The Manual #65 - Negotiating deals

I shared this screenshot of a deal that landed in my inbox. 1 shortform video that’s to be posted on TikTok and IG for $20,000 USD.

This deal actually started at $12,000 but I got it up to $20,000.

I had a lot of questions, so I’m going to answer them here:

How do you get your deals?
99% of my deals come inbound. I rarely ever outreach to a brand/company unless it’s someone I’ve worked with before and I have a perfect video lined up.

Do you have a manager?
No. There’s nothing wrong with having a manager. But a manager’s job is to negotiate your deals and handle the admin most people don’t like. However I love negotiating deals and handling the admin.

How do you even get brands to reach out?
It’s actually super simple — make high quality content. Brands want to associate with creators who have a certain image. Every niche will be different. I primarily focus on clean aesthetics and premium products. This naturally brings in higher quality brands. I see too many creators not focusing on the quality of their video, the way they talk, the way they present themselves — all of this matters a lot. Premium brands want premium creators.

Brands have tons of money.
I like to think “what would an agency charge if they were required to do this job?” - not only that, they have access to an audience as well as the content. Agencies would easily charge tens of thousands to do similar work, why can’t I? Most brands have tons of money to spend on marketing,

How much of it will be profit?
There are no costs other than my own time to make the video. It will probably take me 2-4 hours from shooting, editing, to final video. $20,000 for 2-4 hours of my time isn’t bad.

How do you know how much to charge?
There is no “correct” amount. It depends on so many variables. But I talk to lots of other creators in the space and ask how much they’re charging. Most of my close creator friends are happy to talk money, as we all want to be paid more.

Why am I sharing this?
I truly believe in the idea of the rising tide raises all boats. By sharing this information it’s my way of showing what’s possible. It’s a win-win for both creators and companies.

It’s ok to do “free” work.
If there’s a brand you’re really keen to associate yourself with, or someone you want to build a relationship with, it’s ok to do free work. I’ve done tons of free work in the past to help build a relationship. But there is always a sort of “you owe me”. Sure some people will take advantage, but most will always pay you back in some way.

If you’re interested in learning more, I have videocreatorcourse.com and onlinecreatorcourse.com where I go in to more detail about everything

Link Lowdown

A collection of links to stuff I think are worth sharing. You can also find more links on linklowdown.com

PUSH — Started using this recently to track and progress my workouts.

Board — A fresh new take on board games.

ClipBook — Well designed clipboard app for Mac.

Atlas — ChatGPT now have their own browser. I’m still using Dia for now though.

Orchestra — Beautiful chat app for businesses.

Affinity — One of the best Photoshop alternatives is now completely free.

pop.site — Pushed a bunch of new updates, including animated sites.

Sixtep — Simple word game for iPhone.

Kingdom Rush 5 — My favourite iPad game series ever. I’ve been trying to find similar games but it’s hard. I just love the graphics and gameplay on this.