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In influencer marketing, bundling is like a combo deal, grouping multiple deliverables into a single package. Brands love this negotiation tactic because the bundle usually costs less than each deliverable would have cost individually.
In our survey, 92% of influencer marketers said they use bundling to reduce the price per deliverable. But if youâve never negotiated a bundle package before, you might be wondering:
Iâll share the answers in this article â with advice straight from the pros whoâve used bundling successfully.
Bundles are versatile; you can combine various content formats and social platforms to create a bundle. But with so many possibilities, where do you start?
As demonstrated by our survey, there are three common ways to create a bundle:
Cheyanne Pettyjohn shares how she uses the Content Formats bundling strategy to get a lower rate per deliverable:
I have used bundling to get better rates on total content for one platform. For example, many influencers will send a media kit with prices broken down by Post, Reel, Story, etc. I have negotiated a lower rate when asking for 1 Reel and 5 Story Slides, rather than 2 Reels alone.
Now, while these are the most common ways to create a bundle, thereâs always room for creativity. Donât be afraid to think outside the box to get the best deal for your influencer campaigns.
For instance, you could ask a creator for 2 TikTok videos + 1 Instagram Reel + 30 days of usage rights as a bundle at a discounted rate.
You can even add new elements like:
For example, you could bundle 1 YouTube video + 2 Instagram Reels + 1 event invite as one package.
Or, if youâre in a long-term creator relationship, you can significantly reduce the price per deliverable by adjusting the quantity and delivery period. For example, instead of asking for 2 new Instagram Reels every month for $600, you can negotiate a bundle of 10 Instagram Reels over a span of five months (maybe even with usage rights) for $2500 â thatâs a total savings of $500!
And while getting the best deal is always appealing, bundling might not be the way to go for each campaign. Hereâs a quick visual summary of when you should try bundling and when you should avoid it:
To bundle, or not to bundle? That is the question. Letâs explore each scenario in more detail.
Maybe you want multiple spots in an influencerâs content calendar to build trust, increase brand association, and educate around your product. Bundling is an excellent way to ensure not only that you get those multiple spots, but also that you get them at the best price. Nacho Selma agrees:
If my plan is to get just one piece of content, thereâs no need to negotiate with bundling. However, bundling is a great approach if my goal is to obtain multiple pieces of content. Requesting multiple videos in a bundle means each video ends up being cheaper.
Many creators have your ideal customers in their followers across multiple social media networks. Bundling gives you a chance to reach more of a creatorâs community when you ask them to crosspost or repurpose the same content on all their social profiles.
Namrata Thakker says different social media platforms offer unique audiences:
We always work on a bundle with influencers whoâre big on YouTube and Instagram. We seek deliverables on both platforms because each offers a largely unique audience.
Crossposting also allows you to build your brand presence on multiple platforms without extending your budget for a fresh post on a new social channel. As Lee Drysdale puts it:
Often, my budget wonât stretch for different deliverables on separate platforms, so I ask for content to be posted as Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, for example. This often lowers the overall cost since the same content is being repurposed.
Leslie Belen agrees that bundling multiple platforms and content types is cost-effective when a creator has high engagement on more than one social network:
I use bundling with influencers who have strong engagement across multiple platforms or who offer a mix of content types. It allows us to maximize exposure, create cost-effective packages, and secure better long-term partnerships.
Brand collaborations across social media networks also foster a stronger brand connection in the minds of consumers. This is especially true for an influencerâs âsuperfansâ who follow their content diligently across multiple platforms. The more that influencer collaborates with you, the more strongly their followers associate their name with your brand.
Maybe youâre running a huge sale during Black Friday and promoting those BFCM discounts using influencers. Or perhaps youâre about to launch a new product, and you need creator partnerships to get the word out.
Remember, selling your offers will take more than a single influencer post â you must appear on your target customersâ feeds multiple times to remind them about a sale beginning and ending, or to get them excited about a launch.
Bundling is a top-tier tactic in this scenario to stay top-of-mind. You can ask influencers to post about your brandâs offers or product launches multiple times in a short period â suggest a discounted rate for a set of deliverables. Zia Ur Rehman Awais echoes this sentiment:
Bundling is effective for limited-time offers, collaborations, or seasonal promotions, in which influencers highlight the offer and create urgency among their audience, encouraging higher spending.
Long-term influencer collaborations build trust among consumers and often appear more authentic than a one-off post. The latter might cause a follower to wonder, if your product was so great, how come the influencer only talked about it once on their profile?
One-off posts limit the opportunity for your content to truly bring the best results. For this reason, one-hit wonders are rare in the influencer marketing world. It often takes multiple posts to achieve maximum ROI from your efforts. Fernanda Marques agrees:
The more content we secure, the better, especially when we can incorporate different formats and posting dates to maximize reach and engagement. Bundling allows for a more strategic and long-lasting presence rather than relying on a single post to drive impact.
Short-term partnerships are also restrictive in terms of product education and use cases â you simply canât pack all of your productâs features, ways to use it, and any other useful info into one piece of content. On the other hand, multiple posts allow influencers to expand your brand awareness and showcase your productâs various benefits.
Valerija Somi shares how she uses bundling to convert successful one-off partnerships into a long-term deal:
We use bundling with influencers with whom we had good results in our first collaboration. This helps us get better pricing and secure content for our upcoming campaigns in advance.
Bundling â over a longer time frame â allows you to become a recurring guest in a creatorâs profile more cost-effectively. You can foster a stronger connection with their audience and share more details about your product.
Bundling comes in handy when you want to get the most bang for your buck. When an influencer is slightly out of budget, adding another deliverable (or value item like usage rights) might make it worthwhile. Fernanda Marques elaborates:
Each content format carries a different cost. My goal is always to maximize the budget I have, so depending on the campaign strategy and objectives, it might be more effective to secure multiple Stories rather than a single Reel. Itâs all about balancing reach, engagement, and impact to get the best possible value from each collaboration.
Influencers also donât mind meeting you in the middle if you ask for a low-lift add-on to pay the rates they asked for. Leslie Belen explains with an example:
If an influencerâs price is high, we typically bundle TikTok videos with Instagram posts to maximize reach and justify the cost. For mid-range influencers, we might bundle Stories with a single post or video to keep the campaign cost-effective.
Bundling can be an excellent negotiation tactic⊠but itâs not always the right move. Here are a few instances in which itâs better to pay Ă la carte for deliverables.
When youâre collaborating with an influencer for the first time, itâs best to pay their full fee and evaluate the relationship and performance. If you tie yourself into a bundle deal from the get-go and a new creator doesnât deliver results as expected, youâre stuck with diminishing returns.
If youâre testing the waters â whether itâs with influencers outside your niche or with a new kind of post/collab â itâs best to dip one toe at a time. See how your experiment fares before using bundling. This will minimize your risk in the experimental campaign and ensure you get the most value for your money on the next one.
An influencer who creates top-tier short-form videos might not excel at a dedicated long-form YouTube video.
Or, in rare cases, a creator might have a totally different audience or niche across various platforms. In these situations, itâs best to avoid bundling since you donât get the visibility benefits of a strong cross-platform presence.
A creatorâs reach or engagement could fluctuate by a wide margin (psst⊠you can check in Modash* đ). This might be because of factors outside a creatorâs control, like algorithmic changes. In this case, itâd be best to avoid bundling multiple pieces of content because you canât guess how theyâll perform.
*In Modashâs Influencer Analysis tool, you can find an influencerâs follower growth rate and fluctuations in overall likes over the last 6â7 months.
Maybe you only need an influencerâs authentic review about your product to embed on your website. Or perhaps youâre using creator content for a marketing asset in a campaign. In these scenarios, bundling will add unnecessary costs to your budget because you only need a specific, one-off piece of content.
Bundling is such a common negotiation tactic that even creators use it in their media kits to attract more consistent work. Kat LaFata explains how creators frame bundles so they are more appealing to marketers:
Stories cost too much on their own, so mid-tier creators bundle them as a free add-on. So, itâs more appealing for brands to get a Reel and free Stories. Macro creators do not offer free Stories, but their price is reduced when bundled with Reels.
Nonetheless, in case you encounter some pushback regarding bundling, here are four tips to appeal to influencers:
Bundling is truly a win-win for both influencers and marketers:
But not all influencers can see right away how itâs beneficial. If youâre sensing hesitancy, you can say something like:
Nacho Selma affirms this method:
Influencers are more likely to agree to a bundle if they see its value. I emphasize how bundling provides them with a larger, guaranteed deal while allowing them to optimize their content creation process. For example, shooting multiple videos in one session saves them time and effort.
Influencer marketing is a relationship business, and all good relationships thrive with transparent communication. If an influencer is pushing back on bundling, ask them why and try to resolve their concerns. For instance, if they feel their workload is increasing too much for the rate, offer flexibility in content formats or timelines.
Athira Aravind suggests finding a middle ground:
You'll need to find a middle ground with the creator. While you often tend to prioritize the brandâs benefits, considering the creatorâs perspective will help you develop the most effective negotiation tactic.
Being transparent with the influencer about how bundling will maximize your budget while offering them consistent work is also helpful for influencers to understand your reasoning and find common footing. Think of it as a collaboration, not a transaction. As Fernanda Marques suggests:
Clearly communicate your goals and budget, and most of the time, influencers will propose the best bundle themselves since they know their workflow and what formats perform best for their audience. Approaching it as a collaboration rather than just a transaction leads to better outcomes for both sides.
Lee Drysdale reinforces the importance of transparency:
I've always found that just being honest and open works best. If you donât have the budget to make it work, just let the creator know. Youâll be surprised how many influencers are open to negotiation when being honest rather than just trying to lowball them from the start.
Bundling multiple deliverables reduces your overall cost, but it shouldnât be perceived as if youâre trying to rip off the influencer. Ensure that the agreement is still a win for the influencer with the additional deliverables â donât propose drastically lower per-deliverable rates than an influencerâs original rate. Fernanda Marques explains with an example:
You canât expect a bundle for the same price as a single deliverable, so itâs important to acknowledge the value of the influencerâs work while ensuring the deal makes sense for your budget.
The last tactic under the hood is to pair bundling with performance-based bonuses, in which an influencer takes a cut whenever they bring you a customer. In exchange, they agree to a lower rate that matches your budget.
Leslie Belen explains how she approaches this method:
If creators are hesitant, we adjust by offering flexibility or adding incentives like performance-based bonuses or extra perks to make the deal more appealing.
You can also offer freebies, discounts, or invitations to exclusive events to meet the creator halfway. For example, Namrata Thakker negotiates by providing additional brand exposure to influencers:
Give influencers something in return from their own brand exposure perspective. For us, we give their content screen time at retail stores â which is usually a win-win for both parties.
Think: what offer/incentive would make the bundle worth it for the influencer? By keeping the conversation transparent, you also give potential creator partners the confidence to ask for what they want in order to agree to the deal.
Bundling is a solid negotiation tactic to get more out of your influencer marketing budget. But itâs not the only method to reduce your risk â read our complete guide on various negotiation tactics to get maximum impact for minimal spend.
And if you need more data to negotiate confidently, use Modashâs analytics features to get the whole history of an influencerâs performance â everything from their paid post performance and fake followers to audience breakdowns and influencer content. Try it yourself (at no cost!) for 14 days â no credit card needed.