Red flags: When to walk away

In creator responses

• Demands payment before any content creation
• Won't provide audience demographics or engagement data
• Quotes 5x+ your stated budget with no flexibility
• Only talks about follower count, never mentions audience engagement
• Asks for usage rights that prevent you from repurposing content

In creator content

• Engagement that's mostly emoji comments or generic phrases
• Sudden follower spikes without corresponding content quality improvement
• Comments from accounts with no profile photos or post history
• High likes but very few meaningful comments

In collaboration discussions

• Won't create content unless you guarantee specific performance results
• Demands equity for influencer work without understanding your business
• Insists on full creative control with no brand guidelines
• Shows no genuine interest in or understanding of your product

When campaigns flop (and they will)

Common failure scenarios

• ‍Zero conversions after solid engagement: Often means audience-product fit issues. The creator's followers might love the content but not need your solution.‍
• Low engagement despite good creator metrics: Usually indicates the content didn't resonate or posted at poor timing. Request audience insights to understand what content performs best.‍
• Good conversions but terrible unit economics: You might have targeted too expensive creators or offered unsustainable commission rates.

Learning from failure

After each campaign, document:

• Creator audience demographics vs. your actual converters
• Which specific messages or hooks drove action
• Time of posting vs. engagement patterns
• Content format performance (stories vs. posts vs. video)

Rule of thumb: Your first 3-5 partnerships are learning experiments. Expect 60% to underperform while you dial in the formula.

Framework for evaluating early results

Week 2 checkpoint: Are you on track?

After your first 2-3 creator posts go live, evaluate performance to decide whether to continue or pivot.

Green light indicators (continue with current approach):

• Click-through rates above 2% from creator content
• Cost per click under $2-3 (total spend ÷ clicks)
• Positive comments mentioning they want to try your product
• At least 20% of traffic from creators converts to signups/trials

Yellow light indicators (adjust but don't panic):

• Click-through rates 0.5-2% (content might need optimization)
• High engagement but low clicks (CTA placement or messaging issue)
• Good traffic but low conversion rates (landing page or onboarding problem)

Red light indicators (pivot approach):

• Click-through rates below 0.5% consistently
• Mostly negative or confused comments
• Zero conversions despite decent traffic
• Creators struggling to understand or explain your product

Performance benchmarks for micro-creators (5K-50K followers)

Engagement benchmarks:

• Instagram posts: 3-6% engagement rate
• Instagram stories: 5-10% completion rate
• TikTok videos: 5-12% engagement rate

Conversion benchmarks by stage:

• Click-through to your site: 1-4% of total views
• Landing page conversion: 15-30% of visitors take action
• Overall campaign conversion: 0.2-1% of total post views

Cost benchmarks:

• Cost per click: $1-5 from organic creator content
• Cost per acquisition: $15-60 depending on your product price
• Return on ad spend: 3:1 minimum for paid collaborations

When to double down vs. pivot

Double down on creators when:

• Their content generates 2x+ better conversion rates than others
• Comments show genuine interest and purchase intent
• Creator expresses enthusiasm for long-term partnership
• Their audience demographics closely match your best users

Pivot to different creators when:

• Consistent underperformance across multiple collaborations
• Audience comments suggest product-market fit issues
• Creator's followers don't convert despite high engagement
• Better opportunities emerge with different creator types

Early warning signs to watch for

Week 1 red flags:

• Creator doesn't engage with your product or ask questions about it
• They struggle to understand your value proposition during briefing
• Their content feels forced or inauthentic in draft review

Week 2-3 red flags:

• Zero direct messages or inquiries generated from their content
• Comments are confused about what your product actually does
• High bounce rate (>70%) from their traffic
• No organic mentions or shares of their content

Month 1 red flags:

• Unable to identify any creator type that works for your product
• Consistently high cost per acquisition across all partnerships
• Creators don't want to work with you again despite payment
• No improvement in conversion rates despite optimizing briefs and landing pages

The "Good Enough" Standard

As a perfectionist founder, you'll want to research creators for weeks. Don't.‍

• ‍Good enough creator research: 2 hours of hashtag searching + competitor analysis
• ‍Good enough outreach: Personalized messages referencing 1-2 specific posts
• ‍Good enough brief: Fill-in-the-blank template with your product details
• ‍Good enough tracking: UTM codes and discount codes (fancy attribution comes later)

Your goal is learning, not perfection. Start with creators who seem 70% right rather than waiting for the perfect match.