One line per deliverable, per platform
A Reel, a TikTok, a YouTube integration and a set of Stories are different pieces of work with different reach, and the agency's brief lists them separately. Mirror that list: one line each, with the format, the length and the posting window. When the campaign changes mid-flight — a Story set dropped, a second TikTok added — the invoice already has a line to change.
Price the rights, not just the content
- Usage rights: the brand reposting your content on its own channels, for a stated number of months
- Whitelisting or paid usage: the brand running ads through your handle, priced by the length of the flight
- Exclusivity: staying out of a named product category for a stated period after posting
- Raw footage or unedited files, if the brand wants to recut the content itself
Exclusivity is income you turn down
Agreeing not to work with competing brands for two months is agreeing to refuse those deals, so it is priced like lost work rather than thrown in. Name the category narrowly — skincare, not beauty — because a broad category quietly blocks far more of your calendar than the fee covers.
Revisions, and the kill fee
State on the invoice how many rounds of revisions the brief included, so a third round of brand feedback is visibly an extra. If a campaign is cancelled after you have scripted or filmed, a kill fee — a share of the deal agreed in the contract — is invoiced on its own, referencing the original campaign.
Agencies pay on their calendar
Brand deals placed through agencies are commonly paid net 30 or net 60, counted from the day a complete invoice reaches accounts payable. Ask for the campaign or purchase order reference before you post, put it on the invoice, and attach the live links — an invoice without them is the one that goes back for correction and starts the clock again.
Gifted product is not payment
Product sent to feature does not reduce your fee, and it does not belong on the invoice as a credit. Bill the agreed cash amount in full. Whether gifted product has tax consequences for you is a question for an accountant, not a line item.
Common questions
- Should I take a deposit on a brand deal?
- For a large campaign or a brand you have not worked with, yes — often half at signing and half once the content is live. Invoice the deposit as its own document so the final invoice shows it as paid.
- What if the brand keeps running my content after the usage term?
- Invoice the extra period at the rate you would have charged for it, referencing the original campaign and the term printed on the first invoice. The conversation is short precisely because that invoice stated where the rights ended.
- Do I invoice the brand or the agency?
- The party that signed with you. On agency-run campaigns that is the agency, and its payment to you does not depend on whether the brand has paid it.