TikTok marketing tactics from app founders

Register a benefit-named domain used only in the agency's organic videos (flightcheatcode.com for Jetpack; buyabusiness.com / buythebusinessyouwant.com for SMB Market) that redirects straight to the app/App Store. Separates organic creator traffic from paid ads, other agencies and in-house creators running at the same time, and is easier to remember than an unknown brand name. Used only for brands without a well-known or viral name (not needed for e.g. Polymarket). Tested on a couple of apps; SMB Market's domain went live a few weeks before the episode.

When a creator video reaches 10-20K views with at least 3% engagement, tell the creator to double down: repost the exact same video a few more times, and/or reshoot it in the same kitchen with the same script, changing only the spoken hook and text hook. Keep going while the reposts clear 10K views. Rationale: comparable videos differ mostly by timing and volume (Marilyn's 6.9M-view video was no better than a sibling video from another creator).

When a creator says they can 'easily get a million views', agree and add a minimum view clause a couple hundred thousand below that (e.g. 800K, or 700K after checking their page), framed as 'just for our safety' and 'so it's not stressful for you'. Payment is tied to hitting the floor each month. Check their actual numbers first so the floor is realistic and hit every month.

First month budget $2-4K. Each creator gets a guaranteed base retainer of $600-800 for 30-60 videos (roughly daily or twice-daily posts) plus a $1-2 CPM view bonus. Leave the bonus uncapped so viral videos pay off, or cap it to guarantee profitability. The single goal of month one is finding content-market fit.

Trial month: 1 feed video + 1 story per week (4 videos, 4 stories) plus tracked link in bio for the whole month, including TikTok stories. Price on average views/engagement, not followers: ~5,000 views/video -> ~$200 for the month; bigger creators up to $4,000/month. After the month, raise/keep/lower pay based on the creator's tracked signups; strong performers go straight to a 3-month deal.

4 dedicated outreach hires plus the team send the same DM on TikTok and Instagram (100+/day, 1,000+/week). First line: 'Paid promo / affiliate deal?' then a short app pitch and fit with their content. On reply, ask for their number, move to WhatsApp/iMessage and call immediately. Two marketing managers (friends trained by the founder on his own playbook) run calls, deals, contracts, payment, code/link setup and the video guide; founder takes calls with bigger creators. Outreach hires are briefed on exactly which creators to target.

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.

Message opens with 'Paid promo?' so it stands out among hundreds of DMs, then: 'Hey, I'm the founder of Locked. We're looking to partner with a select group of day in the life or self-improvement creators. Would you be down to hop on a call and discuss a deal?' When creators suggest DMs, push for a call; almost never negotiate over DMs.

Because Instagram can't carry a trackable link, the founder (or a personal account) comments something like 'I need this. What's the app called?'; the creator replies with the app name and pins the comment so curious viewers see it at the top of the comments.

To recruit creators, SideShift's co-founder Nick posted his own non-talking video (April of the prior year): big on-screen text 'I have a master's degree / PhD and couldn't find a job' at the bottom, pointing at a screen with facial expressions (hook + demo), riding job-market anger. Once cracked, the format was given to all creators; variants like 'I graduated from Yale and can't even get an interview'. A year later a campaign manager turned it into a one-minute talking-head story ('denied from a cashier's job, I have a master's degree') ending with 'but I'm making money with SideShift'.

Rank candidates by comment sentiment (e.g. 'what is that app?') first, then engagement rate, then average views. Spark when engagement is above ~7.5-10% or a video does 3-5x the account's average views. Let organic climb first: if still gaining (e.g. 100K/day) wait 1-2 days. Start with ~$20 (SideShift runs $50-100/day per video for a week); keep running while CPMs don't rise; CPMs usually rise when engagement falls from ~15% to ~5%, then kill it. Exclude sparked views from creator view bonuses. Can add an app-install anchor to track CPI. Spark can also be targeted by country/language/age.

Base rate per video historically $50-2,500 depending on talent (great creators get high base even without an audience). Bonus: $100 per 100,000 views on TikTok or Instagram. Individual deals may raise or lower either part. Roster size flexes with goals: up to ~1,000 creators when chasing views, a smaller group when chasing high-converting content for a specific audience.