Retainers
A retainer is a recurring arrangement with a creator: a set amount of content every month, for a set number of months, at an agreed rate per piece. Instead of creating each deal by hand, you describe the retainer once and Creator Jam creates a conversation for every piece of content in every month.
Instagram
YouTube
Podcast
TikTokThe Retainers page lists every retainer, newest first.
- New Retainer opens the form to set one up.
- The tabs filter the list by status.
- Monthly is one month of content at its rates. Total Value covers the whole term, with the number of pieces: one deal each.
- Click a retainer to open it, then edit, renew or cancel it.
Create a retainer
Section titled “Create a retainer”The New Retainer form, filled in for three months of Sam Builds Stuff: one Sponsored Segment and two Organic Mentions a month.
-
Go to Retainers and click New Retainer.
-
Fill in the form:
Field What to enter Channel The creator, for example Sam Builds Stuff. Campaign The campaign the retainer’s deals belong to. It defaults to your default campaign. You can also choose No campaign. Start Date The first day of the retainer. It defaults to the first of next month, and the end date shows underneath. Duration How many months it runs. Content / Month One row per kind of content. Click Add content type, then pick the type, the quantity per month (Qty) and the rate per piece in whole dollars (Rate / ea). The types are Sponsored Segment, Dedicated Review, Organic Feature, Organic Mention and IG Reel. Notes Optional context, such as usage terms. -
Check the summary: Monthly value, Duration and Total retainer value.
-
Click Create Retainer.
You need at least one content row. For example, three months of Sam Builds Stuff with one Sponsored Segment at $2,500 and two Organic Mentions at $500 each is worth $3,500 a month, or $10,500 in total.
The deals a retainer creates
Section titled “The deals a retainer creates”When you create a retainer, Creator Jam adds one conversation for each piece of content in each month of the term. In the example above, that’s three conversations a month, nine in all.
Each of these conversations:
- starts in the Content expected stage, because the deal is already agreed
- has the per-piece rate as its rate, such as $2,500 for the Sponsored Segment
- is dated the first of its month, starting with the month of the start date
- is labeled with its content type, and its panel says “Part of a retainer”
You work with them like any other deal. When the creator publishes, open the conversation, attach the content with Add Feature, and set the status to Published. Attaching content moves the conversation’s date to the content’s publish date.
On Conversations → Monthly Overview, a retainer’s conversations for the month share one row. Click the row to see each piece. See Monthly Overview.
How retainer spend counts
Section titled “How retainer spend counts”The retainer itself isn’t a cost line. Its conversations are, and they count like any other deal:
- Until it’s published, each piece counts as booked spend in its month on the Home budget.
- Once you mark a piece Published, it counts as published spend there and on the ROI page.
The retainer’s Total retainer value is a summary of the deals it created, not an extra charge. See Budget and targets.
If you also pay the creator to run their content as ads, record that as an ad usage license and pick the retainer on it. License costs are tracked separately from deal spend. See Ad usage licenses.
Retainer statuses
Section titled “Retainer statuses”| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Active | The retainer is running, or hasn’t started yet. You can edit, renew or cancel it. |
| Renewed | You renewed it, so a new retainer has taken over. It’s read-only. |
| Cancelled | You cancelled it. It’s read-only, and you can delete it permanently. |
| Expired | There’s a tab for this status, but Creator Jam doesn’t move retainers into it. A retainer stays Active after its end date until you renew or cancel it. |
The tabs at the top of Retainers filter the list by status.
Edit a retainer
Section titled “Edit a retainer”Click an active retainer to open it. You can change its Start Date, Duration, Content / Month and Notes, then click Save Changes.
Sam Builds Stuff's retainer, opened from Retainers: three months from Sep 1, 2026, at $3,500 a month.
- Change the Start Date or the Duration. The last day of the retainer shows under the start date.
- Change each row's type, Qty and Rate / ea, add a row with Add content type, or remove one.
- Cancel ends the retainer early, after you confirm.
- Renew books the same terms again, starting where this retainer ends.
- Save Changes saves your edits.
Some changes update the retainer’s deals and some don’t:
| Change | Effect on its deals |
|---|---|
| A rate per piece | Every deal of that content type that isn’t Published gets the new rate. Published deals keep the rate they had. |
| A longer duration | Deals are added for the extra months, using the current content per month. |
| A shorter duration | Deals in the dropped months are deleted, unless they’re Published. |
| The start date, a quantity, or adding or removing a content type | Existing deals aren’t added, removed or moved. Adjust those conversations yourself. |
Renew a retainer
Section titled “Renew a retainer”-
Open the active retainer and click Renew.
-
Check the confirmation. It shows how many months the renewal runs and when it starts.
-
Click Confirm Renewal.
Creator Jam creates a new Active retainer with the same creator, campaign, duration, content and notes, starting where the old one ends. It creates the new term’s deals in Content expected, and marks the old retainer Renewed. To change terms for the new period, edit the new retainer.
Cancel or delete a retainer
Section titled “Cancel or delete a retainer”To end a retainer early, open it, click Cancel and then Confirm Cancel. Its deals that aren’t Published are deleted. Published ones are kept, so your spend history stays intact.
To remove a cancelled retainer completely, open it, click Delete permanently, then confirm with Delete Permanently.