--- name: "creator_collaborations" description: "Plan and run creator collaborations end to end: vet real fit between creators or brands, pick shared-audience formats, set fair revenue splits, keep FTC and platform disclosure rules straight, and draft a lightweight written agreement. Triggers when a user wants to plan a collab, negotiate a brand deal, structure a sponsored partnership, split revenue, or write a creator agreement." metadata: { "includeInPrompt": true } --- # Creator Collaborations ## Purpose Most creator collabs fail for boring reasons: mismatched audiences, money never discussed, rights never assigned, disclosures skipped. This skill runs the unglamorous middle of a collaboration so the creative part survives contact with reality. It covers creator-to-creator and brand-to-creator deals on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. ## Workflow ### 1. Fit check Collect for each party: niche tags, follower count, average views per post, engagement rate, audience demographics, past collab history, and any brand-safety concerns. Run the fit scorer: ``` python3 ~/workspace/skills/creator_collaborations/bin/collab_fit.py --input fit.json --goal growth ``` `--goal` is one of `growth`, `trust`, or `revenue`. The scorer weights niche adjacency, audience overlap, size parity, engagement health, and brand-safety flags, then suggests formats. Fit is a starting point, not a verdict: a score under 50 means pause and fix the mismatch before anything else. ### 2. Format Pick the format from the goal, not from habit. See `references/platform_notes.md` for what each platform actually supports today, and verify the feature still exists before recommending it (platform features change; a recommendation based on a dead feature is a confident unverified claim). - **Growth** (new followers): Instagram Collab post (appears in both feeds), guest spot on the larger channel, duet/remix chain, creator takeover. - **Trust** (borrowed credibility): long-form co-produced video with YouTube's collaboration feature for cross-audience discovery, co-hosted live stream, multi-episode guest series. - **Revenue** (money now): co-branded product or offer with an affiliate/commission split, flat fee plus revenue share, sponsored series. Key platform reality: YouTube's collaboration feature is built for shared visibility, not money. All ad revenue, views, and watch time stay with the uploading channel; there is no built-in split. Any revenue share between YouTube collaborators must be handled privately, in writing. ### 3. Money Pick one compensation model and write it down before anyone films: - **Flat fee**: brand pays creator a set amount for defined deliverables. Simplest, most predictable. - **Revenue share**: both sides take a percentage of defined revenue (ad revenue, affiliate payouts, product sales). Base the split on actual contribution: time, skills, money in, equipment, audience reach, creative input. Equal effort can mean 50/50; unequal effort should not. - **Hybrid**: flat fee plus a share above a performance threshold. Good when one side needs guaranteed pay and the other wants upside. - **Affiliate/commission**: creator earns per sale or signup via tracked links or codes. Define the rate, the attribution window, and who reports the numbers. Never invent platform fee percentages or payout rates. If a deal depends on a platform's cut, look it up from the platform's current terms before quoting it. ### 4. Compliance Two layers, both mandatory for paid or gifted deals: - **FTC (US)**: Any material connection (payment, free product, affiliate commission, trips, employment, equity, family ties) must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously: hard to miss, plain language, visible before the viewer has to click or scroll. `#ad` or `#sponsored` at the start of a caption works. `#sp`, `#collab`, `#thanks` alone do not. Video needs a verbal disclosure near the start plus on-screen text; YouTube's paid-promotion checkbox does not replace in-content disclosure. Advertisers are on the hook for what their endorsers claim, and fake reviews are banned outright. - **Platform**: Instagram requires the Paid Partnership label at publish when there is an exchange of value. TikTok requires the branded-content disclosure (marketplace deals route through TikTok's own workflow and payment). Get these wrong and the post can be removed or the account flagged, so set them up before publishing, not after. ### 5. Agreement Fill in `references/agreement_template.md` with the actual names, dates, deliverables, money, and rights. Every deal gets: who does what by when, the compensation model and payment timeline, who owns the content and who can reuse/boost it (including as paid ads), disclosure duties, revision limits, and what happens if either side cancels (kill fee). The template is a starting point, not legal advice; for large or unusual deals, tell the user to have a lawyer review it. ## Output Contract A completed run produces: 1. A collab plan: parties, fit summary with scores, chosen format, compensation model, compliance checklist, dates. 2. A filled agreement draft from the template. 3. The fit scorer's report attached or quoted, with any score under 50 flagged as a blocking concern. ## Operating Rules 1. Accuracy rule: every factual claim in the output must be verified via web search or a primary source. Never invent numbers, dates, quotes, or events. Unverifiable means cut it or frame it as opinion. No confident unverified claims, ever. 2. Never quote a platform's fee, payout percentage, or feature set from memory. Verify live before it goes in the plan. 3. Money, rights, credits, and disclosure duties are agreed in writing before any content is made. No exceptions for friends, small channels, or "quick" collabs. 4. Never help a deal hide a paid relationship, fabricate reviews, or fake engagement. If the user asks for that, say no and explain the FTC exposure briefly. 5. The agreement template is a drafting aid, not a substitute for a lawyer. Say so in the output when the deal is significant. 6. Credits (who is named, where, and how) are decided up front, not after the content performs.