Influencer agency fees vs running it yourself
Agencies sell judgement and time. A marketplace sells reach at a published price. Here is what you actually give up by choosing us.
An agency brings creator relationships, hand-picked casting, negotiation and campaign management, billed as a retainer plus margin. aimviews replaces the negotiation with a published rate and a public board, at a $10 minimum with no retainer, but leaves the casting judgement and the strategy to you. Choose the agency when you need someone accountable for outcomes; choose the marketplace when you want to test cheaply and keep control.
On this page
What an agency gives you that we do not
We would rather say this plainly than pretend the choice is obvious.
- Casting judgement. A good agency knows which creators actually convert for your category, which is knowledge you would otherwise buy through trial and error.
- Someone accountable. One person owns the result and answers for it. A marketplace does not.
- Negotiated exclusivity and usage rights. If you need the footage for your own ads, or a competitor blackout, that is a negotiated contract, not a marketplace transaction.
- Strategy. Agencies help decide what the campaign should say. We give you a brief field and assume you know.
What we give you that an agency does not
| Influencer agency | aimviews | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum commitment | Retainer, usually monthly | $10, one campaign |
| Pricing | Negotiated per creator, plus margin | You publish the rate, floor $0.20 per 1,000 views |
| Time to live | Sourcing and negotiation first | Wizard takes about five minutes |
| Who picks creators | The agency | Creators opt in from a public board |
| Payment basis | Fees agreed in advance | Counted views delivered |
| Unspent budget | Retainer is spent | Refundable on request |
For what flat fees per post and prices per 1,000 views look like, see influencer marketing cost in 2026. For how a per-view campaign runs, end to end, see pay per view influencer marketing.
The real question is what you are short of
If you are short of time and expertise, an agency is worth its margin and you should hire one. If you are short of budget and certainty, a retainer is the wrong shape entirely: you would be paying for coordination before you know whether creator content works for your product at all.
A reasonable sequence: test cheaply on a marketplace to find out whether the channel works and which angles land. If it works and you want to scale it without running it yourself, take those learnings to an agency. They will do better work with them.
What we are honestly not good for
Large brands with legal review on every asset, campaigns needing negotiated usage rights, and anyone who needs a single throat to choke on results. Those are agency problems, and we will not pretend a self-serve board solves them.
Questions people ask
Is a marketplace cheaper than an influencer agency?
The entry cost is far lower: $10 versus a monthly retainer. Whether the total is cheaper depends on whether you value the agency's casting judgement and campaign management, which a marketplace does not provide.
Who picks the creators on aimviews?
Creators pick you. Your campaign appears on a public board and creators opt in.
Can I get usage rights to the content for my own ads?
Not as a standard marketplace term. Negotiated usage rights and exclusivity are exactly the kind of thing agencies handle.
When should I use an agency instead?
When you need strategy, hand-picked casting, negotiated rights, or one accountable owner for the outcome, and you have the budget for a retainer.