How to find influencers for your brand
Start from your customer, look where they already are, and judge every creator on the views their posts get. Then check them yourself before you write. Here is the whole method, from search to first message.
By Nick Jaffrey, founder · Last updated
- Know your buyerWho buys from you, and what they watch
- SearchSeven places to look
- CheckSix checks you can run by hand
- Shortlist and priceOn views, not followers
- WriteA short first message
Start with who buys from you
Before you search, write down three things: the countries your customers order from, the platform they spend time on, and the price of what you sell. A creator with a large audience in the wrong country, or on a platform your customers do not use, will not sell for you however good their content is.
Seven places to find creators
People already posting about you
Search your brand name and tagged posts first. A customer who already uses your product is the easiest yes and the most believable post.
Your competitors’ creators
Look at who tags brands like yours and who discloses paid posts for them. They have shown they work with your category; check that they are free of exclusivity.
Search and hashtags
Search each platform for the words your customers use, not just your category name. Read the top posts, then the accounts behind them.
Similar accounts
Once you find one good creator, the platform’s “similar accounts” suggestions often lead to five more with the same audience.
The platforms’ own creator marketplaces
TikTok, Instagram and YouTube each run a place where creators list themselves for brand deals. Useful, but each covers one platform only.
Agencies
An agency finds and manages creators for you, for a fee. Worth it when you have budget but no time.
Discovery platforms
Software that searches creators across platforms with filters for niche, country and size. Our comparison of the best influencer platforms covers the main options.
For the software options side by side, see the best influencer platforms compared.
Judge reach, not followers
A post reaches only a share of a creator's followers, and that share shrinks as accounts grow. Across 392,090 creators we measured in July 2026, a nano creator (under 10,000 followers) typically reached 35 to 62% of their followers per post. A mega creator (over a million) reached 12.6% on Instagram and about 3% on TikTok and YouTube. So rank creators on the views their recent posts get, which we call Real Reach. The Real Reach Report has the full numbers, and our micro-influencer guide shows why smaller creators often reach more people per follower.
Six checks you can do yourself
Views on recent posts
Open their last ten or so posts and note the typical view count. That is how many people your post is likely to reach, whatever the follower count says.
The comments
Read them. Real questions about a product are a good sign; the same emoji from the same accounts on every post is not.
Where the audience lives
Ask for a screenshot of their audience by country. Followers who cannot buy from you are no use to you.
Fit with your product
Would your product look natural in their feed, next to what they already wear, use or eat? If it would look like an ad, it will sell like one.
Their past sponsored posts
See how they present a product, whether they label paid posts clearly, and whether the comments on those posts are still engaged.
Brand safety
Scroll back several months. You are attaching your name to everything they have posted.
Signs an audience may be inflated
None of these proves anything on its own, but each is a reason to look closer:
- Views far below what the follower count suggests, post after post.
- Comments that could sit under any post (“Nice!”, “🔥🔥”), often from the same handful of accounts.
- An audience mostly in countries that have nothing to do with the creator’s language or content.
- Likes that are high compared with views, or that barely change from post to post.
Build a shortlist and price it
Aim for a shortlist of about 20 creators who pass the checks. For each, work out the most you could pay before the deal loses money: their typical views, through your own conversion rate and order value, less what the orders cost you. The free influencer ROI calculator does that for one creator. For what creators ask, how much to pay an influencer has the rates 302 TikTok creators publish, and what influencer marketing costs adds up a whole budget.
Your first message
Short and specific beats long and flattering. Say why them, what you offer, what you would like, and the next step. For example:
Hi [name], I loved your [specific post], especially [one detail]. I run [brand], and we make [product] for [who it is for]. We would like to send you [product] and pay [fee] for [one Reel / one video], with a discount code for your audience. Could you send me your rates and a screenshot of where your audience lives? Happy to answer any questions. [Your name]
When you agree terms, put them in writing: our free influencer contract template covers the posts, payment, disclosure and usage rights.
How Acurrate does this
Acurrate finds Instagram, TikTok and YouTube creators who fit your store; connected to Shopify, it looks in the countries your customers buy from. It ranks them, forecasts what each could earn you on your own numbers, and drafts your outreach for you to send. 14-day free trial, then $99 a month.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find influencers for my brand?
Start from your customer: where they live, which platform they use and what they already watch. Then look in seven places: people already tagging you, your competitors’ creators, platform search and hashtags, similar-account suggestions, the platforms’ creator marketplaces, agencies and discovery software. Check each creator’s recent views before anything else.
How can I find influencers for free?
Search the platforms yourself: your tagged posts, your competitors’ tagged posts, hashtags your customers use and “similar accounts” suggestions. It costs time rather than money. The free engagement rate and ROI calculators on this site help you check a creator once you have found them.
How many influencers should I contact?
More than you need, because not everyone replies or fits. We suggest a shortlist of about 20 to land your first few partnerships, then keep working with the creators whose posts sell.
What should my first message to an influencer say?
Keep it short and personal: why them (name a post you liked), what you offer (product, fee or both), what you would like (one post, a video, a code), and an easy next step. Ask for their audience by country and their rate if you are offering a fee.
How can I tell if an influencer’s followers are real?
Check what you can see. Compare their typical views with their follower count, read the comments, and ask where their audience lives. Views far below the follower count on every post, generic comments from the same accounts, or an audience in unrelated countries are reasons to look closer.
See what a creator is worth to your store
Paste any Instagram or YouTube handle into the free ROI calculator: the revenue a post would bring, and the most you can pay without losing money. No account needed.