Negotiating with Influencers

When you’ve finally received some replies from the influencer you contacted, it’s time to start negotiating. If you’re lucky, the influencer will accept your collaboration proposal just as you send it. More realistically, you’ll have to do a bit of back-and-forth to iron out the details.

Leave a margin of about 15-20 days if you’re going to be negotiating with macro or mega influencers, and a bit less if you’re entering into discussions with nano or micro influencers.

Regardless of how your negotiations go, you always want to clarify the following points before ending your discussions:

Micro influencers who accept most collaborations
When working with these influencers, as well as with nano influencers, negotiations are minimal. If the product or service is appealing to them, most nano and micro influencers will accept your proposal without trying to negotiate for a fee.
Micro influencers who are more demanding
Once micro influencers start to do more collaborations and move up the ranks, they’ll start to also charge a fee, although not a very high one. Product might not be enough here, and you might have to pay something, especially if you want the collaboration to include posts. It may be easier to negotiate a collaboration using only stories.
Macro and Mega influencers
Once you get into the major leagues of influencer marketing, negotiations are going to be necessary and a bit more challenging. The first reply to your proposal will be from the influencer’s manager, presenting their fees for various types of publications. Try asking for a pack of publications - more publications over a longer period of time but at a discounted rate.

When deals are made on product alone
When a collaboration is accepted in exchange for products or services, a contract isn’t usually necessary. However, if your product has a very high value (a motorcycle, for example), you’ll want to put the collaboration to pen and paper.
When working with nano or micro influencers
When working with nano or micro influencers, who aren’t as demanding as top influencers, you can probably close most deals based on product alone. And even when they do ask for a fee, they usually ask for minimal amounts, so you probably won’t need to sign a contract. Just make sure you have your agreement in some form of writing, like an email.

Not every influencer is going to give you perfect publications, but no sweat. The important thing is the general impact of the campaign, which usually turns out to be positive. Influencers at this level seem to balance each other out: some might publish worse than expected, and others better. Don’t forget that it’s good to give these creators the freedom and time they need to create the best possible content.
When working with macro or mega influencers
Here you’ll almost always need a contract. The amount of money paid as incentive is usually high, and for that, you’ll want to ensure that all the conditions of the collaboration are agreed to in writing.

Negotiating with influencers