What to ask for before paying a creator
The numbers to request before you agree an influencer deal, and how to check each one against what anyone can see on Instagram.
Ask for
A clear request saves a negotiation later. Before you agree, ask for:
- The price broken down by deliverable: each Reel, each Story, and anything else.
- The views the creator expects the Reel to reach, in writing.
- Their audience’s countries and age range, as a screen recording of Instagram’s own insights. A recording is harder to edit than a screenshot.
- Which of their recent Reels they posted from their own account, and which were collabs.
- The posting date, how long the Reel stays up, and whether you may reuse it in ads.
- What happens if the Reel reaches far fewer views than expected, for example a second post.
Check it yourself
- Open the creator’s last 20 or 30 Reels and note the view count of each, leaving out pinned Reels, Reels under 14 days old and Reels another account posted.
- Take the middle value, and compare it with the views the creator expects.
- Divide the Reel price by that middle value and multiply by 1,000 to get the cost per 1,000 views.
- Compare the audience countries with where your customers are. Views from elsewhere reach nobody you sell to.
Keep the evidence
Save the numbers you checked with the date you checked them. If the result disappoints, a written expectation and a dated record are what make a conversation about a second post possible.