whatever part of it you have a right to. There’s no point in requiring upfront payments if you have to pay them back when the contract is cancelled!

This ensures that no matter what happens, you get paid for your time.

3. Charge royalties if the brand uses your video (in ads)

Many brands will want to use your sponsored content on their own platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, or their website).

A proper YouTube sponsorship contract template should:

• Clarify that you own the rights to your video. If you give up your rights, the brand can use your content without paying you anything.

• Include royalty payments (e.g., periodic fees) for each month that the brand uses your video.

And if the brand uses your content for advertising, that’s an opportunity for extra income.

This simple contract clause can turn a one-time sponsorship into a recurring income stream.

4. Set boundaries on the approval process (when time is money)

Most brands require pre-approval before your video goes live, but without clear boundaries, you could end up in an endless cycle of revisions (without getting paid).

Therefore, a solid YouTube sponsorship contract template should include:

• A limit on the number of revisions included in the price.

• An additional fee for extra revisions. If the brand wants more changes after the agreed-upon rounds, they pay for the extra work.

This prevents brands from taking advantage of your time and ensures you get fairly compensated for extra work.

Pro tip: Make sure your YouTube sponsorship contract template allows you to include a complete rate card with all the fees for every different type of service you offer. Thta’s so that if the brand wants a different service in the future, they are already legally bound by the fees included in your rate card. A really solid YouTube sponsorship contract template will also include wording that allows you to change your fees, so you are not actually bound by fees you charge now a year from now (when you have way more followers). For more on the rate card and to get a rate card template for FREE, read this blog post!

5. Prohibition on ad runs

YouTube ads are a valuable source of passive income for YouTubers. However, some brands may ask you not to run ads on their sponsored video.

Before agreeing to this, consider the long-term revenue potential of ads. Unlike a one-time sponsorship, ad revenue continues for years. As long as your video lives, you’ll get paid for ads run by YouTube on that video.

If you do want to agree to not run ads on your sponsored video, make sure to:

• Charge an additional fee for that. For more on other things you should charge for, read this blog post!

• Clearly state in your YouTube sponsorship contract template that you will not run ads on the video.

In any case, your YouTube sponsorship contract template should have the alternative wording for whether you will or will not run ads on your sponsored YouTube video, so it’s in writing

6. Limitations on exclusivity to protect future income

Brands want exclusivity, but broad exclusivity terms can cost you future deals. You don’t want to be completely prohibited from working with any brands in the industry when they want you to promote a completely different product. 

So, make sure you use a creator-friendly YouTube sponsorship contract template that includes a creator-friendly exclusivity clause that:

• Limits exclusivity to competing products. If a skincare brand sponsors you, exclusivity should only apply to similar skincare products, not all beauty brands.

• Sets a reasonable time limit. Avoid long exclusivity periods that block you from future brand deals.

A well-drafted exclusivity clause ensures you don’t lose money on missed future deals.

7. Earn more with commissions

Many brands will provide a discount code for your audience, but you should also get paid for every sale made. It’s a great way to earn more without doing anything more!

A money-making YouTube sponsorship contract template should include:

• A commission fee. being a percentage (10%, 15%, 20%) of every sale made through your link or with your discount code.

• A specified term during which the commission fee applies (which you should make as long as possible).

This turns your sponsorship into a long-term income stream instead of just a one-time payment.

8. Success fees for high performance

A success fee is an extra payment brands make if your video performs well. I would not recommend including such a fee in your YouTube sponsorship contract template for every brand deal, but it might be worth considering:

• If you’re sure the video will achieve the number of views or conversions set for the success fee. Otherwise, this could backfire.

• And you have a good relationship with the brand.

• Or, the brand does not have a big budget, and you still want to work with that brand at a lower fixed fee (with the potential of earning more).

In any case, a success fee should be linked to a specific, measurable target, like:

• x number of conversions

• x number of views

• x number of clicks

9. Avoid losing income when the brand’s reputation changes 

What if the brand you partner with suddenly gets involved in a scandal or shifts its values in a way that conflicts with yours?

That could negatively affect your reputation, resulting in a loss of followers and, ultimately, result in less income!

Here’s an example: Let’s say you are known for being a vegan influencer. You collaborate with a brand that sells vegan protein powders. But then the brand decides, for whatever reason, to cancel its line of protein powders and only sell whey protein powders. You no longer want to be associated with that brand because your audience might think you also transitioned to whey protein powders instead of vegan ones. This could affect the trust that the audience has in you as well. That may result in fewer followers, fewer brand deals, and, ultimately, less income.

Here’s what an ironclad YouTube sponsorship contract template should include to avoid that:

• A termination clause that lets you cut ties if the brand’s reputation changes in a way that harms your image.

• A clause allowing you to remove their content from your channel without having to compensate the brand. This protects you from losing credibility with your audience.

That’s how a creator-friendly YouTube sponsorship contract template helps you earn more while protecting your money!

The ULTIMATE YouTube sponsorship contract template free of fluff

Want a professionally drafted YouTube sponsorship contract template that includes all these money-making clauses? I’ve got you covered!

My fully customisable template is designed for:

• YouTube sponsorships

• Instagram & TikTok brand deals

• Other social media sponsorships

Get your YouTube Sponsorship Contract Template and start earning more from your brand deals!

The ULTIMATE rate card to add to your sponsorship agreement template

Want to learn more about:

• How to earn more?

• What rates to charge for your sponsored posts?

• How to create a rate card?

Read this blog post and get a FREE rate card template!

This post was all about the key terms every YouTube sponsorship contract template must have to get the most out of your brand deals.

Get your YouTube sponsorship contract template on this page of my contract shop!