Launch an influencer campaign for running apps
I scroll Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube under a fresh account if I’m marketing a running app. I try to put myself in this person’s shoes: US English, 25-38, already bounced off Strava kudos anxiety and a Garmin they cannot afford to replace, watches 'I hate Strava now' and easy-run-is-still-a-run videos after a dark 5pm loop. 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 download this 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 to record a slow loop and instead I got a comment from someone I see at the grocery store. They already tried Strava they muted, Nike Run Club they opened twice, and a Garmin whose charger is in another bag. Skip the sub-3 marathoner whose grid is race photos and who will not talk to a 12-minute mile. Adjacent is walk breaks, dark-after-work loops, not Boston qualifying. 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 turning off Strava flybys because a neighbor commented on an easy run. Signal: the same easy-run defense face two weeknights in a row.
03
I prefer email. The contact is usually in a bio next to a training-plan PDF or a shoe storefront; say this is an app post. Just send a short note. Name a real video. Ask for the phone number. Don’t start the deal over email. Shoe affiliates quote apparel rates because that is the real deal. 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 working GPS log they can take on tonight's loop. Start the run, take a walk break, save it as private. That is the demo.
Why most first running apps campaigns stall
01
Shoe affiliates quote apparel rates because that is the real deal. You needed a lot of other names so you could move on. Easy-run defense already has the audience; a log that does not publish to a feed can be the relief.
02
People tag #runningapp when they want brands to find them. A database tells you who exists. Your customer lives in a feed you never opened. A drone shot of a sunrise long run with no download.
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 PR montage. Ask them to log a walk-break run and keep it private on camera.
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 time, distance, and a map you can keep private.
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 download this 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.
Shoe affiliates quote apparel rates because that is the real deal. 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 race-bib athletes and shoe affiliates, not a private log. I read the session the person who would download this actually gets served. Product page for the general job: campaigns.