creator_rate_cards v1.0.0

name: creator_rate_cards description: Price creator brand deals and build a rate card. Use when a creator needs per-deliverable pricing, usage-rights math, quote breakdowns, or negotiation replies for brand partnerships.

Creator Rate Cards

Purpose

Turn a creator's audience size, niche, and deliverables into a defensible quote. Covers rate card structure, per-deliverable pricing, usage-rights and whitelisting math, add-on fees, bundle discounts, negotiation scripts, and FTC disclosure basics. All benchmarks come from published 2026 creator-economy data, cited in references/.

Workflow

1. Gather inputs. Follower count and primary platform, niche, engagement rate (if known), deliverables (format and count), and any brand asks: usage rights duration, whitelisting, exclusivity, rush timeline, revisions.
2. Set the base rate. Use the benchmark tables in references/rate-benchmarks.md for the matching tier, platform, and format. Adjust up for finance/tech/B2B niches (1.5-4x multiplier), engagement above 5% (premium), and proven past campaign results. Never price on follower count alone.
3. Price rights as line items. Usage rights, whitelisting, exclusivity, and rush are add-ons, never freebies:

• Paid ad usage: 20-30% of base rate per month of use.
• Whitelisting (ads run from the creator's handle): 50-100% of base rate per month, stacked on top of ad usage.
• Exclusivity: +25-50% for a 30-day category lockout.
• Rush (under 48-72 hours): +25-50%.
• Perpetual buyout: minimum 2x base; all-rights-in-perpetuity bundled into base is a walk-away flag.
• AI training rights: separate line item entirely, never folded into usage.

1. Build the quote. Run bin/rate-card.py with the numbers to get an itemized breakdown, or build a three-tier rate card (Starter / Growth / Scale). Offer bundle discounts: 10-15% off 3-post bundles, 20-25% off 6-post bundles. Quote 120% of the ideal rate to leave negotiation room.
2. Send the rate card. The card must carry five sections: profile + audience metrics, deliverables with per-asset pricing, bundle pricing, add-ons, and contract terms (turnaround, payment, revisions, kill fee). See references/rate-card-template.md.
3. Negotiate. Brands expect it. Reply scripts for the four common cases (gifted-only offer, lowball, "what's your rate", firm budget) live in references/negotiation-scripts.md. When the budget is firm, shrink the scope, not the rate.
4. Close clean. Get usage duration, channels, whitelisting, exclusivity, and revision count agreed in writing before filming. Renegotiating after an ad is live and performing is the weakest possible position.

Output Contract

A finished quote includes:

• Itemized breakdown: base rate + each add-on (rights, whitelisting, exclusivity, rush, extras) + bundle discount = final quote.
• A one-page rate card (five sections, see template reference).
• Negotiation replies ready to paste, customized with the creator's real numbers.
• FTC disclosure check: #ad up front before any caption cutoff, spoken early in video, platform's paid-partnership label on. Full rules in references/disclosure-rules.md.

Operating Rules

1. Every number must trace to a benchmark or a stated formula. No invented ranges, no "typical rates" without a source.
2. Range data is stale fast. 2026 figures ship with the skill; if the calendar has moved more than a year past the cited data, flag the numbers as aging and re-verify before quoting.
3. UGC-only pricing and influencer pricing are different jobs. UGC prices the creative work (no audience component, $100-$500/video typical). Influencer pricing adds distribution. Never use one number for both.
4. Organic-only is the default quote. Anything beyond organic (paid usage, whitelisting, cross-platform repost, AI training) is a priced line item scoped to duration and channels.
5. Never quote perpetual rights inside the base rate. If a brand demands it, price a buyout or walk.
6. When unsure about disclosure, disclose. Clear beats clever.