Brands reach out to bloggers all the time with sponsored post offers, and bloggers either undercharge wildly or accept the brand’s first lowball offer. Both leave money on the table and damage the audience’s trust in different ways. Knowing what to charge — and what not to accept — turns sponsored content from a guilty side income into a sustainable line.

Short answer: A reasonable starting rate is $50–$150 per 1000 monthly page views, adjusted for niche and audience quality. Charge more for sponsored posts than for newsletter mentions, more for permanent placement than temporary, and more for niche audiences brands can’t reach elsewhere. Walk away from deals that compromise editorial integrity.
Sponsored post pricing factors: traffic, niche, deliverables, exclusivity

What “sponsored post” means

A brand pays you to publish content that mentions or features them. Variations include:

  • Sponsored review. You write a review of their product.
  • Branded content. You write a post on a topic, with the brand mentioned in a non-review way.
  • Listicle inclusion. Their product is added to an existing or new roundup post.
  • Newsletter sponsorship. A section or mention in your email.
  • Brand partnerships. Ongoing arrangements involving multiple posts, social mentions, or campaigns.

Each has its own pricing logic, but the underlying principle is the same: you’re selling access to your audience and the trust they’ve placed in you.

The base formula

A reasonable starting rate:

Base rate = monthly page views ÷ 1000 × ($50–$150)

The multiplier varies by:

  • Niche (B2B and finance niches: higher; lifestyle: lower).
  • Audience quality (engaged niche audience: higher; broad casual: lower).
  • Deliverables (review with screenshots: higher; brief mention: lower).
  • Permanence (forever on the blog: higher; temporary or remove-after-X: lower).
  • Exclusivity (no competing posts for 30+ days: higher).

The floor

Below a certain rate, the deal isn’t worth it regardless of traffic. The minimums:

  • Sponsored review with original content: $300 minimum, even on small blogs.
  • Listicle inclusion in existing post: $100 minimum.
  • Newsletter mention: $50 minimum, $100 if it’s a feature.
  • Permanent backlink/affiliate post: $500 minimum.

Anything below these levels is brand exploitation. Many “outreach” emails from sponsorship agencies offer $25–$75 for full sponsored reviews. Decline.

Adjusting up

Cases where you can charge significantly more than the formula:

  • You’re in a high-CPM niche. Finance, legal, B2B SaaS, mortgage, insurance. Multiply rates by 1.5–3x.
  • You have an unusually engaged audience. Higher email open rates, more comments, return readers. Multiply 1.3–2x.
  • The product is in a category where you’d normally never accept sponsorships. Higher rate to compensate for the audience-trust hit.
  • You’ve worked with this brand before successfully. Brand-partnership rates run higher than one-off rates.

Adjusting down

Cases where you can charge less:

  • You’d recommend the product anyway. The deal is essentially formalizing what you’d write for free.
  • You’re new to sponsored content and want a portfolio piece.
  • The brand offers product samples worth real money in addition to payment.
  • The post fits naturally into your existing content plan.

Be careful with discounts. They become the new baseline that brands compare against.

What to include in deliverables

Spell out exactly what the brand gets, in writing, before the work starts:

  • Post length (e.g., “approximately 1500 words”).
  • Number and type of images included.
  • Number of mentions or backlinks to the brand.
  • Whether the post will be promoted on social or in the newsletter.
  • How long the post stays live (most should be permanent; if temporary, charge more).
  • Whether you’ll send screenshots/preview before publishing.
  • What edits the brand can request and what they can’t.

The most common dispute in sponsored content is “I expected more.” Specificity in the contract prevents it.

A sponsored post contract template showing deliverables, payment terms, and editorial control clauses

Editorial control

Most important clause: you maintain editorial control. The brand can request reasonable revisions but can’t dictate your opinion. If you find the product underwhelming, you can say so.

Some brands will push back. Walk away from any deal where the brand demands final approval over your editorial voice. Long-term, your audience’s trust is worth more than any single sponsorship fee.

Payment terms

Standard practice:

  • 50% upfront, 50% on publication. For new clients. Protects you against deals that get cancelled mid-work.
  • Net-30 from publication. For trusted recurring clients.
  • Full payment upfront. For very small projects ($300 and under) or international clients without payment history.

Invoice immediately upon agreement, not after publication. This sets expectations and makes follow-up easier.

FTC disclosure

In the US, FTC rules require clear disclosure on sponsored content. Most countries have similar rules. Standard:

  • A line at the top of the post: “This post is sponsored by [brand]. All opinions are my own.”
  • The disclosure should be visible without scrolling.
  • Brands sometimes ask you to soften or hide it. Don’t.

Clear disclosure doesn’t hurt sponsored post performance. Hidden disclosure damages trust if discovered, which it usually is.

What to walk away from

Deals not worth taking:

  • Brand demands approval over your opinion. Editorial integrity is non-negotiable.
  • Product is harmful, scammy, or in a category you’d never recommend. Reader trust is worth more than any single check.
  • Brand asks you to remove disclosure or hide affiliation. Legal and ethical no.
  • Lowball offers from “outreach” agencies. Most are templated and never match what they should pay.
  • Deals requiring you to remove existing competing content. Sometimes phrased innocently. Don’t.
  • Anything involving fake reviews or comment manipulation. Obvious but worth saying.

How to negotiate

Most brands expect negotiation. The pattern:

  1. They send a lowball offer.
  2. You respond with your real rate (often 2–3x their offer) and a clear list of deliverables.
  3. They counter, usually 30–50% higher than their original.
  4. You either accept, counter again, or walk.

Most deals close around 70–90% of your stated rate. Starting with the formula-derived number leaves room to settle at something you’re happy with.

If a brand can’t reach your floor, decline. Don’t take a deal that requires you to undercharge.

The honest summary

Price sponsored posts at $50–$150 per 1000 monthly page views, adjusted up for niche, engagement, deliverables, and exclusivity. Below the floor ($300 for a sponsored review, $100 for a listicle add-on), decline. Always disclose clearly. Always maintain editorial control. Always invoice on agreement, not after. Walk away from deals that compromise your audience’s trust. The sponsorship market is bigger than most bloggers realize once they stop underselling themselves.