u/kahlua08

I've posted several times before and I think this is it... my first real brand deal I may actually be able to close. But I have no idea how to price it out.

I'll try to keep this short: This was a gifted collab and I made a reel promoting their product, and the reel is taking off. They LOVE the video and want to use it for paid ads (Google specifically).

I had a call with their CMO today and he says they don't normally pay influencers (just gifted collabs), because they want things to be authentic BUT they really want my video (lol), so he said to put together a proposal and he will discuss with his partners tomorrow.

Other things he mentioned... they may want me to launch their first ambassador program and have me be the face of their brand, go to conferences, is sending me A BUNCH of other products to try, etc, etc. BUT.. my niche is farming/homesteading. All of the brands I talk to are "small, family owned" so big numbers will surely scare them away.

HELP- NO IDEA WHAT TO DO HERE!

I've posted before and have gotten some pricing ideas from others, but they seem to be in other niches (beauty, fitness, etc.) and I'd really like to chat with people in similar niches!

My current situation...

-I was gifted a product in exchange for a reel. I posted the reel recommending the product and it's really taking off.

-The brand has reached out and asked for permission to run ads, etc. I said they're welcome to share on their page, but ads would be a separate engagement and there would be fees.

-The CMO has reached out to me saying they love the reel and want to use it in "many different ways" and asked to hop on a call, or text (gave me his cell).

-I texted him saying I could hop on a call later this afternoon and to share how he'd like to use the reel so that I can come better prepared to the call.

-He responded saying he wants to run Google ads and more.

Honestly nervous to hop on this call because I'm so NEW to this. I need to prepare and have some pricing in mind and maybe a proposal for more work?! Any advice?!

I posted a while back trying to close my first brand deal but had no idea what to charge (link to my other post HERE)...

With help from all of you, I responded with pricing and they said I'm over their budget. Ok fair enough... but their budget was $200 and they wanted the following:

-1 reel (including scenes from one of my viral reels), plus two additional hooks

-Whitelisting on IG and TikTok for 1 month

I quoted $750 for the reel and two hooks, plus $250 for 1 month whitelisting. Was I way off?

This isn't just a one-off. I have brands reaching out to me weekly but none of them will pay. "We're not doing paid-collabs at this time" I've heard it maybe 10 times now. I even ask what their budget is before saying my fees and they say NO BUDGET right from the start.

Is it me? Did I just choose a cheap niche?! (It's farming/chickens/gardening) My engagement rates are good... but I'm definitely feeling discouraged! I'm a newer creator (just started in Jan.) but have grown from 0-7k followers in that time frame (on IG).

I've done gifted collabs but have been turning them down recently (unless they have a valuable product). Should I be saying yes to the gifted collabs first, then building the relationship up to paid collabs? I feel like I'm shooting myself in the foot saying no, but also these videos take time!

Would love some advice on how I can turn these into paid deals!

Thanks all ❤️