The most common regret from your first brand deal is not that you did not get paid. It is that you undersold yourself by 3–5× and locked in a rate the brand now uses as your reference forever.
The five-minute math
Take your median monthly engaged reach — the average number of people who actually engaged with any single post over the last 30 days. Not your follower count. Engagement.
Multiply that by $0.02–$0.05 for a single-post deliverable in emerging markets, $0.05–$0.12 for US/EU.
For 12,000 engaged reach in Kenya: 12,000 × $0.025 = $300 per post is a fair floor. For 12,000 engaged reach in the US: 12,000 × $0.08 = $960 per post is a fair floor.
That is a *floor*. Add multipliers for exclusivity, usage rights, tight timelines.
What our marketplace does with this
Every match card shows the brand's *offered rate* alongside your *median-outcome rate for creators of your archetype and size*. If the offer is below floor, we flag it. You can still accept — sometimes a below-floor deal with a great brand is worth it strategically — but you will do it with your eyes open.
The three things brands actually pay for
1. Reach — the raw number of humans who see your work. 2. Trust — whether your audience acts on your recommendations. 3. Fit — how much your voice matches what the brand needs.
You control fit by refusing bad matches. That is where the leverage is.