Partnering with influencers can feel like striking gold for brands – it’s an ultimate “we made it” moment when real life people are like, “heck yeah, I’ll talk about your product online!”
It’s another way of marketing without you as the business owner or brand builder having to be the one to do alllll the heavy lifting.
But that doesn't mean you don’t have a responsibility to uphold. Without the right legal framework in place, it can turn into a logistical (and legal) nightmare.
Which is why I decided to create this “cheat sheet” for companies to use who are thinking about implementing influencer marketing in 2025!
Keep reading for almost everything you need to include in your influencer agreement to keep your partnerships smooth, professional, and drama-free. (All companies everywhere said amen 🙏🏼)
What to Include In Your Brand Influencer Agreement (As a Company)
Content Deliverables
This is the foundation of any influencer collaboration. In this section, you want to clearly outline exactly what the influencer is expected to create. Think of it as their to-do list, but in contract form!
What to Include: Specify the type of content (e.g., Instagram posts, TikToks, YouTube videos), the number of deliverables, and deadlines for each and be as detailed as possible!
For example, instead of saying “create one post,” specify what you mean by saying something like “One 60-second TikTok video showcasing the product in use, uploaded by [specific date].”
Why It Matters: Without clear deliverables, you risk miscommunication and missed deadlines, so this section ensures everyone is on the same page about what’s expected right from the beginning!
Compensation Terms
No one enjoys awkward money talk, so go ahead and lay everything out in black and white. This one is MAJOR because, of course, the influencer expects to be paid, and hopefully, as a company you’re prepared to provide that compensation.
But don’t leave the compensation up to confusion.
What to Include: Detail how much the influencer will be paid, how they’ll be paid (via bank transfer, PayPal, etc.), and when payments will be made (upfront, 50% upon signing, or within 30 days of campaign completion, etc.)
And if there’s any extra payment details, like travel reimbursement for travel or product costs, make sure you detail that too! It’s never a good feeling when you’re blindsided, especially when it comes to money things.
So, start the relationship off strong and avoid any potential invoice arguments in the future by tackling this one head on.
Exclusivity Clause
If you’re paying an influencer to represent your brand, you probablyyyy don’t want them promoting your competitor the next day, right?
Well, this is where exclusivity comes in and YES, there’s a clause to help you implement it.
What to Include: Outline how long the influencer is prohibited from working with competing brands and define what counts as a “competing brand.” If needed, list a few specific competitors as examples so there’s no question.
It’s also important to remember though that the exclusivity period should be reasonable – for both you and the influencer. Six months couldddd be a big ask, but one month could be fair!
Overall, this clause ensures your investment in the influencer doesn’t get diluted by conflicting endorsements.
Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights (IP) is a HUGE topic of conversation for any type of creative work.
Who owns the content? How can it be used?
Influencers put a lot of time and effort into their content creation, so they often want to fully understand the rights to the content they’re creating.
On the flipside, however, you as a brand also want to be able to use creative works that you’re paying for, so how can you make sure that both parties are satisfied?
It’s simple: implement an IP clause and clarify who owns the content created during the partnership and how it can be used.
What to Include: Specify whether you or the influencer owns the content and if *you* own it, detail how and where you’ll use it, such as on your website, social media, paid ads, etc.
If you’re licensing the content from the influencer, include the duration and scope of that license so that there’s no confusion along the way.
FTC Compliance
Have you met the legal world’s BFF? The FTC? Honestly, hope you never have to, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be familiar with who they are.
The FTC stands for the Federal Trade Commission and they’re the big guys that monitor how businesses are selling products or services and earning money.
Essentially, they’re in charge of making sure that you’re conducting business in a legally sound way and TRUST, they take their job veryyyyy seriously.
For influencer partnerships specifically, the FTC requires influencers to disclose their relationships with brands and your agreement should make this non-negotiable.
What to Include: Require the influencer to use clear and conspicuous disclosures, such as #ad or #sponsored, and outline where these disclosures must appear, such as at the start of a caption or video, a verbal acknowledgement, etc.
Failure to comply with FTC guidelines can result in hefty fines for both you as the company AND for the influencer and damage to both of your reputations.
Confidentiality
One thing about influencers is they often share a lottttt of their life online because well, that’s basically their job! But sometimes as a brand, you don’t necessarily want people to talk about something you have in the works until it launches.
A confidentiality clause can help ensure that influencers you partner with to promote your brand don’t spill the beans before they’re supposed to!
What to Include: Provide the influencer with an agreed-upon date where they can share their content and promote the campaign that you’ve hired them for.
It’s also important to include consequences for breaches of confidentiality, such as terminating the agreement or withholding payment.
Overall, a confidentiality clause in your influencer agreement helps you control the narrative and prevents leaks that could hurt your brand.
Termination Clause
Even though you will likely start all influencer partenrhsips with high hopes and good intentions, it’s just the reality of business that not every single partnership will go as planned, which is why a termination clause is so important. This clause gives both parties a way out if things go south!
What to Include: Outline the conditions under which either party can terminate the agreement, such as, breach of contract, failure to meet deadlines, etc. and any penalties or final payments required.
When it comes to termination clauses, it’s common for companies to include a “cure period,” giving both parties a chance to resolve the issue before termination if they wish.
Again, this clause can prevent you from having to have any awkward conversations – instead, you’re backed by your contract in the chance that you want out and there doesn’t have to be any bad blood.
Partner With Influencers with Confidence
Implementing influencer marketing can be a great move for your business, but it can easily turn into a massive headache if the legal side of things aren’t taken care of first.
While this cheat sheet can help you craft an agreement that protects both you AND the influencer, I also know that as a business owner myself sometimes it’s just helpful to have an expert handle the things that aren’t your cup of tea.
Which is why I’ve taken what I know from doing this work one on one and created a super simple Brand Influencer Agreement contract template that you can implement with ease!
I never want the confusing parts of business to hold you back from making big moves, which is why I’m all about helping you take the easy approach.
This 11 page, instant access contract includes 27 clauses (including the ones I described above) written without “legalese” so both parties can understand what they’re actually signing.
It’s an easy-to-use fill in the blank template that you can edit to match the specific details for YOUR brand and business – click here to grab yours!
(NOTE: This agreement is for COMPANIES to use. If you’re an influencer needing your own contract, grab this version!)