The two main types of influencer campaigns are gifted and paid. I can’t tell you which you should do without all the details because honestly it depends. But here is my personal opinion and some facts to help you make the best decision.
My rule of thumb for gifting and affiliate is I’ll only do it if I approach the brand. Not saying that you can’t approach a brand and negotiate a paid collaboration, but that’s the only way I will accept gifted. If a brand contacts me, I’m not doing gifting and affiliate campaigns, because they want to work with me, and should have a budget to do so.
Gifted Campaigns
Gifting campaigns involve gifting free products/services to influencers and content creators in exchange for certain deliverables.
In this case, the influencers (or content creators) work for free products or services and features brand collaborations on their social media platforms.
More often than not it’s mostly nano and micro-influencers (1-50K followers) who are interested in these types of collaborations. Typically, the more followers you have, the more you can charge. But this can also depend on what kind of content you provide. Check our Influencer v. Content Creator post to learn more.
Paid Campaigns
Paid collaborations involve paying (with money, not gifts), Influencers or Content Creators to create branded content based on agreed upon deliverables.
How to turn gifted campaigns into paid
Creating content is work, it takes a lot of time and effort to create videos, photos or whatever deliverables are agreed upon. So it is no surprise that creators want to be paid, rather than gifted. And it is no surprise that brands may want to gift instead of pay for some campaigns.
If you are only getting gifted opportunities, here are some ways you can turn them into paid collaborations instead.
- Be direct: If you are not accepting gifted collaborations, let the brand know.
- Show the brand your analytics, and let them know how you can help reach their target demographic.
- Pitch the brand your ideas so that they know what value you can bring
Only you can determine if the campaign is worth it. Is it a product you love? Does the payment reasonably compensate you for your time and work? Does the product align with your brand and community? These are all questions you should consider when making your decision.
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