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More and more affiliate marketing programs are rolling out licensed content pieces that can actually make the creator some money. Others – not once I would work with – have snuck royalty-free content licenses into general contracts. No matter what, it’s good to understand what licensed content is and whether or not certain agreements make sense.
Here is my thinking on that…
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What is licensed content anyway?
At the most basic level, here’s how it works: I would do a product review video – which I’ve done thousands of. That brand could then get to use that video under a licensed content deal with me for a specific amount of time. They might:
- Want to use it as a commercial
- Product video elsewhere
It’s kind of like royalties for actors and it’s fun watching Sarah Pribis open her royalty checks on her TikTok. “Any guesses how much it will be?”
Basically how a licensed content deal can work:
- You create content that involves a brand – either through a partnership deal or for some affiliate marketing content
- The brand likes the content and would like to use it
- They approach you and ask to use it
- Ask for some money and allow them to use it for 90 days – or whatever number feels right
- They pay for the use for that specific time period
That’s basically it in a nutshell. Certainly, consider other rules that you might have around how they can reuse and remix/re-edit the content – if at all.
Read agreements carefully: I have run across programs unfortunately that try to get creators to agree to “royalty-free world-wide licenses.” There might be times when you are okay with agreeing to that, but why if it would lose money? And what would the free distribution get you?
How much should I charge for licensed content?
It all depends. Some brands and some programs have set dollar amounts. They may work just fine for you. Especially, when brands can just grab content and automatically pay, a lower dollar amount might be just fine. After all, it’s passive income at that point and requires no more work. But also, don’t undersell the value of your content.
And remember that brands would have paid way more had they had to create the content from scratch on their own.
Read next: How to find your Amazon Affiliate link
What creators can benefit from licensed content deals?
Basically, if you already pursue affiliate revenue and make money that way, this is a natural and possibly even easy extension.