How does the Negotiate payment type work?

What the Negotiate payment type does

Most briefs set one compensation amount up front, and every Creator applies at that rate. Negotiate works the other way around: you don't set a rate when you build the brief. Creators tell you what they'd like to be paid, and you settle on a number with each one individually before you accept them.

Negotiate is available on UGC and Influencer Partnership briefs.

Negotiate is for when you want the rate to come from the Creator. Reach for it when you'd rather see what Creators are asking than guess at a number — for a brief type you haven't run before, or a mix of Creators whose rates you'd expect to vary.

If you already know what you want to pay, or you want to set rates yourself by follower tier, we'd recommend one of the other payment options instead — those let you state the rate up front so Creators apply against it. 

Decide before you launch — the payment type is locked in once the brief goes live. You can't switch a live Negotiate brief to a different payment type, or switch another brief type over to Negotiate. 

How Creators tell you their rate

There's no dedicated rate field on a Negotiate brief, so decide up front how you want that number to reach you. Three options, and they work well together:

• Add a Creator Insight question asking what they'd like to be paid. The most reliable route — every applicant answers the same question, and you can compare rates side by side while you're vetting. Creator Insights are set up on the Targeting step; see Targeting options in brief creation.
• Look for it in their application message. Many Creators will name a rate on their own when they apply.
• Ask the Creators you're interested in. Message the ones you'd like to work with and ask for their rate directly.

If you didn't add an insight question before launch, you're not stuck — Custom Creator Insights are one of the few things you can still edit on a live brief.

What you'll see when applications come in

Every applicant shows a compensation of $0. That's expected — it isn't a bug, and it doesn't mean the Creator is applying for free. It's a placeholder until you set their rate.

Because nothing is set yet, your brief's total budget stays at $0 as well. It starts calculating your expected compensation as you accept Creators, using the rate you set for each one.

How to set a Creator's rate

Work through this before you accept anyone — the order matters.

• Review their requested rate — from their insight answer, their application message, or by asking them directly.
• Decide whether you're aligned. If the number works, go straight to the next step. If it doesn't, negotiate first — see below.
• Update their compensation from $0 to the agreed amount.
• Then accept them. Once they're accepted, your brief's total budget updates to include them.

Need to add funds to cover the total? See How to add funds to your Cohley account.

How to negotiate a rate

If a Creator's requested rate isn't where you need it to be, you have two options:

• Chat with them individually. Chat with a Creator and make your offer directly.
• Send a mass message. If several Creators have come back with rates you'd like to counter, you can message them together instead of one at a time.

Whatever you agree to in chat, remember to update the Creator's compensation from $0 to that amount before you accept them.

Don't leave a Creator at $0

A Creator's compensation has to be set before you move them to Completed. If they're still sitting at $0 when they get there, you won't be prompted to pay them anything — the brief looks finished, and the Creator gets nothing for work they've already delivered.

Setting the rate before you accept, as above, keeps you clear of this entirely. It's also the fairer order: the Creator knows what they're agreeing to before they commit to the work.

A few things worth knowing

• Individual amounts can be adjusted in either direction. Because Negotiate sets compensation Creator by Creator rather than brief-wide, you're not locked to the number you accepted at. If a Creator ends up delivering only part of the brief, change their rate to match what they delivered — set it to half for half the work, send that payment, and they'll be marked complete. You do this from the Completed stage with Send Payment, one Creator at a time — see How to pay your accepted Creators, which also covers splitting a payment across deliverables.
• Agree on the rate before you accept, not after. Creators are bound to the compensation stated in the brief, or agreed in chat before acceptance. If a Creator asks for more after you've accepted them, you're not obligated to pay the new rate. See Handling Creator Issues.
• Not sure what to offer? Our benchmarks by brief type are in Recommended Creator Compensation for UGC, Professional, and Influencer Partnership Brief Types.

Still have questions about setting rates on your brief? Your Customer Success Manager can walk through the process with you live during Creator vetting.