Rate card

A rate card is a written list of what you charge: per platform, per deliverable, and usually for a bundle of several.

Why having one changes the conversation

Without a rate card, every negotiation starts with you inventing a number under time pressure, which is how creators end up quoting differently to two brands in the same week and discovering it later.

With one, the brand is responding to your price rather than you responding to their budget. That is a materially different conversation, and it is the single cheapest change most creators can make to what they earn.

What belongs on it

• A per-post rate for each platform you actually post to.
• Bundle pricing, with the discount stated openly rather than hidden in a lower headline rate.
• What is excluded: paid usage, exclusivity, extra revisions.

What it is not

A rate card is not a promise to charge that forever, and it is not a public document. Most creators send it when asked rather than publishing it, precisely so it can flex for a deal worth flexing for.

It is also not a valuation. It is a starting position, and usage rights and how badly the brand wants you will move the final number in both directions.