A report from the Internet Creators Guild sheds light on the shadowy back-end of YouTube monetisation.

Brand deals > Pre-roll

The report authors surveyed professional creators to discover their methods, concerns, and income patters.

It found 50% of creators now get most of their income from brand deals—agreements with advertisers and marketers to mention them in their content.

Advertisers may refer to the same agreements as influencer marketing.

Remuneration range

Creators with specialty skills earn more from brand deals, especially if their demographics are mainly adults in affluent countries.

Creators that hit these targets reported earnings as high as 50 cents per view for regular sponsor-mention clips, or up to $1.80 per view for videos co-created with their sponsors.

Negotiation fears

More than a third of content creators find negotiating the terms of their brand deals to be the hardest part.

Sponsors could benefit by removing stress from negotiations. Smart operators may be able to achieve this without compromising on bottom-line objectives simply by being clear and welcoming.

Bargaining baselines

The report sets a current baseline for brand deal remunerations.

Aside from identifying trends, it also suggests an equitable middle ground: no less than five cents per view for full integrations; no less than 1.5 cents per view for sponsor mentions.

In all cases, they expect payment to be made on upload, based on previous channel performance.

Does your experience working with influencers add-up with the ICG report?

Copy Transmission is a Melbourne-based agency :: Better Brands. Loud & Clear.