None of these mistakes shows on the day you make it. They get paid for six months later, when you discover you worked a great deal for very little.
Including rights in the base price
By far the most expensive, and also the easiest to fix.
A video posted on the brand's account and a video running as advertising for six months in three countries are not worth the same. Yet most creators charge for production and let usage happen on its own.
Separate the two lines on the quote, always: production on one side, the usage licence on the other, with its duration, its channels and its territory. A brand refusing that separation is telling you it planned to use the video far beyond what you imagined.
Calculating your income on the gross
Two thousand euros invoiced is not two thousand euros earned.
There remain contributions, tax, equipment, travel, and the unbilled time spent replying. What actually remains can be half, sometimes less, depending on your situation.
Waiting for the first client to get in order
A serious brand asks for an invoice before paying, sometimes before signing.
Discovering at that moment that you need to register, and that it takes time, means losing the job. The procedures, the thresholds and the applicable regime are checked with a commercialista or the administration, and that is done before prospecting, not after.
Accepting unlimited revisions
That is the open door to unpaid work, and it always opens politely.
Two revisions included, the third billed. Write it into the quote, in one line. It is not a sign of rigidity: it is what lets you be pleasant about the first two.
Also define what a revision is: an adjustment to the edit, not a change of concept nor a new shoot.
Not asking for a deposit
Thirty to fifty per cent before starting, for a new client, without exception.
The deposit is not there to guarantee your payment, it is there to reveal intent. A client who hesitates over a deposit will hesitate over the balance too, and you have just learned that before shooting.
Staying a generalist
A profile that does everything gets compared on price, and always loses.
A creator identified with two or three worlds is searched for by the name of their speciality. They work less to find clients and charge more, because they are no longer interchangeable.
Chasing new clients instead of bringing back old ones
Finding a brand costs hours; bringing back a satisfied brand costs one message.
Three weeks after a delivery, write to propose a concrete follow-up: a variation, another angle, a version for the coming season. It is the most profitable move in the whole trade, and almost nobody makes it.
What each mistake costs
| Mistake | What it costs | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Rights granted with no price | Half the value | One line in the quote |
| Unlimited revisions | Two days per order | A written cap |
| Delivery with no acknowledgement | A delayed payment | A receipt message |
What is set up once and for all
A standard quote, a file naming scheme, a template invoice and a delivery sentence.
What is checked before every send
The requested format, the length, the subtitles, the file name and the advertising disclosure.
Never raising prices
A rate set in the first year becomes an invisible ceiling.
Raise it on new clients first, keep the old ones for a while, then align them at the occasion of a new project. Nobody will offer to pay you more.
Sources
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
