How much should you charge as an influencer?
The unspoken industry standard is one cent per follower (or $100 per 10K followers).
As a content creator, one of the biggest challenges you may face is knowing how much to charge for Instagram collaborations. Do you have enough followers to charge a fee? What is a fair price? Are there any other factors that you need to consider?
Creating branded content takes time, labour, skills, and money. These things cannot be paid for with free products so it is important to make sure you are getting compensated for your work. Whilst we can’t all charge $500,000 per Instagram post like Kimmy K, it’s important to give a value to the work you do.
Pricing Benchmarks
There is no secret formula or one-size-fits all answer as to how much to charge as an influencer. Rates should be based around your follower count and engagement rate, along with other factors, such as talent or access to a niche audience. The unspoken industry standard is one cent per follower (or $100 per 10K followers). This is a good starting point to base your rate off but will require adjustments after factoring in client budget, number of posts and any add ons, eg: contests or videos.
In our episode with Taryn Williams, she provided us with the Right Fit’s ballpark rates per Instagram post, according to follower numbers:
3-20K → $75 - $300
20-100K → $300-$600
100-250K → $550-800
200-500K → $800-1200
500K+ → $1200+
Tribe has similar rates and recommends charging 25-50% more for video and motion content.
Guests on our podcast have also provided us with insights into what they charge. In our first episode, @MelbourneJade shared that she charges $350 for a post shared with her 141K followers. Our host Renee charges between $350-700 for posts on Sydney Vegan Guide (40K) and Melbourne Vegan Guide (26K). @Haylsa also told us that she has been paid up to $30K for a full campaign.
Here are some considerations you need to make before setting your rate:
Production costs – will you need to purchase or hire any props, or are there any travel costs to get to a specific shoot location?
Time constraints – is there a tight deadline and what other collaborations do you have already scheduled?
Full content usage – does the brand want the rights to repurpose your content in ads, websites, etc.
Exclusivity – is the brand requesting that you avoid working with competitors for a specific time after the campaign finishes.
Complexity – how difficult will it be to logistically coordinate the collaboration and deliver the content?
Requirements – how many posts, what type of posts, how many platforms to post on, and what must be included in the post?
Long story short: there is no standard rate card and prices vary greatly depending on your follower count, engagement rate and post requirements. Start by charging a base rate of $10 per 1000 followers, then factor in any additional costs on top of that. If you’re still stuck, talk to other influencers who work in similar industries and set a similar rate.