Start with the deliverable
Base rate is a function of production effort: how long it takes to shoot, how complex the edit is, and how much of your day it consumes. Typical starting bands for creators with a solid portfolio and no meaningful audience:
- Single photo — The lowest-effort unit; usually sold in sets rather than singly.
- Short-form video, under 60 seconds — The core UGC product and the one most brands are buying. Commonly $150–$400 at the beginner-to-intermediate level.
- Video, 60 seconds to 3 minutes — Meaningfully more scripting and editing; typically two to three times the short-form rate.
- Photo set of 5–10 — Priced as a package, not per image.
- Bundles — Three to five deliverables at a modest discount — higher deal value, one shoot day, one negotiation.
Then apply the usage-rights multiplier
This is the part beginners give away for free, and it's frequently worth more than the base rate. A brand asking to run your video as a paid ad for a year is asking for a fundamentally more valuable product than a brand posting it once to their feed.
Price the licence as an explicit uplift on the base rate:
- Organic only — Included in base. They post it on their own channels.
- Paid ads, 30 days — Base + roughly 25%.
- Paid ads, 90 days — Base + roughly 50%.
- Paid ads, 12 months — Base + roughly 100%.
- Whitelisting / running ads from your handle — A further uplift — they're borrowing your identity, not just your footage.
- Perpetual buyout — A multiple of base. You can never resell it, licence it again, or renew it. Price accordingly, and be reluctant.
Term limits create renewal revenue
A 12-month licence expires. Track the date and the conversation writes itself: the asset is still performing, and they either renew or stop running it. Perpetual buyouts eliminate that revenue permanently — which is exactly why brands ask for them.
Then add the constraint fees
These aren't padding. Each one is compensation for something real that a brand is asking of you.
- Exclusivity — If you can't shoot for a competitor for 90 days, you're being paid to turn down work. Roughly 15–30% depending on how broadly the category is drawn — and insist it's drawn narrowly.
- Rush turnaround — Under five business days displaces other work. A flat 25% is standard.
- Extra revision rounds — One round included, then roughly 10% per additional round. This exists to end infinite revision cycles, not to make money.
- Raw footage — Priced separately. Handing over raws means they can recut it forever, which is a licensing question wearing a technical costume.
What not to do
- Don't quote per hour — You'd be punishing yourself for getting faster, and it invites scrutiny of your process instead of your output.
- Don't accept product-only past your third piece — Free product is payment in a currency you can't pay rent with. It's defensible once, to fill a portfolio gap.
- Don't discount to win a first deal — The first rate becomes the reference price for that client forever. If you must move, trade scope — fewer deliverables, shorter licence — rather than cutting the number.
- Don't quote before you know the usage — "What are you planning to do with the content — organic only, or paid?" is the highest-earning question in this business.
Handling the four common pushbacks
- "That's above our budget." — "What is the budget? I can shape the package to fit it." Then reduce deliverables or licence term — never the unit rate.
- "We'll give you exposure / free product." — "I'd love to work together. My rate for this scope is $X — I can start with a single video to keep it small."
- "Other creators charge less." — "They might. My rate includes two hook variants and 90-day paid usage — happy to quote organic-only if that's a closer fit."
- "Can we get perpetual rights included?" — "I license for a term rather than perpetually. A 12-month paid licence is $X; if you need perpetual, that's $Y."
Raise your rates on a schedule
Every ten completed deals, raise your base rate by 10–20% for new clients. Not for existing ones — grandfather them for a while; repeat business is worth more than the increment.
You'll know you're priced too low when your acceptance rate is very high. A rate that everyone says yes to immediately is a rate you should have set higher.