In short
- A good RFP runs four to six pages: goal, audience, budget band, scope, compliance rules, response format and how you will score. Agencies cannot be compared if the question changes.
- Score in two stages. First pass or fail gates (ASCI process, sample contract, itemised fees, named lead), then weighted scores out of 100 from independent scorers.
- Share a budget band. Without one, answers range from a small pilot to a celebrity plan and nothing can be compared.
- A gap of under five points between agencies is a tie. Break it with a paid 30-day pilot, not another presentation.
An influencer marketing RFP is a written request that gives every agency the same brief, the same budget band and the same response format, so you can compare proposals and score them. Send four to six pages plus a cost sheet to three to five agencies, give them about a week, and score the answers in two stages: pass or fail gates, then weighted points.
Our guide to how to choose an influencer marketing agency lists fifteen questions and a seven-criterion scoring sheet. This post goes one step earlier and one step further: the RFP document itself, the response sheet, and a scoring model with gates, a rubric and a moderation step. If you are still deciding whether to use an agency at all, start with our complete guide to influencer marketing in India.
When an RFP is worth the effort
Use an RFP when the contract will run for months, several people must agree, you are replacing an agency, or procurement requires it. For one campaign of a few lakh rupees, a campaign brief and two or three calls are faster and nearly as informative.
A fortnight is enough for the whole process:
| Day | Step |
|---|---|
| 0 | Send the RFP to three to five agencies |
| 3 | Deadline for written questions |
| 5 | Send all questions and answers to every agency |
| 8 | Responses due |
| 9 to 11 | Gate check and independent scoring |
| 12 to 14 | Thirty-minute sessions with the top two or three, including a walk through the sample shortlist |
| 16 | Decision; offer a paid pilot |
The RFP, section by section
Copy this structure into a document. Each row is one section.
| # | Section | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | About the brand | Category, price points, where you sell, what you have tried with creators and what you learned |
| 2 | Objective and KPI | One primary result and a target cost (for example, orders at a given cost each), plus secondary diagnostics |
| 3 | Audience | Buyer, cities, languages, age bands, platforms they use |
| 4 | Scope | Platforms and formats, a range for the number of creators, tiers wanted, period, and whether you want creator ads, UGC or events |
| 5 | Budget band | Creator budget from X to Y; say whether the band includes agency fee, production, ad media and GST |
| 6 | Timeline | Launch date, approval days on your side, any fixed moments |
| 7 | Brand guardrails | Claims allowed and forbidden, competitors, category restrictions, who approves, topics to avoid |
| 8 | Compliance | ASCI labels and placement, creator qualifications for health and finance content, TDS and GST handling, data handling |
| 9 | Measurement | Metrics, tracking method, report cadence, raw links, access to creator insights screenshots |
| 10 | Commercial terms | Fee model, what each fee covers, payment schedule, notice period, who owns creator contracts and content rights, competitor conflicts |
| 11 | Team | Named lead, number of other clients per lead, response times, escalation contact |
| 12 | Response and evaluation | Page limit, deadline, contact, the scoring model in this post, confidentiality terms |
Two notes on the harder rows. In section 8, ask for the exact disclosure label and its placement by format, drawing on the ASCI influencer guidelines, and for the qualification check the agency applies to health and finance creators. For data handling, ask how creator and audience data is stored and shared; our post on data protection for influencer campaigns lists what to ask. In section 10, ask for fee models in the form brands meet them: creator fees at cost plus a management fee, a fixed campaign fee or a monthly retainer. Our agency fees guide explains each.
The response sheet
Agencies should fill a cost sheet in your format, so every proposal arrives in one shape. This is a template; the quantities are blank on purpose. Check the creator-fee lines against the ranges in our influencer rates guide, and ask the agency to explain any line far outside them.
| Line | Quantity | Unit cost | Total | Assumptions to state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator fees by tier (nano, micro, mid-tier, larger) | Format, number of posts per creator | |||
| Usage rights | Platforms, duration, paid use | |||
| Exclusivity | Categories, days | |||
| Agency fee | Model and what it covers | |||
| Production and product shipping | Who bears it | |||
| Creator ads (media) | Duration, platforms | |||
| Tools and tracking | Included or extra | |||
| GST and TDS treatment | Who deducts and deposits | |||
| Total |
Add a row at the bottom asking for the share of the total that reaches creators. That one figure makes proposals comparable, and the next table shows why.
| Agency fee as a share of creator spend | Share of the total that reaches creators |
|---|---|
| 15% | about 87% |
| 20% | about 83% |
| 25% | 80% |
One agency's published benchmark puts management fees at 15% to 25% of creator spend (agency pricing guide), a low-confidence source repeated by one other agency. A proposal where creators receive far less than 80% of the total, or that will not show the split, needs an explanation before it goes further.
The sample shortlist: the section that tells you most
Ask every agency for a sample shortlist of eight to ten creators for one slice of your brief, such as one city and one tier. For each creator, require an audience-insights screenshot, a written score with the method named, the quoted fee and one line on why the creator fits your buyer. About 83% of brands in a 2025 Kantar-backed study said they struggle to find the right creators (Campaign India), so this is the part of the job you are really buying.
Have two people on your side score the shortlists with the agency names removed. Keep the exercise small and, if you ask for more than a slice, offer a fee. Our own approach to the same exercise is on how we work.
Scoring: gates first, then weights
Stage 1: gates
A gate is pass or fail. Any fail means the response goes no further until the agency fixes it in writing.
| Gate | Pass means |
|---|---|
| Itemised fees | Creator fees, agency fee and taxes are shown separately |
| Vetting method | A written method with a filled-in sample scorecard |
| Sample contract | Covers disclosure label, usage rights, takedown timeline, payment terms |
| ASCI process | Names who checks every draft and what happens when a post is wrong |
| Named lead | A person, a response time and a client load |
| No guarantees | No promised views, virality or sales |
| Conflicts | Competitor clients are disclosed |
ASCI processed 1,609 influencer ads in 2025-26 and 97.3% needed modification (annual report), which is why the compliance gates are not optional.
Stage 2: weighted score out of 100
| Criterion | Weight | Evidence to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Response to the brief | 25 | Challenges your assumptions; a clear job for creators in your funnel |
| Sample shortlist | 20 | Right buyer, language and city; insights shown; scores explained |
| Measurement plan | 15 | Cost per result per creator; tracking set before launch; raw links |
| Commercial clarity | 15 | Full cost sheet; creator share stated; fair terms on rights and notice |
| Compliance and risk | 15 | Label rules by format; claims checks; takedown and pause plan |
| Team and references | 10 | Named people; two references at similar budgets |
Score each criterion from 0 to 4: 0 is missing, 1 weak, 2 adequate, 3 strong, 4 strong with proof. The total is the sum of weight times score, divided by 4. In a spreadsheet, =SUMPRODUCT(weights, scores)/4.
Run it like this. Each scorer scores alone, before any discussion. Average the scores. Where scorers differ by two points or more on a criterion, discuss that criterion and rescore. Treat a 0 on compliance and risk as a veto.
Mistakes that spoil an RFP
- Hiding the budget. Agencies guess, and you compare guesses.
- Thirty pages. You get templated answers. Four to six pages is enough.
- Asking for a free full strategy. You select for the best slide deck, not the best operator.
- Scoring after the presentations. First impressions skew the numbers. Score the written response first.
- Letting price dominate. The cheapest proposal often leaves out rights, tracking or compliance. Compare creator share, not the total.
- Sending it to ten agencies. You will not read ten responses with care.
For the errors that cost brands most after the agency is chosen, see influencer marketing mistakes. If you are weighing a hire against an agency, read building an in-house influencer team. Our strategy and audit service can also help you write the brief itself, and our pricing page shows how we quote.
Sources
- Indian consumers and influencers: coverage of a 2025 Kantar-backed study of consumers and brands, Campaign India (12 Jun 2025)
- Influencer marketing pricing in India 2026: agency fee models and minimum budgets, Indian digital agency guide (low confidence) (20 Apr 2026, updated 16 Sep 2026)
- Guidelines for influencer advertising in digital media, Advertising Standards Council of India (accessed 31 Oct 2026 (Addendum II dated 6 Mar 2025))
- ASCI annual complaints report 2025-26, Advertising Standards Council of India (28 May 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What is an RFP in influencer marketing?
A request for proposal is a written document that sets out your goal, audience, budget band, scope and compliance needs, and asks agencies to respond in a fixed format by a fixed date. It lets you compare like with like and score the answers. For a single small campaign, a campaign brief and two or three calls are usually enough.
How many agencies should I send an influencer marketing RFP to?
Three to five. Fewer than three gives you no comparison; more than five means you will not read the answers carefully, and each agency is less likely to invest in a proper response. Pick them from referrals and your own research, then send the identical document, deadline and budget band to all.
How long should an influencer marketing RFP be?
Four to six pages plus a response sheet for costs. Longer documents get templated answers. Put the goal, the audience, the budget band and the scoring method on page one so an agency can decide in five minutes whether to respond. Add detail on guardrails and compliance later in the document.
Should I share my budget in the RFP?
Yes, as a band, for example the creator budget from ₹X to ₹Y. Agencies otherwise guess, and the proposals arrive at different scales, which makes scoring meaningless. A band does not commit you to spend it. State whether the band includes the agency fee, production, ad media and GST.
Do agencies charge for responding to an RFP?
Practice varies. Many respond free to a short RFP, and a sample shortlist for one slice of the brief is a fair ask. A full creative pitch is a different matter, and paying for it is reasonable. We send a creator plan with a shortlist, content plan and cost estimate within 48 hours of the brief call. See how we work.
How do I compare agency fees fairly?
Convert every proposal into the share of the total that reaches creators. One agency's published benchmark puts management fees at 15% to 25% of creator spend, which means creators receive roughly 80% to 87% of the total. A proposal far below that needs an explanation. See influencer marketing agency fees in India.