Know your worth and invoice the scope, not just the time. Here is how to answer the rate question, handle low offers and anchor with packages.
Why your floor price matters more than your rate
Because your published rate is played once, while your floor is played in every exchange. The floor is the amount below which you say no without hesitating, calculated on your costs, your time and the number of jobs you can carry. As long as it is not written down somewhere, every negotiation restarts from zero and ends a little lower.
Invoice the scope, not only your time
Seven elements that make up the real price.
The shooting and editing time.
The number of versions delivered.
The duration of the licence.
The authorised distribution media.
Paid advertising, kept separate.
Category exclusivity, if requested.
And the raw files, granted or not.
The questions to ask before any figure
Seven questions, sent in one go.
How many videos, and of what length.
For which platform, and in what format.
On which accounts exactly.
For how many months.
With or without paid advertising.
With or without exclusivity.
And for what delivery date.
How to answer "what are your rates"
Six ways to answer without giving a bare number.
Send back the two scope questions, politely.
Give a range, saying what moves it.
Offer three packages, from the simplest to the fullest.
Give a price for one specific case, and name it.
State a starting price, never an average.
And always write what the price includes, in two lines.
How to react to a lowball offer
Seven answers, from the most flexible to the firmest.
Cut the scope instead of the price.
Remove paid advertising from the offer.
Shorten the licence duration.
Reduce the number of versions.
Propose a smaller paid test.
Accept once, against a firm three-month commitment.
And refuse clearly, without a long justification.
Anchor the negotiation with packages
Six rules so the choice happens on your side.
Always offer three options, never one.
Put the one you want in the middle.
Make the dearest one genuinely attractive.
Rule out the cheapest by scope, not by quality.
Name each package by what it allows.
And present all three in the same message.
Holding firm or offering a smaller package
Six criteria for deciding fast.
Does the brand have a budget or a ceiling.
Is the product useful to your portfolio.
Is the deadline workable without sacrificing another job.
Does the requested exclusivity block other contracts.
Does the contact reply quickly and clearly.
And can the job lead to recurring orders.
What is always invoiced separately
Seven lines never included by default.
Paid advertising.
Each additional platform.
Any duration beyond twelve months.
Category exclusivity.
The raw files.
Revisions beyond the second version.
And travel, where it applies.
Scripts for the other awkward moments
Six situations, one sentence each.
You are asked for a friendly price: same price, smaller scope.
You are offered product instead: product does not pay for the licence.
You are asked to drop after acceptance: the quote stands until the stated date.
You are asked for a free video as a test: I offer a smaller paid test.
You are asked for an impossible deadline: I can, with a rush supplement.
And nobody replies after the quote: one follow-up at seven days, only one.
How to raise your rates with an existing client
Six steps, without breaking the relationship.
Announce the rise in advance, never inside a quote.
Apply it to the next order, not mid-job.
Justify it by scope, not by your costs.
Offer a transition rate over one quarter.
Keep the old price for orders already scheduled.
And accept that some clients leave, that is the point.
The mistakes that cost the most
Six reflexes to drop.
Giving a price in the first reply.
Negotiating before writing down what is being sold.
Accepting advertising use with no supplement.
Delivering before having written agreement.
Matching your price to a profile with no portfolio.
And redoing a version for free out of fear of losing the client.
How to calculate your floor price
Seven lines to set once, on a single sheet.
Your real monthly costs, everything included.
The number of jobs you can deliver in a month, without burning out.
The average time per job, shooting, editing and messages included.
The cancellation rate you actually see, often underestimated.
The unbillable hours, prospecting, quoting, chasing.
The share you set aside for taxes and equipment.
And the margin you genuinely want, not the one left over.
What your price says before you do
Six signals a brand reads in a figure.
A price that is too low suggests a recent portfolio.
A round number suggests an improvised rate card.
The same price for every scope suggests the scopes went unread.
A price with a list attached suggests an established practice.
A price cut at the first exchange suggests it was too high.
And a price held politely suggests there are other clients.
What is negotiable, and what is not
| The element | Negotiable | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The number of videos | Yes | Volume lowers the unit cost |
| The deadline | Yes | A generous deadline costs less |
| The number of revisions | Yes | It is priced |
| The usage rights | No | They set the value for the brand |
What replaces a price cut
Removing something. Fewer variants, a longer deadline, shorter rights: each removal justifies a lower price without devaluing the work itself.
What you answer to a budget that is too low
Precisely what you can deliver at that price. A quantified counter-proposal turns a refusal into a discussion and keeps the door open for the next order.
How to get paid without chasing
Six habits that remove almost all chasing.
Send a quote, however short, before every shoot.
Get written acceptance, a message is enough.
Invoice on delivery, not on publication.
Set a payment date, not a vague delay.
Go through a platform when the client is new.
And keep a dated record of every step.
On UGC MATCH, this point is handled by the mechanism itself: the brand pays at ordering, the funds are not released straight away, and payment goes out on approval. The platform is free to join and has no subscription: it retains 10% on the creator side, who therefore keeps 90%, and charges the brand a 6% service fee, with a minimum of 1.50 EUR.
One last marker: you do not negotiate a price, you negotiate a scope. Whoever describes the scope first sets the price, and nothing stops that being you.
Sources
- Urssaf, official auto-entrepreneur portal
- Service Public, how to become a micro-entrepreneur
- Service Public, crossing the micro-entrepreneur turnover thresholds
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
