The Influencer Contract Checklist: Avoid Red Flags In Brand Agreements

If you are an influencer, a brand contract can look “standard” and still include terms that quietly shift risk onto you. Most problems do not come from the content itself. They come from unclear scope, open ended approvals, broad usage rights, and payment language that gives the brand flexibility while locking you in. This guide breaks down the clauses that matter most, what they really mean in practice, and how to think about them before you sign.

If the collaboration is happening without paperwork, you can use Skala’s standard Influencer Marketing Agreement template to formalize the terms.

Start With The Deal Basics

Before you get pulled into long legal sections, confirm the contract clearly states who the parties are and who actually pays you. It should identify the brand entity, not just a marketing handle, and it should be obvious whether you are contracting with a brand, an agency, or a platform. If the contracting party is an agency, make sure the agreement still explains who owns the campaign assets and who has approval authority, because agencies often coordinate, but the brand may still call the shots.

Define Deliverables With Real Boundarie

Your contract should describe your work like a production plan, not a general intention to “promote” a product. The deliverables section is where you lock in exactly what you are creating and where it will be published, so you do not end up doing extra content for free.

Deliverables can include videos, photos, blog content, stories, or synthetic content. The agreement should also specify the marketing format, meaning what the brand expects the content to do: product placement, a product mention, an endorsement, an unboxing, a tutorial, or another defined integration style.

Just as important, the contract should name the social media platforms and accounts where the content will go live, for example Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or a blog, and whether reposting to additional platforms is required or optional.

Make The Timeline Work In Real Life

Timelines fail when the contract assumes everything moves instantly. Your contract should reflect the reality of shipping, scheduling, editing, and brand feedback. A good structure includes when you receive product and briefing materials, when you deliver drafts, how long the brand has to respond, and what happens if the brand delays. Without this, a brand can miss its own feedback window and still blame you for posting late.

Keep Approvals Predictable

Approvals are normal in brand work, but endless approvals kill campaigns. Watch for language that gives the brand unlimited revision rights or says content must be “to the brand’s satisfaction” without any objective standard. That wording can be used to demand repeated rewrites even when you delivered what was agreed. A healthier approach is to define what approvals cover, usually legal accuracy, product claims, and brand safety, and to limit revisions to a reasonable number of rounds. Creative control should be discussed in the scope, not hidden inside a power imbalance.

Tie Payment To Clear Trigger

The most important payment question is simple: what exactly triggers the obligation to pay. If payment is only due “after posting,” but the brand controls approvals, you can be stuck in review limbo while payment stays out of reach.

Your compensation model should be stated clearly and match the scope. Depending on the campaign, payment can be structured as barter, a fixed fee, pay-per-post, or pay-per-action. Whatever model you choose, the contract should specify the amount, the timing, the invoicing details if needed, and whether any platform, banking, or processing fees reduce your payout.

Many creators prefer a split structure, such as part on signing or product receipt, and the rest on publication, because it matches how work happens. Also, confirm whether invoices are required and what information must be on them. By the way, our team has developed a standard invoice that can be easily generated in just a few seconds. Try it here for free.

Clarify Expenses And Production Costs

If the campaign requires anything beyond normal creation, such as travel, special locations, props, editors, photographers, or usage of licensed music, you want that addressed. Contracts often say expenses are only reimbursed if “pre approved,” but do not explain the approval process. In practice, that means you should ensure expenses are agreed in writing and that the contract states whether the brand pays directly or reimburses after you submit receipts.

Treat Usage Rights As A Business Term, Not Fine Print

Usage rights are often the biggest value transfer in the whole deal. Many creators assume the brand will repost organically. Many brands assume they can use the content everywhere, including paid advertising. Those are two different outcomes with different pricing.

Look for what the license allows the brand to do: repost on its channels, use on its website, email marketing, product pages, or retail listings. Then look for the hard questions: can the brand use your content in paid ads, can it edit it, can it combine it with other footage, can it translate it, can it run it with your handle attached, and can it share it with partners, agencies, or retailers. Also, check the duration and territory. Worldwide and perpetual rights are not automatically wrong, but they should be intentional, priced appropriately, and limited to use cases you understand.

Watch For Paid Ads, Whitelisting, And Dark Posts

If the contract mentions paid social, boosting, whitelisting, or using your account identity for advertising, treat that as a separate scope. Paid usage changes your risk profile and your brand alignment. It can also affect your audience trust and platform relationships. Your contract should state what platforms are allowed, how long ads can run, whether you can approve the final ad creative, and whether you can revoke permission if the ad is used outside the agreed context.

Keep Exclusivity Reasonable

Exclusivity can be one of the most expensive concessions because it blocks future income. The danger is not exclusivity itself, but vague definitions like “competing products” or wide categories that prevent you from working with many brands. Exclusivity should be narrowly defined, time bound, and aligned to the actual campaign. If the deal includes a long exclusivity window or post campaign restrictions, that is a commercial limitation, and it should be reflected in the fee.

Handle Disclosure And Compliance Up Front

Most countries and platforms require clear disclosure when content is sponsored or when you received something of value. In the U.S., the FTC’s guidance emphasizes that creators should disclose material connections in a clear and conspicuous way. If a brand asks you to hide disclosure, bury it, or use ambiguous wording, that is a major risk. Your contract should support compliant labeling and allow you to use platform tools like paid partnership labels where available.

Pay Attention To AI And Likeness Language

Modern contracts increasingly include AI related clauses, even when the campaign has nothing to do with AI. These clauses can restrict how you use AI tools in scripting or editing, or they can attempt to grant the brand broad rights to create derivative content. The highest risk terms are those that allow a brand to reuse your likeness, voice, or content to generate synthetic versions. If you see anything that sounds like “derivative works,” “synthetic media,” “training data,” or “digital likeness,” treat it as a key business term. Consent, limits, and compensation should be explicit.

Keep Confidentiality Practical

Confidentiality can protect launch dates, product information, and pricing. It should not prevent you from making legally required disclosures or from including work in your portfolio after a campaign goes public. Watch for confidentiality definitions that include everything you learn “in connection with the relationship” without an end date. That can turn a normal brand deal into a permanent gag clause.

Make Termination Fair For Both Side

Campaigns can end early for reasons outside your control. A fair termination section explains what happens to work already completed and whether you are paid for it. It should also address what happens to content that is drafted but not posted, and whether the brand can keep using content if it terminates the contract. If the brand can terminate at will, keep your content, and avoid payment, you are taking almost all the downside risk.

Avoid Outcome Guarantees You Cannot Control

Be cautious with any clause that says you guarantee results like sales, conversions, views, or engagement. You can control whether you deliver and publish on time. You cannot control algorithms, audience behavior, or platform outages. If the contract includes penalties tied to performance, it should be tied to measurable obligations you actually control, not market outcomes.

Check Liability And Indemnity For One Sided Risk

Liability sections matter most when something goes wrong. Look for whether there is a cap on your liability and whether you are indemnifying the brand broadly. If the brand wants you to cover losses for claims you did not create, such as product statements or brand provided materials, that is a red flag. Responsibility should match control.

Do Not Ignore Governing Law And Dispute

Dispute clauses determine where and how you can enforce your rights. If the contract forces disputes into a distant court or expensive arbitration forum, you may have no practical ability to pursue unpaid fees. A reasonable governing law and venue is not just legal formality. It is leverage.