August 31, 2022
Bethany Everett on her Journey as a Micro-Influencer
Content creator and Createur app user Bethany Everett (@twentysomethingplus on Instagram) has always had a passion for fashion...
September 20, 2022
Fashion and lifestyle content creator Lauryn Hock (@lauryncakes on Instagram) has long been an advocate for fair pay in the creator space. Lauryn regularly facilitates transparent conversations among her community of peers, and acts as a mentor to up-and-coming creators. As a full-time micro-influencer (fewer than 100k followers), Lauryn takes time to make sure that her business ventures resonate not only with her own values, but also her audience’s. A key consideration when Lauryn’s looking to partner with a brand is whether this brand practices fair creator compensation.
Discussion around fair pay for creators is taking the center stage among both creators and brands. Today, the creator economy is valued at a staggering $13.8B, and with the increasing prominence of the industry, creators are officially demanding fair compensation. Brands should take note—staying up to speed with how to rightfully compensate your brand partners is certainly in your best interest.
For this Creator Spotlight blog post, we sat down with Lauryn to further understand her perspective on the topic of paying creators. In our interview, Lauryn offered insights on the industry conversation, expectations from brands, and strategies content creators can use to ensure they’re properly compensated.
"In the same way that marketers would recommend against working with certain influencers, it’s the same on our end. We’ve heard bad things about certain brands. We have influencer community groups, so word gets around if a brand doesn’t pay, or demands things that weren’t in the contract."
Lauryn Hock, Fashion and Lifestyle Content Creator
Just a year or two ago, I constantly needed to educate brands on paying creators. They expected people to work for free. When you’re a creator, it's not like you're just creating user-generated content and don't have to put your likeness behind a product and brand. You are vouching for something, and expressing that you stand behind it. That said, creators need to demand payment so that brands realize creators can be picky, too. Otherwise, if you’re working with everybody, why should your audience trust you?
When I was a newer creator, I worked with some brands where we agreed on a price, but not so much on the terms, and they'd come back later and want a re-shoot. I didn't realize that I had the ability to say no. This behavior has changed my mind about brands before. If they're paying a minimal amount and are super picky, I’m less likely to purchase their product again, because they didn't treat me right. I’ve had this conversation so many times, maybe once a week with my colleagues. We’ll discuss our pay rates and which brands aren’t paying us, among other things. I’m lucky that most brands are finally catching on.
I’m seeing a lot more brands offering payment in their initial emails. That's a major green flag for me. Brands are finally realizing the value of influencer marketing, and putting more budget behind it.
Absolutely. When I work with local businesses, for example, I’m more likely to do a trade or work under my usual rate. We’re both small businesses, so I want us both to get the fair end of the stick.
When it comes to paid versus unpaid opportunities, I’m definitely going to prioritize paid collaborations first—I can't do this work for free. When it's a free collaboration that I truly resonate with, I'll put it into my schedule for when time permits. There are some amazing opportunities that come up, but I can’t let the free collaborations take away from the paid ones.
There was a point when I was getting so many gifting samples in the mail, I couldn't even keep up. Over the past few years, brands have become more conscious of both their budgets and the environment. For me, there are no strings attached when it comes to gifting. I don't want to receive a gift and feel pressured to post—I just can't prioritize that. In the past, I've had brands gift me something, then quickly circle back to ask if I’ve posted yet. I don’t feel good about receiving gifts if there’s a requirement attached to it.
Well, I just upped my rates due to inflation. If I have to pay more for my breakfast burrito, I should be making more money. I have a la carte pricing, and packaged pricing. My rates also vary depending on the holiday season.
I always have issues with payment. Right now I'm waiting on $2,500 from a brand, and I’ve been waiting for months. I probably should have added a late fee into the contract. Getting paid through PayPal is also challenging, because they take a fee. Those fees eventually add up.
Perhaps I should have worked with a lawyer earlier on. I used to have no idea what I was reading in a contract. As it stands, I review at least two contracts per-week, so I know exactly what verbiage to look for, and where to ask for stuff to be taken out. Most of my friends don’t work with lawyers, although some of those with larger followings do. I don’t currently work with one.
In the same way that marketers would recommend against working with certain influencers, it’s the same on our end. We’ve heard bad things about certain brands. We have influencer community groups, so word gets around if a brand doesn’t pay, or demands things that weren’t in the contract.
Go into a conversation knowing what you want to get paid. I have a rate sheet where I’ve calculated everything. I pull it up all the time to reference. I’m always putting all the deliverables in a spreadsheet—that way, I know how much I’m willing to negotiate with a brand. I also find that a lot of smaller creators don't know that they should be charging for ongoing image and video usage. Don't ever give that away for free indefinitely. It’s not worth it to have your name behind a brand forever. You never know how or when they could use it.
According to Tribe Dynamics’ 2021 Influencer Marketing Trends Report, the majority of creators indicated that being compensated was very important to them—and Lauryn is no exception. In the coming years, demand for fair compensation in influencer marketing will only continue to grow. The brands that want to stay ahead of the curve will be those that know how to properly nurture their creator relationships.
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“Working with Tribe Dynamics over the past 5+ years has been a true partnership in every sense of the word. The sophistication in their data is unmatched in the industry, and the level of insight in their analysis has become indispensable for any marketer in the beauty space today. They’re truly best-in-class.”
