Sponsored posts for influencers: how a brand briefs one

By the RecruitAffiliates.ai team · 9 November 2026 · 10 min read

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A sponsored post is a creator's post about your product where you gave them something of value. That can be a fee, a free product, a commission or a perk. A brief is the short document that tells the creator what to make and by when.

To brief one, send nine fields. They are the goal, product, format, dates, claims, approval step, label, link and pay. Below you get the nine, a worked example and label rules. The rules come from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), YouTube, TikTok and Meta.

Our guide to the one-page influencer proposal covers the offer. This page covers the brief you send after the creator says yes.

What counts as a sponsored post?

Any post where the creator got something of value from you. The FTC says to disclose the relationship "if you got anything of value to mention a product". Free product counts (FTC, Disclosures 101, November 2019, checked 9 November 2026). The ASA agrees. It says free items count as payment. That holds even when nobody had to post (ASA and CMA influencer guide, October 2026, checked 9 November 2026). In plain terms, a label is owed on any post the creator makes about the product, and nothing is owed if they don't post.

The table sets out four common deals. Each is sponsored once the creator posts about the product, in the eyes of the regulators. The third column is our plain reading of their pages.

Deal	What the creator gets	Sponsored post?	Source
Paid post	A flat fee	Yes	FTC, ASA
Gifted product	Free product, no duty to post	Yes, if they mention it	FTC, ASA
Commission or code	A cut of each sale	Yes	FTC, ASA
Ambassador	Perks or a role at the brand	Yes	ASA

The ASA names affiliate links, discount codes and being a brand ambassador as ties that make content an ad. Its guide counts a commission on clicks or sales as advertising. So a post can be sponsored even when you never paid a fee. Our guide to affiliate, influencer or ambassador explains how the three words overlap.

Who is responsible for the label?

Both of you. The FTC says "Your company is ultimately responsible for what others do on your behalf." It expects a brand to train and monitor its creators (FTC, Endorsement Guides questions, checked 9 November 2026). The ASA says the brand and the creator are each responsible for labelling. It expects creators to disclose throughout an ongoing relationship, and "in relevant content for a period of 12 months after a relationship ends".

So the label belongs in your brief, not only in the creator's habits. The FTC page lists four parts of a sound program:

Tell creators which claims they can and can't make.
Tell them how to disclose.
Search what they post from time to time.
Act on anything that looks wrong.

Parts one and two go in the brief. Parts three and four are your job after the post goes live. This is US and UK guidance, not legal advice.

The nine fields of a brief

A good brief fits on one page and has a reply date. This table lists the nine fields and what to write in each. The example column uses a made-up brand, Fieldwork, which sells leather care kits.

Field	What to write	Fieldwork example
1. Goal	One thing the post should do	Show how the kit revives a worn bag
2. Product	What you send and when it ships	Full care kit, shipped within 5 days
3. Format	Platform, length, post count	One 60-second Reel and 3 story frames
4. Dates	Draft date and post date	Draft by 1 Dec, live by 8 Dec
5. Claims	What may and may not be said	Say it cleans and conditions. No waterproof claims.
6. Approval	Who reviews the draft and how many rounds	One round of changes within 2 days
7. Label	The exact disclosure and where it goes	"Ad" in the first line and on screen at the start
8. Link	The creator's code and your tag	Code DANA12, tag @fieldwork
9. Pay	Fee or commission, and the pay date	12% of sales, paid monthly by PayPal

Three of the nine need a note.

Claims. Keep the list short and true. The FTC says advertisers must still back up product claims, so tell creators what they can and can't say. Ask for an honest look and don't script praise. Our contract template puts the same limit in a clause.

Approval. The FTC says it is "much easier to review posts before they're posted than to search for them afterwards". It suggests pre-approval for paid posts, and for Stories that vanish fast. One caution from the ASA: a brand that can check or approve the content has "control" of it. That brings the post under the ASA's ad rules. So a brief with an approval step means you should treat the post as an ad and label it as one.

Pay. Say the fee or rate and the date. If you pay by commission, add how long after a click a sale still counts. Our guide to measuring influencer marketing ROI shows how to read results.

What should the label field say?

Put the exact words and the exact place in the brief. A vague "disclose properly" leaves the choice to the creator. Both regulators care about wording and about position.

The FTC says plain statements such as "Thanks to Acme brand for the free product" are often enough when placed prominently. It also says "ad" and "sponsored" work. It warns against "sp", "spon", "collab" and "ambassador" on their own. The ASA recommends #Ad, #Advert and similar. It advises against "Sponsored", "Spon", "Gift", "Gifted" and "Collab", because research shows people don't understand them. The two regulators differ on "sponsored". The FTC accepts it. The ASA advises against it. If you brief creators in both countries, "Ad" is the safe word.

Placement matters as much as wording. The FTC says a disclosure behind a "MORE" link, on an About page or at the end of a video is likely to be missed. Put it in the video itself, not only the description. The ASA wants the label "at the very beginning" of the content, and says not to bury it in hashtags. It also says to label each story in a series.

Paste-ready line for field 7:

Start your video, Reel or post with the word "Ad". Say it out loud and show it on screen at the start. Add "free product" or "I earn a commission" if that applies. Don't use "collab" or "ambassador" alone.

For more wording to copy, see our affiliate disclosure examples.

What do the platforms add?

Each platform has its own label tool. A tool helps, but the FTC says using one doesn't guarantee compliance. It judges the disclosure itself. The ASA says a platform tool may be enough if the label is upfront and prominent. If it blends into the background, add your own. The table shows what each platform's own help page says.

Platform	What its tool does	Source and date
YouTube	A paid promotion box adds a label at the start of the video	YouTube Help, checked 9 November 2026
TikTok	A content disclosure setting with two options, "Paid partnership" and "Commercial content"	TikTok Ads Help, April 2026
Instagram and Facebook	A paid partnership label, with brand partner approval and insights for the brand	Meta Business Help, checked 9 November 2026

TikTok says a post that looks like branded content but isn't disclosed triggers a notice. The creator has 24 hours to respond. After that the video is ineligible for the For You feed (TikTok Ads Help, April 2026, checked 9 November 2026). YouTube tells creators to tick the paid promotion box for sponsorships and endorsements (YouTube Help, checked 9 November 2026). Meta's page names the paid partnership label and a brand partner approval step (Meta Business Help, checked 9 November 2026). Ask the creator to switch the tool on, and keep your own label too.

Add this to the brief: "Turn on the platform's paid partnership or disclosure setting, and also say it in the post."

A worked example you can reuse

Here is a filled-in brief for the made-up Fieldwork gift plus commission deal. Copy the headings and change every answer.

Brief: Fieldwork x Dana Ortiz

Goal. Show the care kit reviving a worn leather bag.

Product. Full care kit, shipped within 5 days of your yes.

Format. One 60-second Reel and 3 story frames.

Dates. Draft to us by 1 December. Live by 8 December.

Claims. Say it cleans and conditions leather. Don't say it is waterproof. Tell us what you honestly think.

Approval. We'll give one round of changes within 2 days of the draft.

Label. Open with "Ad" in the first line and on screen. Say "I got this kit free and earn a commission". Switch on the paid partnership setting.

Link. Code DANA12, and tag @fieldwork.

Pay. 12% of every sale through your code for 30 days after each click, paid monthly by PayPal once you've earned $20.

The brief uses all nine fields in about 130 words. If the creator accepts, save the email as the record, or turn it into a signed contract with our template. Usage rights are not a brief field. Put them in the proposal and contract, as the collaboration proposal guide shows. If you plan to run the post as an ad, read what whitelisting is first.

What do brands get wrong?

No label line. The creator picks the wording, and it may be "collab". Write the exact words.
A script. A forced, glowing post reads as an ad and breaks trust. The FTC says endorsers should only discuss products they have tried.
No dates. A post that goes live late can miss the launch it was meant for.
No check after posting. Our suggestion is to search the creator's page once a week while the deal runs.
Hidden ads. The ASA says paid content is fine "as long as it reflects your genuine experience and you're upfront about it".

Where do you find creators to brief?

Start with people who already cover brands like yours. RecruitAffiliates.ai finds the sites, blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels and Instagram and TikTok creators already promoting your rivals. It looks up each person's email, and when it finds one it checks it and shows you a verified email. Our outreach email template covers the first message. Send the brief after they say yes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a sponsored post?

A post where a creator promotes something and the brand gave them value in return. That can be a fee, free product, a commission or a perk. Both the FTC and the ASA treat free product as value.

Do gifted posts need a label?

Yes, in both countries. The FTC says to disclose if you got anything of value. The ASA says free items count as payment, even with no duty to post.

Is "sponsored" a good label?

It depends on the country. The FTC lists "sponsored" as acceptable. The ASA advises against it and recommends "Ad". If in doubt, use "Ad".

Who gets in trouble if a creator doesn't label?

Both can. The FTC says the company is ultimately responsible for what others do on its behalf. The ASA says brand and creator each share the duty. Brief the label and check the post.

Is the platform's paid partnership tool enough?

Not always. The FTC says a tool doesn't guarantee compliance. The ASA says it may be enough if the label is upfront and prominent. Ask for the tool and a label in the post.