“Hey guys, make sure to check out my YouTube channel and smash that Like & Subscribe button.“

How many times have you heard that?

From YouTubers travel influencers to LinkedIn “thought leaders,” influencers are everywhere.

People might complain about influencers, but it’s no different from the celebrities of 30 years ago. Celebrity endorsements have been around since the inception of celebrities. Talented or not, people follow them for a reason: to educate or simply entertain.

Why do we trust them? I think it’s not just because they’re perceived as experts. Familiarity plays a big role. We see their faces often, so we trust them because we like them.

I’ve been influenced many times, and the results have been good! I once bought heart-shaped sunglasses that were fantastic for parties.

The truth is, there’s probably someone out there who overlaps with your audience, is trustworthy, and creates good content that you can partner with to promote your product.

And the great thing is, almost any type of product can be promoted by influencers: courses, SaaS products, newsletters, podcasts, VPNs, website hosting services, cars, resorts, and even cleansing products!

It might not always work, but when it does, it can work really well.

Not convinced yet?

Let’s look at two cases where founders borrowed influencers’ trust to build their products.

Jenni AI

Jenni AI is an AI-powered text editor built by David Park in 2019. With over 1 million users, his revenue was $150k in August 2023, and David said he added $100k MRR with their influencer program.

They created various short-form content pieces and reposted them on each platform (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) once a day to validate content-audience fit.

David then partnered with paid influencers to post validated viral concepts and promote their software. Instead of looking for already big, expensive influencers, he used the platforms’ algorithms to push new influencers. He found new/micro influencers who got a lot of views through hashtags and then negotiated bundle deals.

One of their most successful partnerships was with the TikToker Andrew Meng. Through his monthly retainer contract, they received 7 million impressions on the Jenni AI TikTok account within the first month of the campaign. Just one of their videos got almost 300k views and 21k likes.

If you want to replicate his success, here are the steps he took to make his influencer marketing campaign work:

1. Find out who your audience follows, make a list, and follow them.
2. Make deals with several smaller influencers instead of hunting for the perfect deal with the largest influencer. Cast a wide net and double down on the winners.
3. Reach out via DMs with a detailed and tailored message and prove that you’re genuinely a fan of their content and excited to partner up.
4. Negotiate a win-win situation by setting up payment terms that are good for both sides.
5. Create content similar to what their audience likes.
6. Scale the process by setting up processes to delegate or automate as much as you can.

Formula Bot

David Bressler is the brain behind Formula Bot, an AI tool that translates text instructions into Excel formulas. The tool now generates over $20k in monthly revenue.

David initially hesitated to dive into influencer marketing due to its intangible nature. However, he soon discovered its power when TikTok influencers began sharing Formula Bot as a “website that feels illegal to know.” This viral phrase caught on quickly, leading to a wave of micro-influencers promoting the tool.

David started directly reaching out to influencers. He used influencer platforms to identify potential partners on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. He focused on influencers whose audiences aligned with his product’s niche and had high engagement, rather than just a large follower count. David also actively engaged on Twitter by joining conversations about Excel and setting alerts for tweets from influential Excel accounts.

Then, in early 2023, David decided to launch an influencer marketing program on his website, allowing anyone to promote Formula Bot in exchange for direct payments. This initiative was so popular that he had to turn people away due to the high demand.

The program not only increased his revenue but also created brand awareness and provided user-generated content (UGC) for free. While he couldn’t pinpoint which influencer drove the most sign-ups, the high influx of site visits and brand searches proved his strategy was super effective.

How to find influencers for your product?

If you want to try this marketing strategy, here are 8 ways you can find influencers for your product or service:

• Leverage your existing network: Tap into your audience and customer base to identify potential influencers. Create an influencer landing page and promote your program through social media and email lists.
• Use influencer marketing tools: Use social media platforms’ native tools like TikTok’s Creator Marketplace and Snapchat Creator Marketplace. You can also use specialized influencer marketing software such as Upfluence, Grin, CreatorIQ, CreatorTag, Takle, Billo, or Tagger.
• Search functions in social media platforms: Use search functions on social media platforms and search engines to find subject matter experts.
• Find articles: Look for articles ranking popular influencers in your specific niche and reach out to their authors. They usually come in the way of “top travel influencers” or “best marketing tools.”
• Podcasts: Search for popular podcasts in your niche. Hosts and frequent guests often have significant influence within their communities.
• Analyze competitor collaborations: Study your competitors’ influencer marketing strategies to identify which influencers they’re working with, and consider reaching out to similar or complementary creators.
• Outsource the process: Consider hiring a virtual assistant, specialized company, or influencer marketing agency to handle influencer research and outreach for you.
• Engage in industry events: Participate in webinars, conferences, and trade shows related to your field. These events often feature speakers and attendees who are influential in your industry.

This is a channel that’s not easy to master. Expect 80-90% of the influencers to not get results and 10-20% to bring you a lot of traffic. And when that happens, is best to be prepared.