When it comes to how much to charge for brand partnerships as a content creator, it really isn’t a one size fits all situation. This past month for example, I was contacted by several brands. One was a big fashion brand who offered just under £1000 for a Reel and Carousel post. Since it was such a huge brand I tried to negotiate for slightly higher, aware they may have the budget.
On the other hand, I was contacted by a major music equipment company. Despite being an established company, the collaboration was unpaid. While this frustrated me, I am considering taking part because the content will be posted on their page and their Reels have an average of 50k views which could introduce my music to a whole new demographic.
For this reason, I would avoid putting pay in your media kit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very unfortunate that the music company didn’t pay me. Honestly with their name and this cost of living crisis they should have offered £1000. Nevertheless, the exposure could be worth it and I don’t want to alienate a potential relationship because of an issue of rates.
The case is the same for content creator Stacy Kim, whose stellar media kit, which has landed her 40 brand deals and made $5,000 in the past eighteen months, doesn’t mention rates.
Kim’s journey with content creation started in August 2021, when she had 2,800 followers and was contacted by jewelry brand Monica Vinader. The deal wasn’t paid but more an affiliate-linking case where Kim was sent free jewelry. Nevertheless, it opened the creator’s eyes to the potential of future paid deals.
To begin her journey, Kim searched for opportunities on websites like Her Campus and College Fashionista, where brands were looking for college influencers to work with. She also regularly checked the social-media channels and websites of companies she wanted to work with to see if they were hiring for campaigns, and subscribed to a few creator newsletters.
Last year marked Kim’s first paid deal with the global beauty brand Mac Cosmetics. MAC paid Kim $50 to create an Instagram Reel of herself shopping in their Los Angeles store. The company had asked Kim for a media kit, which she quickly created in Canva and sent to them.
Since then, the media kit Kim sent to these brands has landed her more than 40 brand deals in the past year and a half from Sephora and Clinique to technology companies like Samsung. The kit encompasses a short biography, engagement statistics, contact information, and past collaborations. “My engagement on posts is really high, and I heard that most brands care more about that than the number of followers you have”.
