• Wrong creator (wrong audience, wrong values, wrong platform)
• Wrong brief (too restrictive, too vague, or no creative freedom)
• Wrong expectations (awareness ≠ immediate sales)
• No tracking (can't prove ROI, can't improve)

1. Brand and product — what is it? Price point?
2. Target audience — who is the end customer?
3. Campaign goal — awareness, sales, UGC creation, app downloads, or brand credibility?
4. Budget — gifting only, $1K, $10K, $100K+?
5. Platform priority — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest?
6. Timeline — launch date or campaign window?

• Highest engagement rates (5–10%)
• Most authentic — genuinely use products they feature
• Low or gifting-only cost
• Best for: niche products, authentic testimonials, local/community brands
• Limitation: Small individual reach — need volume (50–100+ creators)

• High engagement (2–5%), trusted voice
• Affordable ($100–$1,000 per post)
• Best for: most brands — best ROI tier
• Limitation: Requires relationship management at scale

• Lower engagement (0.5–2%), broader reach
• Mid-range cost ($1,000–$15,000 per post)
• Best for: brand launches, mass awareness, trend creation
• Limitation: Less trust, more expensive, harder to measure conversion

• Very low engagement rate (<0.5%)
• High cost ($15,000–$1M+ per post)
• Best for: massive brand awareness plays, cultural moments
• Limitation: Expensive, difficult to prove ROI, often feels inauthentic

• Audience location matches target geography (use platform insights or Modash)
• Audience age/gender matches target customer
• Engagement rate above tier benchmark (not inflated by giveaways)
• Follower growth organic (not spiking from follow/unfollow or buying)

• Content style aligns with brand aesthetic
• Captions feel genuine, not templated
• Previous brand deals disclosed properly (FTC compliance signals)
• No controversial posts in last 12 months
• Comments are genuine (look for generic spam comments)

• Values alignment (check what else they promote)
• No competitor partnerships
• Genuine potential user of your product

"Hi [Name], we've been following your content for a while — [specific genuine compliment about a specific post]. We think our [product] would genuinely resonate with your audience because [specific reason]. Would you be open to a collaboration? We'd love to send you [product] to try — no obligation to post if it's not your thing. [Your name] from [Brand]"

Subject: Partnership — [Brand] × [Creator name]

[Name], [specific genuine compliment on specific piece of content].

We're [Brand] — [one sentence on what you do and why it's relevant to their audience].

We'd love to collaborate on [specific content idea]. We're offering [compensation / gifting / commission]. Happy to share more details if there's interest.

[Name], [Brand]

• Personalize every message — generic pitches get ignored
• Lead with value to the creator, not value to the brand
• One idea, not a menu of options
• Keep it short — 5 sentences max for DM
• Follow up once after 7 days if no response

• Brand: [Name and one-line description]
• Campaign name: [Internal name]
• Product to feature: [Product name + key benefit]
• Campaign dates: [Content live window]

• 1 × Instagram Reel (30–60 seconds) + 3 stories
• Or: 1 × TikTok video (30–90 seconds)
• Or: 1 × YouTube integration (60–120 seconds within video)
• Posting window: [date range]
• Approval: Send content 48 hours before posting for review

• [Hook idea 1]
• [Hook idea 2]
• [Hook idea 3]

• DM confirmation of what they'll create
• No formal contract needed for gifting
• Clear disclosure requirement stated

• Deliverables (exact posts, platform, format, dimensions)
• Timeline (draft submission date, revision rounds, go-live window)
• Usage rights (can brand repurpose the content? As ads? For how long?)
• Exclusivity (can they work with competitors during/after campaign?)
• Compensation and payment terms
• FTC disclosure requirements
• Approval process and revision rounds (max 2)
• Kill fee (if brand cancels after content is created)
• Morality clause (brand can exit if creator causes controversy)

• Organic repost: Usually included by default
• Paid ads (whitelisting): Extra 20–50% on top of base rate
• Unlimited usage: Negotiate at start — much cheaper than retroactive

• UTM links: Different UTM per creator (track in Google Analytics)
• Unique discount codes: Per creator (track revenue in e-commerce platform)
• Platform analytics: Ask creators to share post insights screenshot (48h after)
• Promo code: "CREATOR10" — tracks purchases, gives audience discount

• Reach / impressions
• Engagement rate
• Link clicks / code uses
• Revenue generated
• Cost per result (CPR)
• Content usage performance (if repurposed as ads)

1. Build a list of 50–200 nano/micro influencers in the target niche
2. Send product with a personal note (handwritten or personalized) — no posting obligation stated
3. Let them choose whether to post (genuine experience = genuine content)
4. Monitor mentions and engage enthusiastically with every post
5. DM creators who post organically to request usage rights
6. Best posters become paid partners in round 2

• Product cost × creators = total investment
• No guaranteed posts — but authentic posts are more valuable
• 30–60% of seeded creators typically post unprompted (if product is genuinely good)

• Paid partnerships: #ad or #sponsored in first line of caption
• Gifted products (even if not paid): #gifted or "Brand gifted me this"
• Affiliate partnerships: #affiliate
• Instagram/TikTok paid partnership label: Required for paid deals on both platforms

• Inform creators of disclosure requirements in the brief
• Do NOT tell them to hide or downplay the disclosure
• Keep records of all paid influencer agreements

• ugc-strategy: Using influencer content as UGC for ads
• meta-ads: Whitelisting influencer content as paid ads
• brand-voice: Ensure influencer messaging aligns with brand voice
• brand-partnerships: Longer-term brand-to-brand collaborations
• brand-context: Foundation context for all brand work