What does a creator manager do?

What does a creator manager do day to day?

Most of the job is work you never see. A manager's week goes on inboxes, contracts and spreadsheets so that yours can go on making things. In practice it breaks down into eight jobs.

• Sorting inbound offers. Reading every brand DM and email, spotting the fake ones, and working out which real ones deserve a reply.
• Pitching outbound. Going to brands that suit your audience before they come to you, with an idea and a rate, not just a media kit.
• Negotiating. Fee, deliverables, usage rights, exclusivity and payment terms, each as its own line rather than one number.
• Checking contracts. Reading the clauses that decide what a deal is really worth. Our contract red flags guide lists the ones we look at first.
• Running the deal. Briefs, drafts, approvals and posting dates, so the brand gets what it paid for and asks you back.
• Invoicing and chasing. Sending the invoice, following up when it's late, and showing you what came in from which deal.
• Growth and platform income. Planning where you post, building the platforms you're not on yet, and getting payout programmes switched on.
• Protection. Dealing with stolen content, copyright strikes and demonetisation when they happen.

Directories of management firms describe the market the same way: firms that only answer inbound offers sit at the cheap end, and full-service managers who pitch, negotiate, invoice and chase sit at the top. When you compare managers, compare which of these jobs they actually do.

Is a creator manager the same as an agent?

Not quite, though the words get used loosely. A manager looks after the whole career: strategy, content direction, brand relationships and advice. An agent's job is narrower: sourcing and negotiating specific deals. Plenty of agencies do both under one roof.

Where you live can matter. California's Talent Agencies Act defines a talent agency as anyone in the business of "procuring, offering, promising, or attempting to procure employment or engagements" for an artist, and that work needs a state licence. If you're a California-based creator and a manager is finding your deals, ask how they handle it. This isn't legal advice, but it's a fair question to put to anyone you sign with.

What should a creator manager never do?

These are the things we would walk away over. A couple are about money. Most are about control.

• Ask for your passwords. Facebook and Instagram both have official agency access that you approve and can remove. Anyone who says they need your login doesn't.
• Charge you before they've earned you anything. Fees for pitch decks, media kits or "onboarding" turn the model upside down. A manager should be paid out of money they helped bring in.
• Take ownership of your content or your accounts. Your channel is the asset. It stays in your name, whatever happens.
• Take a cut of everything, forever. Commission should cover the work they do, from your start date, with a clear end after you leave.
• Hide the invoices. You should see what the brand paid, when, and what your share was.
• Lock you in without promising anything back. A long exclusive term needs real obligations on their side, or an easy way out.

In the UK, government guidance for entertainment and modelling agencies says fees for finding work normally come out of a performer's earnings, and that upfront fees are only allowed for listing a performer in a promotional publication or website. It's written for performers and models rather than influencers, but it's the right standard to hold a creator manager to as well.

What are the signs of a good creator manager?

Ask these in the first call. A good manager answers every one plainly.

• They tell you which deals they'd turn down, not only which they'd take.
• They name your day-to-day contact, and it's someone who can say yes, not a rota.
• They price usage rights and exclusivity as separate lines in every deal.
• They reply to brands, and to you, within a working day.
• Their contract says what they take, from when, and what happens if you leave.
• They never need your passwords.
• They show you the brand's invoice, not only your share of it.
• They can tell you what they did the last time a creator they manage had content stolen or got a strike.

When are you ready for a creator manager?

No follower number makes you ready. One directory of management firms says most look for around 10,000 followers and steady brand interest. We take creators from 1,000 followers, and under that we'd still rather hear from someone with an engaged audience than turn them away on a number.

The better test is time and money. The same directory puts it well: you're ready when negotiating, invoicing and chasing deals costs you more than a manager's cut would. The signs we look for:

• Brand DMs arrive faster than you can check whether they're real.
• You've agreed a fee and later found out what others were paid for the same brief.
• An invoice has gone unpaid for weeks and you don't want to be the one chasing it.
• You're on one platform and know you should be on three.
• You've lost money to a strike, a stolen video or demonetisation and had no one to call.

If two or more of those are true, it's worth a conversation. If none are, keep doing it yourself for now and read how to price a brand deal so you're not leaving money on the table.

How we do it at TBC

TBC Creator Network is the management division of TBC Viral Media. We manage creators with 1,000 to 1,000,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and we keep the roster small on purpose: ten creators across comedy, pets, food, travel, fitness and beauty.

• Mel manages every creator on the roster. Not a rota, not a junior. You can meet the team.
• Deals are pitched, negotiated up, vetted and signed in writing. Our creators have signed with Target, Walmart, PetSmart, Petco and Schwartz.
• We work through official agency access on Facebook and Instagram, which you approve and can remove at any time. We never ask for passwords.
• We invoice and we chase. You're paid within five business days of the brand paying us.
• Stolen content, false strikes and unexplained demonetisation are fought, not forwarded. When a creator's monetisation was switched off with no explanation, we took Meta to court. It came back.
• We take 25% of what we earn together. You keep 75%, with no other fees. The agreement summary has the rest in plain words.

Questions creators ask