Launch an influencer campaign for rhythm games
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing a rhythm game. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: US English, 16-28, already bounced off a rhythm game that hid songs behind IAP and a chart that needed four fingers they do not have on a commute, watches 'the song is $4' and bus-chart videos with one earbud in. 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 downloaded a rhythm game and the song I came for was $4, and the chart wanted four fingers on a moving bus. They already tried a rhythm game that hid songs behind IAP, a chart that needed four fingers, and a web rhythm they outgrew. Skip the 400k rhythm YouTuber who only posts arcade cabinets. Adjacent is bus charts, IAP songs, not arcade flex. 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 unlocking a song screen that is a $4 wall. Signal: the same $4-song face two bus rides.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a small mobile-rhythm bio. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. Arcade YouTubers 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 song they can play on a bus. Install, play the first song with thumbs on a bus, drop the code.
Why most first rhythm games campaigns stall
01
Arcade YouTubers quote launch rates. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. IAP-song rants already have the audience; a first song they can play with thumbs on a bus is the demo.
02
People tag #rhythmgame when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. An arcade trailer with no phone chart.
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 an arcade recap. Ask them to play the first song with thumbs.
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 thumb chart, not an arcade.
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.
Arcade YouTubers 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 tag is arcade YouTubers. I read the session the person who would actually play the first session actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.