Influencer marketing pricing can be difficult to figure out when you’re trying to land a campaign. With so many options to consider, Netanya Trimboli offers her insight from the brand perspective.
There’s a lot of emphasis placed on what influencers should charge, but not as much on how they should charge.
The way you present your pricing for your influencer campaign is arguably just as important as the price itself. That’s down to one key factor: perception.
How you present your pricing can either make your client feel like they’re getting a good deal or like they’re being nickel-and-dimed.
Likewise, your approach can leave you feeling fairly compensated or like you’ve been taken advantage of.
Choosing the right pricing model can help alleviate some of these challenges. It will make each party feel like they are the one getting the better end of the deal.
Below you will find an overview of four distinct approaches for influencer marketing pricing models. Included with each method are their pros and cons, as well as recommendations for when to use each one.
Influencer Marketing Pricing Models
Creators: Get insights + tips to help you thrive.
Pricing Option 1: A La Carte
This method offers a set rate for every type of post you offer.
For example, you could charge $500 for a blog post, $200 for an Instagram post, $50 for a Tweet, etc.
In other words, you are creating a menu of services for your clients to choose from.
Pros:
This allows your client to pick and choose services that they know work best for their brand and audience. It also ensures you are getting compensated fairly for all the services you are providing.
Cons:
It can feel like nickel-and-diming from your clients’ perspective. It also prevents you from impromptu creativity that could serve your clients’ objectives.
For example, your client may not have paid for Instagram, but you have a great idea for Stories while you’re interacting with their brand.
Best For:
This is recommended for clients with small budgets or a client who is very fixated on one channel.
Pricing Option 2: Packages for Influencer Marketing
A package allows you to pull together multiple deliverables to create an integrated influencer campaign.
An example of a package would be one blog post, one Instagram Feed post, and three Tweets for a set price of $750.
Pros:
You can create multiple packages at different price points to meet any client’s needs. It feels comprehensive and strategic to the client, while guaranteeing you more revenue than through the a la carte model.
With a package, you also have more flexibility to massage the price to offer your client a “deal.”
To make your packages even stronger, check out 9 Hidden Assets Influencers Can Use to Add Value.
Cons:
Some clients may not be interested in certain features you’ve included. But offering to be flexible and sub out one feature for another can make that an easy fix!
Best For:
This works well for clients with a budget to cover a minimum of 3 a la carte services. This gives you enough room to create a meaningful package at a price that works for you and comes across as a deal for your client.
Pricing Option 3: In-Kind Exchange
With the in-kind approach, an influencer receives goods or services in exchange for promoting a brand.
This might be a hotel stay, a tour, a piece of clothing, or something else in exchange for a blog post or social media promotion.
Pros:
This can have a direct impact on your bottom line (i.e. a free stay in a destination you were already scheduled to visit), while your client gets to keep their budget dollars intact.
Collaborations without money exchanged are easier to land and they also help you build your portfolio of satisfied clients.
Cons:
Even though you’re not getting paid, clients still have expectations about what you will and won’t do. It might seem like a drag for something that doesn’t put money in your pocket.
Best For:
This is a great approach if you are already going to be somewhere and want to offset your out of pocket costs.
Otherwise, this type of exchange is most often used by influencers who are just starting out building a portfolio or by non-professionals who do this as a hobby.
Pricing Option 4: Free
Wait, that’s an option?! Yes, and sometimes it’s a good one.
There are many reasons to do free blog or social media posts, whether or not you’re contracted to do so.
Saying “free” means you have no contract with a brand, no deliverables required, and no formal obligations. You undoubtedly already do free marketing for brands that you love and recommend anyway!
Pros:
Pro-bono work is the easiest way to build your portfolio and, if the client isn’t paying, you have complete creative control. If you have no prior experience, this is a great way to gain experience and build your content library.
Cons:
To state the obvious, you’re not making money! Work like this will, at the very least, cost you time, as well as money, so it is not a model to be used by professionals in the industry.
Offering free labor can also set the expectation that this is how you (and other influencers) operate, so the client may not want to pay for future collaborations either.
Best For:
Aspiring influencers who still are building their following and their foothold in the industry could consider this approach.
This is also a great way to prove your worth if you have no other work to point to yet. It’s also something to consider for off-brand products or services you love and just want to personally recommend.
Finally, you could consider this type of work for non-profits or other socially responsible programs that you want to support at no extra cost to the organization.
There is no right or wrong way to price influencer marketing services. Likewise, there is no industry standard model that must be used.
The important thing is to keep your clients’ perception in mind and do what makes sense for your brand and your long-term goals.
Feature image by Marcus Aurelius from Pexels
1 Comment