Glossary/Task
What is a task?
Short answer
A task is the description of the task that a brand sends a creator before the collaboration starts: what is to be made, by when, in what format and for how much. A good task separates the compulsory parts from the ones left in the creator's hands — which is why the material sounds like the creator, not like a brochure.
What exactly is a task?
A task is not a script. It is a document that closes the questions the creator would otherwise have to answer alone: who the material speaks to, what it has to show, when it goes out and on what terms. Everything the task leaves out, the creator will settle their own way — sometimes matching the brand's intention and sometimes not, and that is when a round of revisions nobody planned begins.
What should a task contain?
Four things, without which the creator is guessing:
The goal and the audience — what the material is for and who it speaks to.
The scope: how many pieces, the format, the channel and the publication date.
Compulsory elements: product name, link, discount code, advertising disclosure.
Terms: the amount, the payment date, the number of revision rounds and the scope of rights to the material.
Why does a task pay off for both sides?
Because it shortens the road to material that is ready to publish. The creator does not guess, the brand does not explain the same thing again in message after message, and the revisions concern the execution rather than the idea itself. A task also protects the creator: when the scope is written down, it is easier to say that an extra Story or the right to use the material in advertising is a separate arrangement and a separate amount.
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.
- Content guidelines
- The rules the material has to keep to: what to show, what not to say, how to name the product. The shorter the list, the more natural the result. Read more
- Campaign
- One brand intention delivered through a set of publications — with a single creator or with a dozen at once. It has a goal, a deadline and a budget; without them it is hard to judge whether it worked. Read more
- Material approval
- The moment when the brand accepts the finished work or asks for changes. Payment usually depends on it, which is why the scope of revisions is worth settling up front. Read more
- Influencer contract
- A record of what was agreed: scope, deadline, fee, rights to the material and exclusivity. It protects both sides when something goes differently than planned. Read more
Frequently asked questions
How is a task different from guidelines?
A task describes the whole task: the goal, the scope, the deadline and the fee. Guidelines are part of it — a list of rules the material itself has to keep to, for example how to name the product and what must not be promised.
How long should a task be?
Short enough for the creator to read it to the end. One page with the goal, the scope, the terms and a list of compulsory elements works better than a deck where the most important information gets lost between slides.
Can a creator negotiate a task?
Yes, and it is better to do it before the start. The creator knows their own audience, so they often know that the proposed format will not work for them — changing the idea at that stage costs less than revisions after filming.
