Launch an influencer campaign for cycling computer apps
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing a cycling computer app. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: US English, 28-44, already bounced off a Wahoo they stopped pairing and Strava segments that made group rides mean, watches 'I will not buy another head unit' and punctured-tire-in-the-rain videos in the garage. Linger, save, like, and comment as if I were them. Once the algorithm is trained I take whoever keeps showing up. Ideally over 50k average views. Below that they quote $700 a post for 1k views. That’s a money sink.
You really need to do this for hundreds of creators a day, because the market is not efficient. Some dumb startup is paying thousands for hundreds of views. I scroll as the person who would download this on real phones. Scout is $1,500/month. We find creators. Outreach is $2,500 if I should send the emails. Dealmaker is $5,000 if I should negotiate and paper the deal. Creator fees extra. No demo. No download guarantee. I wrote the long version at How I find influencers.
Where people actually look
How I actually launch
01
Not a demographic. I can see watts I do not need and I cannot see the next turn in the sun. They already tried a Wahoo that sits in a drawer, Strava on the phone they could not see in sun, and a paper cue sheet they dropped. Skip the WorldTour-kit replica rider whose whole grid is watts and who will not talk to a commuter. Adjacent is commute rain, garage mechanicals, not Zwift race culture. Steal the brief if you want.
02
Fresh account. Real phones. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Linger, save, like, comment as if I were them. Once the algorithm is trained I take whoever keeps showing up. Ideally over 50k average. Example: someone mounting a phone, squinting at Strava, and missing a turn. Signal: the same garage-mechanical face two rain days in a row.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a bio next to a TrainingPeaks coaching link; say this is a computer-app post. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. Kit riders quote apparel rates for a handlebar shot. If they won’t give a number, move on.
04
Pay $X for N posts with a floor of Y views. An example that is easy to hold: $2000 / 4 posts / 1M views. Then send the contract while it’s still fresh. A working route they can load before Saturday's ride. Mount the phone, load the route, show a turn in the sun. If they need a $400 unit, you are not ready.
Why most first cycling computer apps campaigns stall
01
Kit riders quote apparel rates for a handlebar shot. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. Garage mechanicals and commute rants already have the audience; a readable phone computer is the thing they want on the next wet morning.
02
People tag #cycling when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. A 4K descent with no computer on the bars.
03
Many times I have read something unprofitable like “$700 a post” from a creator that gets 50k views. On a call I can explain a Minimum View Guarantee. Over email you just get the first number. Do not ask for a climb PR. Ask them to follow a turn-by-turn in sun glare.
What you actually buy
Every plan includes the scrolling. Pay more and I do more of the emailing and the paperwork. Creator pay is extra. No demo. No download guarantee. A live listing that works as a computer on a cheap mount, not a hardware preorder.
Scout
$1,500/month
We find creators.
Most people start here
Outreach
$2,500/month
We find relevant creators, and do outreach.
Dealmaker
$5,000/month
Outreach, then negotiation and contracts.
Billed monthly, cancel anytime. Creator compensation is not included. You approve every creator and every rate. Measurement is App Store installs with a unique custom code.
Questions
You can learn vocabulary that way. People tag what they want brands to find. I still scroll as the person who would download this on a fresh account and take whoever keeps showing up. The method essay is How we find creators by scrolling a real TikTok avatar.
No. Anyone who does is lying or running paid. I do the scrolling and, on Outreach and Dealmaker, the contacting. You still approve every creator and every rate. Talent is extra. No demo. No download guarantee.
Kit riders quote apparel rates for a handlebar shot. I want roughly 50k average views or the economics usually break. Below that, $700 a post for 1k views is a money sink. On a call I can explain a Minimum View Guarantee. Example: $2000 / 4 posts / 1M views. Over email you just get the first number. If they will not give a number, move on. If you do this right, ie at scale, you will have many other creators to choose from.
No. It is a different job. The tag is kit and bike unboxings; they want a gifting crate, not an app. I read the session the person who would download this actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.