How compensation models work, and when to pick which
A Keepface campaign can carry up to four compensation blocks at once, and the rule that decides between the two variable ones is simple, a sale belongs to Affiliate and everything that is not a sale belongs to Performance.
A campaign brief does not have to pick one way to pay. In the Compensation step of the campaign form you get four independent cards, and you can switch on as many as fit the deal.
The four blocks
| Block | What it pays for | When the money moves | Who bears the risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed payment | The work itself, a flat fee or a From/To range | Escrow releases after you confirm the deliverable | You, the money is committed upfront |
| Affiliate commission | Sales attributed to the influencer’s tracked link or code | After a sale is recorded and clears the brand’s holdback | Nobody, the sale funds the commission |
| Performance reward | Views, engagements, clicks, leads or signups | After the measurement window closes | You, up to the budget cap you set |
| Barter (product gift) | A physical or virtual product instead of cash | On shipping or code delivery | You, the value of the goods |
The rule that separates Affiliate from Performance
Both are variable, both are priced per event, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake in the form. The deciding question is whether the event brings money in.
- A purchase brings money in. That is Affiliate. It funds itself out of the sale, so it never needs escrow and it never has a ceiling problem.
- A view, click, engagement, lead or signup brings no money in. That is Performance. It comes out of your wallet, so it needs a budget cap and a reservation decision.
A sale-based CPA does not belong in the Performance card even though the acronym fits. Put it in Affiliate as a flat per sale amount. See Performance rewards for the metric list and the cap rules.
Fixed payment
Two shapes:
- A range. You enter From and To in the campaign currency, and the actual per-influencer price is set on the campaign’s Influencers tab before you start that influencer.
- Creator-Quote. You tick Ask creators to quote their price, the From/To fields drop out, and each influencer names their own fee after accepting. See Creator-Quote mode.
Fixed payment is the only block Escrow mode can protect, because it is the only one where you hand over cash for work not yet delivered.
Affiliate commission
First you pick how sales are tracked:
- Keepface Affiliate, Keepface generates a tracked link per influencer and handles the revenue share.
- My own platform, you run your own tracker and Keepface stores the commission range in the brief for information only.
With Keepface Affiliate you inherit the brand-level default commission unless you tick Override for this campaign. An override is either a percentage of the sale or a flat amount per sale.
Barter (product gift)
Product type (physical or virtual), a declared value in the campaign currency, and a description of what the influencer receives. The declared value is a per-influencer default that you can adjust on the Influencers tab. Barter is the one block that carries no 80/20 split, but in Managed mode it carries a flat service fee per influencer that depends on the influencer’s tier and country.
One currency per campaign
The campaign currency is not a free choice at save time. Keepface resolves it server side from the brand’s wallet currency and then writes it into every compensation block, so fixed, barter and performance always agree. If the currency is wrong, change the brand’s payout currency first and save the campaign again. See Set budget and currency.
What each block costs you in service fees
The service mode you pick later prices the blocks differently:
| Block | Self | Escrow | Managed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed payment | no fee | 5 percent of the fixed amount | 20 percent of the fixed amount |
| Barter | no fee | no fee | flat fee per influencer by tier and country, waived when the same influencer also gets a fixed payment |
| Affiliate | no fee | no fee | no fee, Keepface earns from the commission split |
| Performance | no fee | reservation only | reservation only |
Full detail in Choose a service mode.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Can one campaign use more than one compensation model?
Yes. Fixed payment, Affiliate commission, Performance reward and Barter are independent checkboxes in the Compensation step, and any combination is valid. An influencer can be paid a fee, earn commission on sales and keep the product from the same campaign.
How do I decide between Affiliate and Performance?
Ask whether the event brings money in. A purchase brings money in, so it belongs to Affiliate and funds itself from the sale. A view, click, engagement, lead or signup brings no money in, so it belongs to Performance and comes out of your budget.
Which currency is the campaign priced in?
One currency for the whole campaign, and it follows the brand's wallet currency. Every compensation block (fixed range, barter value, performance rate and cap, affiliate flat amount) is stored in that same currency.
Does Keepface take a cut of every model?
Keepface keeps 20 percent of fixed payments, performance rewards and affiliate commissions, so the influencer receives 80 percent. Barter carries no split because no money moves. Service fees for Escrow and Managed mode are separate and are charged to you, not deducted from the influencer.
What is the "Maximum you could pay" line under the compensation cards?
It adds your fixed maximum, your performance budget cap and your barter declared value into a single worst-case ceiling per influencer. Affiliate is not in it because affiliate commission is paid out of sales that have already happened.