What to charge

There is no universal price per follower, and anyone quoting one is selling something. What you can do is build a rate from parts you can defend, so that when a brand pushes back you are negotiating a line item instead of your self-worth.

Build the rate from parts

• Base: the content itself — concept, shoot, edit, revisions. Price your hours honestly.
• Distribution: posting to your own audience is a separate line from making the asset.
• Usage: the brand reusing your content on their channels or in paid ads. Price by duration and channel, and never grant perpetual usage by accident.
• Exclusivity: not competing in the category costs you future work. Charge for it, scoped and time-boxed.
• Rush: a compressed timeline is a premium, not a favour.

Answering “what's your rate?”

Give a number with the scope attached, not a number alone: what they get, how many deliverables, what usage, for how long. A bare number invites a haggle; a scoped number invites a conversation about scope, which is the conversation you want.

Gifting and free product

Gifting is a real deal type, and it is fine when you choose it deliberately: a brand you want in your portfolio, a product you would have bought, a first job with a company that briefs repeatedly. It is not fine as a default. If you accept gifting, cap the deliverables and keep usage rights, so the free work stays small and doesn't quietly become an ad campaign.