Hey everyone, I’m Alex, and I run a small marketing agency that works with Russian beauty and lifestyle brands looking to expand into the US market. We’ve been doing this for about two years now, and I’ve learned the hard way that throwing money at random US creators doesn’t work.
The challenge we keep running into: Russian brands have very specific expectations about aesthetics, messaging tone, and audience demographics. But when we pitch to US creators, there’s often a disconnect. They don’t understand the cultural nuances, or worse, they do but they price it like a completely custom project.
What I’ve realized is that vetting isn’t just about follower count or engagement rates anymore. It’s about finding creators who actually get cross-market collaboration and aren’t spooked by working with international brands. I need to understand their experience with bilingual campaigns, whether they’ve worked with similar brands before, and if they’re genuinely interested in building a real partnership versus just taking a one-off paid gig.
The problem is, cold outreach to 50 creators and getting 2-3 responses is soul-crushing. There has to be a better way to vet and connect with people who are actually aligned.
How do people here actually evaluate a potential US creator partner before committing serious time and budget to a conversation? What’s your process?
Alex, I love that you’re thinking about this strategically! From my experience connecting brands with creators, the vetting starts way earlier than most people think. Before you even pitch, spend time actually following their content—not just scrolling, but understanding their audience comments, how they engage, what brands they’ve already collaborated with.
Here’s what I do: I look for creators who already have at least one or two brand partnerships under their belt. That tells me they know how to handle briefs, deliver on timelines, and communicate professionally. Russian brands especially need that because the creative process can be more iterative than what some US creators are used to.
Also, don’t skip the “soft intro” phase. Instead of a hard pitch, try commenting genuinely on their content, sharing their work in your network, showing interest in them as a creator first. People respond so much better when they feel seen rather than sold to. That’s how real partnerships start.
Oh, and one more thing—ask for references. Seriously. Hit up brands they’ve worked with before and ask specific questions: Did they meet deadlines? Were they flexible with revisions? Did they understand the brief? A two-minute conversation with a previous partner can save you weeks of potential headaches.
Alex, I’d push back slightly on the vetting process. It’s not just about personality fit—you need actual data. When I evaluate a creator partnership, I pull their audience demographics, engagement rates by post type, and audience composition. For a Russian beauty brand entering the US market, you need to know: What percentage of their audience is actually in the US? What’s their engagement rate compared to their follower count? Are they engagement-farming or building real community?
I’ve seen too many agencies get burned because they picked a creator with great aesthetics but an audience that didn’t convert. Cold outreach sucks, but spray-and-pray evaluation is worse. The better approach is to build a shortlist of 15-20 creators who fit your demographic profile, then have structured conversations with maybe 5-7 of them. That’s still time, but it’s focused time.
Also, track everything. Even failed conversations teach you something about what does and doesn’t work for cross-market campaigns.
Alex, I’m dealing with the exact same problem but from the other side—my Russian SaaS startup is trying to hire US-based expertise for our go-to-market strategy. What I’ve learned is that the issue isn’t really about vetting procedures. It’s about access. Cold outreach is broken because you’re fishing in the wrong pond. You’re reaching out to creators who get 100+ pitches a week from random agencies.
What actually worked for us was joining communities and forums where creators and brands naturally hang out. Not as a recruiter, but as someone genuinely interested in learning and participating. Then, when you do reach out, you already have credibility because people have seen you in the community.
Have you tried that approach? Or are you staying strictly in the cold-outreach lane?
Good question, Alex (weird, same name). Here’s my take: vetting is a funnel, not a single gate. Layer 1 is portfolio review—does their aesthetic align with your brand’s vision? Layer 2 is audience analysis—demographics, engagement, sentiment. Layer 3 is soft outreach—comment, engage, gauge their openness to collaboration. Layer 4 is reference checks. Only then do you move to a real conversation.
The efficiency gain comes from being ruthless at each layer. If a creator doesn’t pass Layer 2, you move on. Don’t waste time on a soft intro to someone whose audience doesn’t fit. Also, batch your outreach. Instead of constant one-offs, set aside a week every quarter to do deep vetting and outreach. That keeps your pipeline healthy without burning you out.
One more thing: be upfront about your expectations and timeline in the initial pitch. That filters out creators who aren’t serious about cross-market work. Saves time on both sides.
Hey Alex! From the creator side, I’ll tell you what makes me actually want to work with an agency versus rolling my eyes at the pitch. First, they’ve actually watched my content. They know what I’m about, not just checking my follower count. Second, they’re transparent about budget and timeline upfront—no “let’s chat” conversations that go nowhere. Third, they explain why their brand is a good fit for me, not just why I’m a good fit for them.
For US creators working with Russian brands specifically, there’s usually a concern about communication and creative control. Like, will I have to do endless revisions? Will there be a language barrier that makes everything take twice as long? If your vetting process includes reassuring creators about those things, you’ll get way better responses.
Also, don’t just look at past partnerships. Look at whether a creator has a real community or just followers. I have way fewer followers than some people but way more actual engagement, and that’s what matters for real ROI. Most agencies miss that.
Alex, I think you’re asking the right question but maybe not framing it optimally. “Vetting a creator” is actually a two-way street. Yes, you need to assess fit, but the creator is also assessing you and your brand. If your vetting process feels one-sided or transactional, top creators will sense that and opt out.
Here’s the framework I use: (1) Identify creators whose audience demographics align with your target market. (2) Assess whether their content style matches your brand’s voice—not perfectly, but complementary. (3) Review past brand partnerships for quality and professionalism. (4) Have an exploratory conversation about their collaboration style and expectations. (5) Propose a small pilot project, not a massive commitment.
The pilot project is crucial for cross-market work because it gives both sides a low-risk way to build trust and understand each other’s workflows. You learn if they’re reliable, if communication is smooth, if the creative output matches expectations. Then you scale from there.
Cold outreach has low conversion because it skips all relationship-building. You’re just a stranger asking for something. Communities, referrals, and warm introductions change that dynamic entirely.