Question 1

How do you calculate a fair sponsored post rate from engagement, not just followers?

Accepted Answer

Industry standard: CPE (Cost Per Engagement) method. Base Rate = (Average Post Engagements × CPE Benchmark) where CPE benchmarks vary by platform: Instagram $0.10–$0.50 per engagement, TikTok $0.04–$0.08, YouTube $0.05–$0.30. Alternatively, use CPM: (Average Impressions ÷ 1,000) × CPM Rate ($10–$50 for niche audiences). An account with 10,000 followers but 8% engagement outperforms one with 100,000 followers at 0.5% engagement.

Question 2

What's considered a good engagement rate on Instagram and TikTok?

Accepted Answer

Instagram: 1–3% is average, 3–6% is good, 6%+ is excellent for accounts over 10K followers. Nano accounts (1K–10K) naturally see higher rates of 5–10%. TikTok engagement can be much higher due to the For You Page algorithm — 4–8% is average, with viral content exceeding 20%. Engagement rate declines as follower count grows.

Question 3

Should I charge more for exclusive content rights or usage rights?

Accepted Answer

Yes — usage rights are a separate line item from creation. If a brand wants to repurpose your content as paid ads (whitelisting), that typically costs an additional 50–100% of your creation fee per month of usage. Exclusivity in your niche (not working with competitors for 30–90 days) is another premium that typically adds 25–50% to the base rate.

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