I used to be the person who looked at a creator’s metrics, liked their content, and moved forward. Then I got burned—like, really burned—and now I have a whole vetting process that probably looks paranoid to the uninitiated.
Let me walk through the red flags I’ve learned to spot:
The Engagement Quality Problem
A creator with 100K followers and a 5% engagement rate should make you curious. That’s actually pretty high. But click into those comments and if 80% are bot-like (one-word responses, generic praise, no actual conversation), you have a problem. I started screenshotting comments and reading them like a person, not a metric. It’s time-consuming, but it saves you from wasting budget on fake influence.
The Partnership Portfolio Check
Look at what brands this creator has actually worked with. If they’re promoting “weight loss tea,” “crypto bounties,” and “mystery box subscriptions” all at once—that’s a signal they’re not selective about partnerships. They’re just taking money. Real creators, even smaller ones, are usually thoughtful about brand alignment. I now look for consistency in their partnership choices as a proxy for whether they care about audience trust.
The Transparency Test
Do they clearly disclose sponsored content? Do they use #ad or similar disclosures consistently? If they’re sloppy here, that’s a massive red flag. It suggests either they don’t understand FTC/platform regulations (incompetence) or they’re actively hiding sponsorships (dishonesty). Either way, not a partner I want to work with because it puts my brand’s reputation at risk.
The Communication Baseline
I now require an initial conversation with every creator before we even talk contract. Not a formal Zoom with their agent, but a real, back-and-forth discussion. In that conversation:
- How thoughtful are their questions about the product?
- Do they ask about campaign goals, or just the deliverables?
- How quickly do they respond?
- Do they try to understand audience fit, or assume it?
Creators who ask smart questions early tend to deliver smarter campaigns. Creators who just say “sure, what’s the brief?” often phone it in.
The Social Proof Archaeology
I check if the creator has ever gotten negative feedback or backlash from followers. Not like one random angry comment—that’s normal. But extended criticism about inauthenticity, or multiple instances where followers called out a creator for promoting garbage? That matters. A creator’s ability to maintain trust over time is more predictive of campaign success than their follower count ever will be.
The Financial Smell Test
If a creator’s rate seems impossibly low, ask why. Sometimes it’s because they’re eager to build portfolio work (fair). Sometimes it’s because they’re just not selective and treat every brand offer the same (problem). A creator who’s thoughtful about their rates—who can articulate why they charge what they charge—is someone who’s thought about their value. Lowballers often produce lowballed work.
The Forward-Looking Question
I always ask: “What would make this partnership go really well?” If they give a thoughtful answer about audience insights or collaboration approach, great. If they just say “if I get paid on time,” that tells me they’re thinking transactionally, not strategically.
Honestly? The upfront vetting time—maybe 2-3 hours per creator—has saved me from so many bad partnerships that now I see it as non-negotiable. The most expensive campaigns are the ones with partners who don’t actually care about results.
How thorough is your own vetting process? Are there red flags you’ve learned to spot that I might be missing?