A creator shortlist and an operating process for a first collaboration cycle.
Define the job of the collaboration
Decide whether you need content production, access to an audience, affiliate distribution or an ongoing brand relationship. These objectives call for different evaluation criteria and deliverables.
Build a shortlist around audience relevance, communication style, product fit and demonstrated ability to explain or show the product. Follower count alone cannot answer those questions.
Track the collaboration from the first contact
Keep one record for the creator, contact status, agreed deliverables, compensation, samples, deadlines and review owner. Make the intended usage and approval process explicit before production starts.
- Contacted and discussing fit.
- Agreed and briefed.
- Product received and production underway.
- Content reviewed and ready to use.
- Results reviewed and next collaboration decided.
Evaluate the whole relationship
Review delivery reliability, usable assets, creative learnings and the campaign outcome. Include production and collaboration costs when discussing economics.
A creator may be valuable for production even when their own audience is not the main distribution channel. Keep those roles separate in your evaluation and use the findings to write a more focused next brief.
Your next steps
Use this checklist as you work through the guide.