Finding & vetting creators

How to source, screen and sign the right creators — real engagement vs bought followers, audience fit, rates, briefs, contracts and FTC disclosure.

Finding creators is easy — a hashtag search turns up hundreds. Picking ones who actually convert is the hard part, and a bad pick is expensive: wasted fees, a fake audience, or an undisclosed ad that draws an FTC letter. A short, repeatable vetting process is cheaper than one bad campaign.

A follower count tells you almost nothing. AI can run the shortlist and structure the vetting sheet; the real follower, engagement and audience numbers have to come from the platform's own creator insights or a discovery tool (Modash, Heepsy) — never from a guess. Run every creator through the same short filter before money changes hands.

In this lesson

Fastest path: one prompt, end to end
Or do it in 5 steps
Worked example: vetting sheet (fill with real numbers)

What you'll learn

Source a first list fast
Check engagement against the tier band, not in absolute terms
Look for a bought-follower spike
Match audience to buyer
Put it in writing