Fair Share AI → Guides → Negotiating a brand deal
Guide · updated 15 September 2026
How to negotiate a brand deal
Almost every creator underprices their first several sponsorships, and the reason is rarely confidence — it is that nobody tells you the sequence. This is the sequence.
Price the deal before you reply. Ask what the deliverables, usage rights, payment terms and exclusivity are. Counter about 15% above your fair rate with the reasoning attached. Hold a floor about 15% below it, and cut deliverables rather than price if they will not reach it. Get all four terms in writing before you film anything.
The sequence
Five steps, in this order
The order matters more than any individual tactic. Most of the money is lost in step one, by replying before pricing.
STEP 1
Work out your number before you reply
Do not open the email and start typing. Price the deal first, so that every sentence you write afterwards is anchored to a figure you can defend. Take your follower count divided by 1,000, multiply by the base rate for that platform and format, then adjust for your engagement rate against the platform average and for your niche. Write the number down. That is your target, not your opening ask.
STEP 2
Reply within a day, and ask four questions
Speed reads as professional and costs you nothing. But do not accept or counter yet — reply with the four things that change the price: the exact deliverables, whether they intend to run the content as paid advertising and for how long, the payment terms and date, and whether they are asking for exclusivity. Brands expect these questions from people who have done this before.
STEP 3
Give a specific number with a reason attached
Open above your target, because the first number anchors the negotiation. A reasonable opening ask is about 15% above your fair rate. Say the number and immediately say what it is based on: your audience size, your engagement rate, and the current market for your niche. A bare number invites a haggle; a number with reasoning invites a decision.
STEP 4
Know your floor before they push back
Decide in advance the lowest figure you will accept for that scope — roughly 15% below your fair rate is a sane floor. If they will not reach it, do not simply drop your price. Reduce what they get instead: one Story instead of a Story plus a feed post, or organic posting only with no paid usage. The rate per deliverable stays intact, which protects what you can charge the next brand.
STEP 5
Get the four things in writing before you film
Deliverables, usage rights and their term, payment terms and date, and the exclusivity window. Anything agreed in a DM and not repeated in writing does not exist. A brand that will not confirm those four in an email is the actual risk in the deal — bigger than the rate.
Scripts
What to actually send
Adjust the tone to sound like you — but keep the structure, and keep the number specific. Replace the figures with your own.
Avoidable
Five mistakes that cost real money
Answering with a number before asking about usage rights
Usage rights are where creators lose the most money. A brand that runs your video as a paid ad for six months is getting many times the value of a single organic post. If you quote before you know, you have quoted for the wrong thing.
Accepting product instead of payment by default
Gifted product is a legitimate deal for a very new creator and a bad one for anyone with an engaged audience. Product does not pay rent, and accepting it sets the brand's expectation for next time. It is reasonable to say you work on paid partnerships and to name your rate.
Apologising for your rate
"Sorry, I know this might be a lot, but..." invites a negotiation you did not have to have. State the number plainly. Brands negotiate rates every day as a normal part of the job; nobody is offended by a price.
Meeting in the middle automatically
Splitting the difference rewards whoever opened furthest from fair value. If an offer is more than about 30% under your rate, it is an opening bid rather than a serious number, and holding near your figure is reasonable.
Letting the deadline do the negotiating
"We need an answer today" is a common pressure tactic and rarely true. A brand with a real campaign has more than one day. Taking the afternoon to price it properly has never lost anyone a genuine deal.
Start here
Work out your number first
Step one of the sequence, with the math shown. Free, no signup, runs in your browser.
What's this post worth?
Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs in your browser.
Your rate for this post
Reasonable range $310 – $490
Questions
Negotiation questions
Do brands expect you to negotiate?
Yes. The first number is rarely the budget ceiling, and marketers negotiate rates as a routine part of their job. What loses deals is going silent, moving the goalposts after agreeing, or countering with no reasoning — not the act of countering itself.
How much should I counter a brand offer?
A normal opening counter is around 15% above your fair market rate, which leaves room to settle close to fair value. Your floor should be roughly 15% below that fair rate. Below the floor, cut deliverables rather than cutting the price.
What if the brand says the budget is fixed?
Take them at their word and change the other side of the trade. Offer less for the fixed budget — fewer deliverables, organic only with no paid usage, a shorter exclusivity window, or a longer timeline. This keeps your rate per deliverable intact, which matters because it is what you will quote the next brand.
What are usage rights and why do they cost extra?
Usage rights are the license for a brand to use your content beyond your own organic post — most commonly running it as a paid advertisement. It reaches far more people than your post does and lasts as long as the term. It is priced separately, commonly adding 50% to 100% or more to the base fee depending on length.
Should I ask for money upfront?
For a brand you have not worked with, 50% upfront and 50% on delivery is a normal ask and is frequently accepted. Net 30 after posting is also standard for larger companies. What matters is that the payment date exists in writing rather than being left open.
What should I do if a brand ghosts me after I send my rate?
Follow up once, about a week later, briefly and without apology. If there is no reply, move on. A single follow-up is professional; repeated chasing costs you standing and is rarely what recovers a deal.
How do I price a deal when I have very few followers?
Use the same formula — the multiplication still works at small numbers — but expect brands to weight engagement and niche more heavily than size. Small, specific, highly engaged audiences are actively sought in areas like finance, fitness and beauty, and being cheap is not your only advantage.
Or let the app do it.
Fair Share AI prices every offer against your real numbers and drafts the reply — with your figure in it, and a floor you shouldn't go below.
Get Fair Share AI for iPhoneLaunching on the App Store shortly — the calculator above is free and always will be.