Sponsored content rate card: template and what to include

A sponsored content rate card is a one-page document that tells buyers what you sell, what each option costs and the terms that come with it. A good one answers the questions buyers would otherwise ask by email: which request types you accept, the price of each, how many links are allowed, how the content is labelled, how fast you publish, how long it stays live and how you get paid. It can double as the pricing page of your media kit.

If you have not settled on your prices yet, start with how much to charge for a sponsored post.

What a rate card is for

A rate card sets the price before the conversation starts. Buyers who cannot afford you go elsewhere, and the ones who stay negotiate from your number. It fixes links per article, disclosure and content rules in writing once, so you stop renegotiating them with every buyer, and it shows that you run sponsored content deliberately.

A clean PDF, a page on your site or a table in an email is enough, as long as it is complete and current.

What to put on a rate card

At minimum, list each request type you offer, whether it is offered, its price, and what is included. For definitions of each type, see sponsored post vs guest post vs link insertion.

Copyable rate card template

Replace every placeholder. If you do not offer something, write “Not offered” rather than leaving it out, so buyers do not have to ask.

# [Site name] sponsored content rate card
Valid from [date]. Prices in [currency], excluding [tax, if applicable].

| Option | Offered? | Price | Included | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guest post (you supply the article) | [Yes / Not offered] | [$___] | Editing, publishing, up to [__] links | [__] working days |
| Sponsored article (we write it from your brief) | [Yes / Not offered] | [$___] | Brief call, writing, [__] revision(s), up to [__] links | [__] working days |
| Press release | [Yes / Not offered] | [$___] | Light edit, publishing in [section], up to [__] links | [__] working days |
| Link insertion in an existing article | [Yes / Not offered] | [$___] | One link in a relevant existing article | [__] working days |

## Add-ons
| Add-on | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage feature | [$___] | [__] days in [position] |
| Newsletter mention | [$___] | One mention to [__] subscribers |
| Social post | [$___] | One post on [platform] |
| Rush turnaround | [$___] | Published within [__] working days |
| Extra revision (sponsored article) | [$___] | Per round |

## Section prices (if different)
| Section | Guest post | Sponsored article | Press release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage / general news | [$___] | [$___] | [$___] |
| /[section-name]/ | [$___] | [$___] | [$___] |

Keep the table short. Buyers who have to read three pages to find your price will give up.

Terms and conditions to include

The terms protect you more than the prices do. Put them directly under the table.

Number of links

Give a maximum per article (for example “up to 2 links to the buyer’s site”) and say whether links to other sites are allowed. State whether you accept exact-match keyword anchors or prefer brand or URL anchors, which read more naturally to your readers.

Disclosure label

Say how sponsored content is labelled on your site, for example “Sponsored” or “Advertisement” above the headline, and that the label is not negotiable. As one reference point, the US Federal Trade Commission’s native advertising guide for businesses (December 2015) says disclosures should be close to the ad, recommends terms such as “Ad”, “Advertisement” or “Sponsored Advertising Content”, and calls “Promoted” at best ambiguous. Check the advertising code that applies where you publish.

Content rules and forbidden niches

List what you will not publish at any price. Common examples are gambling, adult content, payday loans, cryptocurrency schemes, unlicensed medical products and anything illegal in your country. Then add your editorial standards: original content only, nothing published elsewhere, supportable factual claims and relevance to your readers. Reserve the right to edit or refuse any article.

Revisions

For articles you write, state how many rounds of revisions are included and the price of extra rounds. For buyer-supplied articles, say that you may edit for style, length and accuracy.

Turnaround

Give your normal turnaround in working days, counted from when you have both the payment and the final content. Without that last clause, the clock starts when the buyer first emails.

Permanence

Say how long the article stays live, for example a fixed term or the life of the site, and what you will and will not guarantee. You may need to change URLs in a redesign, you will remove content that becomes illegal, and you will not keep a link to a site that later turns into something you would not have accepted.

Payment terms

State the currency, whether prices include tax and when payment is due. The safest terms are payment before work starts, either directly to you or to a third party that holds it until you deliver. Never publish first and invoice later with a buyer you do not know. Our guide on how to get paid for sponsored articles covers the options.

Refunds and removals

Say what happens if the buyer asks for the article to be removed, or if you have to remove it. A common approach is no refund after publication unless the removal is your fault. Whatever you choose, write it down.

The audience section of your media kit

The rate card says what it costs; the audience section says why it is worth it. Buyers use it to judge whether your readers match their customers. Include only numbers you can prove:

• Monthly visitors and pageviews, with the date range and the source (for example Google Analytics).
• Top countries with their share of traffic. For many buyers this is the most important line.
• Age range and gender split, if your analytics reports them.
• Device split between mobile and desktop.
• Section-level traffic if you sell sections separately.
• Newsletter and social following, if you sell those add-ons.

Back the figures with a recent screenshot or export from your analytics, which buyers trust more than a typed number. One inflated number, once a buyer spots it, undermines everything else in the document.

Pricing by section: homepage vs a specialist section

Many news sites have sections that work almost as separate publications: /motoring/, /business/, /property/, /lifestyle/. They often have different readers, traffic and buyer demand. Pricing them separately makes sense when a section has a clearly different audience from the homepage (for example readers researching car purchases), when buyers in that section’s industry ask for placements more often, or when the section has its own editor whose time and standards differ.

Price a homepage feature as a promotion add-on, apart from an article in the general news section. Keep the terms (label, number of links, payment terms) consistent across sections even when prices differ, so you are not managing four sets of rules.

On prli, a rate card is set once for each website or section you add: a USD price, or “not offered”, for each request type, plus your maximum links per article and turnaround. Buyers see those terms before they send a request. Read how it works for publishers.

How to keep your rate card current

An out-of-date rate card costs you money in both directions: you either undercharge or quote a price you no longer honour.

Put a “valid from” date on it, so buyers know which version they have and you can honour old quotes cleanly. Review it every quarter, or sooner if your traffic or demand changes sharply. Update the audience numbers with the prices, since old traffic figures are the most common stale item.

Track how many requests you accept, counter and decline at each price. If you accept almost everything at list price, your prices are probably too low. If the card lives in a PDF, a web page and several marketplaces, keep one master version and update them all at once.

Common rate card mistakes

Most rate card mistakes are gaps. Without a “not offered” line, buyers ask for link insertions anyway, and you answer the same email again. Per-link pricing encourages buyers to pack articles with links, so price per article with a maximum number of links included. “Fast” is not a turnaround. And a card with no payment terms lets some buyers assume they pay after publication. Finally, never promise rankings or traffic. You sell placement and exposure.