What is a Base Rate?

Your base rate starts with knowing your creative self. We created this guide to help you evaluate your base rate alongside our base rate calculator. Haven't signed up yet, click here to get access! 

What is your base rate?

Your base rate is what you as a creator bring to the table before any details of work have been discussed. Its your channel's reach times your skill and experience, i.e. your authority.

As a creator, you are always on- answering DMs, researching content, engaging with other creators, strategizing, planning, etc. Those "on" moments are what determine to your overall "base rate" calculation.

Highly strategic about growing your content production = highly skilled = $$$$$.

Highly engaged with your niche audience = high reach = $$$$$.

Experience creator with a lot of publicity = high experience = $$$$$.

Your base rate rewards you for the work you do to keep your audience engaged, your voice authoritative, and your content top-quality.

Your base rate rewards you for what you as a creator can contribute outside of winning the algorithm lottery. Meaning, you don't have to be a master at all three to make money and you definitely don't have to rely on just reach to determine your worth.

How do I calculate my base rate? 

That's where we come in! We realized that the creator world was misrepresenting the value creators contribute outside of reach so we spent 18 months developing this base rate calculator. It's completely free to use. Just sign up here.

Is there anything else I should consider in my base rate? 

Yes! You should also think about how expensive your props are for the content to produce. Are you creating with perishable items? Are you making a recipe? Do you have to outsource to a photographer or videographer? Do you need additional help to setup/breakdown the shoot? Are you spending hours doing hair and makeup because you have complex hair texture or uneven skin tones? 

Your base rate needs to be inclusive of the ask (how easy/difficult the task is) and the time spent (how many hours directly related to producing the content.

Remember, sponsored posts need to reward you for the time you spend on this project and the time between sponsored content that you spend cultivating your authority (reach, skill, and experience) so that you have desirable influence to work with.

At the end of the day, you don't want your brand deals to cost you more money to produce than you get paid.

The OLD WAY of calculating your base rate undervalues your authority. Example: 

You're a nano-creator who's been working for 6 years, has 8,500 instagram followers with a 12% engagement rate, you produce content with your own special equipment (a DSLR) and have expert level transitions and editing skills.

Calculation: (8,500/ 1,000)*1+ (12%/100) = $9.52 is what "they" say your audience is worth.

The #PAYME way of calculating your base rate takes into consideration your authority.

So with the same scenario above, here's the result according to our base rate calculator: $358.85

We knew that creators were undervaluing their sponsored work because there hasn't been a tool out there that looks at what the market is charging for content, skill, and audience reach. Other calculations out there price you like a digital platforms, you aren't a digital platform. You're a human and you're an executive of your own digital publishing business.

It's time to start pricing like the executive you are.

Sign up for our calculator here and drop us a line if you have any questions on pay. hey@hashtagpayme.com

‍