The problem
A retainer is up for renewal. You want more. The brand says “let’s keep it where it is.” You say your videos have been doing great. They say everyone’s videos have been doing great.
The rule
Don’t argue with feelings. Bring a card with four numbers on it.
- Your sales rate against the rest of the roster. Not your views. Your sales per 1K, next to the roster’s.
- Your share of the brand’s winners. How many of the videos that cleared the money line this quarter were yours?
- What one of your slots is worth. Your usual sales rate, times price, times the views a video of yours usually gets. In dollars.
- What you have reused. Scripts of yours that other creators, or other products, have run and won with. Value that outlives the video.
Say it to a creator
“One of my slots is worth about twice a roster slot. I am asking for a rate that reflects that.”
The example
Sales per 1K views
You
1.6
Roster average
0.8
Winners this quarter (of 400)
You
60
Average creator (50 on the roster)
8
Expected value of one slot
You
$410
Roster average
$190
What not to bring
Views. Follower count. Screenshots of comments. Anything the brand cannot turn into money. What the brand hears from the card is numbers from their own data. They can check them. That is what makes it hard to say no.
Do this in Verdict
- 1The Proof Card pulls those four numbers from your videos on the brand for the window you pick.
- 2Export it as a one-page PDF. Send it before the call, not during.