Glossary

Terms

#Reach

The number of distinct accounts a post was shown to at least once. Higher than engagement, and never the same thing as followers. What we count when we count reach →

#Impressions

The number of times a post was displayed, counting repeat views by the same account. Always equal to or greater than reach. What we count when we count reach →

#Views

A platform-defined count of video plays — the threshold (e.g. three seconds, or a fixed percentage watched) differs by platform and is set by the platform, not the advertiser. What we count when we count reach →

#Followers vs reach

A follower count is a static number of accounts subscribed to a creator; reach is how many accounts actually saw a specific post. A large follower count does not guarantee proportional reach — the platform’s own distribution decides that, post by post. What we count when we count reach →

#Engagement rate (ER)

Likes, comments, shares and saves on a post, divided by reach or by followers (state which denominator is used — the two produce very different numbers). A single-post rate and a rolling median are different measurements. Engagement rate benchmarks by niche →

#Audience overlap

The share of two creators’ followers that are the same people — high overlap means casting both adds little incremental reach, whatever the combined follower count suggests.

#Nano creator

Roughly 1,000–10,000 followers. Small reach per post, usually the highest engagement rate and the lowest cost per post — coordination time across many nano creators is the real cost, not the fee. Why nano creators are not cheap →

#Micro creator

Roughly 10,000–100,000 followers. The tier most rate cards treat as the entry point for a paid, contracted post.

#Macro creator

Roughly 100,000–1,000,000 followers. Broad reach per post; engagement rate typically falls as the tier rises.

#Mega and celebrity creators

Above roughly a million followers, including film, sport and television celebrities who also post as creators.

#Cr / L (Crore, Lakh)

The Indian numbering units: 1 lakh (L) is 100,000; 1 crore (Cr) is 10,000,000 (100 lakh). Budgets and reach are usually quoted this way, not in millions.

#CPM (cost per mille)

The cost per 1,000 impressions or views — a media-buying unit for comparing paid amplification across creators and platforms, not a fee a creator is paid directly.

#CPV (cost per view)

The cost per individual video view, typically used on platforms (e.g. YouTube ads) that bill by the view rather than by the impression.

#Content fee

What a creator is paid to make and post a deliverable — separate from usage, production and exclusivity fees, even when a rate card shows one blended number. What a creator rate card actually contains →

#Usage fee

What a brand pays to use a creator’s content beyond the creator’s own organic post — for whitelisting, paid amplification or reposting on the brand’s own handles. Usage rights are where budgets quietly break →

#Production fee

What is paid for the shoot itself — crew, equipment, location and edit time — as distinct from the content fee for the creator’s own appearance and posting. What a creator rate card actually contains →

#Exclusivity fee

What a creator is paid to not post for a named competitor category for an agreed period — priced and time-boxed separately from the content fee. What a creator rate card actually contains →

#Rate card

A creator’s published or quoted prices by deliverable type (Reel, Story, integration, and so on), usually as separate line items rather than one number. What a creator rate card actually contains →

#Barter

A collaboration paid in product or service rather than cash. Still a material connection under advertising law and still requires a disclosure label.

#Budget band

The range a brand names when it sends a brief — not a price the site sets. There is no calculator here; the desk scopes the actual estimate against the band once it has read the brief. Start a brief →

#GST

Goods and Services Tax — India’s indirect tax, added to a creator’s or an agency’s invoice on top of the agreed fee, at the rate applicable to the service.

#194R TDS

Section 194R of India’s Income Tax Act (in force from 1 July 2022) requires whoever provides a benefit or perquisite arising from a business or profession — including a barter product sent to a creator — to deduct 10% tax at source once the aggregate value to that person in a financial year crosses the threshold Parliament set. It is a deduction rule on the payer, not a statement about any specific arrangement.

#Usage rights

The set of permissions a brand buys beyond the creator’s own organic post — organic repost, whitelisting or category exclusivity — each a separate right, for a stated duration. Usage rights are where budgets quietly break →

#Usage window

The period a brand is allowed to keep using a piece of creator content for a purchased right (e.g. whitelisting for 90 days). Content used beyond the window needs a new agreement. Usage rights are where budgets quietly break →

#Organic repost

A brand’s right to repost a creator’s content on the brand’s own handles, unpaid — distinct from whitelisting, which runs the content as a paid ad. Usage rights are where budgets quietly break →

#Whitelisting / partnership ads

Running paid media from a creator’s own handle rather than the brand’s — the ad appears to come from the creator’s account, with the brand paying to amplify it. Meta calls this a "partnership ad"; the underlying right is the same. Usage rights are where budgets quietly break →

#Category exclusivity

A creator’s agreement not to work with a named competitor category for a set period — priced as its own line item, not assumed as part of a standard fee. What a creator rate card actually contains →

#ASCI label

The disclosure word or tag (e.g. "Ad", "Sponsored", "Collaboration", or a platform’s built-in "Paid partnership" tag) that ASCI’s Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media require on any post with a material connection to a brand. ASCI disclosure →

#Material connection

Any payment, free product, gift, trip or other benefit between a brand and a creator that triggers a disclosure requirement — whether or not the creator’s opinion is genuinely their own. ASCI disclosure →

#Disclosure

The act of labelling a post as advertising when a material connection exists — required upfront and prominently, not buried in a bio or a hashtag block. ASCI disclosure →

#Virtual influencer

A computer-generated character with the characteristics of a person, posting as an influencer. Under ASCI’s rules it carries both a disclosure label and a separate statement that the audience is not interacting with a real person. ASCI disclosure →

#Brief

The written scope for a piece of content or a campaign — objective, product, buyer, budget band, timeline and rights, at minimum. Open templates →

#Shortlist

The set of candidate creators proposed against a brief, each with audience-fit evidence and a rate card — a recommendation, not yet a casting decision.

#Scope of work (SOW)

The document naming the exact deliverables, timeline, fees and rights for one engagement, sitting under a master services agreement (MSA).

#Deliverable

One piece of contracted content — a Reel, a Story, an integration — with its own fee, rights and approval steps.

#Creator agreement / MSA

The master services agreement governing the ongoing relationship between a brand or agency and a creator, under which individual statements of work are issued.

#Media kit

A creator’s own summary of their audience and past work — platform-exported screenshots are a claim, not a verified record, unless cross-checked. How to read a media kit you did not commission →

#Attribution

How a brand connects a sale or a sign-up back to a specific piece of creator content — a method chosen before the first post, not after the report is due.

#UTM parameter

Tags added to a tracked link so analytics can credit a click or a sale to the specific creator, post or platform it came from.

#Promo code

A creator-specific discount or referral code, used the same way a UTM link is: to attribute a sale to a specific creator without a tracked link.

#Whitelisted ad account

A creator’s ad account, given permission (whitelisted) for a brand’s media team to run paid ads through it — the technical mechanism behind whitelisting/partnership ads. Usage rights are where budgets quietly break →

#Always-on roster

A standing group of contracted creators posting on a rolling schedule, as distinct from a single campaign with a start and end date. An always-on roster through its first rotation →

#Managed / represented / network / one-off

How a creator relates to an agency: managed (the agency runs their career), represented (the agency negotiates on their behalf without full management), network (a looser roster relationship), or one-off (a single engagement with no ongoing relationship). Creator roster →

#Consent on file

Written confirmation from a creator that their name, likeness and work may be published — the condition CLAUDE.md and this site require before any creator record goes live. Creator roster →

#Permission tier

How much of a brand’s identity may be shown, from a written record on file (name and logo) down to a category only ("Withheld · Fintech") when no permission is recorded. How we verify →

#Reel

A short vertical video format (Instagram’s name for it; other platforms have their own equivalent) — the most common deliverable on an Indian creator brief.

#Story

A 24-hour, full-screen vertical post, usually cheaper and less produced than a Reel, and common for swipe-up or link-sticker attribution.

#Integration

A brand segment inside a longer piece of a creator’s own content (typically a YouTube video), as distinct from a dedicated video made solely for the brand.

#Dedicated video

A video made entirely about the brand or product, as distinct from an integration inside otherwise unrelated content.