Marketers often want to know how much it will cost to work with creatives.
→ A creative is usually someone who has influence on a digital channel, most notably a social network or they simply produce talented content.
The answer is, it’s impossible to say. Every creative is different and bids different amounts depending on the briefs ask, their following (if you’re running an influencer campaign), and their expertise.
Because of this variation, there is usually some space for wiggle room. The first step in negotiating is simple, just ask!
Should you negotiate?
While it may be tempting to negotiate with every creator, here are a few things to consider first:
- Is the applicant someone you would love to work with?
- Would their content elevate your campaign?
- Is their audience exactly who you would target?
- Is their bid within your budget and already reasonable?
If the answer to either of the first three is yes, then it’s time to think about negotiation. If you think a creator is already reasonable, leave it be! Don’t negotiate just for the sake of negotiation. You don’t want creators to feel like their work isn’t valued and make working together impossible down the road.
Negotiating with an applicant:
Considerations in a negotiation:
- What is your budget?
- Don’t submit a bid that would hinder your ability to work with other creators, and would be detrimental to your campaign
- Does your bid honor the creator’s value?
- Much like putting an offer on a house, you don’t want to submit an offer that would be insulting.
- Are you being mindful of the amount of work your campaign requires and what you are asking of creators?
- Are they covering travel costs
- Is it a large amount of content
- Is it a tight turnaround
- What rights are you requiring
- Are there extenuating circumstances
- Ex: Covid, product not being available, product changes from brief
- Can your deliverables change?
- Negotiation isn’t just about dollars: Changing what you are asking the creator to complete or the rights you are requesting is a great way to get a lower price
Negotiating with a participant:
- Negotiating when someone is already working in the campaign can happen for a number of reasons, a few examples include:
- You love their work and want more than originally agreed upon
- The ask needs to change after they have agreed to the original requests
- There are delays in product or product has changed
Be sure to keep in mind the aforementioned best practices for negotiating with an applicant when negotiating with a participant!
Final points to consider
- What is the creators work and experience level
- Is their audience fit highly likely to drive adoption
- Do you see the creator as a potential long term brand ambassador
We hope this helps you frame the how/when/who of campaign negotiation. When executed correctly, negotiation should be a positive experience all around and allow for brands to expand the creators they work with, while maintaining the value of a creator’s work.
Lucky for you, our negotiation tool makes the back and forth with a creator easy and seamless, check it out here!