Should Brands Have Creative Control Over Your Content?

A creator recently asked me a hugely important question.

And getting the answer?wrong?here could put your future sponsorships in jeopardy.

The question was this:

“Is it reasonable to tell brands that they?don't get to provide notes or edits?on your sponsored content before it goes live?”

And I’m genuinely curious...what's your take on this?

Should brands be given the chance to provide creative feedback? Hit reply and let me know.

While you might have a strong opinion one way or the other, I wanna provide some insight based on the?thousands?of sponsorships I’ve been a part of over the last decade...

Should brands have any creative control?

Now, there’s obviously a balance to strike here.

Because, ultimately, when you’re talking about a brand on your platforms… it almost feels like they’re on?your?turf, doesn’t it?

They’re being featured in?your?newsletter,?your?YouTube channel,?your?podcast, it's...YOURS.

You might think of them like a guest staying in your house for the weekend.

So, you're probably ready to kick them out by?Monday?so you can get back to bingeing my?YouTube videos , right? (just nod and say yes)

The problem with kicking them out?

They’ve paid to be there.

Did you forget that you offered up your platform as if you were an Airbnb host?

See, what most creators fail to appreciate is...

Sponsorships are business transactions

Imagine for a second it was?your?business, and you’d reached out to partner with a creator to spread the word.

Initial vibes seemed great until that creator tells you they’re?not gonna show you?what they’ve said about your products and services until the post goes live.

You’d be pretty worried about that, right?!

I mean, what if the creator says something damaging or misinformed?

OK, back to reality...

The honest truth is that you have to put yourself in the brand's shoes and have empathy.

You wanna create healthy, ongoing relationships with these companies, so you should?always?give them the opportunity to provide creative feedback.

Otherwise, it feels like shutting them out.

That being said...

Don't let the brand be unreasonable

"Unreasonable" may look different on each individual deal, but there are some pretty big no-nos here.

For example, if their feedback amounts to:

“Your language wasn’t glowing?enough?when you said “XYZ”… then they’re overstepping the mark.

Similarly, menial discrepancies, like whether the shirt you wore during the sponsored segment was gray or?heather gray?would also constitute unreasonable feedback.

That’s why it’s totally fine to establish some editorial guidelines?before you ink the deal, e.g.

“This is how I operate.”

“The way I do reviews is XYZ.”

“This is what my audience responds to.”

Heck, it may even be necessary to educate the brand about ways you do sponsorships they may not have seen before, e.g.

“Sometimes, I’ll say things that could be perceived as 'negative' about the brand I’m partnering with, but I do this so I’m giving a balanced review.?That’s?why my audience trusts me. Within reason, that’s something you’ll have to be comfortable with when you partner with me”.

BUT REMEMBER! You always need to balance these proclamations with the fact that this is a business transaction.

And the reason they’re doing this partnership is ultimately...to get more customers.

Ergo, if they wanna provide creative feedback, you should always strive to find a way to make it work.

So, should you always implement what the brand says?

Do you have to do everything the brand says?

No!

While you wanna approach this partnership with empathy, you also wanna lead with your experience.

Say a brand offers 7 pieces of feedback on your proposed podcast midroll...

You might say something like:

“No problem, I can totally make these 4 changes… but here’s why I?don’t?think the other 3 are a good idea...”

Then you follow up with “…and here’s what I’d recommend instead!”

That way, you’re not just folding your arms and saying “NO!”

You’re offering your expertise on how you can still help?them?win and achieve their objectives.

“My way or the highway” is gonna make the brand furious...fast.

The bottom line is when you go into every partnership thinking “this is gonna be amazing!!!1!!1!”…

You’ll figure out how to?make it amazing?WITH the brand, not?despite?them.

??-Justin

P.S. if you wanna get paid sponsorship opportunities sent to your inbox every Thursday, join 33K+ creators getting my full newsletter?here .