Launch an influencer campaign for merge garden games
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing a merge garden game. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: US English, 28-48, already bounced off a merge that energy-gated every merge and a garden that was a wait timer, watches 'I am waiting two hours to merge' and evening-couch-garden videos after dishes. 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 actually play the first session 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 did the dishes and the game wants two hours before I can merge again. They already tried a merge that energy-gated, a garden that was a wait timer, and a web merge they outgrew. Skip the 800k merge-game recapper whose videos are launch trailers. Adjacent is after-dishes couch, energy-gate, not kids' merge. 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 staring at an energy timer after dinner. Signal: the same energy-timer face two evenings.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a small couch-game bio. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. Recappers quote launch rates. 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 first board they can play after dishes. Install, merge after dishes, show the energy is not the game, drop the code.
Why most first merge garden games campaigns stall
01
Recappers quote launch rates. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. Energy-gate rants already have the audience; a first board they can merge after dishes is the demo.
02
People tag #mergegame when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. A cinematic garden with no merge.
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 them to quote a CPI. Ask them to merge after dishes without a two-hour wait.
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 whose first screenshot is a merge, not a cinematic garden.
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 actually play the first session 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.
Recappers quote launch rates. 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 launch recappers and family-app lists. I read the session the person who would actually play the first session actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.