Launch an influencer campaign for protein snacks
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing a protein snack. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: US English, 22-36, already bounced off a chalky bar they threw away and a 'healthy' snack that was candy, watches 'this protein bar is candy' and desk-drawer-graveyard videos at 3pm. 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 buy this SKU 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. It said 20g and it still tastes like a candy bar I would not finish. They already tried a chalky bar they threw away, a healthy snack that was candy, and a tub of powder they will not mix at work. Skip the gym influencer whose snack is a 12-tub storefront. Adjacent is 3pm desk, chalk hate, not bodybuilding stage. 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 breaking a bar and showing the candy-bar inside. Signal: the same 3pm-desk face two weekdays.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a small desk-snack bio, not a 12-tub storefront. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. Gym storefronts quote supplement-haul 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. The bar at a real desk at 3pm. Eat it at the desk, show the flavor, drop the code. No outcomes.
Why most first protein snacks campaigns stall
01
Gym storefronts quote supplement-haul rates. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. Candy-in-disguise rants already have the audience; a live flavor they will finish at a desk is the demo. No body claims.
02
People tag #proteinsnack when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. A gym-flex with a bar cameo.
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 transformation. Ask them to eat it at 3pm and say if they finish it.
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 flavor in stock, not a coming-soon box.
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 Shop or site codes on a live box.
Questions
You can learn vocabulary that way. People tag what they want brands to find. I still scroll as the person who would buy this SKU 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.
Gym storefronts quote supplement-haul 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 gym storefronts and candy-review channels that want a crate. I read the session the person who would buy this SKU actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.