The difference between a fair deal and a great one is preparation. This checklist walks your prep, the levers you can pull beyond price, and exact phrases to use so you negotiate brand deals with confidence and stop accepting the first number.
Prep before the call. Know your floor, your target, and the brand's likely budget. Negotiating without a number in mind means you negotiate against yourself.
Never accept the first offer. The first number is rarely the best one. A simple, calm counter is expected and almost always leaves you better off.
Trade levers, not just price. If they can't move on budget, trade usage rights, exclusivity, deliverables, or timeline. There's almost always a path to more value.
Confirm in writing. Recap agreed terms by email right after the call so nothing gets renegotiated later or lost to memory.
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Preparation is most of the negotiation. Do this before you ever name a number.
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Prepare a floor and a target rate, research the brand's likely budget, and never accept the first offer. When the budget is fixed, trade levers like usage rights, exclusivity, deliverables, or timeline instead of discounting, and confirm everything in writing right after the call.
Anchor to value and results rather than your follower count, counter calmly, and offer flexibility on something cheap to you (like timeline) in exchange for the rate you want. If the brand truly can't move, reduce deliverables to match their budget rather than discounting the full package.
Be polite but firm: exposure doesn't cover production costs. Acknowledge the offer, explain you keep a limited slate of paid partnerships, and share your rate card. Gifted product can be fine for a quick mention, but never for the deliverables a paid deal would include.
