The biggest mistake in influencer marketing is buying reach. A million followers means nothing if none of them trust the recommendation enough to act. We screen for one thing: does this creator move people to buy?

Why reach is the wrong filter

Follower count is the influencer version of a vanity metric. The biggest accounts often convert the worst — broad, passive, ad-blind audiences who scroll past the very content you paid for.

What we actually screen for

• Engagement quality — comments that sound like real people, not bots.

• Conversion track record — past affiliate or performance results.

• Audience-brand fit — relevance over raw size.

• Content that already sells — without looking like an ad.

• A buying audience — followers who actually purchase things.

How to test before you commit

Start small: a paid trial with a trackable link before any big deal. Let the numbers — not the follower count — decide who's worth scaling.

The takeaway

Hire creators the way you'd hire salespeople: for their ability to convert, not the size of the room they're standing in.