Everything you need to know about rate cards for influencer in Malaysia.
By the end of this, you will have a rate card that earns for you.
Scroll or use chapters on the top.
Introduction
What is a Influencer Rate Card in context of Malaysia?
Think of a rate card as your business card—but more comprehensive. It not only introduces you as a creator but also includes detailed information about your services and, most importantly, your rates. A well-crafted rate card is often the first thing handed to brands or clients, making it your opportunity to create a strong first impression.
While many creators simply list their rates and leave it at that, those who aspire to go full-time as content creators should go the extra mile. Your rate card is a reflection of your professionalism and potential. Why not make it a tool that truly stands out?
The chapters ahead will break down every element of a successful rate card—one that has helped creators I manage earn up to RM50,000 in their first 6 months. Let’s dive in and transform your rate card into a game-changer for your career.
Chapter 1
Rate Card Disclaimers
Why is it important to put disclaimers on your rate cards.
Including a disclaimer in your rate card is essential and should be standard practice for all creators. Here’s why:
Protect Your Rates: A disclaimer ensures your rates are treated as confidential and shields them from being publicly shared without context.
Manage Public Perception: While viewers may assume influencers earn a lot, openly displaying your rates can sometimes lead to misunderstanding, envy, or even resentment. Protecting this information maintains professionalism and avoids potential backlash from your audience.
By adding this disclaimer, you safeguard both your brand and your business relationships.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this document (including the attachments) is strictly confidential and highly classified. The content is only intended for you (the addressed individual or recipient) and may not be disclosed to any other person or company without the KOL’s consent. Unauthorized distribution or disclosure of the content in this document is strictly prohibited, may be unlawful and may result in legal actions being taken against you.
Chapter 2
Guaranteed Deliverables
What is guaranteed deliverables?
Guaranteed deliverables refer to the measurable results you commit to achieving for a client. These are based on metrics that you and the client agree upon, such as views, engagement rates, or reach.
Clients often ask if you can guarantee deliverables, especially when higher budgets are involved. Here's how to approach this:
Set a Baseline for Views: If you’re charging more than RM2,500, it’s a good idea to establish guaranteed deliverables based on your average performance. For example, if your Instagram content typically achieves 25,000 views within one month, you can set 25K baseline views as your guaranteed deliverable.
Focus on Reels: In 2024, Instagram Reels remain the most popular content format. Since Reels often provide consistent metrics, it’s recommended to limit guaranteed deliverables to this format for better accuracy and reliability.
Example
If one of the creators I manage consistently garners 25,000 views per video after one month, I confidently position this as the guaranteed deliverable when negotiating with clients.
By offering realistic and data-driven guarantees, you not only build trust with clients but also position yourself as a professional who understands performance metrics.
As many of you may already know from past brand deals, branded content often doesn’t perform as well as organic content. There’s always a chance that a video might fall below the baseline views you’ve guaranteed. When this happens, you may need to boost the video (using paid promotion) to meet the promised metrics.
Why Guarantee Deliverables?
You might wonder, “Why put myself in a vulnerable position by guaranteeing results?” The answer lies in the strategic benefits it brings:
Stand Out from Competitors:
Most influencers shy away from guarantees, but offering one sets you apart and shows your confidence in delivering results.Motivation for Quality Content:
When you guarantee metrics, you’re incentivized to go the extra mile. This ensures your content performs well, leading to happy clients who are more likely to return for future collaborations.Set Realistic Client Expectations:
Guaranteeing deliverables helps clients understand what to expect while also leaving room for potential success. For instance, you can clarify that guaranteeing 25K views doesn’t rule out the possibility of the video going viral—it’s simply a realistic baseline.
Pro Tip:
Always communicate openly with clients about the variables affecting branded content performance and how boosting can be a contingency plan. This transparency builds trust and reinforces your professionalism.
Chapter 3
Production Cost & Media Cost
Including both production cost and media cost in your rate card helps clients understand exactly what they’re paying for.
Many influencers set fixed prices for each type of content, such as RM3,000 for an Instagram Reel or RM2,000 for a TikTok video. However, issues can arise when a client requests the same video to be posted on multiple platforms. Since the video is produced only once, clients might feel they are overpaying if each platform is charged as a separate piece of content. Breaking down your pricing into production and media costs turns potential client concerns into a showcase of your professionalism and business professionalism.
This is what your rate card may look like now:
This is what your rate card should look like after:
When you introduce a breakdown of production cost and media cost, something interesting happens: you create room for negotiation and potential extra income—all while maintaining transparency.
Media Cost Stays Constant:
While adding production costs, your media cost remains the same, which simplifies the pricing structure and highlights the value of the production process.
Leverage for Negotiation:
If a client feels your rates are too high, you have the option to waive the production cost as a gesture of goodwill. This flexibility can make you appear accommodating while still maintaining fair compensation.Production Cost as a Small Percentage:
Keep your production cost at 5-10% of your current total rate. For example, if you’re charging RM3,000 for an Instagram Reel:Production Cost: RM150–RM300
Media Cost: RM2,700–RM2,850
Adapting Rates with Growth:
As your influence grows, media cost should increase to reflect your growing audience and content value, while your production cost remains fixed. This ensures clients see a fair structure while allowing your income to scale with your brand.
Why This Works:
Transparency Builds Trust: Clients see exactly what they’re paying for.
Scalable Structure: Keeps your pricing flexible and aligned with your value as an influencer.
Room for Negotiation: Allows you to adjust rates strategically without undervaluing your work.
This approach not only boosts client confidence but also ensures your income grows steadily with your career.
Chapter 4
Digital Content Usage
What does DCU really mean and how to charge them?
Digital Content Usage (DCU) or Digital Rights refers to the permission you grant clients to use the content you create under specific terms. This means you are allowing them to use your video, image, or other digital content beyond your original platform, for a defined period and purpose.
By law, the copyright of any creation belongs to its creator, even if the creator is paid for the work. Charging Digital Content Usage (DCU) fees ensures that you are compensated for allowing clients to use and repurpose your content. Essentially, by charging DCU, you're granting the brand the rights to use your content according to agreed terms.
Repost Purposes
You grant the brand permission to share or repost your content on platforms that are not affiliated with you. This includes, but is not limited to, the brand’s official social media pages, such as their Facebook or Twitter accounts. The reposted content will be used to enhance the brand’s visibility and engagement across various online platforms.
Boosting Purposes
When agreeing to Boosting Purposes, you authorize the brand to promote or boost your content via paid advertising. This may involve providing the brand with access to ad codes or promotion tools on platforms like TikTok or Instagram to reach a wider audience. This allows the brand to increase the content's reach through targeted advertisements, optimizing its performance beyond organic reach.
Marketplace Purposes
By consenting to Marketplace Purposes, you allow the brand to utilize your content on product listings or e-commerce platforms, such as their website or Shopee listings. This permission enables the brand to feature your content as part of their product marketing, enhancing product pages or promotional material to attract customers and improve sales performance.
Why These Purposes Matter
It is important to understand that each of these usage categories represents a different level of exposure and value for your content. By defining and charging appropriately for these rights, you ensure your work is used in a manner that aligns with your business goals and protects your intellectual property.
Repost Purposes
For Repost Purposes, I recommend charging 10% of your total rate per month. This covers the permission for the brand to repost your content on unaffiliated platforms.
Example:
If your total fee for the client (including media and production costs) is RM5,000, then the DCU for reposting would be RM500 per month.
Boosting Purposes
For Boosting Purposes, where the brand wants to use your content for paid ads, charge 30% of your total rate per month. This allows the brand to use your content for advertising and promotional purposes on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Marketplace Purposes
For Marketplace Purposes, where the brand wishes to use your content on their product listings or e-commerce pages, charge 100% of your total rate per month. This usage typically involves showcasing your content on websites like Shopee, Lazada, or other product listings.
Caution About Marketplace Listings
I strongly recommend being cautious when allowing brands to use your likeness in marketplace listings. If the brand faces any issues, such as fulfillment problems or customer service challenges, it could reflect poorly on your image as a creator. For instance, if customers experience delays or issues with the brand and your face is prominently featured on their product listings, they may unfairly associate the problem with you, which could harm your reputation.
As a creator, it’s important to weigh the potential risks and benefits of marketplace usage to ensure it aligns with your personal brand image.
Upfront Charging for DCU Fees
It is advisable to charge clients upfront for Digital Content Usage (DCU) fees rather than on a monthly basis. Charging upfront reduces the risk of delays in payments and ensures you are compensated promptly for the usage rights you grant to the brand.
You can offer flexible payment terms based on the scope of usage, such as:
1 month upfront
3 months upfront
6 months upfront
1 year upfront
By charging upfront, you also help clients manage their budgets and avoid any potential issues with payment cycles, ensuring a smoother business relationship. This approach allows you to focus on creating content and delivering value to your clients without the worry of delayed payments.
Chapter 5
Appearance and Imagery Fees
How much to charge for an event appearance and what is Imagery Fees?
Appearance Fees apply when a client invites you to attend on-ground events or participate in content shoots. This could include attending product launches, press conferences, brand activations, or being featured in commercial shoots. The fee compensates for your time, presence, and any additional involvement in these events.
When setting your appearance fees, consider:
Event Scope: A larger event with more exposure (e.g., a launch event for a major brand) should command a higher fee.
Duration and Commitment: Longer events or events that require significant preparation or involvement in content creation should also warrant a higher fee.
Travel: If travel is involved, ensure your fee accounts for transportation, accommodation, and time spent away from other commitments.
Event Appearance Fees
For event appearances, your fee should reflect the level of involvement required:
Event Appearances (Up to 3 hours): Charge 50% of your standard reel price. This fee compensates for your time at the event, where no content creation is required, and the client is simply purchasing your presence.
Full-Day Event Appearances: If you're required to attend the event for the entire day, charge 100% of your reel price. This ensures you are fairly compensated for the additional time and commitment.
Content Creation at Events: If the client expects you to create content during the event (e.g., shooting a reel or story to amplify the event), you may charge 150% of your standard reel price. This covers both your time and the added value of content creation, which amplifies the event's exposure.
Example:
If your standard reel price is RM3,000, for an event that lasts up to 3 hours, you would charge RM1,500.
For a full-day event, you would charge the full RM3,000.
If content creation is involved, you would charge RM4,500.
Imagery Fees
For Imagery Fees (when a client uses your likeness in advertisements, billboards, or other media), my recommended structure is:
Imagery Fees: Charge 80% of your reel price, multiplied by the number of months the campaign runs. This ensures you are compensated fairly for the use of your image across extended periods.
Example:
If your standard reel price is RM3,000 and the campaign will run for 3 months, the fee would be calculated as:
RM3,000 x 80% = RM2,400 per month.
For a 3-month campaign, the total fee would be RM2,400 x 3 months = RM7,200.
You can charge this upfront, or require a 50% deposit before the campaign starts, with the remainder due after the campaign concludes.
This ensures both you and the client have clear expectations about usage rights and payment terms, protecting your image while providing the brand with valuable content.
Chapter 6
How Much to Charge For Your Reels
Many prices rely on the reel price so how to know if you are charging correctly?
Preface
Before we dive into the specifics, please note that this is a guideline and should be treated as such. It provides you with a solid starting point for determining your rates, especially if you haven't established a solid rate yet. Keep in mind, your goal is to charge enough to ensure the client feels it's worth it, but not so little that they think your content is undervalued. Ideally, you want to find that sweet spot where the client feels slightly annoyed by the price, but still willing to pay.
Rate Formula
To determine your Reel Rate, you can use this formula:
(Total Number of Followers x 0.01) x (Engagement Rate Class) x (Authority Score) = Reel Rate
Step 1: Calculate Your Engagement Rate
To get your Engagement Rate, you can use the Phlanx tool, which will give you an accurate measurement based on your recent content performance.
Step 2: Apply the Formula
Here’s how it works:
Total Number of Followers: The number of followers you have on your primary platform (e.g., Instagram, TikTok).
Engagement Rate Class: This is based on your engagement rate (likes, comments, shares, etc.), and it falls into categories based on how engaged your audience is.
Authority Score: This measures your influence and authority in your niche or industry.
Below is the table to refer Engagement Rate Class & Authority Score:
Here is an example for a creator that has 45K followers & 2.8% engagement rate.
This guideline is based on insights from hundreds of creators in Malaysia, gathered during my time working in an agency. One of the key takeaways is that engagement rate plays a huge role in determining how much you can earn. The more engaged your audience is, the higher your rates should be.
An engaged audience doesn’t just follow you; they interact with your content, share it, and actively participate in your community. This active involvement shows brands that your influence extends beyond just a follower count.
The Selling Factor
When your engagement rate is high, you can highlight it as a selling point to brands. It not only justifies a higher rate but also sets you apart from creators with larger but less engaged followings.
For example, even if a creator has fewer followers, but a high engagement rate, they might earn more than someone with a much larger following but lower interaction rates. This makes engagement a vital metric in building a sustainable and profitable creator business.
Chapter 6
Creating and Managing Your Rate Card
Get the Rate Card Template Below
Creating and Managing Your Rate Card
There are several effective ways to create and manage your influencer rate card. One of the best and most efficient methods is by using a secured website. Here’s why:
1. Secured Website (Recommended)
Free and Accessible: Creating a secured website for your rate card is easy and free. Platforms like WordPress, Wix, or even Google Sites offer free options that you can secure with a password.
Always Updated: One of the biggest advantages of using a website is that you can easily update your rates and stats whenever necessary. As your audience grows and your influence increases, you can update your rates in real-time.
Consistent Branding: A website allows you to customize your rate card with your own branding, which helps create a professional and cohesive image for your personal brand.
Instant Updates for Clients: Once you update your rates or stats on the website, all clients—new or returning—will have access to the latest information, eliminating the need to manually send out new documents.
Secured Access: With a secured website, you can restrict access to only your clients. This keeps your rates protected and ensures they are shared with only the right people.
2. PDF Rate Cards (Alternative)
Another option is to create a PDF rate card, which is a great choice for those who prefer a more traditional or offline method. Here’s why it works:
Easy to Create: Platforms like Canva make it easy to design a professional-looking PDF rate card. You can use customizable templates and create a visually appealing document that reflects your personal brand.
Shareable: PDFs are easily shareable through email, and you can send them to both new and existing clients. However, once you send a PDF, it’s static, meaning it won’t automatically update if you change your rates or stats. You'll need to resend the updated document each time changes are made.
Offline Access: A PDF is a great option if you need to give clients a document they can store and refer to offline, but it does come with the downside of requiring manual updates and resending.
Website Rate Card Template
Canva Rate Card Template
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