For brands

Influencer brief template for gifted and paid campaigns

An influencer brief is a one-page note that tells a creator what you're sending, what you'd like back, when it should go live, and the rules: disclosure, what to avoid, and whether you want to reuse the content. Copy the template below, fill in the brackets, and send it after the creator says yes. Everything else on this page explains what each section is for and how a gifted brief differs from a paid one.

Why a brief matters more for gifted deals

A paid creator has an invoice to earn, so they'll ask the questions a brief would have answered. A gifted creator has a parcel and good intentions. Without a date, a deliverable and a reason to care, the product sits in a drawer, or the post arrives three weeks late and never mentions the thing you actually wanted shown. A brief turns a gift into a small, clear job with a finish line, and creators like that: it respects their time and removes the guessing.

It also protects you. The brief is where you say "no before-and-after claims" and "please disclose". If those rules only exist in your head, you can't expect the creator to follow them.

What goes in an influencer brief

Eight short sections. Most need one or two lines each.

Section	What to write	Why it's there
Contact + deal type	Your name, email, and whether this is gifted, paid, or gifted plus an affiliate code	The creator knows who to ask and what they're agreeing to
About the brand	What you make, who buys it, one real point of difference	Gives them something true to say instead of adjectives
What you're sending	Product, variant, retail value, ship date	Sets expectations; retail value also matters for disclosure
Deliverables + dates	Format, length, how many, and a live window	The single most-missed thing in gifted deals
Key messages	Up to three points, in plain words	More than three and the post reads like a sponsored script
Please avoid	Claims you can't back up, competitor products in frame, anything regulated	Keeps you both out of trouble
Disclosure	That it's a partnership and must be disclosed clearly	Required, and the creator is responsible for it; see below
Usage + approval	Whether and where you'll reuse the content, and whether you want a preview	Usage is a licence; say so up front, not after the post

The template

Paste this into an email or a shared doc, replace every bracket, and delete anything that doesn't apply. The examples in brackets are for a skincare product; swap them for yours.

One-page influencer brief

CAMPAIGN BRIEF — [Brand] × [@creator]

Contact: [name], [email] — reply here with any questions
Type: [Gifted / Paid $X / Gifted + affiliate code]

ABOUT US (2–3 lines)
[What you make, who it's for, one thing that makes it different.]

WHAT WE'RE SENDING
[Product, size/shade, retail value] — shipping [date], tracking to follow.

WHAT WE'D LOVE BACK
[1 Reel or TikTok, 15–45 s] + [2 Story frames with link sticker]
Live between [date] and [date]. Tag @[brand] and use #[campaign hashtag] if you like.

KEY MESSAGES (pick what fits you — your words, not ours)
1. [e.g. it's unscented and fine for sensitive skin]
2. [e.g. the refill costs less than the original]
3. [e.g. show it in your real routine, not a flat lay]

PLEASE AVOID
[e.g. no before/after skin claims · don't show competitor products in the same frame · nothing medical]

DISCLOSURE
This is a [gifted / paid] partnership, so please disclose it clearly in the post
(e.g. "#ad" or "gifted by @[brand]" at the top of the caption, and said out loud
in video). See the FTC's Disclosures 101 for influencers.

USAGE
[Option A: We'd like to repost your content to our own feed and Stories, with credit, for 3 months.]
[Option B: We'd like to use it in paid ads for 3 months — please quote for that separately.]

APPROVAL
[No approval needed — post when it's ready / Send us a quick preview 48 h before posting, we reply within 1 business day.]

Thank you — we're excited to see what you make.

Gifted brief vs paid brief

Same document, different weight. The rule of thumb: the less you pay, the less you can require.

Item	Gifted	Paid
Deliverables	One ask, e.g. a Story set or one Reel. Phrase it as what you'd love, not what you require	Exactly what you're buying, with counts and lengths
Dates	A live window of a few weeks	A specific live date and a draft date if you want a preview
Key messages	One or two, optional	Up to three, expected
Approval	None; you're not paying for revisions	One round of light feedback, agreed in advance
Usage rights	Reposting to your own feed with credit, if they're happy with that	Spelled out: where, how long, and priced in or quoted separately
Exclusivity	Don't ask	Only if you pay for it; creators charge extra for it
Disclosure	Required	Required

If you find yourself writing a gifted brief with a draft deadline, two revision rounds and ad usage, you're describing a paid job. Pay for it; see what micro-influencers charge for typical ranges, and gifted vs paid collaborations for how creators decide which to accept.

The disclosure line, and why you can't skip it

The FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers says that if a brand gives a creator gifted or discounted products and the creator mentions one of them, the creator should disclose that relationship. It also says a disclosure is likely to be missed if it only appears on a profile page, at the end of a post, or behind a "more" click, and that it shouldn't be mixed into a group of hashtags. The guide places the responsibility on the influencer, but a brief that asks a creator to leave out the disclosure puts you on the wrong side of it too. Put the requirement in writing, suggest the wording, and move on. For anything beyond the basics, read the guide itself or ask a lawyer; this page isn't legal advice.

Mistakes that make creators quietly drop out

Scripting the post. A paragraph of required phrases produces a stiff ad the creator's audience scrolls past. Give messages, not lines.
No live window. "Whenever works for you" means never, especially for gifted.
Usage rights in the small print. "Brand may use content in any media in perpetuity" buried at the bottom of a gifted brief is the line creators screenshot and share.
Approval without a turnaround. If you want a preview, say how fast you'll reply. A creator waiting a week for feedback loses the slot they planned.
Asking for a discount code post without the code. Send the code, the link and the landing page with the brief, not after the post is live.
Sending the brief as the first message. Outreach first, brief after the yes. The brief is a working document, not a sales message.

How to send it

Shortlist creators and send a short, personal outreach message: see how to find micro-influencers.
When they say yes, ask for their media kit or rate if you haven't seen it. A media kit tells you their formats, audience and what they charge for usage, so you can fill in the brief realistically.
Send the brief by email or as a shared doc, with the product on its way. One page, their name on it, your real contact details.
Reply within a day to any question. Most "flaky creator" stories are a brand that went quiet.
When the post goes live, say thank you publicly and privately. The ones who did it well are your next paid campaign.

Find micro-influencers who list their rates

Search creators by niche, location, followers and engagement — every profile is a full media kit with rates upfront.

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Frequently asked

How long should an influencer brief be?

One page. A creator should be able to read it on their phone in two minutes and know what you're sending, what you want back, when, and the rules. If it needs a second page, you're probably scripting the content instead of briefing it.

Do I need a brief for a gifted collaboration?

Yes, a short one. Without a brief, a gifted creator has no deadline and no idea what you'd like to see, so the product sits in a drawer or the post misses what matters to you. Keep the ask small, since they're not being paid, but still put it in writing.

Can I tell a creator exactly what to say?

You can give talking points and things to avoid; you can't write the script without the content sounding like an ad and performing like one. Three key messages is plenty. Let the creator put them in their own words.

Should the brief mention #ad or disclosure?

Yes. The FTC's Disclosures 101 guide says a gifted or discounted product is a material connection the creator has to disclose, and that the disclosure must be hard to miss and placed with the post itself, not buried in hashtags or behind a 'more' link. Put that requirement in the brief and never ask a creator to skip it.

What about usage rights?

Say in the brief whether you want to reuse the content, where, and for how long. Reposting to your own feed with credit is a small ask; running the content as a paid ad is a licence, and creators price it separately. Leaving this out and asking later is the most common way a collaboration goes sour.

When do I send the brief?

After the creator says yes, before the product ships. The outreach message is short and personal; the brief is the follow-up that makes the collaboration concrete. Sending a brief cold reads as an order, not an invitation.