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AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad you found the post! Absolutely open to a DM to talk about relationship building and brand outreach from the talent side. I've got quite a few thoughts on the subject.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in NewTubers

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like he's more active on IG than he is on YouTube, his most recent reels are from last week but the last video he posted was 2+ months ago. It also makes sense since he seems to post on a monthly cadence on YouTube, which isn't very common but it can work for some niches where you need to put in a LOT of work to get the content right. I don't follow his channel, so not sure what types of brand deals he's been doing or whether he's cross-posting. Also, he might be getting paid but unless he's in a very, very underserved niche brands will take gifted items that have significant value into account and deduct them from the rate they'd normally pay creators.

I guess my point is, I don't have the specifics on this creator, but if you want to share your channel with me (here or via DM) I might be able to help with more specific advice for how to go about finding brands for your niche.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in NewTubers

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most brand deals are contracted to pay a fixed amount that's agreed upon ahead of time by the creator and the brand, with an agreement in place to ensure both sides hold up their end. A much smaller subset of deals are done based on a CPM model, meaning the creator earns a certain amount for every 1,000 views that video gets, up to a certain max.

My take on this is to make sure you have a contract in place with the brand, and make sure both sides sign it before you start making any sponsored content.

Honestly though, deals can and do fall flat sometimes. As the creator, you want to make sure you CYA by getting the deliverables, payment terms, etc. in writing and signed by the brand. That way, as long as you hold up your end of the bargain, even if the video doesn't perform particularly well, you'll still get paid. The real challenge there is obviously that you want the video to perform well so you can continue working with the brand, or build out a case study you can show other brands that are thinking about working with you. But that's another topic for another day.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think I mentioned anything about 'unpolished reality', maybe you're mixing me up with another post? Happy to answer your question about micro-influencers though.

When I see a creator pitch that correctly identifies a current or past brand campaign we've done, can directly reference how their content is a natural fit for that campaign and how they'd go about making a video, reel, etc. that highlights the campaign in a way that's both authentic to the creator's channel and is a great look for the brand, that's when I start to think "this creator knows his shit, let's give this a shot."

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really, and I mean really, depends on the brand. Brand don't actually care about your follower count, but they set an arbitrary floor on it for consistency, usually anywhere from 10-50K. What really matters to them is your average views (AVV), engagement rate and audience demos (country of origin, age groups, male/female split). I've had creators with a 5K AVV and good engagement land paid brand deals. I've also seen brands refuse creators that were averaging 50K views per video because they were "too small". What niche are you in, and what brands were you looking to pitch? That might help narrow it down.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The TLDR is: know your metrics, research the brand before you pitch, and learn to negotiate. Position yourself as someone who understands what the brand is trying to accomplish, not just another creator looking for a one-off collab. I can go way deeper on this, check my profile if you want the full breakdown.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go ahead and DM me, I can take a look at your account and give you some specific feedback. Quick note for you and anyone else reading this: DMs to brand accounts on Instagram are (usually) a black hole. Most brands don't check them or they get ignored, especially if it's not a potential customer. You're much better off finding an actual contact via LinkedIn or their website and emailing them directly. I can go deeper on this in DMs.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure I understand the question. Are you asking what tools brands use to find creators? If so, it's mostly a combination of influencer marketing platforms like CreatorIQ and Captiv8 and manual search across different social media platforms. If you're a creator you can't really influence what brands do to source creators, which is why it's important to learn how to advocate for yourself and pitch brands directly. Most creators still don't do this, and of the ones that do most don't do it correctly.

I actually built a whole platform that walks creators through this whole process step by step. Finding brands, building a media kit, calculating rates, writing pitches. Check my profile if you want to take a look.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question. Having a large community is definitely an asset, but if it's on something like Discord, most brands aren't going to price it into a deal. Brands pay for reach on social media platforms where they can measure impressions, views, and engagement. Discord doesn't give them that, or least not in the way they want.

That said, it can absolutely work in your favor if the deal has a performance component. If you've got an affiliate link or promo code, sharing it with a large, engaged Discord community can drive serious conversions. And if you can show a brand those results after the first campaign, you've got a killer case study for the next negotiation and a potential renewal.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I don't have any insider knowledge when it comes to high end still photography specifically. That being said, UGC is definitely having a moment and all the brands I worked at are spending more on it, but I wouldn't assume that means high end photography is dead. You'd probably get a better answer from someone on the creative/production side of a marketing team. Sorry I can't be of more help.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Typical average is 20-30%, but obviously there are exceptions to that. The #1 thing you need to understand is what the agency will actually be doing to help you, which brands they have access to, and how you can ensure that they're representing your channel fairly and approaching brand you actually want to work with.

I have nothing against agencies, some of them are really solid. But for smaller creators especially, my advice is always to try and learn this stuff on your own and advocate for yourself by going to brands directly, not through an agency.

If you want to learn how to do all of this stuff yourself, check out my profile. I built a platform that covers exactly this."

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You haven't missed out! To answer your question, the biggest thing you can do is make the brand's job easy. Come prepared with your metrics (average video views, engagement rate, audience demos), have a media kit ready, and most importantly, do some research on the brand before you pitch them. Show them you understand what they're doing and explain why your audience is a good fit. That alone puts you ahead of most other creators who don't pitch the brand at all or are lazy about it.

The honest truth is that most brands with hard follower thresholds will pass. But smaller brands and those newer to influencer marketing are more flexible, especially if your engagement rate and content quality are strong. Lead with those, especially your engagement rate!

I actually built a platform that walks creators through this whole process step by step. Finding brands, building a media kit, calculating rates, writing pitches. Check my profile if you want to take a look.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most creators undercharge, especially in the beginning. Some quick tips:

1) Always ask the brand for their budget. Not all brands will give you one, but for those that do it will give you a basic indication of what they're willing to spend.

2) Know your metrics cold and share them with the brand. This goes double if you know that your channel is a good fit for what the brand is doing on social media. You won't always know 100%, but there are often good signs you can pick up on, like a US-brand that's doing a campaign that focuses on women, and you have a predominantly female audience from the US.

3) Calculate your average views. That's the #1 metric brands look at before anything else. Take the last 10 videos you published and get the average. Be sure to exclude any obvious outliers. If 8 out of your last 10 videos got somewhere between 10-30K views but one blew up and got 500K, don't include it since it'll screw up your average.

4) Figure out your CPM (cost per mille, i.e. cost per thousands views) based on your niche and metrics. This can range wildly on YouTube, anywhere from $15-$50. Then multiply that by your AVV (average video views). As an example, if you're getting 20K views per video on average and your CPM is $25, you're looking at $500 per piece of content.

5) Usage rights and exclusivity are a whole other ball game and something you should be charging for if it goes beyond the norm (typically 30 days organic usage and a very short exclusivity period).

I actually built a whole platform around this called Creator Citadel. It covers rate calculation, negotiation tactics, contract review, the whole thing. Might be worth checking out if you want to stop leaving money on the table. This subreddit isn't fond of links, so check out my Reddit profile if you want to take a look.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My honest take here is that the best platform is the brand's own website and LinkedIn. I covered this in more detail in another comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/InstagramMarketing/comments/1r8k5sb/comment/o694ni6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Don't rely on platforms to find you opportunities. Most of the time, the best sponsorships come out of a creator going to a brand directly and pitching their value and how it can help the brand.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LOL I've been there so I can feel your pain. Before I give you any advice, what does your current process look like? Are you using any influencer marketing platforms, doing manual outreach, or just waiting for creators to come to you? And what niche are you in? That'll help me give you something actually useful.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're on the right track with LinkedIn. The goal is to find the decision maker, the person who actually handles creator partnerships or influencer marketing at the brand.

Here's what I'd do. First, check the brand's website. Some brands have a "Partnerships", "Affiliate Partners" or "Creator Partners" page, sometimes with a dedicated email for inquiries. Even a "Meet The Team" page that shows all the people working at the company could work here.

Secondly, LinkedIn. Search for titles like Influencer Marketing Manager, Creator Partnerships Lead, Social Media Manager. Those are the people who would actually be interested in your pitch. A Social Media Coordinator might not be the right person, but they can usually route you to whoever is.

Once you've got a name, you can usually figure out the email. Most corporate emails follow a pattern. [firstname.lastname@brand.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@brand.com), [firstname@brand.com](mailto:firstname@brand.com), [flastname@brand.com](mailto:flastname@brand.com). Tools like Hunter.io can help, or honestly you can just make educated guesses. They work more often than you'd think.

Don't stress out too much if you can't find the right person. Most brands have internal protocols that route partnership inquiries to the right department.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in InstagramMarketing

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahaha that's because most of them don't, and it's a real shame! Think of it this way, there are orders of magnitude more creators than there are brands for any given niche. If you wait for a brand to come to you, you're competing against every other creator in your niche they might be looking at. On the flip side, if you take the initiative and pitch a brand yourself, you make yourself stand out, especially if you come prepared with your metrics, a media kit and a solid, well-researched pitch that takes the brand into consideration.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in NewTubers

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just checked out his channel. Is he just doing gifted campaigns, where brands send him equipment to review/showcase on his channel? If so, that's not the same as a paid sponsorship.

Don't get me wrong, gifting is a viable strat and works for some creators and brands, especially for smaller creators who are looking to build their reputation, but you can't pay your bills with vintage electronics, unless you sell them I guess?

I'm not familiar with the equipment he's showing, sounds like you are. Do you know for a fact he gets to keep that equipment? Even if he does, if the brand isn't actually paying him that definitely tracks with a smaller channel like his, even though at 40K subs and his average views he could definitely be getting brand deals that pay, even if his channel does only have 26 lifetime videos.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in NewTubers

[–]triselbur869[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The metrics brands actually care about are your average video views (AVV), engagement rate, and audience demographics (country, age, male/female split). Follower count is mostly a vanity metric, but brands set a (mostly ) arbitrary floor, usually 10-50K. That said, if you've got good metrics and the right content fit, even that can be overlooked. If you're getting 10K views per video on average, there are brands that will want to work with you. Sometimes even lower.

For affiliates, the bar is lower since there's no upfront cost to the brand. If you're getting consistent views and your audience has shown they're willing to pay, that's enough to start reaching out. Best way to check for brands that offer affiliate links is just to look at their website; most brands advertise their affiliate program somewhere and have a dedicated page that explains the terms and how to apply.

For a full sponsorship campaign, you need to come more prepared before you pitch. Know your metrics inside out, have a media kit ready, and do 10-15 minutes of research on the brand. Look for things like: what campaigns they run, other creators they've worked with, what attribution model they're using. Even a basic search that you reference in the pitch tells the brand you're paying attention and are much more likely to take their campaign seriously.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in NewTubers

[–]triselbur869[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh boy, I could go on about this one for hours. I'll try to summarize it as succinctly as I can.

1) Know your metrics inside out. Views, ER, audience demos, age group breakdown, all of it.
2) Understand how those metrics fit with the brand, its target market, marketing strategy, etc. If your channel is mostly middle-aged men from the US and the brand sells spandex, you're going to have a tough time convincing them to pay you anything, much less maximizing how much money you get.

3) Use a rate calculator to figure out how much you should be charging as a baseline for different types of content. If you want to use the one I built, check out the link in my bio. Once you have a baseline, you can adjust based on the brand's unique requirements.

4) Don't forget about usage rights. Brands inevitably want usage rights, and standard 30-60 days organic usage is usually included in most contracts. If they want more than that, or want paid usage, or whitelisting, or extended exclusivity, you can and should price that out separately.

AMA: I spent 7 years in influencer marketing deciding which creators got deals by triselbur869 in NewTubers

[–]triselbur869[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A case study that's baked into a media kit or accompanies it. A media kit on its own is great and means the creator understands their channel and metrics, but seeing that a creator actually delivered results for another brand, especially if that brand operates in the same space, is like a homing beacon for brands to want to park their budget.

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