Your first brand collaboration: what to agree before saying yes
Before accepting your first brand collaboration, confirm what you will create, when it is due, what you will receive, when payment is due and how the brand may use the content. Record any exclusivity and paid promotion separately. You can use the checklist below in a notebook, spreadsheet or Paclara.
You do not need a long history of paid work to start keeping clear records. A useful first step is turning “we would love to work together” into a brief that both sides understand.
1. Find out what the offer actually includes
Ask whether the proposal is paid, product-only, affiliate-based or a combination. Do not assume that receiving a product means a fee is included, or that accepting a product settles what content you will deliver.
Confirm the brand or agency you are working with and your contact for questions, approvals and payment. Keep the brief and relevant messages together so you can refer to the same details later.
2. Describe the deliverables clearly
- Format and quantity: for example, one Instagram Reel and three Story frames.
- Publication: whether content goes on your account, is delivered to the brand for its use, or both.
- Production: the concept, product requirements, filming or photography and editing expected.
- Approvals: who checks drafts, the feedback deadline and which revisions are included.
- Extra requests: what happens if the brand changes the brief or asks for additional content.
A short written description is easier to refer back to than an informal promise to “make some content”.
3. Keep delivery, approval and publication dates separate
A draft deadline is different from a publication date. Record both, along with any approval step. If you need the product or feedback before you can finish, ask how a delay will affect the schedule.
For recurring work, confirm the quantity and timing of each deliverable rather than recording only the overall collaboration end date.
4. Confirm the fee and payment process
Record the agreed amount, currency and what the fee covers. Ask who receives your invoice, what information they need and which payment deadline has been agreed. If the arrangement has no cash fee, make that clear in your record too.
If you have no completed paid collaborations, start by listing the work, time, direct costs and permissions involved. Discuss the brand’s budget and prepare a proposal you are comfortable accepting. There is no single fee that this checklist can establish for every beginner.
Our Instagram post pricing guide includes a first-deal starting point. The payment tracker guide explains how to keep published work and outstanding payments separate.
5. Ask how the brand wants to use your content
Publishing a post on your account and supplying content for the brand to reuse are different parts of the brief. Ask which content is covered, the channels, territory and duration of the requested usage wherever applicable. Record the agreed wording with the collaboration.
Ask separately about boosting or other paid promotion, including its dates. Avoid treating every permission as part of the original content fee without first clarifying the scope.
6. Check exclusivity separately from boosting
If the brand requests exclusivity or a non-compete restriction, ask which categories or competitor brands are explicitly covered and when the restriction starts and ends. Do not guess which businesses count as competitors.
Keep this separate from the brand’s permission to promote or reuse content. The exclusivity, usage rights and boosting guide explains the details to record. For uncertainty about a contract’s meaning or legal effect, consult a qualified professional.
A message you can adapt before accepting
Thank you for the brief. Before I confirm, could we agree the deliverables, draft and publication dates, included revisions, fee and payment deadline? Please also confirm any brand usage, paid promotion and exclusivity requested, including their scope and dates. I can then send a proposal covering the agreed work.
Adjust this to the conversation and keep the final agreement, rather than relying only on your initial questions.
Your first-deal checklist
- I know the brand or agency and the relevant contact.
- I have recorded the type of arrangement and what I will receive.
- The deliverables, approvals and included revisions are clear.
- I have recorded delivery and publication dates separately.
- The fee, currency, invoice process and payment deadline are agreed where relevant.
- Any brand usage and paid promotion have a recorded scope and duration.
- Any exclusivity names the agreed categories or competitors and restriction dates.
- I have saved the final brief, agreement and useful correspondence.
This is an organisation checklist, not a complete contract or a conclusion about whether particular terms are enforceable.
Start keeping a record from your first collaboration
Paclara is a local-first iPhone app for recording collaborations, deliverables, dates, documents, fees and payments. You can begin organising work before you have pricing history. Its conflict checks use categories, competitor brands and dates you explicitly enter; they do not infer competitors or give legal conclusions.
Price a Deal needs at least two completed collaborations. Where available, it uses your own completed history and new-deal terms with Paclara’s deterministic pricing model to suggest a price and range. It does not provide a beginner market rate or use a shared pool of other creators’ rates.
Explore the brand deal tracker and creator pricing support. Your library is stored on your iPhone, with optional iCloud Sync and exports you choose to use; see the privacy policy for details.