How to create an influencer contract (plus template)

The contracting phase of an influencer marketing partnership might not be the most exciting step, but it’s essential for setting expectations and protecting both parties.

When done right, it’s a straightforward process. But legal bottlenecks—like heavy redlines and lengthy approvals—can quickly turn it into a headache.

A well-structured, flexible influencer contract template can cut through the friction, ensuring smoother negotiations without endless legal back-and-forth. Download our free influencer marketing toolkit for your copy of the template, and use this article to tailor the template to your campaign’s unique needs.

Free Resource: Streamline your influencer marketing strategy with our ultimate toolkit. Get a ready-to-use brief template, a flexible contract template and exclusive research on what drives successful influencer partnerships—all in one place.

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Please note: The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute formal legal advice. Please review our full disclaimer before reading any further.

What is an influencer marketing contract?

An influencer marketing contract is a formal agreement that defines the terms of collaboration between a brand and an influencer. It clarifies key elements like content deliverables, compensation, usage rights, disclosure requirements and exclusivity.

A templated contract, pre-approved by your legal team, sets the stage for a smooth partnership—preventing miscommunication, reducing legal risk and keeping campaigns on track.

What to include in an influencer contract

While every influencer marketing contract may vary, there are key sections that are non-negotiable. Here are the sections you should always include:

Scope of work

Scope of work defines the specifics of the partnership, ensuring both parties are aligned on expectations from the start. This includes:

• Content deliverables: The number of posts, format (video, carousel, Stories, Reels, etc.) and any platform-specific variations.
• Posting requirements: Where and when content should publish, including scheduling windows and engagement expectations.
• Deadlines: An overview of your content approval and publishing timelines.

Compensation and payment terms

According to Sprout Social’s 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, 59% of influencers say budget and payment structure are the most important factors when choosing a brand partner.

While net 30+ payment terms are standard for brands—especially larger companies processing payments in batches—they can be a dealbreaker for influencers. Most influencers and content creators operate like small businesses, relying on timely payments to cover production costs, software and subcontractors (e.g., photographers, video editors). Long payment cycles can create cash flow challenges, making partnerships less appealing.

If your company defaults to net 30+, consider whether there’s room to adapt. Talk to your legal team about offering partial upfront payments (e.g., 50% before, 50% after) or shorter payment terms (e.g., net 15 for influencers). Small adjustments can go a long way in building strong, long-term influencer relationships.

Usage rights and ownership

Clearly defining content ownership and usage rights upfront is crucial to avoiding disputes down the line. If your contract doesn’t explicitly outline who owns the content and how it can be used, you risk misunderstandings over modifications, repurposing or long-term usage.

For example, most influencers are comfortable with brands resharing their content organically but expect separate compensation if their likeness is used in paid ads or performance marketing campaigns–including boosting organic content with paid spend. Failing to specify these rights can lead to friction—or even legal challenges.

Usage rights often create back-and-forth between legal and marketing teams. While marketing prioritizes flexibility to maximize content value, legal focuses on risk mitigation and securing long-term protection for the brand. Aligning on clear, influencer-friendly terms from the start ensures smoother partnerships and fewer last-minute roadblocks.

Compliance and disclosure

A strong influencer contract protects both the brand and influencer by outlining clear disclosure expectations, platform policies and consequences for non-compliance—helping everyone stay on the right side of regulations.

This section of your contract can refer to FTC guidelines, brand-specific disclosure compliance and/or compliance with platform policies.

Confidentiality clause

A confidentiality clause protects any proprietary information shared during the partnership—including campaign details, unreleased products, internal strategies and other sensitive brand data.

Depending on the nature of the collaboration, this section may also include a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), outlining specific restrictions on what the influencer can and cannot share publicly.

Performance metrics and reporting

If the campaign includes performance-based goals, your contract should clearly outline the metrics and KPIs the influencer is expected to meet—whether it’s reach, engagement, conversions or other success indicators.

According to the 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, influencers prioritize social media engagement (69%), audience growth (58%) and link traffic (54%) when evaluating their own performance. Aligning on these expectations upfront helps ensure both parties are working toward shared success.

This section should also specify how performance data will be reported—whether through a brand-provided dashboard, influencer-generated spreadsheets or third-party tracking tools.

Terms and termination

The terms and termination section of an influencer marketing contract outlines the specifics of how and when the partnership can start, continue and end. It sets the stage for a smooth exit strategy and clarifies how things should unfold if the relationship needs to end before the full term.

In addition to a start and end date, the terms and termination section of your influencer marketing contract should outline the following conditions for termination:

• Breach of contract: Includes clauses about non-compliance with terms (like failure to disclose paid content, missing deadlines, etc.) that could lead to immediate termination.
• Legal violations: Addresses situations where either party violates relevant laws (like FTC regulations) or engages in behavior that could damage the brand’s reputation.
• Termination by force majeure: Often referred to as a disaster clause in contracts. It allows both parties to be excused from their obligations if unforeseen events—such as natural disasters, pandemics or controversies—prevent them from fulfilling the contract.

How to use an influencer contract template

A good influencer contract template is a starting point—not a finished product. It should set the foundation for consistency, while providing the flexibility needed to accommodate the nuances of each campaign, relationship and platform.

Here are some unique influencer activations and how they can affect your influencer marketing contracts.

Working with affiliate marketers

Affiliate influencer marketing, or influencer affiliate marketing, is a type of brand partnership where influencers earn a commission for driving product or service sales through their content.

The contract structure for these partnerships follows the same general guidelines as a traditional influencer marketing contract. However, due to the performance-based nature of affiliate marketing, you’ll want to make the following updates:

• Add an affiliate commission section: The contract should clearly outline the commission rate or revenue share the influencer will earn from sales generated through their affiliate link or code.
• Identify metrics under the performance metrics and reporting section: Define how sales will be tracked—whether that be through cookies, affiliate link clicks or promo codes.
• Include minimum payout thresholds under compensation and payment terms: Incentivize performance by setting a payout minimum that defines the amount the influencer must earn before receiving payment.
• Update terms on commission handling: Explain how payment will be handled if the partnership is terminated early or in the event of refunds or returns made by customers who purchased through affiliate promotion.

Working with brand ambassadors

If affiliate marketers are performance-driven, brand ambassadors are relationship-driven. Acting as the face of your brand, ambassadors create more authentic and effective engagement.

This approach can also be cost-effective over time. According to the 2024 Influencer Marketing Report, 71% of influencers offer discounts for multiple-post partnerships, while another 25% would consider it in the future.

If you’re courting a new brand ambassador, here are some tweaks you’ll want to make to their contract:

• Use the scope of work section to outline long-term deliverables: Unlike one-off campaigns, you’ll need to outline the regular content and engagement expectations over the course of the ambassadorship.
• Consider a non-compete or exclusivity clause: If applicable, include an exclusivity agreement that prevents the influencer from partnering with competitor brands for the length of their ambassadorship.
• Include partnership benefits under the compensation and payment section: Since brand ambassadorships are often long-term, the payment structure would likely include a fixed retainer or monthly fee. In many ambassadorships, ambassadors receive free products or other brand perks (think tickets to events, exclusive access, etc.). Be sure to clearly define these in the contract, as well.
• Add renewal terms to the terms and termination section: Brand ambassador contracts typically last from six months to a year (or even longer), with options for renewal or extension based on performance and both parties’ satisfaction.

Giveaway or contest collaborations

Who doesn’t love a giveaway? Contest collaborations can boost brand awareness and encourage user-generated content, but they’re subject to strict, jurisdiction-specific legal requirements.

In some regions, giveaways may even be classified as gambling if chance is involved and no purchase is required. Additionally, issues with prize fulfillment can lead to complaints, reputational damage or even legal action.

In short, if you plan to partner with influencers on a giveaway or contest, involve your legal team early and often. They’ll provide the most current, region-specific guidance to protect your brand.

Event partnerships

At Sprout, we’re big fans of event-based influencer activations. We recently partnered with Jayde Powell to host a dinner at Creator Economy Live—an excellent way to make a lasting impression at industry events.

If you want to pilot this strategy at your own company, here’s how that can impact your contract set-up:

• Define on-site deliverables in the scope of work section: Since the influencer will be creating content in real-time, get specific about your expectations. Types of content, minimum content volume and posting deadlines should all be covered in the scope of work section.
• Mention travel-related expenses in the payment and compensation section: Outline who will cover travel, lodging, meals and other expenses. If you want to avoid working out reimbursements with your finance team after the event, consider offering a flat rate for meals and incidentals.
• Add an appearance and conduct expectations: Event-based partnerships are like brand ambassadorships, but IRL. Since the influencer is a representative of your brand at a live event, set expectations around dress code, on-site behavior and media interactions.

The best influencer contract templates…

…are backed by your legal team. The guidance above will help you have more productive conversations with legal, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring smoother partnerships.

Start with our influencer contract template—a solid foundation tailored for influencer marketing. Download it, collaborate with your legal team‌ and customize it to fit your brand’s unique needs.

Get the template

Disclaimer

The information and contract template provided in this article do not, and are not intended to, constitute formal legal advice; all information, content, templates, and materials are for general informational purposes and are subject to change. Information on this website is based on general principles and may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information or reflect specific jurisdictional requirements. Incorporation of any guidelines or usage of any contract templates provided in this article do not guarantee compliance or that your legal risk is reduced. The provided contract template is a sample document and may not be appropriate for all situations. It is your responsibility to review and modify the template to ensure it meets your specific needs and complies with applicable laws. You should contact your legal team or attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular matter including contracting with influencers and should refrain from acting on the basis of information in this article without first seeking independent legal advice. Use of, and access to, this article or any of the links, templates or resources contained within the site does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Sprout Social or any contributors to www.sproutsocial.com. Sprout Social makes no warranties or representations, express or implied, about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the information or the template provided. Links to any third-party sites are for general informational purposes only. Such third-party websites are beyond our control, and we are not responsible for any content or links found within. Sprout Social does not endorse or otherwise opine on the compliance or legality of any content, examples or templates in this article. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this article or usage of the contract template are hereby expressly disclaimed.

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