Idalia SalsamendiDigital Marketing Strategist & Influencer Catalyst

How Creators Can Negotiate Bigger Brand Deals & Get Paid More #shorts

12 Aug 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:14

In this short advice clip, Idalia Salsamendi—who has spent 23 years helping creators scale their businesses— warns that creators typically lose over 30% of their potential brand‑deal earnings before a contract is even signed. She explains that brands expect creators to negotiate and that the initial offer is usually a baseline, not a final figure. Creators should scrutinize the usage clause, noting that the standard is a 30‑day organic social media repost right; any paid, whitelisting, website, email, or newsletter usage should be billed extra. She also stresses the importance of rejecting perpetual usage rights, which would allow a brand to use the creator’s assets indefinitely. Throughout, she emphasizes that negotiation is a continual process with wiggle room, and mastering it can prevent revenue loss and ensure better deal terms.

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Creators are losing over 30% of their brand deal income before a contract is even signed. Here is how you can stop that. But first, if this is our first time meeting, then hello, my name is Idalia. I help creators scale their businesses, and for the past 23 years, this has been my life's work. Creators, understand that brands expect you to negotiate. The first offer that they give you is normally their baseline. It's like the lowest thing that they really don't expect you to say yes to. So if you're saying yes immediately, you're essentially paying a silent tax. When you get the contract, you have to look at the usage clause. Standard usage right now is 30 days organic social media usage, meaning a brand can repost your assets in an organic capacity. Anything other than that, whether it's paid, whitelisting, website, email, or newsletter, whatever it is, you have to charge more. Also make sure that the usage is never in perpetuity, and that basically means that a brand can use your assets forever until the end of time and like the apocalypse is coming. You cut that out. Remember what you are worth, but also remember life is always a negotiation. It's not about saying yes immediately or saying no immediately. There's always that wiggle room. If you learn how to maximize that wiggle room, that's where you're going to make sure that your brand deal doesn't die.