Locked · B2C · gamified self-improvement to-do app
DM 500 creators a day from several verified accounts with 1,000+ followers
3-4% reply rate on Instagram, ~2% on TikTok; 5-10K creators contacted
Black hatWorkedinfluencercreator-ops
Black hat. Instagram and TikTok routinely purge bought followers and can ban the account. The FTC also bans buying them for business use.
What they did
Search Instagram/TikTok for niche terms (gym, self-improvement, day in the life), open each creator profile, paste the template DM, send, repeat. Each account hits a rate limit around 100 DMs/day, so run multiple sender accounts; buy 1,000+ followers for each and get it verified so it looks legitimate. Team sent 500+ DMs/day at peak; 5,000-10,000+ creators contacted in total.
What happened
~3-4% response on Instagram (with a verified 1K+ follower account), ~2% on TikTok; fed the creator program behind $14K+/month.
- Effort
- 5,000-10,000+ creators DMed; 500+ DMs/day at peak
“At- at the peak of Locked, when the whole team was locked in, we were sending over 500 DMs a day.”
“I typically see that we get hit with the rate limit around 100 DMs a day, and then of course they reset the next day. That's why we create multiple accounts.”
“We always bought over 1,000 followers to the account, then of course we get it verified.”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Locked
All 19 Locked tactics- Pay creators less per 1,000 views than you earn per 1,000 viewsOne $800 video: ~1M views, ~1,800 downloads, ~$3K; daily revenue doubled from ~$300
- Offer creators $500 per video with a 500,000-view minimum, or capped per-view payHis usual deal; keeps cost per 1,000 views under revenue per 1,000 views
- When people close the paywall, offer the yearly plan at half price ($20)
- Search your niche on TikTok and Instagram, DM creators 'Paid promo?', then callFounder says this is how he signs creators; no outreach numbers
- Pick creators with real comments on your topic; show the app in 15 secondsCredited for the ~1M-view video that drove ~$3K; renew creators who convert
- Turn a habit tracker into a game with characters, XP, badges and leaderboards
More from this episode
- Locked: Try Reddit, X, paid ads and influencers, then go all in on influencersInfluencers won clearly; no numbers given for the other channels
- Locked: Pay day-in-the-life creators to check off each task in the app on cameraOne ~1M-view video made $3K+ and the first $1,000 and 1,000-download days
- Locked: Start creator DMs with 'Paid promo?' and always move the deal to a callFounder says it stands out in flooded inboxes; no numbers
- Locked: Pay creators a flat fee, but they keep posting until a view target is hitBest of four deal types; works out to $1-2 per 1,000 views
- Locked: Pay creators $1-2 per 1,000 views with a cap, below what 1,000 views earns$1-2 CPM paid vs $3-4 revenue per 1,000 views
- Locked: Pay a flat $500 a video ($1,200 for four) only to reliably big creators
- Locked: Pay creators $250 per video plus $250 more at 250,000 views
- Locked: Post 'What's the app called?' under the video; creator replies with the name and pins itFounder says curious viewers find the app through it; no numbers
- Locked: Have creators show the app within 15 seconds; approve posts, then re-sign winners biggerProfitable creators renewed and moved to bigger deals; no numbers
- Locked: Pick creators by real comments and 5K+ views per video, not followersEarly follower-based picks with weak comments were the biggest mistake
- ProblemPal: Reuse your old TikTok account for each new app and pitch it head-onOne 200K-view 'finish homework in 10 seconds' video drove ProblemPal to $2K/month
- Locked: Turn a to-do list into a game with XP for Gen ZBecame his best app at $14K+/month