The 3 contract terms that cost creators most

Most creators read a brief for the fee and the deliverables, then sign. The money you actually keep is decided by three clauses further down.

Usage rights

"Usage" is the brand's right to use your content beyond your own post: on their feed, in paid ads, on their site, in a store.

• Organic reposting on the brand's own channels is normal and cheap to grant.
• Paid usage turns your video into an ad. Your face, in their media buy, for as long as the

clause says. That is a different product from a post, and it is priced separately.

• Perpetual, worldwide, all media is the phrase to slow down on. It never expires.

What to ask: "Is the usage organic or paid? For how long, and in which territories?" Then price paid usage as a percentage of the fee per period, or decline it and keep the post organic.

Exclusivity

Exclusivity stops you working with competitors, and it removes income you cannot see yet.

• Check the scope: "competing skincare brands" is workable, "any beauty, wellness or

lifestyle brand" is most of your pipeline.

• Check the length: 30 days after posting is common, 6 or 12 months is a retainer's

restriction without a retainer's fee.

• Check whether it is compensated. If it is not named as a separate line, it is free.

What to ask: "Can we narrow the category to direct competitors and cap it at 30 days after the last post, or add an exclusivity fee?"

Payment terms

The fee is not the fee until it arrives.

• Net 30 means 30 days after the trigger. Net 60 is two months, and the trigger is often

"after posting" rather than "after invoicing", which can add weeks.

• Look for the trigger, a late-payment clause, and whether part is paid upfront. No late

clause means paying you late costs the brand nothing.

• A kill fee decides what you keep if the campaign dies after you have shot it.

What to ask: "Could we do net 30 from invoice, with 50% on signature?" Asking for both gives the brand something to concede.

The rest of the sheet

Also worth a second read: approval rounds and who pays for a reshoot, whether the brand can terminate at will and whether that leaves you unpaid, content retention after the campaign, and morality or non-disparagement clauses that outlive the deal.

Creator Pro in DealShield reads an offer or contract term by term, says which of these are missing, and drafts the questions above in your own words. The scam checks stay free.