How To Create A Rate Card As An Influencer

You must have made some progress in your influencer journey if you are reading this article!!! You are either ready to start pitching to brands or negotiating your prices + deliverables with brands right now. So, kudos on reaching this milestone!

Rate cards or rate sheets are a very important tool for all influencers. Be it, bloggers, vloggers, freelancers, or content creators. It is the easiest way to let brands know what you charge for certain services. It shows a high level of professionalism, experience, and organization.

So are you ready to pitch to brands but are uncertain about how to create a rate card? This post is just for you. We have rounded up five easy steps to aid you in creating one. But first, let’s find out what is a rate card and the 5 steps to create it!

What is a Rate Card?

A rate card is also known as a rate sheet is a document that contains all the services you offer as an influencer which includes, your demographics, pricing of services, social media insights, bundle deals and collaboration opportunities shared to brands or clients to work with. In other words, it is a sheet you give to brands as an influencer that tells them how much it will cost to hire you.

5 Steps to Creating a Rate Card As An Influencer

1.   Name and Contact Information

There is no point in making a great pitch without providing an avenue through which the brand can contact you. So, the first step in creating your rate card is to include your contact information. This includes your name, phone number, email address, website, social media information and previous collaboration partnerships.

2.   A short Bio

Some influencers indeed discard this in their rate cards. But this is also very important. A brief bio puts you and your services fresh on the minds of the brand. However, this must be as concise as possible. A full bio will be more welcomed on your media kit which will most likely accompany your rate card.

3.   Collaboration Opportunities

Your rate card is simply a quote, written by you to a brand. Therefore, it should cover all the possible items you are willing to provide to the brand.  Doing this helps brands to decide which of their numerous services will most accurately suit their vision. At the same time, ensure that these collaboration opportunities are not generic. They should speak directly to the brand.

4.   Pricing of Your Services

The pricing of services in your rate card is often very subjective. It is usually dependent on certain factors. Such as the brand, quality of content, and what the brand is requesting. However, no matter what you offer, always be open to negotiation. Also, learn to research the brand. This is because what you will charge a popular brand will be different from what you will charge a start-up brand.

Tip: A good rule of thumb is to negotiate up to a 30% difference in your original pricing. Know your worth!

5.   Bundles and Packages

Another great content for your rate card is bundles and packages. Many brands prefer to buy services in bulk. Hence, bundling some of your services and offering a discount on them will serve as a great incentive to them. This is exactly what many companies do when they offer you “special offers” which yield more value to you.

So your bundle deals can offer:

• exposure on multiple platforms
• promoting more times per week
• advertisement in a monthly newsletter
• offering more images
• selling images for the brand’s use
• giveaways and contests to spark engagement
• Polls and quizzes to spark engagement

I always name my bundle deals and of course, price them separately. Keep in mind, while you have your own packages to offer to the brand, the brands may have other plans to cater to their business needs and budget. So always be sure to ask the brand what are their vision in collaborating with you and how they would want them to be.

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A post shared by Cherisha | Malaysian Blogger (@inspiredbycherisha)

Based on my experience, the ‘brands choice service bundle’ includes video creation, podcasts, social media, website, photography or contest giveaways. Be creative and make sure you offer room for negotiation by offering packages that the brand may have never heard of.

Tools To Create Your Rate Card

1. Canva
2. Googles Slides
3. Creative Market
4. PicMonkey
5. Easil

When it comes to rating cards, there is no one-size-fits-it-all. You simply need to remember that your rate card may be the reason why you secure collaboration or otherwise. Hence, it needs to contain all the necessary tools that will aid you in making a great first impression. So are you ready to create your own rate card? These five steps are all you need to get your media kit started!

Rate Sheet Comments and Questions? Ask me below and I will share more about it!