Counter a Lowball Brand Offer by Trading Scope

When a brand lowballs you, don't reply with a bigger number. Reply with two options that change the scope: a smaller job at their budget, or their full job at your price. The brand sees what its budget buys, and you stay in the conversation.

A flat "my rate is higher" leaves the brand only a yes or no on your number. Two options give it something to say yes to. Below are copyable replies for three lowballs worth having an answer ready for: gifted-only, forever usage and long exclusivity.

What counts as a lowball offer?

A lowball is any offer where the scope is bigger than the money. Price is only one dial. The other dials are what you make, how long the brand can use it, and how long you stay away from its competitors.

That is why these three lowballs have the same shape. "Product only" asks for the work with no money. "In perpetuity" asks for unlimited time on the usage dial. "Exclusive for 12 months" asks for a long clock on the exclusivity dial.

What do I do before I reply?

Write the ask in four lines before you answer: what you'd make, where it would run and for how long, which brands you couldn't work with and for how long, and what you'd get. Then price each line on its own.

If you don't have a floor yet, build one first from your hours and costs. Every counter below needs one number of your own: the least this job is worth to you.

How does a two-option counter work?

Send Option A and Option B in the same message.

Option A is a smaller scope at their budget. Option B is their full scope at your price. You are not refusing anything. You are showing what each amount buys.

Example numbers, not market rates. Say your own prices are $300 for the post, $90 per 30 days of paid ads and $50 per 30 days of exclusivity. A brand offers $400 and asks for the post, 90 days of ads and 90 days of exclusivity. At your prices that full ask is $300 + $270 + $150 = $720, so $400 is about 56% of it. Option A is the post plus 30 days of ads, $390. Option B is the full ask, $720.

The generic reply:

"Thanks for the offer. I'd like to work with you, and the budget is a bit under what this scope needs. Here are two ways to make it work. Option A: [smaller scope] for $[their budget]. Option B: the full scope you described for $[your price]. Happy to go with either."

What do I reply when a brand offers gifted-only?

Product is payment for a product-sized job. Say what that job is, and put anything bigger on a price.

YouTube's creator help page calls content in exchange for product "often a gateway to more sophisticated branded content deals". The same page adds that it "may not be beneficial if your videos have high production costs." So product can be a fair trade for a small job and a bad one for a big job.

Example: a $60 serum against a $300 post. The product is 20% of your price, so it can't cover the full post, ads and exclusivity.

"Thanks for thinking of me. I like [product]. Product on its own covers a smaller job, so here are two options. Option A: you send the product, and I post one [Reel] on my account with one round of changes, no paid ad use and no exclusivity. Option B: a paid project at $[your rate] for the scope you described. Which fits better?"

If you would happily post about the product anyway, Option A is a fine yes. Just say so on purpose, in writing, with the small scope attached.

What do I reply to "perpetual" or "unlimited" usage?

Turn "forever" into a length and a place. Usage is where the brand can run your post, and for how long, and you can put a limit on both.

The platform tools already work that way. On TikTok, the creator generates an ad code and picks "the authorization duration (7, 30, 60, or 365 days)". On Instagram, "Partners can revoke these permissions at any time". A contract can ask for more than those tools give. Still, "forever" is longer than TikTok's longest ad-code option, and Instagram's permission can be pulled back.

Ownership is a separate question from usage. U.S. copyright law says a transfer of copyright ownership "is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner". Contract words that could move ownership, like "assign" or "all rights," are worth a professional's read before you sign.

"Thanks, the rest of the terms look close. On usage, I license content for a set time instead of forever. Option A: you can repost it on your own channels for [12] months, no paid ads. Option B: paid ad use for [30] days at $[fee], renewable. If you want a longer term, tell me how long and I'll quote it."

Renewal is the friendly part. A brand that still likes the post after the term can pay for the next one.

What do I reply to a long exclusivity ask?

Shrink it on three dials: which brands, how long, and what each month pays. None of the platform pages cited here sets a standard exclusivity length, so treat any number a brand sends as an opening offer.

Example prices, yours to change. Say an exclusivity month costs you $50 in offers you would have taken. Twelve months is 12 x $50 = $600. Three months is $150. The brand sees the cost of its own ask.

"On exclusivity, I can pause posting for [Brand X, Brand Y, Brand Z] for [30] days from the post date, at $[fee] per 30 days. A whole category for [12] months would cost me other offers at this budget. Option A: three named brands, 30 days. Option B: the whole category, [90] days, at $[fee]. Which works?"

Add the brands you already work with by name, so there is no doubt they are left out.

What if the brand says no to both options?

Then you have your answer. Send one short line and leave the door open:

"Understood. I'll pass on this one, and I'd be glad to look at a bigger scope in the future."

A reply can't promise a deal. This one just puts a price on each scope.

Where do I keep all of this?

Keep each counter, the version the brand agreed to and the final scope in one place. Next time a brand writes "same as last time," you'll know what "same" was.

Keep brand replies, rates, and deal details together. Start at usesnippet.app.

Sources

All pages accessed 2026-10-28.

• YouTube Help, "Tips for driving brand deals": https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12929858
• TikTok Ads Help, "How to create Spark Ads for Smart+ Campaigns in TikTok Ads Manager": https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/how-to-create-spark-ads-for-smart-campaigns-on-tiktok-ads-manager
• Instagram Help Center, "About partnership ad permissions": https://help.instagram.com/442108830566254
• U.S. Copyright Office, Title 17, Chapter 2 (section 204, execution of transfers of copyright ownership): https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html
• Example numbers in this post are the reader's own inputs, not market rates or platform figures.