Cal AI · B2C · AI calorie tracking app
Let creators make their normal videos; only set timing and a caption tag
Creators called it their easiest brand deal; keeps views predictable
Workedinfluencer
What they did
Don't force formats or scripts on influencers: only general guidelines on how to show the app, how many seconds in it should appear, and a tag to include in the caption. Otherwise full creative freedom. Reason: if a creator deviates from their usual format (infomercial-style 'let me tell you about Cal AI'), views collapse (e.g. 50K instead of the 1M the CPM was priced on); keeping the normal format lets you estimate average views with confidence.
What happened
Influencers said Cal AI was the easiest brand deal they ever had; views stay close to the creator's normal average
“with influencers, no, I try not to force any formats or rules on them, and instead, just give them general guidelines on how to integrate the app, and then from there, it's like let them cook, cuz they're the pros.”
“Yeah, show it in this way, we want it coming in within like this many seconds, et cetera. Um, the caption like should include this tag or whatever.”
“They always said we were the easiest brand deal they ever had, cuz we gave them full creative control.”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Cal AI
All 51 Cal AI tactics- Have 25 hired assistants each email 100 creators a day~220K creators contacted, 2-3K signed; roughly 1 signed per 1,000 emailed
- Pay big lifestyle creators to scan their breakfast in day-in-the-life vlogs, 4 times a monthMost profitable content; one video drove hundreds to thousands of promo code uses
- Show a spin wheel that lands on 80% off instead of just showing the discountDouble-digit conversion lift vs a plain discount screen in an A/B test
- Test creators beyond fitness: moms, comedy, and fitness sub-nichesMixed: some moms profitable at $10 CPM; comedy got views but low intent
- Agree with a creator's view boast, then guarantee 700-800K views when they claim 1MGuaranteed a profitable CPM on every deal; creators couldn't back down
- Pay creators $100-200 when a friend they refer signs a dealReally helped; got direct numbers and deals around talent agents
More from this episode
- Umax: Grow the app mainly through paid influencer postsScaled the app; became the playbook for Cal AI
- Cal AI: Pay fitness creators with no brand deals to scan their food on cameraTook off beyond expectations; grew to 300+ influencers
- Cal AI: Move the app mention earlier in videos until views start to dropSweet spot 20-30 seconds in; a friend's app peaks at 60 seconds
- Cal AI: Ask creators to post each video on both TikTok and InstagramMost creators agree when it's framed as no big deal
- Cal AI: Pay $350-450 for four posts plus view bonuses that stop at 1M viewsKeeps the upside of viral hits; founder gives no numbers
- Cal AI: Measure revenue per 1,000 views and pay creators a lower rate than that
- Cal AI: Match download spikes to each creator post while volume is still lowEarly on every video showed a clear spike; gets murky at scale
- Cal AI: Pick creators by average views per video, not follower countLow-follower, high-view creators accept reasonable rates; founder gives no numbers
- Cal AI: Price a creator on the average of their 5 worst of 20 recent videosMost deal videos land nearer the mean, so the rest is profit
- Cal AI: Only sign creators averaging 25K+ views; favor 25K-1M view creatorsFounder says the 25K-1M range converts best; no numbers
- Cal AI: Read a creator's comments for real community and click commenters to spot botsCommunity-style comments convert far better than emoji spam; founder gives no numbers
- Cal AI: Build a tool that sends contracts, briefs and daily text reminders to creatorsLet the team run 300+ influencers; founder calls it his best work
- Cal AI: Open 20 brand accounts so each outreach person can DM hundreds of creators dailyHundreds of creators contacted per account per day
- Cal AI: Send creators a recorded voice memo from a named person, reused for everyoneFounder says it worked well; no numbers
- Cal AI: Try new creator groups beyond fitness, like new momsNew moms worked
- Cal AI: Try mukbang eaters and UFC fighters as creatorsNeither niche worked
- Cal AI: Hire everyday creators to run app-only accounts copying proven viral formats
- Cal AI: Find UGC creators by searching 'UGC creator' on TikTok; pay $25-30 a video
- Cal AI: Run creator videos as ads at first, then make hard-sell ads that show the app earlyFounder says dedicated ad videos always convert better than organic ones
- Cal AI: Ask creators where their viewers live before signing them