How does tiered compensation by follower count work?

What tiered compensation does

As opposed to Flat rate, Influencer briefs offer Tiered compensation. Tiered compensation lets you set several rates in the same brief, set automatically by each Creator’s follower count — so a Creator with 8,000 followers and one with 200,000 can apply to the same brief and each see the rate you intended for them. If you would rather Creators told you their own rate, see How does the Negotiate payment type work? instead.

Decide before you launch — the payment type is locked in once the brief goes live. You cannot switch a live brief to or from tiered compensation. 

How the tiers work

Each tier is a follower ceiling and an amount. A Creator is paid the amount attached to the first tier their follower count falls under. The last tier covers everyone above the one before it. For example:

A Creator with 30,000 followers is paid $400 here; one with 500,000 is paid $700.

Filling in the tiers

• Each follower ceiling must be higher than the one before it, and none can be left blank. This is the rule behind the message “Compensation Range is required and Must be Greater than Previous Range” — if you see it, one of your tiers is empty, or its ceiling is not larger than the tier above it. Work down the list and check each ceiling climbs.

• $0 is allowed — brands often put $0 on the smallest tier when very small accounts are receiving product only.

• Two tiers is enough. There is no minimum beyond that and no need to mirror the industry Nano/Micro/Macro bands unless they suit your campaign.

• One platform: Tier is based on Instagram OR TikTok. The platform selected for Deliverables is what is used when determining payment.

What Creators see

Creators do not see the full tier table. Each Creator sees one rate — theirs, the amount attached to the tier their follower count falls in.

Because the rate depends on follower count, a Creator who has not connected a social account yet is told they need to connect one before their rate can be shown. Once they connect, the rate appears. This is worth knowing if a Creator asks why a tiered brief looks like it has no compensation: they are almost always a step short of connecting an account, not looking at a broken brief.

Changing tiers after you launch

You can still edit your tiers on a live brief, with one limit: you cannot lower what any tier pays. You can raise an amount, and you can adjust the follower ceilings — the ascending rule still applies — but a Creator who applied expecting a rate will not see it drop. So if you launched a tier lower than you meant to, you can fix it straight away. 

Not sure what to put in each tier?

Our benchmark rates by follower band and platform are in Recommended Creator Compensation for UGC, Professional, and Influencer Partnership Brief Types. Your Customer Success Manager can also talk through the right shape for your brief.