What is a comped creator visit?
By Jeff, Founder, SIGNL · October 21, 2026
A comped creator visit is a simple trade, run on rules. A local business comps a creator a meal or service, paid in product at the business's own cost, not retail price. The creator visits like a real customer and posts honestly about it within 48 hours, FTC disclosed, with the visit and the post tracked. No cash changes hands for the visit itself.
Their post. Tracked.
The short answer: A comped creator visit is a tracked trade: a local business covers a meal, service or experience, and the creator posts one post plus one story sharing it, honestly and disclosed, on a 48-hour standard. No cash changes hands for the visit itself. If no post ever appears, the visit does not count and is replaced under the Visit Guarantee: see what to do when an influencer never posts.
What does a creator post on a comped visit?
Every comped visit on SIGNL runs on the same fixed package, called the Standard Visit, so both sides know exactly what was promised before anyone sits down.
1 post or reel
One feed post or reel about the visit, in the creator's own voice. It stays live for 30 or more days. The creator picks the angle and the words, because content that sounds like the creator is what their followers trust.
1 story that shares the post
One story that shares the post itself, so the visit also catches the audience that never scrolls the feed, while it is fresh.
Disclosed, always
Every post carries a clear FTC disclosure that the visit was comped. A free meal is a material connection under FTC rules, and hiding it is not a gray area. Disclosure is checked as part of tracked delivery, not left to chance.
Who the comp covers is stated in the offer itself. Most restaurant offers cover 1 or 2 people, such as a meal for two, because creators bring a guest and the guest is part of the experience. A salon comp covers the booked service, a tour comp covers the seats named in the offer. The business sets the comp and its ceiling on every offer, and the creator sees the full terms before claiming it. There are no surprise upgrades at the register and no open tabs.
How does the 48-hour clock work?
48 hours is the standard, and redemption is the specific moment it runs from, not a vibe. When the creator arrives, they present their visit code, the business redeems it in the app, and that redemption starts two things at once: the comp is recorded as used, and the 48-hour post clock starts running. A post inside 48 hours is on time and earns the creator Momentum. Life happens, so the outside limit is one week: a post inside the week still counts as delivered, just late. Only a full week with no post triggers the Visit Guarantee replacement.
From there the flow is tracked end to end. The creator posts, the platform verifies the post is live with its disclosure, and the business sees the delivered post in its dashboard alongside the visit. Each creator also carries a unique code their followers can use, so the business can tally register spend back to that creator afterward. Tracked register spend is a floor, since it only counts guests who used a code.
Why 48 hours? Because a post about last month's dinner is an archive, and a post about last night's dinner is a recommendation. The short standard keeps content current and turns a loose favor between strangers into a deliverable a business can plan around, while the week of grace keeps one bad day from wiping out a good creator.
What can a business ask for, and what can it never ask?
A business buying a comped visit is buying a real visit and a real post. It is not buying an opinion, and the line between the two is the whole product.
What you can set
The comp itself and its ceiling. The visit window, so creators come on the days you want covered. The deliverables in the Standard Visit. Factual basics worth knowing, like a new menu or a parking tip. The business can also decline a creator who is not a fit.
What you cannot require
A positive post. A script, talking points or pre-approval of the creator's opinion. A star rating, a caption worded your way, or a good review on Google or anywhere else. A post that hides the comp. Any of those turns an honest recommendation into an ad nobody believes.
Honesty is the asset
Local followers trust these creators because the posts are real. The day a creator's feed becomes scripted praise, the audience stops believing it, and the business loses the only thing it was paying for. A mixed but honest post outperforms a glowing fake one, every time.
How is a comped visit different from a paid booking?
SIGNL runs both lanes, and businesses mix them. Comped visits are the default: the creator is paid in your product, at your cost, and SIGNL never touches comp money. The paid lane exists for specific creators, launch dates and bigger local names.
In the paid lane, the creator sets their own rate, with guidance of $25-75 for Neighbors (500-2,000 followers), $75-250 for Locals (2,000-15,000) and $250-750 for Headliners (15,000+). The platform fee is 6 percent total, split evenly between creator and business, so the creator keeps 97 percent of their rate, and payment is held by SIGNL until the post is live. The pricing detail for both lanes is in how much local influencers cost, and the plans that include monthly visit allowances are on the business pricing section.
If a booked creator does not show up or does not post, that visit does not count against your monthly visits. It is replaced. The guarantee applies to comped and paid visits alike. It is what makes a monthly allowance of 5, 10 or 20 visits a real number instead of a hope: visits are counted when they are delivered, not when they are scheduled.
Put together, a comped visit is word of mouth with structure: a defined offer, a verified visit, a post on a deadline, disclosure checked, and a replacement if it does not happen. Businesses in founding markets from Charlotte to Hampton Roads run the same play.
Questions, answered straight
What does the creator have to post on a comped visit?
The Standard Visit: 1 post or reel plus 1 story that shares the post, in the creator's own voice, posted to a 48-hour standard, with one week as the outside limit, and kept live for 30 or more days. Every post is FTC disclosed, so followers can see the visit was comped. The opinion in the post is the creator's own.
Can a business require a positive post in exchange for a comp?
No, never. A business can set the comp, the visit window and the deliverables. It cannot require a positive post, approve the creator's opinion in advance, or demand a good review anywhere else. Honest posts, including mixed ones, are the rule, and that honesty is what makes the posts believable.
How many people does a comped visit cover?
The offer states it up front: most restaurant offers cover 1 or 2 people, such as a meal for two, and service businesses cover the booked service for the creator. Creators see exactly what the comp covers before they claim it, and the business sets the ceiling on every offer.
What happens if a creator does not show up or does not post?
That is the SIGNL Visit Guarantee: if a booked creator does not show up or does not post, that visit does not count against your monthly visits. It is replaced. Creators who miss posts also lose standing on the platform, because their track record is visible on their profile.
How is a comped visit different from paying a creator cash?
In a comped visit the creator is paid in product: your meal or service, at your cost, with no cash changing hands and no fee on the comp. In SIGNL's paid lane the creator sets a cash rate ($25-750 by tier guidance), the platform fee is 6 percent total split evenly, and payment is held by SIGNL until the post is live. Both lanes carry the same honesty and disclosure rules.
Put your first offer out
See how visits turn into reviews the honest way in how restaurants get more Google reviews, or browse the Learn hub for the full set of guides.