Launch an influencer campaign for roguelike deckbuilders
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing a roguelike deckbuilder. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: US English, 20-34, already bounced off a mobile port that needed a mouse and a deckbuilder that wanted a $15 IAP to unlock cards, watches 'this port is unplayable' and late-night-run videos on a couch. 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 wanted a couch run and I needed a mouse, and then the cards were an IAP. They already tried a port that needed a mouse, a deckbuilder that locked cards behind IAP, and the PC version they cannot play on a couch. Skip the 400k PC-roguelike YouTuber who will not touch mobile. Adjacent is couch runs, unplayable ports, not Steam-launch recaps. 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 fighting a card UI with a thumb and quitting. Signal: the same thumb-UI face two couch nights.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a small mobile-roguelike bio. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. PC YouTubers quote launch-video 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 20-minute run they can finish on a couch. Install, play a 20-minute run with thumbs, drop the code.
Why most first roguelike deckbuilders campaigns stall
01
PC YouTubers quote launch-video rates. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. Unplayable-port rants already have the audience; a 20-minute thumb-first run is the demo.
02
People tag #roguelike when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. A PC trailer with no phone in frame.
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 compare Steam sales. Ask them to finish a run 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-sized board.
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.
PC YouTubers quote launch-video 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 PC YouTubers and Steam recappers. I read the session the person who would actually play the first session actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.