What should I check before accepting a brand deal?

The brand's legitimacy and your contact, the campaign scope and timeline, the fee, payment schedule and taxes, usage rights and exclusivity, the brief, approvals and claims, disclosure requirements, and whether the terms are in writing.

Do gifted collaborations need disclosure?

Yes. ASCI guidelines treat gifts, free products and other benefits as a material connection that must be disclosed, for example with a "Free gift" or "Ad" label.

What if a brand asks me not to disclose the partnership?

Don't agree. Undisclosed paid or gifted promotion goes against ASCI guidelines and platform policies, and puts your credibility at risk. A professional brand shouldn't ask for it.

Creator Brand Deal Checklist: What to Check Before Accepting a Collaboration

A practical checklist for every brand deal: who the client is, what you're delivering, how you're paid, what rights and exclusivity you're giving, how content is approved, and how it will be disclosed.

Kudozz Partnerships Team8 min read

Print it, save it to your notes, or copy it into your contract folder. Run through this checklist before you say yes to any collaboration, paid or gifted. If you can't tick an item, ask the brand before you sign.

Quick answer

Before accepting a brand collaboration, confirm: the brand and agency are legitimate and you know who your contact and client are; the objective, deliverables, platforms and timeline are defined; the fee, payment schedule, taxes and expenses are agreed; usage rights, duration, territory, editing and whitelisting are limited and priced; exclusivity is narrow and paid; the brief, approvals, revisions and product claims are clear; and disclosure will follow ASCI guidelines and platform tools.

1. Brand

Who is the client? Is the brand's legal entity named?
Is an agency involved? Does it genuinely represent the brand?
Who is my contact, and is their email on the brand's or agency's official domain?
Does the brand have a real website, reviews and an active social presence?
Would I use and recommend this product?
Is there any sign of a scam: fees, password or OTP requests, urgency, unofficial payment methods?

If anything feels off, check how to spot fake brand collaboration offers before replying.

2. Campaign

What's the objective: awareness, launch, sales, content for ads?
Which deliverables, exactly? (format, quantity, length)
Which platforms?
What's the timeline, starting from product and brief receipt?
How long must content stay live?

3. Money

What is the fee, and is it inclusive or exclusive of GST?
What's the payment schedule (advance, on posting, days after invoice)?
Who pays me: the brand or the agency?
Will TDS be deducted? Will I get the certificate?
Are expenses (props, travel, extra talent) covered?
Is there a kill fee if the campaign is cancelled after I start?
What do they need for invoicing (PO number, vendor onboarding)?

4. Rights

Organic usage: can the brand repost, and for how long?
Paid usage: can it run my content as ads? On which platforms, for how long?
Duration: when does usage start and end?
Territory: India only or wider?
Editing: can it cut, subtitle, re-edit or combine my content? AI alterations?
Whitelisting: will it run ads through my handle? Do I approve the ad copy?
Do I keep ownership and the right to show it in my portfolio?

Details in creator usage rights.

5. Exclusivity

Which category or named competitors?
Which platforms and regions?
For how long, starting when?
Does it conflict with any current partnership?
Is it priced?

Details in creator exclusivity.

6. Content

Is there a written brief?
Who approves scripts and drafts, and how quickly will they respond?
How many revision rounds are included?
Which product claims am I being asked to make? Can the brand substantiate them?
For health, nutrition, finance or technical claims: am I qualified to make them, or should I stick to my personal experience?
Do I retain creative control over tone and honest opinion?

7. Disclosure

Will the content carry an upfront, clear label (e.g. "Ad", "Sponsored", "Collaboration", "Partnership", "Free gift") as ASCI guidelines require for paid, gifted or affiliate content?
Will I use platform tools: Instagram's paid partnership label, YouTube's paid promotion disclosure?
For videos, will the label appear on screen as well as in the caption?
For live sessions, will I disclose at the start and end?
Has the brand asked me to avoid or hide disclosure? (If so, don't.)

See ASCI's influencer resources for the current guidelines, and Instagram's paid partnership label and YouTube's paid promotion disclosure for platform tools.

8. Paperwork

Is there a written agreement, or at least a confirmed email summary of all terms?
Have I read cancellation, termination, liability and dispute clauses?
For large fees, long exclusivity or broad rights: has a lawyer reviewed it?

For clause-by-clause explanations, see the influencer contract guide for creators and creator deliverables.

Two guides go deeper on the last sections of this checklist: the creator disclosure guide and creator brand safety.

The one-screen version

Copy into your notes app

BRAND ☐ legit ☐ contact verified ☐ I'd use it ☐ no scam signs
CAMPAIGN ☐ objective ☐ deliverables ☐ platforms ☐ timeline ☐ live duration
MONEY ☐ fee ☐ GST ☐ schedule ☐ who pays ☐ TDS ☐ expenses ☐ kill fee
RIGHTS ☐ organic ☐ paid ☐ duration ☐ territory ☐ editing ☐ whitelisting ☐ portfolio use
EXCLUSIVITY ☐ scope ☐ duration ☐ conflicts ☐ priced
CONTENT ☐ brief ☐ approvals ☐ revisions ☐ claims substantiated
DISCLOSURE ☐ upfront label ☐ platform tool ☐ on-screen ☐ live
PAPERWORK ☐ written terms ☐ key clauses read ☐ legal review if big

Keep the documents behind each tick (brief, confirmation, approvals, disclosure screenshots, invoice) using the folder system in creator campaign documentation, and agree cancellation terms upfront with the help of creator cancellation policy.