Glossary/Barter
What is barter?
Short answer
Barter is a collaboration settled in product or service instead of money: the creator receives an item of agreed value and in exchange prepares the material that was agreed on, in the agreed format and by the agreed date. It is still advertising, so it has to be labelled, and for the creator the product received is income to be settled.
What exactly is barter?
An exchange with a written commitment on both sides. The brand sends the product, the creator delivers the material in the agreed format and by the agreed date. The difference from a gift is fundamental: with barter the post is part of the agreement, so failing to publish is a breach of the terms, not a change of mind.
When does barter really work?
Four conditions under which both sides come out even:
The product has real value and the creator genuinely wants to use it.
The value of the product matches the workload — two reels for a sample of face cream is not an exchange.
The scope is written down just as precisely as in paid work.
The creator gets the product early enough to test it before publication.
How is barter different from product seeding?
In the commitment. With product seeding the brand sends the product with no agreement and no guarantee that anything will appear — it counts on the material happening by itself. With barter the material is agreed: format, date and scope are set before the parcel goes out.
Where to order it or find tasks
Related terms
Words that come up in the same conversations. Each has its own definition in the glossary.
- Paid collaboration
- The creator is paid in money for producing and publishing the material. The terms — scope, deadline and amount — are settled before the start, not after delivery. Read more
- Product seeding
- Sending a product to creators without ordering any particular publication. The brand counts on some of them showing the thing themselves, but has no guarantee and no deadline for it. Read more
- Brand ambassador
- A creator who works with one brand over a long time and regularly, rather than on a single campaign. The audience starts to associate the brand with a particular person, which works more strongly than a one-off mention. Read more
- Affiliate collaboration
- The creator is paid on results: a commission on sales made through their own link or code. The brand pays for the outcome, and the creator risks earning nothing if sales are weak. Read more
Frequently asked questions
Does barter have to be labelled as advertising?
Yes. The absence of money does not change the nature of the material — if it was made in exchange for a product, it is advertising and has to be labelled.
Does barter have to be settled for tax?
The product received is a benefit with a defined value and as a rule counts as income. The details depend on how the creator’s business is set up — that is a question for an accountant, not for the brand.
When is it better to turn barter down?
When the value of the product does not cover the workload, or when you would not use it yourself. Material about something a creator does not like shows within two seconds.
