How to Negotiate With Brands As An Influencer

Looking to make money from your social media account but don’t know how? Here’s how to negotiate the best prices in exchange for posts and stories.

There comes a time in everyone’s social media life where they want to make money from their following, but simply do not know how.

Well that’s what this article is all about.

I’m going to show you exactly how you can negotiate with brands as an influencer and get the best bang for your buck.

Enjoy.

Wait for Brands to Come to You, or Approach Them Yourself?

If you have a solid social media following as it is, you are probably familiar with how many brands come to you with their offers.

And a lot of them don’t want to pay a dime.

It’s your job as an independent influencer to negotiate with them as they will usually put the ball in their favor.

If you have a good social media following as it is, you don’t really need to look for sponsorship deals as they’ll find you first.

The other option is reaching out to them yourself, which is done via a form on their official website (most of the time), or contacting their official Instagram account.

Either way, both works, you just have to choose which one suits you and your brand.

Don’t Accept Anything and Everything

I get it, your social media’s starting to grow and you’re getting offers left, right and center.

It’s exciting stuff, as you have potential money being thrown at you all the time.

However, accepting deals that don’t align with your brand or audience is going to damage your reputation.

Accept things that make sense, things that match your brand, rather than trying to make a quick buck.

People will think you’re a sellout otherwise, unfollow you, and probably not buy anything.

A good example of this is if you’re a clothing Influencer promoting Bang energy drinks; not really relevant to your audience.

Being a fashion blogger you’re better off promoting a new style of clothing, or a new dress that’s come out.

Or if you’re a hair Influencer, promoting a new shampoo product makes complete sense.

When things don’t align with your brand is when you start losing trust with your audience.

Now that you know the fundamentals on what to promote and whether or not you should reach out to brands, here’s how to negotiate prices.

1. Ask If they Have a Budget

As mentioned earlier in this article, some brands aren’t willing to pay a cent.

Sometimes they would rather offer something in return for some shout-outs.

Well, in your reply to their pitch, you should ask if they have a budget.

This means are they willing to pay you for your shout-outs.

If the answer is no, that means they’re trying to send you something for free instead.

This could be anything from free products, a free hotel stay, etc.

Determine what they are offering and if it’s worth it for you to create content, give the shout out, etc.

Sometimes it’s not worth it in the end, especially when they’re not paying real money. And again, you might damage your reputation in the process.

2. Determine Deliverables

Now that you have your answer on whether or not they have a budget and willing to pay or not, it’s time to see what they require.

This is simple.

Sometimes it might be as simple as 3 Instagram posts, and 2 stories.

If you have a blog you could write a blog post about them as well. When that article ranks in the search engines, they will receive lots of new visitors.

3. Negotiate Prices

Now it’s time to get paid.

A simple formula to follow is this:

• Post Price: $10 per 1,000 followers
• Post Price: $100 per 10,000 followers
• Stories: 20% – 30% of your post rate
• Giveaway: 20% – 30% MORE than your post rate
• Press Trip: Add the deliverables together

Variables that’ll change price rates:

• Engagement: The higher your engagement, the more you can charge for your posts/stories
• Exclusivity: If the company puts a clause in the contract that you can’t work with other similar brands within a time frame, you can charge extra for that since it’s going to impact your ability to make money later on
• Rights to Content: Some companies want the rights for the content you create. Again, you can charge more as you are the original owner of the content, so this provides a chance to make more money

4. Pitch Your Packages

Now that you’ve figured out prices, etc, you can pitch other more expensive packages (I recommend 3 in total).

But you want them to pick the first one as they have to feel like they’re getting a deal.

This increases your chances of actually making a sale. They’ll always go for the first package anyway.

5. Create a Long-Term Relationship

One thing you should know about influencer marketing is that the money is in the long-term partnerships.

Getting a sale here and there is okay, but when you can build a relationship with a reputable company/partner, you can make money for years to come.

This is why it’s SO important to work with products that makes sense to your brand.

Especially when some contracts can go up to a year or more, You don’t want to become a sellout and sell things your audience doesn’t care about.

You’ll just lose trust and money.

So as a final note in this step; have long-term growth in mind.

You should be building relationships with highly-reputable companies that can pay you over and over again for the long haul.

Bonus Tips

• Don’t be afraid to negotiate prices. It’s normal to go back and forth a few times until both of you find a middle ground
• Include a media kit in your reply once you know they have a budget. Of course this is going to take a little time to create, but will make you stand out from most other influencers who skip this step. A media kit shows your engagement rate, your demographics, your niche, past successful campaigns, etc. There’s a guide on that here.
• Use your other platforms. Rather than using your IG account to promote that business, consider doing a sponsorship on your YouTube channel, Pinterest, Facebook, or any other social platform you have. This gives you another chance to make additional income from the same company

• Consider replying to all DMs and emails. Most of the time the professional companies will email you, but sometimes you can find a golden nugget in your DMs. Most of these are people trying to give out free stuff for a shout-out, but other times you can create a long-term partnership that’s willing to pay for your time and work
• Consider writing your own contracts. That way you’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Plus it’s good practice, which you can use to partner with bigger brands later on

On a Final Note (With Some Recommendations)

So that concludes this article all about negotiating with brands as an online influencer.

Remember, a lot of them aren’t willing to pay and just want to give out free product in exchange for shout-outs posts, stories, or mentions.

But you have to ask yourself, it is really worth it in the end?

A lot of the time it isn’t, especially when it can take hours producing, editing, and creating content.

And if it doesn’t align with your morals, brand or audience, you can forget it altogether and wait for something that makes sense.

And that concludes this article.

Want some brands to collab with that pay well?

• Bang Energy
• Fashion Nova
• Nike