Usage rights is one of those things in influencer marketing that makes everyone’s palms sweaty.

• How do you ask a creator to lend their content?
• What’s a fair rate to offer for usage rights? Should you negotiate?
• How can you ensure you don’t disappoint your influencer partner and your team?
  

This article will answer the peskiest questions about usage rights. Our source? Real experience from influencer marketers who battle with usage rights and all its nuances day in and day out.

Get crystal clear about how your brand will use influencer content

One of the first things you need to have complete information on is why you need usage rights from your influencer partner.

• Do you plan to put paid spend behind it and run it as an ad? If yes, on which platforms?
• Do you aim to add some influencer posts to your product pages? Which ones?
• When (and for how long) do you want to use the influencer content?
  

This will require you to have conversations with other departments in your company ahead of time and understand their expectations. It can sound tedious and unnecessary preparation because, why can’t you just do these tasks after getting the usage rights?

But doing this homework will help you:

• Shape influencer briefs in a way that fulfills your other marketing team’s need
• Answer any follow-up questions influencers might ask after hearing about usage rights
• Understand the true value of getting usage rights from every influencer and negotiate accordingly
  

For example, if an influencer quotes a much higher rate than your budget for usage rights, you have all the information you need to decide whether stretching your wallet is worth it for this piece of influencer content.

One of the first lessons of the dos and don’ts of influencer marketing is it doesn’t work in a silo. You need to constantly be in communication with your adjacent teams to ensure your expectations are aligned.

Marit Tiesema, Senior KOL & Ambassador Specialist at Loop Earplugs, explains with an example:

Marit Tiesema

Sr KOL & Ambassador Specialist, Loop Earplugs, Loop Earplugs

If I ask influencers to create more storytelling-based content, that might not work for my paid social team. They might need an influencer that talks about the product way more clearly – like ‘these are the product benefits’ and ‘this is what it resolves.’ So, you want to ensure you don't pay for usage rights here.

The conclusion: align with your adjacent marketing teams about the creative assets they need before you start dipping your toe in the world of usage rights.

Now, once you’ve done that groundwork, you’ll have (believe it or not) more questions. The following sections will answer them all.

Should you get usage rights for every single piece of influencer content?

The TL;DR: if you’re getting usage rights for free for eternity, why not? But if you’re paying for usage rights, be cautious about asking it only for influencer content that you’re 100% going to use.

Once you know the expectations of your adjacent marketing teams, you know the influencer content for which you need usage rights. You’re all clear there.

But there might be other creator content that appears useful, but you’re on the edge of whether you can repurpose it internally. What should you do here?

First: specifically for gifting campaigns, ask influencers if they’d be willing to offer usage rights to their content. In other types of collaborations, include the usage rights in your influencer contract. Some smaller creators or influencers might be more than willing to provide usage rights at no additional cost for as long as you need. Bless them. It’s a no-brainer to lock in the usage rights in this scenario.

Second: if an influencer is willing to provide usage rights at an additional cost, run a quick math of whether you can obtain any ROI from their content. For instance:

• If you’re sure that an influencer’s content is worth using somewhere sometime + you can get it for perpetuity at a reasonable cost (say 10% of their base fee) = it’s a fair and profitable deal.
  
• If you’re unsure whether an influencer’s content can be repurposed into any creative asset internally + you need a large financial commitment (let’s say 40% of their base rate for every month) = it’s a sinking ship deal.
  
• If you’re uncertain whether an influencer’s content is useful to your team + you can get it at a reasonable price = ask your team if they ever forecast a need for it and proceed if they say yes.
  

⚡ Pro-tip: do your best to be the one who proposes combined rates for content and usage rights (instead of asking influencers for their fees). This will put you in a good position for negotiations and gives directions to creators who are still figuring out what fair rates are.

Lastly: don’t obtain paid usage rights for time-sensitive influencer content if you don’t see an immediate use for it. For example, if a creator created content around your Black Friday or Christmas sale that you don’t plan on using during those windows, it doesn’t make sense to acquire its usage rights.

When should you ask for usage rights?

If agents are involved, they’ll immediately look at usage rights in a contract. But if you’re collaborating with an independent influencer: this is the area where nuance has entered the chat. When you ask for usage rights depends on four factors:

1: The type of influencer campaign you’re running

Let’s say you’re running an influencer gifting campaign with no strings attached. Here, you can only ask for usage rights after a creator has shared content about your brand. You’ll only know an influencer's content's worth after you’ve seen it in this case: you might not want usage rights to a simple Instagram Story that says, “thank you, [brand]!” but you might want usage rights if an influencer has provided an in-depth honest, glowing review hitting all the right sales notes.

On the other hand, if you’re running affiliate campaigns, you might not verbally mention usage rights but put it in your influencer contract. A creator can negotiate or ask it to be removed before they sign the agreement.

⚠️ Note: if a creator has signed the contract without looking over the usage rights condition and is now uncomfortable with the concept, talk to them about how you can come to fair terms that both parties agree to. Yes, you can argue that they signed the contract and can’t do anything about it now – but remember, influencer marketing is a relationship business. You don’t want to make an influencer feel cheated or unfair. That's no good to anyone.

2: The size/fame of the influencer or agency you’re collaborating with

You can’t expect to use the influencer content of someone like Mr. Beast without ever mentioning it verbally. Not even by mistake. It can make you lose credibility and damage your reputation. Because getting his face on your company’s socials or ads is a big deal, you need to have that conversation proactively and upfront.

3: How you’re repurposing influencer content

It's not a huge deal if you’re obtaining usage rights just to reshare influencer content on your organic social account. You can add it to the contract; most influencers might be okay with it. You can tag them there and give credit where it’s due. Plus: it’s good exposure for the influencer, too.

In contrast, if you’re adding paid spend behind influencer content and adding it to your product pages, you need to run it by the creator first. Their content, name, face, and voice is appearing in places they might not catch on their own, so you need consent.

4: The size of your influencer marketing campaign

If you’re running a large project with tons of moving parts, it’s advisable to bring up usage rights sooner rather than later. You don’t want it to be a hiccup or timesuck when you’re in the middle of putting out other (more important) fires.

When you should bring up usage rights is run on a case-by-case basis. It’s not an easy thing to master without the wisdom of experience, but try to follow your gut.

For example, if a conversation is flowing smoothly with a creator and you can tell they’re okay with offering usage rights, maybe you can bring it up there and then to get it out of the way. If you’re worried they’ll have qualms about the whole thing, maybe you soothe their concerns by transparently sharing how you’ll use their content, where, etc.

How should you mention usage rights in your contract?

You need to mention usage rights as one of the terms in your influencer contract. But you have to translate it into legal-speak. Here’s a screenshot from our contract template:

It’s always advisable to run your contract through a legal team check to ensure you aren’t missing anything crucial. Ask your legal team to include details about:

• How you will distribute the creator’s content
• Rights to modify the influencer content you get
• Duration of usage rights (including when that duration starts)
  

Ideally, you’d want usage rights for three to six months, distribute the content wherever you like, and have full dibs on modifying it to fit the context. This will make things convenient and ensure you can freely use influencer content you have usage rights for.

That said, you can always include more specifics about the above three factors upon negotiating with the influencer to make them more comfortable.

For how long should you pay for usage rights?

One to three months is typically a sensible duration to ask for usage rights. Michael Todner, Lead of Influencer Marketing at Gear4Music, advises against overcommitting to avoid wasting money on acquiring usage rights for content that isn’t performing:

Michael Todner

Influencer Marketing, Gear4music

After the first month if the influencer content hasn’t performed well, we're obviously not going to want to use it any further. So, it’s better to commit for a shorter period of time and then review the contract later if the content performed really well.

He also adds that reviewing a contract to ask for extending the usage rights duration puts you on the back pedal for negotiating. But he says you can still make a better decision after knowing the ROI of a piece:

Michael Todner

Influencer Marketing, Gear4music

You can predict how the content will perform, allowing you to make an informed decision. But remember, influencers might charge more to extend the duration because they understand the content is performing well.

Test if the usage rights you’ve obtained are worth their paycheck. You never know what could hit or sink with paid media. Just because something performs extremely well organically doesn’t mean it’d also climb the charts in other forms of digital marketing. Acquiring usage rights for a shorter “testing period” can offer downside protection if the influencer content isn’t worth the cost.

Not to mention: you will ultimately hit a glass ceiling as to how well an influencer’s post performs for you. Getting usage rights for eternity sounds great in theory, but realistically, you might never use influencer content older than a year in your current marketing assets.

So, there’s no significant ROI in fighting to obtain usage rights for perpetuity unless you’re getting it for free (or for dimes).

When do usage rights come into effect?

Let’s say you’ve signed an agreement saying you’ve got usage rights for three months. Now, when do those three months begin? Does the timer start ticking when an influencer shares the deliverable with you? Or does the clock begin once the post is live?

In most cases, the countdown kicks off when you actually start repurposing the influencer content into one of your own creative assets – whether it’s for a paid ad, organic social, or embedding it in your newsletter.

But it’s always better to specify these timelines with the influencer to avoid miscommunication and legal trouble. Tell them that the timer activates as soon as any one of your marketing teams uses their content, and provide an estimated date of when that will be.

How much should you pay for usage rights?

There are two ways to pay for usage rights:

• Pay a flat fee for each month of usage rights you obtain
• Pay a percentage of their base fee
  

If you choose to pay a flat fee, present it as inclusive of a bundled package instead of a separate item. Say something such as, “Your rate for this campaign is $XXXX, including 3 Reels, 1 Story, and one month of digital usage rights.”

⚡ Pro-tip: always specify the type of usage rights – such as “digital.” Digital is best for any repurposing you intend to do on the internet because it’s a broader scope than just “social.”

This is a brilliant way to avoid overpaying for usage rights and splitting hairs about its separate, unique cost. But always ensure you also include the extension fee amount in your contract if/when you ask to increase the duration of usage rights. This will ensure the creator doesn't return with an inflated price for giving you usage rights for an additional period. Think ahead to minimize costs.

The second approach is when you pay a percentage of the influencer’s base fee for every month of usage rights. Expect to pay anywhere between 25–100% of an influencer's base fee depending on their negotiation skills, size, social media platform, and more.

I found some creators on TikTok sharing how much they charge for offering usage rights to brands:

• UGC creators San Antonio and Julia Phillips charge 30% of her base rate for every month of usage rights.
  
• Influencer coach Jessica Sloann advises creators to offer organic usage for free for three to six months, $1,000 for paid usage rights for 30 days, and anywhere between $250–$500 for usage rights on a brand’s website for 30 days.
  
• Creator business coach Kristen suggests charging nothing for organic usage for a fixed time period, 25–30% of the base rate for influencer whitelisting for 30 days, and 15–20% of the base rate for paid media usage rights for 30 days.

3 negotiation methods to pay less (& fair) for usage rights

Usage rights is a land ripe for negotiations. It might feel yucky, but negotiations are expected from both parties. Put on your salesperson hat and consider where you could negotiate usage rights for a piece you really want. Here are a few ideas:

1: Ask for the reasoning behind an influencer’s usage rights fees

Sometimes an influencer might throw a number out of thin air for their usage rights fee. Asking them to explain how they arrived at their rate can spot areas where you can negotiate.

For example, a creator might layer additional costs for usage rights on your brand’s website when you don’t plan to use their content there. Here, you can explain where you will use their content and present a fair counteroffer.

2: Address the influencer’s concerns

An influencer might struggle to give up usage rights because they don’t know how you’re going to modify their content before republishing it on other channels. Or they might be misinformed about what handing over usage rights entails. This is especially true when you’re negotiating directly with creators who are new in the world of influencer marketing and/or brand partnerships.

You can put a soothing balm on your influencer’s stressors by transparently explaining and educating them about usage rights and your plan with their content. If you just plan on cutting the part where an influencer mentions their unique discount code, for example, explain that. This will help the creator see the value they bring to the table and put an end to their concerns.

3: Negotiate tiered rights

If you sense hesitancy in the influencer for usage rights, suggest implementing a phased approach rather than a standard one.

For example, you could start by having limited usage rights to select pieces of their content for a short period of time and expand only if that’s successful and comfortable for both parties.

Offering this “trial run” can help creators feel protected and give them an out in case the long timeline or wide distribution is troubling them. In this method, you can also test how their content performs in the wild.

⚡ Remember: ultimately, you and the creator are on the same side. You both want to find a way to make this partnership work. Marit reminds that this can be hard to remember during negotiation conversations – leading to rising tensions. Her suggestion? Get on a call and hash it out:

Marit Tiesema

Sr KOL & Ambassador Specialist, Loop Earplugs, Loop Earplugs

If you're sending more than two emails back and forth and not reaching an agreement, jump on a call. It usually breaks the tensions fully. After that, everything is resolved because you understand each other.

Ultimately, usage rights is a (tricky) conversation

Usage rights can seem so daunting and challenging because marketers tiptoe around it. But it’s become common and influencers have come to expect usage rights in their contracts. Don’t hesitate to bring it up and come prepared to answer questions related to your usage rights terms. This alone can help you feel much more confident!

And usage rights isn’t the only difficult conversation you have to navigate as an influencer marketer. Here’s another one for you: Navigating Exclusivity In Influencer Partnerships.