---
name: "creator_collab_deals"
description: "Structure a creator collaboration deal from first outreach to signed agreement: vetting, compensation models, deliverables, usage rights, payment terms, FTC disclosure, and a lightweight contract template. Triggers when someone asks to set up, negotiate, draft, or review a creator/brand partnership, influencer deal, or UGC agreement."
---

# Creator Collaboration Deals

## Purpose

Take a creator partnership from idea to a signed, defensible deal without lawyers eating the budget. Covers who to work with, what to pay, what exactly gets delivered, who can reuse the content and for how long, and how to stay compliant with FTC disclosure rules. Produces a filled-out agreement (see `assets/collab_agreement_template.md`) plus an outreach message and a deal tracker row.

## Workflow

1. **Define the deal shape.** Ask or infer: which partnership model (paid post, UGC-only content, affiliate, ambassador, gifting), campaign goal, budget ceiling, platforms, and timing window. If any of these are missing, ask. The model drives everything downstream, so do not guess it.

2. **Vet the creator.** Score four signals before money gets discussed: audience alignment with the target (the big one), brand affinity (organic mentions, values match), posting consistency, and professionalism (past partnerships, red flags). A creator with a smaller audience that genuinely likes the product beats a big account with zero affinity. Record the score in the tracker row.

3. **Set compensation.** Pick one model based on tier and budget:
   - **Gifting:** product only. Fine for nano creators and seeding. Not free labor; do not demand deliverables like a paid deal.
   - **Affiliate:** percentage of sales via code/link. Works when the product converts and the creator trusts the offer.
   - **Flat fee:** per deliverable. The standard for mid-tier and up.
   - **Flat fee + affiliate:** hybrid for performance upside on a real budget.
   - **Paid + usage rights premium:** flat fee plus a license fee when the brand will run the content as ads.
   
   Typical flat-fee ranges, treated as indicative starting points for negotiation, not fixed prices: nano (1K-10K) gifting plus 15-25% affiliate; micro (10K-50K) $200-$1,000 plus 10-20% affiliate; mid (50K-500K) $1,000-$10,000 per deliverable; macro (500K+) $5,000-$50,000+ per deliverable. Always tie the final number to the deliverables, not the follower count alone.

4. **Nail down deliverables.** List every asset: number, format, platform, length, posting window, minimum stay-live duration (90 days is a common floor). Separate organic publishing from paid-media use. If raw files are owed, specify format, delivery method, and deadline. Vague deliverables are where every dispute starts.

5. **Draft the outreach.** One short, specific first message: who you are, why this creator (reference a real post), the offer in one line, and one clear ask. Then stop at three touches total. Silence is an answer; do not chase.

6. **Build the agreement.** Fill in `assets/collab_agreement_template.md`. Required clauses:
   - Parties (legal names, contact).
   - Scope of work: the deliverable list from step 4, timeline, publishing window, stay-live duration.
   - Compensation: total fee, payment schedule, payment method, terms. Standard split: 50% on signature, 50% on final approval. Alternative: per-deliverable on approval. State who covers production expenses.
   - Approval process: draft submission deadline, brand feedback window (24-48 hours), max revision rounds, and a deemed-approval clause if the brand goes quiet past 48-72 hours. Final approval confirmed in writing.
   - Usage rights: organic reposting (with credit) vs paid-media license, each with duration, platforms, and territory. Whitelisting (ads run from the creator's account) named separately with its own duration. Editing rights: what the brand may change (cropping, overlays) and what it may not (voice, likeness) without approval. Raw footage addressed.
   - Exclusivity: named competing categories and a time window. Keep it narrow enough that the creator can actually honor it.
   - FTC disclosure: creator agrees to clear, conspicuous disclosure on every paid post. See Operating Rules.
   - Cancellation: notice period and what happens to the deposit if either side walks.
   
   Add the disclaimer at the top of the template: this is a starting point, not legal advice. Real money or exclusivity clauses worth more than a rounding error deserve an actual lawyer.

7. **Track the deal.** One tracker row per collaboration: collab ID, creator, campaign, platform, deliverable, quantity, agreed price, brief link, contract link, usage rights (scope and expiry date), status (Offer sent, Hired, In production, Submitted, Approved, Paid). The usage-rights expiry date is the field that saves you from running an ad past its license.

## Output Contract

Every completed deal package contains:
- A filled agreement document (all template fields resolved, no brackets left).
- The outreach message(s), personalized, max three touches.
- A tracker row with status set and usage-rights expiry dated.
- An FTC disclosure line per deliverable (exact text to use, e.g. "#ad" at the start of the caption plus in-video verbal disclosure where relevant).

## Operating Rules

1. **FTC compliance is mandatory, not optional.** Under the FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255, 2023 update), any material connection, payment, gifted product, affiliate link, employment, equity, family tie, must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. Clear and conspicuous means hard to miss: at the start of the caption (not buried in hashtags), in the same language as the endorsement, and in the same medium (video needs verbal disclosure, not just caption text). Platform labels like Instagram's "Paid Partnership" help but do not replace in-content disclosure. Gifted product with no formal posting agreement still counts as a material connection if the creator mentions the product. Fake reviews and suppressing honest opinions are prohibited under the FTC's 2024 rule on consumer reviews.
2. **Never invent terms.** Every number, date, and clause in the agreement comes from the user's inputs or a verified source. If a term is unknown, leave it as a bracketed question for the user, never a confident guess.
3. **Keep exclusivity narrow.** A broad exclusivity clause costs more and kills deals. Name the categories, set a finite window, and price it separately if the creator asks.
4. **Usage rights are a separate line item from the creative fee.** If the brand wants to run the content as paid ads, that is a license with a duration and a price. Conflating the two is the most common way brands overpay and creators get shorted.
5. **Stop at three touches.** Outreach that needs a fourth email is not a deal, it is a chase.
6. **No style drift in public text:** no em dashes ever, no AI-flavored phrasing (delve, tapestry, game-changer, "let's dive in", etc.). Write like a person, not a press release.