Spider Society rant # 2
Today we're learning the importanc..
🕑 Added 2021-02-11 02:04:16 +0000 UTC
Spider Society rant # 2
Today we're learning the importance of "Affiliate codes" vs Sponsorship.
An affiliate code is something that gives you a percentage of money based on the sales of other people. Usually, you get an offer from a company that says "Hey we noticed your profile, and congratulations we would like to invite you to our influencer program!" or "Hey we would like to sponsor you!" (more on this under sponsorship)
They'll usually offer you an image or images and a link. Sometimes they will even go further and offer you a custom link, or if you're "Lucky" product as well.
This. is. A. Pyramid. Scheme.
Also in our last rant remember how I said words have power? Look carefully at how they are trying to make you feel special, important, needed. (which you are, but for the moment that is not what we are focusing on) That happy feeling of euphoria that they are inducing in you is the same as a hunter putting a sedative in its prey before it shoots it down. A lot of us have been working really hard for our big break and the first time you get one of these messages it might feel like someone is finally noticing you for the deity that you are. You're smarter than this.
Math sucks. Quite frankly I am terrible at it, feel free to correct me if this is wrong, you're probably smarter than I am. Let us roleplay in this example that Company A wants you to sell their T-shirt and you get a 10% commission. Replace t-shirt with whatever you want in this scenario. They are getting 90$ you are getting 10$ not to mention you have to pay taxes on that money. The average 1099 worker pays about 50% in taxes. (Spider society tax rant in the future) So let's say you sell 5 shirts. 500$ of product for them, 50$ for you? No. At this point, you might as well consult a graphic designer, make you own t-shirt and start bringing in that money for you. Heck, you could buy a plain black tshirt wear it for a day and sell it for 100$ and have paid 5$ for it at a corporate company lets call it shallmart.
The most predatory of these companies will not offer you a contract, they will simply try to get you to agree to put their images and work on your site/social media. These people should be turned down immediately. Do not ever, ever do anything without a contract. Even with a contract, you should be careful. I have not only signed contracts but in years where I was manipulated, I signed people onto terrible contracts.
I also will if you ever get a contract look over it for free for you.
HOWEVER, I am not a lawyer. My advice would not be legal advice it would just be advice from one human to another. I am not responsible for what you sign or do not sign. I also have not met a single lawyer that will not review a contract for free. Any company worth their salt will give you as much time as you need to review a contract. You should -never- sign a contract the same day.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is where it is at! Money for your time. The hardest part of this to assess on an individual level is "What is my time worth?" This is where your analytics come into play.
How many followers across individuals and across all platforms. This can be one of two numbers for both categories because one is a true number and the other is your inflated number. Time watched, reach percentage, etc.
Me, my Twitter @roleplayers_tv is at about (currently 11.8k followers) but the true number? Is likely around 7-8k actual followers. https://socialblade.com/ is a great site to help you figure out these numbers. When providing a sponsorship deck to a potential sponsorship program include your total list of followers, time watched, and more information about yourself.
My girlfriend @misshenleyfree @misshenley provides an excellent example of what these decks can look like on a singular page.
https://twitter.com/MissHenleyTV/status/1221633123437465605/photo/1 (I'm not certain if she is still providing this service)
Having this information on hand will show potential sponsors that you are ready and have an audience that is engaging and will hear when you talk about their product. Sponsorship should include at the bare minimum financial compensation for your time. Depending on what the sponsorship is for you can press for other things. The minimum SAG rate for performers is 26$ an hour weigh that vs your analytics and what you think your time and involvement in the project is worth. With this information, you can also now confidently approach companies you want to work for instead of waiting for them to reach out to you. Opportunity does not always knock.
An example of my rates
100$ an hour for online guest appearances.
400$ For appearing on a panel
1000$ a day + travel + expenses for conventions. This includes a panel, signing, being in games etc.
500$ a month for social media promotion + product
25$ a minute for NSFW video request content, if its under a minute still charge the whole 25$ Though I am thinking of increasing this.
I encourage talking to people in your field. There is this insane idea that we shouldn't share rates, our wages, etc. That is the rest of the world trying to keep us down so that when they can get you alone it's easier to manipulate you. Knowing what we are worth as a whole group of independent workers will only make us stronger. "A rising tide lifts all boats."
It's important to know the difference between Sponsorship/affiliate because people WILL try to trick you with the wording. Now does this mean you should never accept affiliate codes or always accept sponsorship? No to both. I have accepted affiliate codes myself because of friends or a project I believe in. I have turned down sponsorships because it's for people I could not ever condone myself working alongside. In the end, who you sign with is up to you.
I hope this information saves a lot of you heartache, makes you money, and helps prepare for your journey. I recommend looking into media decks and marketing decks if you want to become even more efficient at pitching to various companies and events.
As always if you liked this post please feel free to like it, consider tipping, and share with people that you think can benefit from this.
xoxox
