Promote · Phase 5 of 5
Brand Deals, Sponsorship & Business
The commercial side. Rate cards, media kits, usage rights, contracts and the terms that decide whether a deal is worth taking.
Category 15 of 16 in the creator glossary · 108 terms
A
B
Baked-In Adaka baked in, embedded adA sponsor read edited permanently into the video file, so it cannot be swapped, dated or pulled once the video is published.Brand ambassadoraka ambassadorship, ambassador programAn ongoing named association with one brand over a period, rather than a single sponsored video.Brand dealaka sponsorship, brand partnership, sponsored deal, paid partnershipAny paid agreement between a creator and a brand: an integration, a dedicated video, a Short, a post, or a package of all four.Brand guidelinesaka brand style guide, brand bookThe sponsor's rules on how their logo, colours, product and name may be used. Usually arrives as a PDF attached to the brief.Brand liftaka brand lift study, brand awareness liftA survey-based measure of whether a campaign moved awareness, recall or intent, taken by polling people who saw the ads against people who did not.Branded contentaka brand-funded content, brand contentVideo made for or funded by a brand and published on the creator's own channel, under the creator's name.Business expenseaka write-off, deductible expense, tax deductionA cost incurred to run the channel that can be set against income before tax, from camera gear to editing software.
C
Campaign briefaka creative brief, brand brief, deal briefThe brand's document for a campaign, setting out the goal, the messaging, exactly what you owe and when it is due.Category exclusivityaka competitor exclusivity, category lock-outA contract clause barring a creator from promoting any competitor of the sponsor for an agreed period after the deal runs.Channel saleaka selling a channel, channel acquisition, channel flippingThe sale of an entire YouTube channel as an asset, audience and back catalogue included, usually to a buyer who wants the revenue.Co-branded productaka collab product, collaboration dropA product released jointly by a creator and an established brand, with the brand handling production and the two sharing revenue.Cold pitchaka outbound pitch, pitch email, cold outreachAn approach the creator sends to a brand that has not heard of them, proposing one specific piece of work.Contra dealaka barter deal, product-for-post, trade deal, gifted collaborationA collaboration paid in product or services instead of cash, common early on and usually worth less than it appears.Conversion rateaka CVRThe share of people who took the action you wanted, out of everyone who had the chance to take it.Cost of goods soldaka COGS, unit costWhat one unit actually costs you to make and deliver: the product, the printing, the packaging, the postage and the fees on the way.Creator-led brandaka creator brand, founder brand, own-brand productA product company the creator owns and sells to the audience they built, taking the margin a sponsor would otherwise keep for itself.
D
Dark postaka unpublished postAn ad that runs in people's feeds without ever appearing on the advertiser's own page. The usual form of whitelisted creator ads.Day rateaka daily rate, shoot day rateA flat fee for a full day of the creator's time, used for shoots, events and appearances rather than for a finished video.Dead stockaka unsold inventory, inventory riskUnsold units left after a merch drop or product launch comes in under forecast, tying up cash and storage space.Dedicated videoaka dedicated sponsorship, fully sponsored videoA sponsored video built entirely around one brand's product, rather than a sponsor read dropped inside a video about something else.Deliverablesaka deliverable, assets dueThe exact list of what a creator owes a brand for the fee: the videos, the posts, the mentions, the usage rights and the deadlines.Discount codeaka promo code, coupon code, creator code, referral codeA code unique to you that saves the viewer money and tells the brand which sales came from your audience.Dynamic brand insertionaka virtual product placement, AI product placementAdding a product or a piece of signage into finished footage after filming, digitally, so a brand appears in a video that never featured it.
E
Earned media valueaka EMVA brand's estimate of what creator coverage would have cost to buy as advertising. A reporting figure nobody actually pays.Embargoaka release embargo, review embargoThe date and time before which you may not publish anything about a product, agreed in advance and enforced by losing future access.Employer Identification Numberaka EIN, federal tax IDA US federal tax ID for a business. American brands and networks ask for one, usually on a W-9, before they can pay an entity.Equity dealaka equity partnership, shares for contentA brand pays the creator in ownership, shares or options, either instead of a fee or alongside one.Errors and omissions insuranceaka E&O insurance, media liability insuranceCover against legal claims arising from what you publish, such as defamation, copyright infringement or misuse of someone's likeness.Exclusivityaka exclusivity clauseA contract clause stopping you working with a sponsor's named competitors for an agreed period after publishing.
F
Flat feeaka fixed fee, flat rateA single agreed price for a sponsored piece, paid in full regardless of how many views or sales it goes on to produce.Form 1099-NECaka 1099, 1099-NECThe US form a payer files to report non-employee compensation, with a copy sent to the contractor and the IRS.Fulfilmentaka fulfillment, order fulfilment, 3PLEverything between an order and a parcel arriving: storage, picking, packing, shipping and handling whatever comes back.
G
H
Host-Read Adaka host read, creator-read adA sponsor message the creator delivers themselves, in their own words and voice, inside the video instead of as a produced advert.Hybrid dealaka base plus bonus, flat fee plus commissionA brand deal paying a guaranteed base fee plus performance money on top, usually commission or a per-signup bonus.
I
Inbound dealaka inbound enquiry, inbound offerA sponsorship where the brand approaches you first, which usually means a budget exists and the pitching is already done.Indemnification clauseaka indemnity clause, hold harmlessThe contract term deciding who pays if a third party sues over the sponsored content.Independent contractoraka freelancer, self-employed contractor, 1099 contractorThe self-employed status most creators work under, both when taking brand deals and when hiring editors and thumbnail designers.Influencer fraudaka fake followers, engagement fraud, bought viewsInflated audience or engagement sold to a sponsor as real. Bought followers, bought views, engagement pods, bot comments.Influencer marketingaka creator marketing, influencer campaignThe brand-side trade of buying creator-made advertising and access to creator audiences, planned, contracted and measured as a media channel.Influencer marketing agencyaka campaign agency, brand-side agencyAn agency hired by a brand to run creator campaigns end to end. They sit on the buyer's side of the table.Influencer marketing platformaka creator marketplace, brand marketplace, campaign platformSoftware brands use to find creators, send briefs, sign contracts and pay, with your channel often listed on it whether you signed up or not.Insertion orderaka IOThe media-buying paperwork an agency issues to book a placement, setting out what runs, when, for how much, and on what terms.Invoiceaka billing, sales invoiceThe document that asks a client to pay, carrying the reference numbers their accounts system needs to release the money.
K
L
Landing pageaka squeeze pageA single page built round one action, which is where a description link, a bio link or a lead magnet should send people.Late feeaka late payment fee, interest on late paymentA contract clause charging a sponsor for paying after the agreed date, usually interest running from the day the invoice fell due.Liability insuranceaka public liability insurance, general liabilityCover against claims for injury or property damage caused by your work, and often a condition of filming on someone else's site.Licence termaka usage term, licence length, term of useHow long a brand may keep using content you made for them, after which their rights lapse and any further use needs renegotiating.Limited companyaka Ltd, private limited companyA UK company registered at Companies House, legally separate from the people who own it, so business debts stop at the company.Limited liability companyaka LLCA US business structure that separates an owner's personal assets from the company's debts and legal exposure.Live dateaka go-live date, air date, publish date requirementThe date a sponsored video has to be public by, written into the contract and tied to the brand's own campaign timing.Livestream sponsorshipaka sponsored stream, stream sponsorA sponsor paying for reads, overlays or whole segments inside a live broadcast, priced on concurrents rather than on views.Loan-out companyaka loanout, personal service companyA company that contracts out the creator's services, so deals are signed with the entity instead of the person.
M
Make-goodaka makegood, remedy post, re-runExtra content supplied free when a campaign misses a guaranteed number, agreed in advance as the remedy instead of a refund.Management commissionaka manager cut, management feeThe percentage of a deal's value a manager or management company keeps for finding, negotiating and running it.Media kitaka press kit, creator media kit, EPKThe short document you send a prospective sponsor: who watches you, how many, how they behave, and what a placement costs.Merch dropaka drop, limited drop, capsule dropA product release limited by time or quantity, announced in advance, so demand piles into one window instead of trickling.Micro-influenceraka micro creatorThe small-audience creator tier brands buy for engagement and cost efficiency, usually somewhere in the low tens of thousands of followers.Minimum order quantityaka MOQThe smallest run a manufacturer will produce. Usually the reason a merch idea stops at the quote stage.Morality clauseaka morals clause, conduct clauseA contract term letting a brand exit a deal, and sometimes reclaim fees already paid, if the creator's conduct damages their reputation.Multi-video dealaka package deal, multi-post deal, bundled deliverablesOne contract covering several videos for the same brand, usually priced at a discount against what each would cost on its own.
N
Nano-influenceraka nano creatorThe smallest paid creator tier in influencer marketing, usually taken as roughly 1,000 to 10,000 followers or subscribers.NIL dealaka name image and likeness deal, NILA sponsorship paying an athlete for their name, image and likeness. Standard in US college sport since 2021 and now used well beyond it.Non-compete clauseaka restraint clauseA contract term stopping you working with a brand's rivals, for a defined period and a defined product category.Non-disclosure agreementaka NDA, confidentiality agreementA contract barring you from repeating what you learn, typically covering deal terms, unreleased products and anything shared during a campaign.
P
Paid amplificationaka boosting, paid media support, amplification budgetA brand spending ad money behind a creator's post so it reaches well beyond the people who would have seen it organically.Paid media rightsaka paid usage rights, ad usage, boosting rightsPermission for a brand to run your video as a paid advert. Priced separately from the organic post and always time-limited.Payment termsaka net 30, net 60, net 15, payment windowHow long after invoicing the brand actually pays, written as net 30, net 60 and so on.Per diemaka daily allowanceA fixed daily allowance covering food and incidental costs while travelling for a brand, paid in place of reimbursing receipts.Performance bonusaka view bonus, bonus structure, kickerExtra payment on a sponsorship that triggers when the content passes agreed view, click or sale thresholds.Performance-based dealaka performance deal, commission-only deal, CPA dealA sponsorship paid on results, such as sales, sign-ups or installs, rather than on a flat fee for the placement itself.Perpetuityaka in perpetuity, perpetual licenceA usage clause with no end date. The brand can run your work forever, which is the costliest term to hand over unpriced.Post-campaign reportaka wrap report, campaign recap, results reportThe results pack a creator sends a brand after delivery, and the biggest single lever on whether that brand books again.Product placementaka paid product placement, in-frame placementA paid appearance of a product on screen with no scripted mention, disclosed like any other sponsorship.Product seedingaka seeding, gifting, gifted product, PR packageA brand sending free product with no contract and no fee, hoping the creator likes it enough to feature it.
R
Rate cardaka rates sheet, pricing sheetYour written prices per deliverable, sent to brands so a conversation starts from your number instead of their budget.Retaineraka retainer agreement, monthly retainerA recurring fee for an agreed volume of work each month, replacing one-off negotiation with income both sides can plan around.Revenue share dealaka rev share, profit share dealA brand deal paid as an agreed percentage of the revenue your coverage generates, rather than a flat fee.Revision roundaka revisions, feedback round, change request, revision feeOne pass of sponsor feedback and the changes made in response. Contracts normally include a set number and bill for anything after.Right of first refusalaka ROFR, first refusalA clause giving a sponsor the first option to match any competing offer in their category before you accept it.Rush feeaka expedite feeA surcharge for turning work around faster than your standard lead time, priced so speed costs the client something.
S
S corporationaka S-corp, S corp electionA US tax election, available to an LLC or a corporation, that splits an owner's income between salary and distributions to reduce self-employment tax.Scope creepaka out-of-scope work, extra deliverablesSponsor requests growing past what the contract priced, one small extra at a time, until you deliver far more than you sold.Sizzle reelaka showreel, highlight reelA short highlight edit showing what you make and who watches, used to pitch a brand, an event or a partner.Sole traderaka sole proprietorship, sole prop, self-employedThe simplest way to be self-employed. You and the business are one legal person, with no company sitting in between.Speaking feeaka appearance fee, booking fee, speaking engagementWhat a creator charges to appear at an event, panel, convention or conference, quoted separately from travel and accommodation.Spec workaka on spec, speculative work, free test video, working on specProducing a finished piece before anyone has agreed to pay for it, hoping the client buys it once they can see it.Sponsored integrationaka integration, in-video integration, integrated ad readA paid sponsor segment woven into a video that would have existed anyway, rather than a standalone advert.Sponsorship CPMaka deal CPM, cost per mille, sponsor CPMThe price a sponsor pays per thousand expected views, the unit almost every brand deal gets benchmarked in.Sponsorship deckaka partnership deck, sponsor pitch deckA short slide document pitching a brand on specific packages and prices, sent rather than waiting to be found.Sponsorship scamaka fake brand deal, brand deal phishing, malware sponsorship emailA fake brand deal email built to steal channel access or money, usually through a download disguised as a brief or contract.Statement of workaka SOW, scope of workThe contract section itemising exactly what a brand is buying: deliverables, dates, formats, approvals and revision rounds.
T
Talent agencyaka creator agency, representation, rosterA firm that represents a roster of creators to brands, sourcing and negotiating deals in exchange for a percentage of what they bring in.Talent manageraka creator manager, managementSomeone who represents a creator, finds and negotiates work, and takes a percentage of what the creator earns.Termination clauseaka exit clause, get-out clause, cancellation clauseThe part of a contract setting out how either side can end the agreement early and what is owed when they do.Territoryaka geographic rights, territorial rightsThe clause in a brand contract naming the countries or regions the brand may use your content in. Wider costs more.Tracking linkaka attribution link, tracked URLA URL carrying parameters or a unique path so a sponsor can measure the traffic and sales that came from you.Travel feeaka travel expenses, travel and accommodationThe cost of getting to and staying at a brand's shoot, billed on top of the creative fee instead of absorbed into it.
U
UGC creatoraka user-generated content creator, UGC deal, UGC adSomeone paid to produce advertising footage in a creator style for a brand to run on its own channels.Upfront depositaka deposit, advance payment, 50 percent upfrontPart of the fee paid before work begins, commonly half, protecting you against a brand that vanishes halfway through production.Usage buyoutaka buyout, content buyoutA lump sum a brand pays to use your video beyond the original terms, covering extra channels, longer periods or paid media.Usage rightsaka content usage rights, licensing rightsThe clause in a brand deal setting out what the brand may do with your content beyond your own channel, and for how long.
V
W
W-9 tax formaka W-9, taxpayer identification formThe US form a sponsor asks for before paying, certifying your name, address and taxpayer identification number.Whitelistingaka allowlisting, partnership ads, creator ad licensingA creator granting a brand permission to run paid ads from the creator's own handle, so the advert appears to come from them.