Pay influencers per sale or a flat fee? How to choose

Cet article est rédigé en anglais.

Short answer: pay per sale when your product is cheap, understood in seconds, bought on impulse, with the buy button right under the video. Pay a flat fee when you need more than a sale: a launch that has to look right, a product that needs explaining, a service with no checkout, content you want to reuse, or certainty about what goes live and when. Often a mix works best: a flat fee plus a bonus or commission when it performs.

When paying per sale works

Commission works best for products of a few tens of euros that people get in fifteen seconds and buy on the spot, ideally with an in-app buy button under the video. Creators who already sell from their content know these deals and can judge them quickly. In e-commerce, 5 to 20 percent is common; in shops inside social apps, rates are often higher.

Check your margin first

Commission comes out of your margin, like platform fees. Example: a EUR 40 product with a 50 percent gross margin leaves EUR 20. Selling through an in-app shop with, say, a 9 percent platform fee costs EUR 3.60, and 20 percent commission costs EUR 8, leaving EUR 8.40. With a lower margin little or nothing is left, and a flat fee with a clear cap gives you more control.

Commission decides who says yes

With commission only, the creator carries the risk: no sales, no pay. Established creators with steady income often decline, or only post when the product is sure to sell. What remains is a crowd of smaller accounts trying many products, and a lot of samples that never become a post. That is not bad faith; it is what the deal says.

When to choose a flat fee

A flat fee is the better tool when you want something a sale can’t measure: a launch that has to look right; a product or service that needs explaining; a service or B2B offer without a checkout; presence on more than one platform; content you want to reuse on your own channels or in ads. A flat fee also lets you ask for a format, a deadline and revisions, because you pay for the work.

Sort out usage rights upfront

If the video might end up in your ads, agree on it before the work starts: which channels, how long, and whether you may run it as a paid ad from the creator’s account. On TikTok and Instagram that needs an authorization code from the creator. Put it in the deal so the code arrives with the content.

Combine when you can

A flat fee that makes the content worth making, plus a bonus when it performs, keeps strong creators interested and still rewards results. Product seeding works the same way: free product as a no-strings gesture, or free product plus a fee when you want a post you can count on.

FAQ

Can I pay influencers only per sale?

Yes, with an affiliate link, a discount code or an in-app shop. Expect mostly creators who try many products at once, and not every sample to become a post.

What commission rate is normal?

Usually 5 to 20 percent in e-commerce, often 10 to 30 percent in shops inside social apps. Always work it back to your margin.

Why do good creators turn down commission-only?

Because they carry all the risk and their time and reach may earn nothing. A flat fee, possibly with a bonus, is a normal business agreement for them.

How do I measure results with a flat fee?

With a link or discount code per creator, plus what the content does beyond that: reach in your audience, and how it performs as an ad.

Am I responsible for the creator’s ad disclosure?

In the Netherlands, the advertiser has a duty of care under the advertising code for influencer marketing: point creators to disclosure and put it in your agreements.

When do I pay a flat fee?

Agree that the money is set aside before the creator starts and released after delivery. On InFluFlu you fund the deal upfront, the creator delivers on an agreed date, and approval (or five working days without a response) releases the payment.

In short

• Cheap, impulse, buy button under the video: commission can work.
• Launches, explanations, services, reuse in ads: pay for the content.
• A post you can rely on: pay for that post, with a deadline.
• Always write down usage rights before the work starts.

No product to sell in-app? Read Hiring TikTok creators as a local or service business.