Charge for the room, not the post

“What should I charge?” is a fair question. A lot of Hispanic creators stay underpaid because they wait for the brand to name the number. You open a room a media buy cannot. Price the room.

Put your number on the page first. Then we can talk.

You are not charging for a clip

You are charging for:

• Who already believes you
• The languages you can work in on camera
• First-gen and second-gen in the same asset, if you can actually do that
• Usage — how long they get to run your face
• Spark Ads, whitelisting, paid amplification
• Revisions, rush, exclusivity
• The fact that you will not tank their brand with a stereotype they accidentally wrote into the brief

A 15-second Reel is the delivery format. It is not the product.

A grid you can say out loud

These are starting points, not a union card. Adjust up for proof, city, and how badly they need you this month. Adjust down only if the work is a case study you actually want — and even then, trade for usage you can show, not for “exposure.”

UGC / white-label (they post it, your face or your hands, little or no mention of your channel):

• One vertical video, no usage beyond organic on their channels: $400–$900
• Three-video batch: $1,200–$2,400
• Raw files + 90-day paid usage: add 30–50%

Dedicated on your channel (you post, your audience sees it):

• Nano (under ~20k) Reel or TikTok: $500–$1,500
• Micro (~20k–100k): $1,500–$4,000
• Mid (~100k–400k): $4,000–$10,000

Add-ons. These are not included. Write them as line items.

• Spark Ads / whitelisting: 20–40% of the creative fee, or a 30/90/365-day license with a number
• Paid usage on their channels: 30 / 90 / 365 days, stacked on the fee
• Category exclusivity (no competing salsa, bank, tint): 20–50%
• Rush under five days: 25%
• Extra revision rounds after the one you already scoped: a flat $150–$400 each
• Stills pack: $200–$600
• A longer YouTube or a series: price the episode, not a “discount because there are three”

If a brief says “$200 + product” and wants Spark, exclusivity, and a 90-day license, that is a different job. You can say no, or send the grid. Either is a grown answer.

Bilingual is a line item

If you can shoot a single piece that works for a Spanish-dominant parent and an English-first kid, you are not doing two voiceovers. You are doing one asset that replaces two campaigns. Charge for that.

Do not subtitle a joke that dies in translation and call it bilingual. Remake it. That extra hour is why the rate is higher — not because you “happen to know Spanish.”

If they want English-only and you are bilingual, you can still take the job. Do not give them the bilingual rate as a thank-you.

How to put it on one page

Subject line: the campaign name and your name. No “just circling back.”

Then, in this order:

1. What you understood the goal to be, in one sentence. (“First-gen households in Houston, three kitchen Reels, Spark for 90 days.”)
2. Deliverables. Count them. Formats. Due dates.
3. What you need from them, and by when. Product, talking points, claims you cannot make, brand kit.
4. The fee, broken into creative + usage + Spark + extras. Not one blob.
5. Revisions: one round of brand-safety notes. After that, the add-on rate.
6. What happens if they want more later. A sentence. “Additional assets billed at the stills / extra-Reel rate above.”

Send it as a PDF or a clean doc. Do not negotiate the number in Instagram DMs. DMs are for “got it, sending the quote.”

Saying the number without flinching

They will ask “what’s your rate?” on a call. Do not workshop it live.

“For a dedicated Reel plus 90-day Spark, I come in at $X. I can send the one-pager in an hour.”

If they go quiet, let them be quiet. If they say the budget is $Y and $Y is insulting, do not split the difference out of panic.

“That budget covers one UGC video, organic only, no Spark, no exclusivity. If that’s the job, I can do that. If you need the dedicated + usage, we need to be at $X.”

You are not being difficult. You are naming the job. We can sit with you on that sentence.

What a too-low first job costs

Taking $200 to “get in the door” trains the brand to come back at $200. The creators who get booked again are the ones whose invoices match the brief. You can still do gifted work. Call it gifted. You can still do a case-study rate. Write the discount as a line so they know the next job is $X.

Before you send it

• Your niche is one line. Not “lifestyle.”
• Language split is on the kit.
• You have at least one proof point: a save rate, a sold-out link, a comment section that looks like a buying group.
• The number on the page is a number you can repeat to a friend without laughing or apologizing.

Charge for the room. The post is how the room hears you.