Exclusivity

Exclusivity is a clause preventing you from working with competing brands for a defined time after a deal.

Why it is expensive

Because it removes income you cannot see yet. Agreeing not to work with any other coffee brand for six months means turning down deals that have not been offered, from companies you have not heard from. That is a real cost even though it never appears on an invoice.

The three things to check

• How long. Thirty days is routine. A year is a different agreement entirely and should be priced like one.
• How wide. "No competitors" is vague. Ask for a named list or a defined category. A clause that covers "beverages" quietly rules out far more than the brand probably intends.
• When it starts. On signature, or when the content goes live? These can be months apart.

What to charge for it

There is no standard rate, but the useful question is: what would you have to be paid to turn down every deal in this category for that period? Exclusivity is priced on top of the content fee, never included in it.

Brands ask for it as a default in many templates. It is one of the most commonly removed clauses when someone simply asks.