When we acquired TapInfluence late last year, one of the differences we noted in our operations was the way both platforms handled payments to creators. IZEA has historically issued payments 30 calendar days after the initial content is posted and verified. With TapInfluence, the payments ranged from 30 to 60 days, depending on the timing of the content’s publish date and where it fell in the month. As we look to start migrating both marketers and creators to IZEAx 3.0 in 2019, it is important that we establish a clear and unified standard of payment for all creators.
The Business of Influencer Marketing
At any given time, IZEA is floating millions of dollars in cash payments to creators, well in advance of getting paid from our agency and brand customers. Large companies continue to move towards payment terms upwards of 120 days. This delay is only compounded when influencer marketing companies miss agreed upon payment dates, randomly stretch payment terms, and in some cases simply do not pay creators at all. We know that timely payment is important to you. Because of that, it’s important to us: IZEA pays millions of dollars on-time every month – automatically!
Industry Standards
When we began evaluating best practices for payments to creators, we focused on those established by Google AdSense, the world’s largest display advertising network, which many of our creators use to monetize their websites. If you earn a dollar from Google AdSense on February 1st, you will get paid for that day of advertising between the 21st and 26th of March. That is 51-56 days from the first day of each advertising month.
The New Standard IZEAx Payment Policy
We remain committed to paying our creators in a manner that is above industry standards, while balancing the real financial risks associated with advancing large amounts of cash to our Creators.
Effective May 1, 2019, we will be moving payment terms in IZEAx from 30 calendar days to 45 calendar days from initial verification. The final verification prior to payment will also be moving from 30 calendar days to 45 calendar days. This means that content must remain live for a minimum of 45 days and pass verification or payment will not be made.
We are effectively splitting the difference between the longest and shortest payment cycles between our two platforms. That means some payments will be faster, some will be slower, but overall things should be about the same if you are using both the TapInfluence and IZEAx platforms. No changes will be made to payments in the legacy TapInfluence platform – instead, campaigns will simply transition from TapInfluence to IZEAx over the course of the year as we migrate to our new combined platform.
Immediate Payments Through PayPop™
We recognize that sometimes you need cash faster to cover expenses or do something fun. In December we introduced PayPop to help creators get paid faster. PayPop allows qualified creators who pass initial verification to request funds immediately, in exchange for a small fee. You become qualified once you have established a history with IZEA by successfully completing campaigns. This is an optional service for those who can’t wait 45 days.
Thank you for being part of the IZEA family! We look forward to helping you monetize your content, creativity and influence.
Champion The Creators,
Ted
