How to Negotiate Brand Collaborations
Hey babes,
This blog post is to share how we typically negotiate our gifted & paid collaborations. Hopefully these tips help:
Quick overview of how negotiating typically works for anyone who is new:
1. Initial pitch/email
2. You reply asking for budget
3. They reply confirming or denying and asking how much you would charge
4. Try to get them to throw out a number first, send media kit without rate sheet
5. They give you number or you give them number
6. They usually negotiate
7. You reply your rate or an in-between number
8. Agreement + get the bag sis
STARTING: when brands send gifting opportunities, ALWAYS ask for budget
1. They will either ask for your rates
2. They will say no budget, just gifting → which is where you started anyway
Example gifting negotiation verbiage:
Simple approach first response approach example: “Thank you so much for reaching out about this opportunity! I know this will be a perfect fit for my audience. Is there a social media budget for this campaign? I would be happy to send over my media kit + rate sheet if so!”
Brand only said gifting response example: So looking forward to working with your brand! Aside from the gifted program, are there any active paid campaigns going on for this month/quarter that I can participate in?”
Asking what they look for with paid partnerships and how you can get there / asking what the timeline may look like / etc
Shifting into paid from gifting: “I would love to shift our partnership into a paid opportunity with the content that I have been delivering in the X months/weeks that we have been working together!” *attach deck of insights/content recap to show value.
ALWAYS TRY TO GET THE BRAND TO GIVE THIS FIRST NUMBER
WHY?: You can get a better idea of what they’re willing to pay
You will avoid low balling yourself
Example verbiage for this:
“Thank you so much for sending over this opportunity! I’m very interested in working together. Please let me know what you had in mind for timeline, budget, and any additional details!”
Short + simple
Negotiating your worth example: “For the outlined deliverables: (restate deliverables) my typical rate would be $__. Will the brand be able to meet me closer to my rate? OR something like “I can meet you at ___ but I am not able to dip below __
If brand asks for media kit / rate sheet:
Make sure all your social channels are listed
Give ranges for pricing if possible
Create bundled / discounted rate options
Ex. 4 posts over 4 months for a discounted rate
Give them a lot of value with these bundles
Long term partnerships are ALWAYS the goal!
Things that are negotiable:
Rates
You can always negotiate your rate with a brand. They should be expecting it! Their first offer is typically lower to see if you’ll accept so don’t be afraid to negotiate
Usage rights
If a brand asks you to use your images for any thing that could potentially drive sales, you can and should ask for a fee.
social usage: instagram feed, instagram / facebook ads
digital usage: website photos, newsletter photos, anything in the digital space
Exclusivity
If a brand is requesting exclusivity, meaning you can’t work with a competitor for x amount of months, you can charge for that! That is potential income you would have to turn down
You can charge up to the full amount of the campaign to cover what could be a potential loss to you
You can also negotiate this OUT of the contract if they are unwilling to pay more for it.
Amount of gifting
If they brand says they don’t have budget to pay, you can ask for an increase in gifting
“Typically when doing a gifted collaboration, I try to get a credit that is similar to my rate of $xxx. Are you able to increase the gifting budget?”
Deliverables
If the brand has a set budget they can’t increase, you can ask if they can change the deliverables instead
“Instead of 2 posts + 2 stories for $xxx, would you be able to do 1 post + 2 stories in exchange for this rate? Please let me know!”
Hopefully these tips help you when it comes to negotiations! You get better and more confident with practice. I always try to get in the habit of “no matter what, always ask”. First off, it never hurts to ask and second the worst thing that could happen is that they’ll say no.
One of my mottos in life is: You don’t get what you don’t ask for
I think this is important to remember because if you’re not asking for budget, someone else is and it really sucks when you find out that someone else is getting paid to do work that you’re doing for free! I know that from experience, so just ask!
It’s a part of the industry and YOU DESERVE TO BE PAID FOR YOUR WORK! Repeat that 10x
When you are pitching a brand and asking for budget, remember you are providing these services that the brand would have to otherwise outsource and pay way more money for:
Stylist
Photographer
Hair & make up artist
Editor
Your time + location scouting + gas
Posting on socials & sharing your reach to give the brand touchpoints
Etc - the list goes on! Just remember you and your work are valuable! If everyone in the industry starts asking to be paid, we will see a shift in more paid opportunities
Let us know if these tips helped! Share your fav in the comments below
