Launch an influencer campaign for indie skincare brands
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing an indie skincare brand. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: the client's customer is US English, 26-38, already bounced off The Ordinary they used like a chemistry set and a derm-ticket they cannot get, watches 'I wrecked my barrier' and 'The Ordinary confused me' videos at the bathroom mirror after 10pm. 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 already have the client. You keep the retainer. I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube as your client's customer 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 pay is 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 built a 12-step from TikTok and now my face is angry at me. They already tried The Ordinary as a chemistry set, a dermatologist waitlist, and a Sephora haul they used twice. Skip the 2M beauty creator whose last 30 posts are PR unboxings. Adjacent is barrier repair talk, bathroom 10pm, not 12-step hauls. 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 holding eight Ordinary bottles and a red face. Signal: the same barrier-wreck face two bathroom nights.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a Linktree that is not 40 other serums this week. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. PR-unboxing faces quote brand-deal rates the client's margin cannot eat. 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. The SKU in a mailer or a honest 'I bought this' if seeding lags; do not film an empty cart. Show the live SKU, use it, drop the code. No cure language.
Why most first indie skincare brands campaigns stall
01
PR-unboxing faces quote brand-deal rates the client's margin cannot eat. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. Barrier-wreck videos already have the client's audience; a simple live SKU can sit in that rant if you do not claim a cure.
02
People tag #skincare when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. A 12-step haul that buries the client's one SKU.
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 medical claim or a 12-step. Ask them to use the one live SKU.
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. The client's live product page with real inventory, not a coming-soon.
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 product page visits and codes on a live SKU, not a waitlist.
Questions
You can learn vocabulary that way. People tag what they want brands to find. I still scroll as your client's customer 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.
PR-unboxing faces quote brand-deal rates the client's margin cannot eat. 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 catalog is PR-unboxing talent who will not read a barrier story. I read the session your client's customer actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.