Hey y’all,

We need to talk. 

No, not in a cryptic-text-message-from-your-partner-that-leaves-you-stressed-all-day kind of way. 

We need to talk about Black Friday and bust some myths about it. 

For the past two years, we surveyed marketers about Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM). 

One of those questions was, “What are the biggest blockers to booking creators for BFCM?”

The responses came down to:

The picture marketers painted was that it’s hard to book creators for BFCM.

This year, we twisted the plot and surveyed creators instead.  And when we compared what the creators said vs what the marketers said, it didn’t line up.

So it’s time to bust some BFCM myths. 

Marketers told us that, on average, influencers increase their prices by about 30%. 

So we asked creators about it. And found that over half of the creators we spoke to didn’t increase their prices at all.

So why does BFCM feel more expensive? 

It’s about what you’re asking for, and when you’re asking. 

During BFCM, it’s all hands on deck – so marketers tend to ask for more and tack on extras (exclusivity, usage rights, faster deadlines, extra revisions, etc.). 

Those things add up. 

Usage rights are the priciest add-on. And marketers ask for it because it makes ROI even more efficient. 63% of marketers told us influencer content consistently outperformed all other brand holiday content. 

So it’s not that influencers are raising their prices – it’s more that marketers are asking for more expensive things. 

That means if you know you’re going to ask for the pricier things, adjust your budget accordingly – especially if you’re reaching out at the last minute. But more on that later. 

A lot of marketers we spoke to in past surveys said they couldn’t book creators they wanted because of exclusivity clauses.

We found that creators say no to exclusivity more often than you'd expect. 1 in 4 never accept it, even though nearly 87% get asked.

Creators overwhelmingly said that brands are usually unprepared to compensate them for the financial hit they take for exclusivity. 

So, if you keep running into the exclusivity problem, the best thing to do is build deeper relationships with creators well before BFCM. If you have a long-term collaboration with an influencer, it’s unlikely they’ll accept exclusivity with a competing brand if they’re reasonably sure you’ll book them too. 

(Which brings us back to having the BFCM conversation waaaay before your competitors have the chance to)

Combined with: “No way, I totally reach out to creators in June for holiday campaigns!” 🤞

Half of creators said they never actually get fully booked during the holidays. Another 30% said they only actually get booked up by November. 

And creators said brands reach out too late for holiday collabs. 

It wasn’t even that they were booked up, but more that marketers reached out, panicked, and asked for the moon on a 2-day turnaround with 5 revisions. 

I told you I was going to come back to the “when you ask” part about pricing. Here it is.  

If you’re reaching out the week before Black Friday, and asking an influencer for 5 Reels, 2 Stories, usage rights, revisions, last-minute changes…

Yeah – you’re gonna pay more. It’s not that the prices are higher for the heck of it. It’s that the stakes are higher and you’re asking for more.

This reminds me of the Black Friday Chaos Tax. It’s when last-minute, disorganized BFCM campaigns make you actually spend so much more budget, time, and peace of mind.

And the absolute best remedy for that is to start planning right now. Yesterday, even. Reach out to promising creators now. Get your plan ready.

I know there’s only so much you can do (especially if you’re dependent on decisions from above), but if you can, press them for concrete answers. Tell them about the tax.

It’ll be worth it if you do.

Cursing you with Q4 problems in Q3, 
Whitney 🦇
Content R&D at Modash. Send hate mail to LinkedIn 

Big thanks to my colleague Anna, who sent me this video - and it was an instant follow.

Who they are: Callahan Callahan – a ceramics artist and dad.

Why he’s worth a follow: Already, just based on skill alone, this guy is worth checking out. Callahan’s work is actually incredibly detailed. The level of detail is insane, and his creativity is second-to-none. I didn’t even know ceramic could do that. 

Dream collab: So I saw a Crocs mug he made (complete with… uh… jibbitz? I’m old), and the top comment is from the Crocs official account. No idea if it’s a collab – but really, with an artist that has the level of creativity to make a functional peg-style mug that looks like Crocs, the sky is the limit. Just about any brand could partner with this guy – but I think a brand that has a strong visual identity will probably do best.

P.S. If you like this newsletter and want to support us, there are 3 different ways to do that right now. (You only need to do one, we’re not greedy!)