If you’re in the midst of landing brand deals but the money talk has you going “Uhhhhhhhh,” then you’re in the right place. Because yes, this post covers everything you need to know about how much to charge for a sponsored Instagram post!
If you want to become a full-time Instagram influencer (or a part-time one), you don’t want to leave money on the table!
That’s why in this blog, we will break down all the components to create your price for sponsored content so you can start earning an INCOME from your work and have a successful influencer CAREER.
No more chit-chat. Let’s jump right into the juice, starting with the easy stuff! In this blog, you’ll also get access to my free influencer rates calculator!
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Written by influencer coach Dani The Explorer
FREE Find Your Rates Guide
Set higher rates for your influencer work by downloading my free Find Your Rates Guide:
How Much do Influencers Charge for Sponsored Instagram Posts
When deciding how much to charge for a sponsored Instagram post, ALWAYS start with this simple formula:
Charge $10 for every THOUSAND followers you have.
Here is an example for someone who has 10,000 followers:
(10,000 Followers /1,000 = 10, 10 x $10 = $100 Rate)
In other words, charge 1% per thousand followers. The 1% Formula: 10,000 Followers x (.01) = $100 Rate
Your Followers x 1% = $Your Rate
Now, that’s just where to START.
That’s why in the next sections we’ll cover how I price my paid Instagram sponsorships when I’m negotiating my Instagram influencer rates, so I know they’ll work for you too!
The Problem with The 1% Rule
This familiar influencer rate formula is problematic for a few reasons:
- It doesn’t take into account your quality of work
- It doesn’t take into account your engagement rate or other metrics
- It basically screws anyone who isn’t a macro-influencer (100,000+ followers)
That is why it is a starting point.
Never, never, ever price your sponsored Instagram content under this threshold (whether you pitch to brands or they come to you).
At the very least, when you promote a product directly on your feed, 1% of your followers will see the content. Don’t worry, we’re going to keep discussing how much to charge for an Instagram post and how to charge MORE.
All the pricing recommendations I make have been tested by me and my Instagram influencer course students.
Ready to land your first paid brand deal? Reach out to brands with my proven brand pitch email templates click here!
Determining Your Instagram Sponsored Post Price
Truth be told, there are various factors for determining your Instagram influencer rates. Let’s discuss.
#1 Deliverables
Deliverables can be defined as what work you’ll provide for the brand. For example, will you be doing 1 Instagram post and 2 Instagram story slides?
Will you be writing one blog and posting one viral Reel to your feed? When you post deliverables, do you get a high amount of engagement and reach too? This is super important to note even when considering gifted collabs.
In the next sections, we’ll dive DEEP into charging by post type.
#2 Time
Time refers to your time to create said content. Time can also refer to the deadline involved with the brand deal. If a brand needs a quick turnaround time for deliverables, you should charge more! When considering YOUR time for creating the content, I suggest figuring out an hourly rate for yourself.
You can then tack this onto your pricing. If the brand needs a quick turnaround, consider adding some sort of speedy delivery or rush fee to your pricing.
While I don’t believe that the time it takes to create a piece of content should be the final factor for determining how much to charge for an Instagram post, I think that successful entrepreneurs are masters at valuing and safeguarding their time.
If you’re short on time and don’t want to guess what to say to brands, grab my fill-in-the-blank brand email templates by clicking here!
#3 Expenses
Expenses refer to what, if any, expenses you will be incurring for the sponsored job. For example, will you have to travel?
What about accommodations, gas, and food? Did you need to hire an assistant or buy photo props?
I suggest adding up the total expenses you will incur and adding that to your pricing when determining how much to charge for an Instagram post — super important as you start to make money as a content creator.
#4 Licensing
Licensing refers to what permissions you’re going to grant a company, if any, to use the content you create. For example, does the brand you’re working for want to repost your content on their feed?
Yep! You can charge brands for reposting your content. Does the brand want to use your content as an ad? Yep! You charge for that. Think of licensing like charging rent to use your content.
Video and image licensing is a complete beast in itself and truthfully deserves its own spotlight. If this is a topic you’re interested in, I suggest using a resource like Getty Images to help you get some benchmarks. A simple rule of thumb for digital rights and licensing is to charge a 20% fee for every 30 day period.
And if you want to start landing higher paying brand deals, you’ll need to have a media kit template like this one — click here!
#5 Whitelisting
Whitelisting (or boosting) is when a brand puts money behind your content. Typically, these are ad manager permissions you will grant the brand on your Instagram/ Facebook account backend.
The brand will then literally make your content a paid ad coming from YOUR page. Think of whitelisting like you’re a celebrity endorser for a product.
Brands benefit from your name and likeness, and you should 100% get paid for that. Additionally, you can instead ask the company what their total ad spend would be on the boosted content. You can then charge an additional fee based on a percentage of ad spend.
Ultimately, you will have to determine which method would work best for you! The rates for whitelisting and boosting rights range from an additional 50 to 100% fee for every 30 day period.
#6 Exclusivity
Exclusivity is, in simple terms, when a brand says you cannot work with their competitors throughout your contract. Of course, you cannot always predict when a competitor will come around with more money, but you can use your best judgment based on how many/ what kind of brand deals you typically get.
So let’s say that you sign a contract with Gucci to promote their fragrances for $1,000 with 3 months exclusivity. This means that for the next 3 months, you cannot promote any competitors.
Now let’s say that a month after your Gucci post, Marc Jacobs fragrances comes around and offers to pay you $15,000… Too bad, boo! You have two more months to go on your Gucci contract before you can even think about Marc Jacobs.
That’s why exclusivity is an essential factor to consider when determining how much to charge for an Instagram post. When determining your pricing for exclusivity, consider the loss of potential income you will experience from having an exclusivity clause, and charge for that loss.
Ready to land your first paid brand deal? Reach out to brands with my proven brand pitch email templates click here!
How Much to Charge by Post Type
“How much should I charge for an Instagram post?” Believe it or not, there is more than one type of sponsored Instagram post out there. And yes, rates DO vary by post type (aka the deliverable).
Here’s the post types we’ll be looking at:
- Static Posts
- Carousel Posts
- IG Stories
- Videos
- IGTV
- Reels
- Link-in-Bio
- Lives
- Giveaways
Remember, the best part about all of these pricing factors is that they are 100% negotiable. For example, you can always negotiate down the exclusivity clause, or ask companies to remove deliverables.
Charging for a Sponsored Static Post
A sponsored static post on Instagram should cost 1% of your following (at minimum). You already know this rule.
I’ll paste the formula again for you to reference!
Your Followers x 1% = $Your Rate
Example:
10,000 Followers x 1% = $100 for a Sponsored Instagram Post
I recommend thinking more along the lines of charging 2 to 5% (5% being on the high end) of your following if you have high engagement and create high-quality content.
That formula would then look like this:
Your Followers x 5% = $Your Rate
Example:
10,000 Followers x 5% = $500 for a Sponsored Instagram Post
Insider Tip: These percentages are entirely up to your discretion. I always say don’t be afraid to charge more.
Charging for a Sponsored Carousel Post
Carousel posts have a few things going for them:
- They’re more engaging than a standard static post
- They give you the ability to mix and match content (video + images, or vice versa)
- The brand gets more content pieces showcasing their product or service
I typically like to start with my standard rate and add money based on these items above.
Then, I suggest having a rate you can tack on per additional slide a company wants in your sponsored carousel post. While photos aren’t that “popular” on Instagram anymore (because Reels, haha), I find that these are great for engagement, especially when considering the Instagram algorithm. Not to mention, brands still like them!
If you’re short on time and don’t want to guess what to say to brands, grab my fill-in-the-blank brand email templates by clicking here!
Charging for a Sponsored Instagram Story
From my experience, there are a couple of ways you can determine how much to charge for an Instagram story:
- Charge a flat fee per story slide
- Charge 1% of your average Story views
As with everything else, your Instagram Story price will change based on various factors. But I find that using a mix of both points above is a good starting point.
Charging for a Sponsored Video Post
Video can be a complicated beast. My go-to for videos has always been to double my photo post rate. For example, if you charged $500 for a static photo post, a video post could be $1,000.
However, there are other factors that you should consider with your video Instagram post price:
- Length of video
- Video quality
- Licensing
- Editing time
If needed, do research on video standards and licensing to know how much to charge. IGTV posts aren’t really a thing anymore, but if a brand wants a long-form video from you, this is the pricing method I’d use.
And if you want to start landing higher paying brand deals, you’ll need to have a media kit template like this one — click here!
Charging for a Sponsored Instagram Reel
For sponsored Reels, you can certainly follow the same guidelines as listed above; however, there are other ways you can charge for Reels. One of them is a tiered pricing method. This means that you would be paid based on the number of views your Reel gets in a specific amount of time.
For example, I’ve seen folks suggest that TikTok pays around 4 cents per 1,000 views. Considering everything we just discussed regarding Instagram influencer rates, I believe that’s WAY too low.
And I mention this in my Instagram influencer course too.
I would suggest thinking of your tiers like our 1% rule instead. Therefore, you’d charge 1% of the total views.
A tier for our influencer with 10,000 might look like:
- 1,000 to 5,000 views = $50
- 5,001 to 10,000 views = $100
- 10,001 to 50,000 views = $500
- 50,001 to 100,000 = $1,000
- 100,001 to 500,000 = $5,000
- 500,000 to 1,000,000 = $10,000
You can totally omit this and simply charge a flat rate for your Reel instead.
However, I would consider adding a clause in your partnership contract stating you will be paid $XYZ more if your Reel generates a certain number of views.
Can you imagine getting paid $500 for an Instagram Reel, which turns into a viral Reel at 20 million+ views? You’d be losing out on a lot of income while that brand got tons of exposure! I sometimes suggest this when charging for TikTok posts too.
While I have you, you should also read my guide on how to create viral Reels.
Charging for a Link in Bio
The pricing for a Link in Bio is entirely up to you and the value you place on your profile. In my opinion, I would never charge under $100 for ANYTHING, but again, this is up to your discretion.
Remember, your bio is prime real-estate on your profile, so it’s 100% worth getting money for any links placed there!
Don’t negotiate without help! Land higher paying brand deals with my proven brand pitch email templates click here!
Charging for a Sponsored Instagram Live
As Instagram Lives change, the way we charge for them may change. Badges, for example, were only added within the last year!
For Instagram Lives, I suggest determining an hourly rate for yourself and using that to determine the overall price of the Live. For example, if you charged $100 per hour, a 30min Live may cost $50.
Charging for a Sponsored Giveaway
Charging for a sponsored giveaway post typically follows the same rules as a sponsored static post. However, the price increase comes with what type of giveaway you’re doing!
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Will your followers have to follow the brand’s page to enter the giveaway?
- Will the brand be cross-promoting the giveaway so you can also get some followers from them?
- Is the brand asking you to collect emails, and will you access these emails too?
Once you figure out these terms, you can better understand whether you should charge the same as a static post or more to drive traffic to the brand’s social platforms.
Free Influencer Rate Calculator
Okay, so before we continue, I want to introduce you to my free influencer rate calculator. This calculator takes into consideration everything we just covered up until this point:
Now that you have an idea of how much to charge for a Static post, Reels, video, and pretty much every other post type, let’s discuss some additional factors for finding your influencer rates.
Should You Have an Influencer Rate Card?
Yes! Having an influencer rate card is a great idea! A rate card is a PDF that displays how much you charge for content creator services.
It’s a super useful tool to have, ESPECIALLY if you want to upsell brands for more money! Ideally, your rate card will match your influencer media kit branding, so when you send it over to the Nordstrom team to review, it looks all branded.
And if you want to start landing higher paying brand deals, you’ll need to have a media kit template like this one — click here!
Final Tips for Charging for Sponsored Instagram Content
WOW. Talk about a ton of math, huh. So now, let’s discuss a few of my top tips for charging for sponsored Instagram content.
Never Take the First Offer
I don’t care what anyone tells you. When a brand reaches out, never take the first offer!
No matter who the brand is, they’re going to be offering you the least amount possible, most likely. NEGOTIATE. Ask for more money and come to a mutual agreement. You can use your insights to leverage higher pay!
Not doing this could be a huge mistake with brand deals.
Remember, This is Business
Whether you like it or not, as an influencer you are in BUSINESS. I see it all the time, people start this venture from a hobby and a passion to create.
And that usually means that they’re coming from a background with 0 sales or business experience. That results in influencers taking free products from brands in exchange for posts because, well, who wouldn’t want that free stuff, right?
You probably weren’t expecting to get compensated for something that started as a hobby, right? But, at the end of the day brands are looking to work with you to essentially borrow your audience.
That’s a business transaction, so you need to treat this, like a business.
If you’re short on time and don’t want to guess what to say to brands, grab my fill-in-the-blank brand email templates by clicking here!
Get a Media Kit
A media kit is like a resume that lists out who you are. I can honestly say a good influencer media kit template is essential for getting ready to charge for sponsored Instagram posts because it gives brands an idea of who you are and what your numbers look like.
Brands want to know that their ad dollars are being spent as effectively as possible.
So in a recession, they’ll be super picky with who they work with. If want to show brands that you mean business and that you’re the results-driven influencer they need, a professional media kit is the way to go.
If you want to start landing higher paying brand deals, you’ll need to have a media kit template like this one — click here!
Take Accountability
Truth bomb: YOU are responsible for making sure you get compensated fairly. Not brands. Not your friends. You. (Not me. Not Hermione. YEWWWWW)
As business folks, it’s our responsibility to make sure we’re sticking up for our worth and pricing our content appropriately. The reason why you see some brands lowball influencers and continue to offer free products in exchange for posts is because INFLUENCERS are accepting these offers and not thinking twice about it.
If you’ve worked with brands for free or very little, that’s okay! We’ve all done it—you’re still an amazing influencer.
Just do better for next time.
Grow Your Instagram Following
While your Instagram following doesn’t determine how much money you can make, having a larger and more engaged Instagram community can help put you in a high-earning tier.
And there are so many ways to grow your followers organically!
Build a Website
Some folks might disagree with me on this, but building a website is crucial to your success, in my opinion! If you want to charge for sponsored Instagram posts, you’re going to have to start treating your Instagram like a business.
A website is a great way to level up. Your site can also get you discovered on search engines like Pinterest and Google. Anyways, by no means do you need to blog, but it can make you more money!
If you’re short on time and don’t want to guess what to say to brands, grab my fill-in-the-blank brand email templates by clicking here!
Next Steps for Finding Your Influencer Rates
I hope this post gave you some insight on how much to charge for sponsored Instagram posts! Remember, you can use my influencer rate calculator for more help.
To keep upping your Instagram game, read these influencer guides next:
