Influencer brief template for YouTube sponsorships

A sponsorship brief is the one document a creator needs to make your video: what you want, what you need, and what's up to them. Send it once they've agreed in principle, and keep it short enough to read in five minutes. Each part below earns its place by answering a question the creator would otherwise have to email you about.

About the brand

Two or three sentences: what you make, who buys it, and why you think their audience will care. Skip the mission statement.

The product

What it does, what it costs, where to buy it, and anything the creator needs to know to use it properly. Send it early enough to use for real.

The one message

The single thing a viewer should remember. If you list five, the video will land none of them.

Must-says

The few facts that have to be accurate: the price, a key feature, the offer and its end date. Keep it to three or fewer.

Must-not-says

Claims you can't back up, competitor comparisons you don't want, and topics to avoid. Health, money and safety claims deserve particular care.

Call to action, link and code

What viewers should do next, the creator's own tracked link, and their discount code. Both let you measure the results.

Disclosure

That the video will be labelled as an ad: said at the start, shown on screen, in the description, with YouTube's paid promotion box ticked. See the disclosure rules.

Deliverables

Exactly what you're buying: an integration or a dedicated video, any Shorts or pinned comment, and how long the link stays in the description. Our guide to sponsorship formats explains the options.

Timeline

When the product arrives, when a draft is due if you want one, and the go-live date or window.

Review and approval

How many rounds of feedback, on what, and how fast you'll reply. Reviewing the sponsored segment for facts and disclosure is reasonable; rewriting the creator's jokes is not.

Usage rights

Whether you can reuse the footage, where and for how long. If you want it for paid ads, say so now: it's a separate usage right and changes the price.

Payment terms

The amount, the currency, when it's paid (on signing, on going live, or split) and where to send the invoice.

The audience watches because of the creator, not because of you. A segment that sounds like them is worth more than one that sounds like your website. Leave these alone:

• The script. Give the facts and the one message; let them write the words. A word-for-word script read off a screen sounds like one.
• The format. Where the segment sits, how they demonstrate the product and whether it's a skit or a straight talk to camera.
• Their honest opinion. If they find a flaw, let them say so. An honest view is what you're paying for, and a creator asked for praise only may turn the work down.
• Their style. Jokes, editing, music and thumbnail choices are theirs.

Copy this, fill in the brackets and delete whatever doesn't apply. It works as an email or as a shared document.

• Check it against what you agreed. The brief describes the deal; it shouldn't add deliverables you never discussed or priced. If you want more, ask, and expect to pay for it.
• Agree it in writing. A brief describes the work. Payment, usage rights, exclusivity and disclosure belong in a written agreement too, and you can attach the brief to it.
• Leave enough time. Creators plan their uploads ahead. A brief that arrives a few days before your launch date asks them to drop something else.
• Name one contact. One person who answers questions and gives feedback, so the creator isn't caught between your marketing team and your founder.

Nakodo also writes a brief, but a different kind. When you start a campaign from your website address, it reads your site and writes an internal brief: what you sell, the countries and languages you sell in, the kind of creator that fits with a subscriber range, and the YouTube search keywords to try. You can edit it before Nakodo searches. That brief is for searching, not for sending to creators.

The creator brief on this page comes later, once a creator has said yes. By then Nakodo has introduced you by email and stepped out, so you send the brief from your own inbox. The first emails Nakodo sends on your behalf state your offer and ask exactly as you set them, so the brief and the first email tell the same story. The full method is on how Nakodo works.