Deliverables, stated as objects
Not a collaboration. One video of a stated length, two still images, one story sequence, published on named platforms.
Vagueness here is where every later disagreement starts, because both sides remember the conversation differently and honestly.
Dates, and what happens if they slip
A publication date without a consequence is a preference. Say what happens if it moves, especially when the campaign is tied to a launch that will not move.
The consequence does not have to be harsh. It has to exist, so the conversation happens early rather than on the day.
How long it stays up, and who may reuse it
Two separate questions that get merged and then fought over. One is about their channel, the other is about yours.
If you intend to run the material as advertising, say so and agree the terms upfront. Retrofitting that permission is expensive and sometimes impossible.
- Exact deliverables and platforms
- Publication dates and what a slip means
- Minimum time the content stays published
- Whether you may reuse it, where, and for how long
- Disclosure of the commercial relationship
- Approval: how many rounds and how fast
- What happens if nothing is published at all
Disclosure is not optional
Paid partnerships have to be marked as such in most markets, and the obligation usually sits with both sides.
Put it in writing rather than assuming. It protects the creator too, which makes it an easy clause to agree.
Approval, bounded
Unlimited approval rounds are how a two week collaboration becomes a two month one. Two rounds within a stated number of days is normal and workable.
Bounding approval also improves the work, because notes given under a deadline tend to be the ones that matter.
The clause everyone forgets
What happens if nothing is published at all? It is the least likely outcome and the one with no natural answer, which is why it produces the worst arguments.
State it plainly: if the content does not appear by an agreed date, what is returned and what is kept. Both sides sign that clause happily in advance and neither can settle it afterwards.
Payment terms that both sides can live with
Paying everything upfront leaves you holding nothing if the work never arrives. Paying everything after leaves the creator financing your campaign.
Splitting it around delivery is the arrangement that works: part on signature, the rest on publication. Neither side is exposed for long, and neither is asked to trust a stranger with the whole amount.