Choosing a campaign model

The campaign model is the kind of deal you offer creators. Deciding it now — before outreach — keeps your messaging and budget consistent, so you're not inventing terms creator by creator. This topic covers the main models and how to pick.

The wrong model quietly wastes budget: paying flat fees when you needed performance, or gifting when you needed guaranteed content on a deadline. The right model lines the creator's incentive up with your goal.

• Gifting / seeding — you send free product, they post if they like it. Lowest cash cost, least control, unpredictable output.
• Paid posts — a flat fee for agreed deliverables. Predictable and controllable; best when you need specific content on a timeline.
• Affiliate / ambassador — they earn a commission or code-based cut of sales. Low upfront, pay-for-performance; ambassador is the ongoing version.
• Hybrid — most real programs mix these: gift widely, pay proven performers, and put a code on everyone to track.

1. Start from your goal: content → paid/seeding; sales → affiliate/ambassador; reach → paid posts for audience fit.
2. If the budget is very tight, start with gifting + affiliate and pay only the winners.
3. Layer affiliate codes on every deal so you can attribute results regardless of model.
4. Write the chosen model into your outreach so terms stay consistent.

Example: a new snack brand with a sales goal and a small budget seeds 20 creators with free product, signs affiliate codes with all of them, and pays a flat fee to the three who post strongest. They only spend real cash where it's already working.

• Defaulting to flat fees when a performance deal fit better.
• Using one model for every creator regardless of fit.
• Skipping affiliate codes, so you can't attribute sales.

• Pick one primary model, then layer codes on top for tracking.
• Use gifting as a low-risk audition before you pay.
• Turn repeat winners into ambassadors for cheaper, better content over time.

• Match the model to the goal: content, sales, or reach.
• On a tight budget, gift widely and pay the winners.
• Put affiliate codes on everyone for tracking.

Last, define exactly who you're looking for.