ernestosoftware.com: HOW I CLOSE INFLUENCER DEALS

from cold DM to spark ad. this is the real flow.

1. FIND YOUR TARGETS
Search TikTok for your niche keyword and look for accounts with 50k to 500k followers. Mid-tier creators have audiences that actually trust their recommendations.

hire your 14yo TikTok-addicted cousin for this

Their job is to scroll the feed, find relevant creators, and send 100 DMs every single day. That is the number.

2. THE OPENING DM
This is the exact message i send:

"Paid promo D"
"This is [YOUR NAME] from [APP NAME]."
"We would like to sponsor you."
"[APP] is an app that [one line of what it does]."
"We have [X users] and [Y reviews] on the App Store."
"It won't feel like an ad — it will naturally"
"fit into your content."
"Let us know if you're interested"

3. THEY REPLY — SEND A VOICE NOTE
send a voice note, not a text reply

Introduce yourself by name. Explain what the app does in plain language. Tell them you picked them specifically because their content fits the app perfectly.

Then ask for their WhatsApp number and email.

Attach 2 or 3 of your best creator video examples so they can see exactly what the collab looks like.

4. MOVE TO WHATSAPP AND MAKE THE OFFER
Once you have their number, move everything there.

When you make the offer, keep it warm. Make them feel like you genuinely want this to work out for them too.

"We do $1,000 for 1M views."
"We pay 40% upfront so you're not going in blind."
"You post until you hit the target and we cover you"
"the rest once you get there."
"We give you the hooks and you keep your own style."
"I genuinely think this is going to do really well"
"on your page. what do you think?"

if they push back, you can go up to $1,200 for 1M

That is your negotiation room. Do not go above that.

5. CONTRACT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE
Before hooks. Before brief. Before any creative talk.

40% upfront. remainder when the view target is hit.

The contract needs to cover four things:

1. Deliverable: videos posted until 1M views is hit
2. Payment: 40% now, 60% once target is reached
3. Usage rights: you can run videos as Spark Ads
4. Deadline: first video goes live within 7 days

always sign a contract. no exceptions.

6. SEND THE HOOK LIST
Once signed, send them the hooks and let them pick.

Giving them options means they choose what feels natural for their audience, which makes the video perform better.

"This app should be illegal"
"I've years doing [X] and i just found this"
"I could kiss the person who showed me this app"
"POV: you actually fixed [the problem]"

7. AMPLIFY WHAT PERFORMS
Check the views 48 hours after they post.

over 100k views? run it as a Spark Ad the same day

Spark Ads boost the creator's original post directly.

The algorithm treats it as organic content, so the CPMs are much lower than regular paid ads.