What to check before paying anyone
Engagement rate first, follower count last. A 60K account at 11% engagement is a better media buy than a 400K account at 3%, because the second number is mostly audience that never sees the post.
Then audience geography, then average views over the last ten posts rather than the best one, then whether they have already promoted something in your category. A creator who has run three competitor placements has an audience that already buys.
The brief that converts
Give them the angle, the proof and the offer. The angle is the single idea the video is about. The proof is the specific thing that makes it credible — a before-and-after, a number, a demonstration. The offer is what the viewer does next.
Then stop. Scripts that read like ad copy perform like ad copy. The reason creator content beats studio creative is that it does not sound like an agency wrote it, so writing every word for them removes the only advantage you paid for.
- One angle per video, stated in one sentence.
- One proof point they can show on camera.
- One offer, with the code or link already set up.
Usage rights: agree them before you need them
The highest-return part of a creator programme is running the creator’s footage as paid ad creative, with their handle on the ad. That is only possible if the contract already grants paid usage for a defined window and territory.
Ask for it in the first contract. Going back after a video performs to buy rights you did not negotiate is materially more expensive, and sometimes the answer is simply no.