I’ve been an influencer and blogger for 6+ years and never do a sponsorship with a solid influencer contract template. Here’s what should be in it and where to get one to protect yourself!
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Have you ever heard the horror stories about influencers who work with brands and don’t get paid or they have to do a ton of extra work they didn’t plan to do? Yes, brands take total advantage of influencers, which is why having a solid influencer contract template to go off of is a must.
Even when a brand gives you an influencer contract to sign, it’s not always in your best interest. As a result, having your own knowledge of what should go in a contract before you sign it is absolutely key to protect your time and money.
In this post, you’ll learn about everything from what an influencer contract is to where to get a legally sound one and even the minimum rate you should charge for sponsorships.
Too lazy to read the whole post? Get the lawyer-written template that I use here.
What is an influencer contract?
If you’re a newbie in influencer marketing, you may not be aware of the significance of having an influencer contract agreement or how to design an influencer contract template.
Don’t worry! Here’s all that you need to know as an influencer.
An influencer contract is a detailed document containing all the terms and conditions of collaboration between brand and the influencer. This document governs all the necessary details from the starting date of the contract to the possible strategies which the influencer may adopt for the promotion campaign.
Both parties may edit the initial draft to include their terms and policies, before signing the final influencer contract. Always make sure that both parties sign the final contract before you start your work!
Brands usually have a complex or simple influencer agreement template, which is then edited to incorporate the terms of concerned influencer and nature of the campaign. It is basically meant to ensure that all the legal obligations and FTC guidelines are met by both concerned parties. These rules may vary over time and depend on the country for which marketing campaign is being launched.
Sometimes brand don’t have an influencer contract on hand, which is why it’s good to have your own to protect yourself. The next section tells you why you need one.
Do influencers need contracts?
Nowadays, being an influencer is more than creating content and posting about products you love. From bookkeeping to legal matters, being an influencer means being your own brand, your own business.
Even more so, from the brand’s perspective, influencer marketing is a a popular and effective marketing strategy. It’s highly effective method because of the niche audience that social media influencers usually have. Therefore, a business deal between a brand and social media influencer is definitely beneficial for both parties.
Since influencers are engaging in a business deal with a brand, signing an influencer contract is a must, especially if you want to be an influencer that makes money and gets paid!
This binding legal agreement, which contains work details, time frame of the project and monetary compensations protects you. It not only gives you an outline of expectations, but above anything, it ensures you will get paid or can take legal action with the brand if they don’t pay you.
Having a legally sound influence agreement template to go off of to:
- compare to the brand’s contract to make sure they’re not missing anything
- or use as a basis for your contract to the brand because some brands don’t even think of creating contracts with influencers, which ultimately can hurt you,
will keep both parties expectations in line and ensure successful completion of the campaign all the way until payment.
Get the lawyer-written template that I use here or keep reading to ensure any simple influencer agreement template you find online has everything you need to keep yourself safe.
What should an influencer contract include?
No matter what the nature and duration of your marketing campaign is, it’s always a good idea to use a legally sound influencer contract agreement. Whether you use the lawyer-written template that I use here or find a social media influencer contract template online to use, make sure it includes these important details.
Deliverables
You need to know what the collaborating brand is expecting from you to share. Will it be photos, videos, stories or product reviews?
In addition to content format, you must include how frequently the content will be shared. It may be one post a day or more, all depends on the respective brand.
The more details the better so that both parties’ expectations are clearly aligned.
Duration of the Campaign + Exclusivity Period
Specifying the duration of campaign is very important. This tells you when you will send in your drafts, get approval and also post on your social media accounts.
Once you signed a campaign schedule with the brand, there may be an exclusivity period to work with that brand. During this exclusivity period, you can’t work with any competing brands during that time frame.
Good to Know: If a brand asks for an exclusivity period, then charge more! An exclusivity period basically bars you from working with other brands and can take away from your money making capabilities. As a result, you can charge more for this.
Payment Details
You need to include payment options in the influencer contract, which would be convenient for both parties. Some payment related information you would definitely include are:
- Payment amount
- Payment currency, especially if you’re working with international brands
- Payment terms as in how many days they will pay you
- If the payment will cover a fee from the bank or PayPal
Pro Tip: You can also add on a late payment fee percentage. For example, if they are over 30 days late paying you, then you have the right to add on a 10% late fee.
The influencer agreement template I use a Late Payment Fee Legal Clause bonus valued at $100 but you get it for free with your template here.
Ownership/Licensing Rights
Your contract agreement must include the ownership rights of the sponsored content.
Who will be the owner of licenses and copyrights? Will the brand have limited licensing rights to use your content in ads, digital campaigns and general marketing?
Good to Know: If they plan on using your content in ads and other marketing methods besides your own social platforms, you can charge more for this.
Content Creation Expectations
Even though most brands leave the content creation to the influencers, sometimes they provide you the content and have you promote it on your social handles or blog.
Your contract should state who is creating the content and also what type of content is expected (i.e. video, photo, carousels, Reels, etc.)
If a brand has branded Instagram hashtags, then your influencer contract agreement should include a list of hashtags that the brand may expects you to add in each published content. Brand may want to add them by itself, but in both cases things should be decided before time.
Sponsored Disclaimer
According to the Federal Trade Commission, all influencers must disclose their relationship to the brand. The contract should include what type of disclaimer the post should include such as whether they want to say #ad or #BrandNamePartner.
Standard Clauses
Overall, a legally sound influencer collaboration agreement template will have these standard clauses:
- Names
- Addresses
- Work detail
- Schedule
- Cancellation clauses
- Terms of both parties
- Admissibility clause
- Indemnity clause
- Confidentiality clause
- Dispute resolution clause
- Non-disparagement clause
- NDA (optional)
Don’t know which influencer contract template will protect you the most? Get the lawyer-written template that I use here.
What is a typical sponsorship rate for influencers?
The sky’s the limit to how much you can charge for a sponsorship, especially if you’re a big on Instagram or TikTok. But it’s really hard to say how much YOU should personally charge because you charge based on:
- Follower count
- Engagement rate
- Exclusivity period
- Deliverables
- Type of content (i.e. you can charge more for video than photos)
- Licensing and usage rights
To get you started though, Instagrammers in the past have generally gone have $10 for every thousand followers, but I personally think this is low. There are so many factors as I have mentioned above, which allows you to charge more.
Even if you only have 1,000 followers on Instagram or TikTok, I’d charge a minimum of $100 for your time, skills and super niche audience who trusts you.
Where can I get an influencer contract template?
Free Influencer Agreement Template
Now that you know all the necessary elements to be included in an influencer agreement template, you can easily create on that suits you from free influencer contract templates. You can grab them at cocosign, JotForm or REVV and grab your free influencer contract template.
Must Know: If you go this route, make sure that you have all the clauses I listed above and use all of them combined to create a custom one of your own so you’re fully protected.
If you don’t want to take your chances though, get the lawyer-written template that I use here.
Lawyer-Written Influencer Contract Template That’ll Protect You
To really unlock and explore the full potential of influencer contract agreement and know that you’re protected with a brand agreement, I highlight recommend this comprehensive, customizable influencer contract template.
This template:
- is written by an experienced lawyer who writes contracts for a living,
- will protect legally and financially
- and comes with lifetime updates that’ll account for ever-changing legal updates.
Protect your influencing business and get the template here.
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Until next time,
Sarah Chetrit