When I first started landing brand deals, I had nooooo clue what to charge. Like…zero. I’d be up at 2am Googling “UGC rates,” scrolling TikTok “pricing tips,” and still sending emails like, am I overcharging? undercharging? do I even deserve this rate??
Sound familiar?
Here’s the thing: brands will almost always try to pay you less than you’re worth. Not because they’re the villain in your story (ok, sometimes 👀), but because they’ve got budgets, targets, and other creators who’ll take less.
So your job? Know your value. And negotiate the heck out of it.
The good news: negotiation isn’t super scary. It’s not about being pushy - it’s about being clear, professional, and having some cold, hard data to back you up.
Here are 3 things I wish I knew earlier (that would’ve saved me from stressing over rates and saying “yes” to way too many lowball offers):
That first number a brand sends? Yeah, that’s usually their “let’s see if we can get away with this” rate.
Most of us panic and accept (hi, that was me not too long ago lol). But trust me: take a very deep breath, sip your coffee, and counter.
Think of it like a little game and even asking for 10-20% more adds up FAST. those little wins turn into a lot of money over time.
If a brand says “We’ll do one video for $150,” - please, i’m begging you, do not reply with:
“I feel like i should get $500”.
That’s not negotiating. That’s manifesting. 😂
Instead, hit them with something like:
“Based on industry benchmarks for creators with my engagement, campaigns like this are closer to $750”
See the difference? One sounds like a random guess. The other sounds confident, professional, and harder to argue with. Brands respect facts more than feelings.
The way you phrase things can 100% make or break a deal.
Example:
❌ “that rate is way too low. Bye” → defensive
✅”thanks for sharing your budget - most campaigns like this I do are in the $X-Y range.” → professional
Same message but completely different vibes. And nine times out of ten, the second one keeps the conversation (and the deal) alive.
And yeah, I’ve definitely sent the defensive one before. Didn’t work (no surprise there). And learned that lesson reeeeeal quick.
But let’s be real: figuring out what brands charge takes forever. You don’t have time to stalk Glassdoor, UGC facebook groups, or reddit threads all day.
Buuuut we do.
That’s why we built something new inside Bento…drum-roll please → the negotiations + pay data helper (for VA subscribers only)
Here’s how it works:
Cool, right?
The goal: save you time, stop the lowballing (we’ve all been there), and help you finally land the rates you deserve.
So if you’re tired of triple-guessing your prices, let Bento handle the heavy lifting. You just hit send.
Because negotiating isn’t scary when you’ve got data on your side. And honestly? Nothing hits harder than a brand saying “yes” to a higher rate - cue the happy dance 💃💸
