The Essential Components of an Influencer Contract
Here are some essential components to include in your influencer contracts.
One important note: If you have particularly sensitive or complex contract requirements, don’t take risks and consult a legal professional.
1. Named Parties, Definitions, and Relationship
State everyone’s name (and business name), plus any shorthand you might use (e.g. “The Organization” and “The Influencer”).
You should also explicitly document your legal working relationship. For instance, the influencer is typically an independent contractor, rather than an employee.
2. Nature and Delivery of Services
This section explains:
-
How you will work together: This includes who is responsible for each step in the process and which platforms you’ll use for the campaign.
-
Time management expectations: Outline the timeline for the deliverables, any important meetings and other dates of note.
-
Turnaround time expectations: Clarify when each party will return a deliverable. For example, this could include responding to edits within 48 hours.
3. Fees, Terms, and Termination
This section will state how much the influencer will be paid and how payment works. For example, the creator will send a monthly invoice for deliverables with payment due 30 days later.
It will also note how long the project is expected to last, what happens if there are late deliverables, and how each party can cancel the contract, with details like notice periods or fees.
In this section, you can also include how your company handles billable expenses. For instance, an expense will only be billable if agreed to, in writing, before incurring the expense.
4. Confidentiality, Exclusivity, and Conflicts of Interest
A reality of working with influencers is that they will have other clients and brands they work with.
You may want to include causes that ensure the influencer will:
-
Not take on work with a direct competitor during your campaign;
-
Complete the contract regardless of other work that they may receive in that time; or
-
Sign a non-disclosure agreement and keep all information confidential.
5. Content Ownership
Your contract must indicate what content you own versus what intellectual property the influencer retains.
Intellectual property is important, especially if you’re using influencer marketing to build a bank of content that can be reused and repurposed for future campaigns.
You’ll also want to include a clause for mutual indemnity. This means each party will pay the other for damages they cause during the project. So, for example, if you accidentally break an influencer’s camera on set, you pay for repair or replacement.
6. Non-solicitation, notice, and choice of law
Three legal concepts – non-solicitation, notice, and choice of law – are important for covering your bases when it comes to working with influencers and creators.
Non-solicitation is when both parties agree not to poach each other’s employees or contractors.
Notice defines when something is officially “delivered” and is typically an email address—once you send it there, it’s considered delivered.
Choice of law refers to the courts you’ll use if needed, usually based on your location. For instance, a Los Angeles company would choose California law and file in an LA court.
7. General Comments and Independent Legal Advice
This section is for any additional clauses, which could come from negotiations or unique components that apply to your business.
It’s also the section where you include a clause where everyone agrees they’ve had the chance to seek legal advice. This helps seal the contract as it declares that everyone agrees they understand the legal details.
8. Signatures
Arguably the most crucial step is where you, as the brand, and the influencer sign the contract, making it legally binding.
Good Contracts Make Good Partnerships
A good contract is about solidifying your mutual understanding of the project so everyone can get to the good stuff — producing great content.
If you want the contract step to be easy, you need a platform that helps you manage sourcing influencers, outreach, communication, and negotiations in one place.
You’ll also want analytics after the fact, particularly if any payment or future work is based on the success of the campaign.
Book a free demo with Influence to learn more about how the platform makes your entire influencer management ecosystem simple.
