influencer ambassadors · brand ambassador program
How We Make Revenue With Influencers
For companies looking to get more and better influencers, or start their first influencer campaign. How we match your firm with influencer ambassadors that sell.
Key takeaways
- Hire influencer ambassadors for the long term, not one-off paid posts.
- Vet creators on hard data: returning viewers and how often brands re-sponsor them.
- Sponsor creators at all three funnel levels, not only bottom-of-funnel.
- A genuinely engaging sponsored segment can convert far better than a flat script read.
On this page
For companies looking to:
- Get more and better influencers, or
- Start their first influencer campaign.
AG1 grew from $160M to $600M in three years
AG1, the greens-supplement brand, built a brand-new marketing channel almost from nothing: creators.
Over three years, from 2021 to 2024, their revenue grew from $160M to $600M. That is roughly 55% compounding, year over year, off the back of the creator program you can see growing in the chart below.
Source: Influencer Advisory Database. CAGR = (600 / 160) ^ (1/3) − 1 ≈ 55% per year.
One sponsored video, and a slice of the creators behind the numbers
A single AG1 sponsored video.
A slice of the 290 creators, pulled from our database.
Brands only sponsor an influencer dozens of times if it is working
A lot of brands have attempted the same thing and have not pulled it off. Many still run only 10% of their channels through influencer marketing.
We wondered what actually separates the brands that come out on top, and we found one signal: their top influencers. Look at these two.
More Than Farmers (442K subs)
Sponsored, not a few times but dozens of times, by:
- 52 · Thrive Market (online organic grocery)
- 45 · Superb Sealing (home-canning lids and jars)
- 31 · Xero Shoes (barefoot shoes)
The Ramsey Show (1.14M subs)
A personal-finance show, sponsored dozens of times by:
- 24 · Mama Bear Legal Forms (online wills and legal forms)
- 21 · DeleteMe (removes your info from data-broker sites)
- 20 · BetterHelp (online therapy)
Over 30 sponsored videos on the list, one with over 52. Brands only sponsor an influencer this much if the influencer is actually performing.
See the exact sponsored videos, with every integration →
Every one of these deals is a row in our database.
This is just one of the dozens of signals we look at
You cannot eyeball this. Counting every sponsored integration across 167K creators and 19K brand deals is exactly the kind of signal our database surfaces.
Here is how we match your firm with influencers.
- From our own exclusive roster. We have many, but to find better fits we do not limit ourselves here.
- From our agency partners. We have been in the agency space for 5+ years, so we will ask a partner who might have the right influencer for your exact goal.
- By sourcing fresh talent ourselves. We go out and find, then negotiate with creators we think are genuinely aligned with your value proposition and products.
You go out of your way to do this because an influencer who actually cares about your product will post far more content, and they will not promote your competitor because they like your brand.
Our own database, plus a five-year agency network
Our own database of 167K creators and 19K brand deals.
Plus the agency partners we have built relationships with.
Conversions, not awareness
For business owners, conversions matter. Brand awareness on its own is not useful.
You want influencers that can sell, and do it risk-free. That is why we bring up the concept of ambassadors.
Who we are
We are a small team. We have members in Canada, Spain, South Africa and Australia. We cover multiple continents across multiple time zones.
Because we are small, you get a lot of care. You are never just a number to us.
Our primary customers are Direct To Consumer (DTC), local businesses and Software as a Service (SaaS) brands.
Some of our latest clients: TacPack, Doola, and many more.
We work with influencer ambassadors, not one-off influencers
This concept is very important. We have saved a lot of dollars with these principles, and we learned it the hard way through trial and error, so now you do not have to.
Most agencies just pay an influencer for one post. We do it differently. First we run a test. The influencer promotes your product in a few different ways, at different times, in the way that works best, and the whole time they have a reason to do their best work.
| Many one-off influencers | Instead, our influencer partners |
|---|---|
| Read a script with no emotion, which the audience can see is quite fake. | Speak in their own voice after using the product. They believe in it because they have used it and seen results. |
| Have no hook, so most people skip ahead of the advertisement and miss it fully. | Are emotional and tell stories with great hooks that keep the audience watching the entire advertisement. |
| After a flat fee, stop caring about the quality of production and creative. | Have an audience that would buy your products if they saw them in a store. The right fit, at the right time. |
| Do not care about exclusivity, and might promote your competitors afterwards. | Are chosen on data, not a gut feeling. How many returning viewers do they have? How many companies keep coming back to them? |
| Do not actually care about your company, so they will not accommodate you. |
Think Gymshark Athletes. The same concept, applied to your brand.
Gymshark recruited then-unknown fitness YouTubers and Instagrammers, gifted them gear, and built them into a formal stable of brand faces called the "Gymshark Athletes." Those creators' audiences became Gymshark's customer base, taking the brand from a garage to £500M+ in revenue and a $1.4B valuation, with roughly a third of social revenue traced to creator content.
Alani Nu launched in 2018 off founder Katy Hearn's own fitness following, then scaled on a rotating roster of micro-creators running codes and gifting. Revenue jumped from $68M (2020) to $228M (2021) and hit $595M by 2024, then Celsius bought it for $1.8B. Influencer-led the entire way, ending in a real exit.
Alani Nu even runs a dedicated ambassador account.
Every turn lowers your cost and raises your quality
- Select on data. Returning viewers and repeat sponsors, not follower counts.
- Test the fit. A few formats at different times, low spend, to see what lands.
- Scale winners. Double down on the creators and angles that actually convert.
- Build belief. Their own voice, exclusivity, and real stories about your product.
- Results compound. Sales and data sharpen the next pick, so each turn is cheaper and higher.
Each turn lowers your cost and raises your quality.
We do not count views as results
Creator vetting matters, but the creator strategy matters more. We have spent the last 5+ years, 9 hours a day, 250 days a year, on this one task: getting the best-quality influencers that bring the best results possible.
These are the metrics we actually look at.
2.4x, Higher lifetime value than cold-ad customers. Someone who buys through a creator they already trust sticks around and spends far more over time.
2 to 5x, Lower cost to acquire a customer. You pay a fraction of what cold ads charge to win each new customer.
21 to 75%, Higher landing-page conversion. Send a creator's traffic to a page built for that creator and many more of them actually buy.
152%, Higher repeat-purchase rate. Creator-acquired customers come back and buy again at more than double the rate of cold-acquired ones.
1.2 to 3x, More conversions when you retarget. Re-show your ad to the people a creator already warmed up and you convert far more of them.
12%, Less churn. Customers who came in through a creator cancel and drop off less often.
We solely focus on DTC, local and SaaS businesses
To be clear, we solely focus on helping DTC, local and SaaS businesses with any of the following.
- Help new customers find your company and buy your products.
- Get those customers to buy more things, more often.
- Launch new product lines with buzz and traction.
- Double down with influencers on holidays.
- Advertise in regulated markets while following platform and government rules.
- Expand to new countries and continents through trust-based influencers.
Influencers are one of the warmest touchpoints in the funnel
They can help convert many people who have seen and heard about you but have not yet bought. Here is how an influencer can fit into the funnel.
- TikTok video: they see an influencer use the product in a video.
- Instagram ad: days later, they see an ad showing before/after results or reviews.
- Google search: they search the brand name because they are curious.
- Website visit: they read the product page, but do not buy yet.
- Retargeting ad: later, they see another ad with that same influencer.
- Email or SMS offer: they get 10% off after signing up.
- Review and social proof: they see the influencer's content on the product page.
- Purchase: they finally buy.
It is easier to sell more to existing customers than to acquire new ones
Persuade your existing clientele to buy more of your products, and buy them more often. Reach them on more touchpoints, with more offers. Once someone buys once, having multiple products raises the chance they buy again.
| Video | Product | What it is | Date | Offer and framing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ Watch | Omega-3 Elixir | Omega-3 fish oil supplement | 2024-08-16 | A fish oil tested by an outside lab, so you know it is clean and strong and can trust what is in it. |
| ▶ Watch | Gorilla Mode Lightning | High-stim pre-workout powder | 2024-09-24 | The strongest pre-workout out there for people who want a big rush of energy to push hard in every workout. |
| ▶ Watch | Micronized Creatine | Creatine monohydrate powder | 2024-09-24 | A proven creatine that helps you get stronger and bigger without the puffiness or bloat some people expect. |
| ▶ Watch | Gorilla Mode Lightning | High-stim pre-workout powder | 2024-10-05 | A strong pre-workout with real data showing it helps you gain strength, so you get true results and not just hype. |
| ▶ Watch | Gorilla Mind Rush | All-day focus nootropic | 2025-08-05 | A focus pill that keeps your mind sharp and your energy up all day, from morning until you finish work. |
Example: Gorilla Mind x More Plates More Dates. The same company sponsoring the same creator with different products. Some people buy off the first video, but many will not need that first product, they will need another. That is where repeat sponsorships come in especially handy, particularly when you have more than one product.
Note: they also use different creatives and value propositions in different videos, to resonate with different parts of this creator's audience.
Same offer, local-language creators, market by market
We help brands use influencers in different regions when expanding their product lines, following the rules in every new market. We specialize in North American, European, and Asian markets. Using influencers is a way to fast-track your product's growth in a new region.
| Brand | Language | Country | Creator | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | German (de) | Germany | Luke Hilby | ▶ Watch |
| NordVPN | Spanish (es) | Spain | Alejavi Rivera | ▶ Watch |
| NordVPN | French (fr) | France | Les Freres Poulain | ▶ Watch |
| NordVPN | Italian (it) | Italy | Surry | ▶ Watch |
| NordVPN | English UK (en-GB) | United Kingdom | AndyReloads | ▶ Watch |
Example: NordVPN runs the same offer through local-language creators, one market at a time.
The three things we focus on
- Influencer ambassadors. We focus on hiring influencer ambassadors.
- Highly regulated products. We focus on advertising highly regulated products.
- A data company. We focus on being a data company. We gather tons of data from influencers, which lets us create campaigns based on hard facts.
Most brands only partner with bottom-of-the-funnel influencers
This is a common idea, but most brands do not apply it. Many brands will only partner with bottom-of-the-funnel influencers.
For example, hair loss brands will only sponsor creators who talk about hair loss. They lose a huge amount of potential customers by doing this.
We sponsor creators at all three levels of the funnel
We sponsor creators who target all three levels. This lets us put our sponsored videos in front of as many people as possible, for the best value. Here is what that looks like for a DTC brand selling a hair loss prevention serum.
Top of funnel. Highest volume, low conversion, cheap CPM, almost no competitors. Creators talking about fitness, lifestyle or sports. These tend to be bigger creators.
Middle of funnel. Mid volume, mid conversion, mid CPM, fewer competitors. Creators who optimize hormones and health and talk about their experience.
Bottom of funnel. Least volume, highest conversion, most expensive CPM. Creators who only talk about hair loss.
A mix of all three is usually the most effective strategy. Partnering only with bottom-funnel creators puts you in direct competition with rivals, because many of them sponsor those same creators.
When you move up to mid-funnel, a lot of people have not heard of your brand yet, and you are not competing in the same way. This is where vetting for alignment with audience interest becomes more important.
Offer 1 / Scale.
Our Scale Package
Built for enterprise businesses. If you are under $100 million a year, the Starter Plan is the better place to begin.
We get 75 targeted influencers in your niche to make videos about your brand, which adds up to 225 sponsored videos over three months.
New to creator marketing. We build your whole creator roster from scratch.
Already running creators. This is how you put a multiple on what you are already doing, adding the reach, structure, and consistency to scale.
Offer 1 / Scale.
What it costs
Total investment: $87,500 to $177,000 a month (over 3 months).
That is everything in one number: the spend that goes to the creators and all of the work we do for you on the next slide. The creator portion goes straight to them with no markup.
Offer 1 / Scale.
What that buys you
- 225 sponsored videos across 75 targeted influencers in your niche. One long video from each creator, every month, for three months.
- A strong spot in every video. 30 to 60 seconds, placed before the 12-minute mark so it actually gets seen.
- A full mention every time. Your brand named on screen, a link in the description, and a pinned comment.
- 6 to 18 million targeted views. Roughly 30,000 to 80,000 per video, from audiences already warmed up to buy.
Creators earn 5% to 12% on each first order. Where you land in that range comes down to your margin. The more margin you have, the more you can pay, and better pay brings you more loyal creators in your niche, the kind who go out of their way to post beyond the minimum deliverables.
Offer 1 / Scale.
What we do for you
All included. Everything below is already part of that one monthly investment, with no extra line items.
- We vet every creator against your actual buyers. Not just follower counts, but whether their audience genuinely overlaps with the people you sell to, using our own database of past performance.
- We screen for real engagement, not vanity reach. We filter out creators with inflated or low-intent audiences, so your spend goes to attention that actually converts.
- We check past sponsorship history. We look at how each creator performed on previous brand deals before we ever put them in front of you, so you are not the test run.
- We match on niche fit, not just size. A smaller creator deep in your niche often beats a bigger one with a scattered audience, and we know the difference because we have tracked it.
- We write the brief. Built around what makes your brand stand out, while still letting the creator sound like themselves.
- We check the rules. Every script reviewed against U.S., Canadian, and European guidelines, so nothing gets pulled or fined.
- We set up attribution properly. Your real cost per view, your sales, and your cost per sale tracked cleanly through Shopify or whatever tools you already use.
- You can reuse the videos. 90 days of usage rights for content and organic usage.
- We keep your rivals out. No competitor promotions for three months before and three months after.
Offer 2 / Starter.
Our Starter Plan
The same system as Scale, sized down so you can trial it, prove the numbers, and scale up once the results speak for themselves.
We line up 5 to 10 targeted influencers in your niche, each producing one long sponsored video a month over three months, which comes to 15 to 30 sponsored videos in all.
Offer 2 / Starter.
What it costs
Total investment: $15,500 to $20,500 a month (over 3 months).
That is everything in one number: the spend that goes to the creators and all of the work we do for you on the next slide. The creator portion goes straight to them with no markup.
Offer 2 / Starter.
What that buys you
- 15 to 30 sponsored videos across 5 to 10 targeted influencers in your niche. One long video from each creator, every month, for three months.
- A strong spot in every video. 30 to 60 seconds, placed before the 12-minute mark so it actually gets seen.
- A full mention every time. Your brand named on screen, a link in the description, and a pinned comment.
- 450,000 to 2.4 million targeted views. Roughly 30,000 to 80,000 per video, from audiences already warmed up to buy.
Creators earn 5% to 12% on each first order. Where you land in that range comes down to your margin. The more margin you have, the more you can pay, and better pay brings you more loyal creators in your niche, the kind who go out of their way to post beyond the minimum deliverables.
Offer 2 / Starter.
What we do for you
All included. Everything below is already part of that one monthly investment, with no extra line items.
- We vet every creator against your actual buyers. Not just follower counts, but whether their audience genuinely overlaps with the people you sell to, using our own database of past performance.
- We screen for real engagement, not vanity reach. We filter out creators with inflated or low-intent audiences, so your spend goes to attention that actually converts.
- We check past sponsorship history. We look at how each creator performed on previous brand deals before we ever put them in front of you, so you are not the test run.
- We match on niche fit, not just size. A smaller creator deep in your niche often beats a bigger one with a scattered audience, and we know the difference because we have tracked it.
- We write the brief. Built around what makes your brand stand out, while still letting the creator sound like themselves.
- We check the rules. Every script reviewed against U.S., Canadian, and European guidelines, so nothing gets pulled or fined.
- We set up attribution properly. Your real cost per view, your sales, and your cost per sale tracked cleanly through Shopify or whatever tools you already use.
- You can reuse the videos. 90 days of usage rights for content and organic usage.
- We keep your rivals out. No competitor promotions for three months before and three months after.
You can pick the right influencer and still get few conversions
We see it too often. You pick the right influencer, their stats look great, the sponsored video gets a ton of views, but it gets few conversions. Why? Well, if no one watches the sponsored segment, no one is going to buy.
On average, 20 to 54% of viewers skip sponsored segments. That is because all too often they sound like they are being forced to read a script. Many people see right through this, and they do not buy from influencers who are not authentic and do not stand behind the product.
A genuinely engaging sponsored video, with good production, can 10 to 20x conversion rates.
Here is what we look at when we build the creative
- Does the hook build curiosity? Curiosity is creating a question in people's minds that they need to find the answer to, which keeps them watching the whole sponsored segment.
- Does the segment transition naturally from what they were talking about into the product? Better yet, does it frame a problem and then offer the product as the solution?
Example of a really good sponsored video. In a video teaching interior design, someone might say: "I use this lamp, and it gives the whole room a really good look. Without the right lighting, the room just does not work."
A natural transition into your product makes people much more likely to buy, because they see the value in it. And conversion rates are much higher with it. That is why we partner you with ambassadors, where we focus on sponsoring videos that have the highest chance to convert.
A golden YouTube metric: how many regular viewers a creator has
These are the loyal members who actually have a high chance of buying. Anything above 5% is great. If a creator only has 1 or 2%, we are very careful. They might have bought fake followers, their audience may not engage, or they might just be riding a viral wave.
The number to read: monthly audience by watch behaviour. Regular viewers here are 8.9%, well above the 5% bar.
Where to find it: YouTube Studio, then Analytics, then the Audience tab, then "see more" under audience by watch behaviour.
Next steps
Pick a time below. Before the call we send the exact creator shortlist with rates. No pitch deck, no form-to-nowhere.
The best influencers, and the best creatives
We focus you on not only getting the best influencers, but also running the best creatives. On the call we walk you through both bad and good examples, so you can see exactly what makes a sponsored video convert.
Show me the examples on a call
Related reading
Frequently asked
How do brands actually make money with influencer marketing?
Brands earn revenue by hiring influencer ambassadors who sell, not by paying for one post. You vet creators on data like returning viewers and repeat sponsors, test a few formats at low spend, then scale the winners. Creator-acquired customers also show higher lifetime value and lower cost to acquire.
What is an influencer ambassador program?
An ambassador program builds a stable of creators who use your product and promote it in their own voice over time, with exclusivity so they do not push rivals. Think Gymshark Athletes or Alani Nu. Unlike one-off deals, ambassadors keep posting and care about results, which brings more loyal buyers.
How do you choose the right influencers for a brand?
We match on data, not gut feeling. We use our database of 167K creators and 19K brand deals to check returning viewers, repeat sponsors, real engagement, past sponsorship history, and niche fit against your actual buyers. We also tap agency partners and source fresh aligned talent when a better fit exists.
Why sponsor creators at all three funnel levels instead of only bottom of funnel?
Most brands only sponsor creators who talk about their exact product, so they compete with rivals for the same audience and miss buyers. Sponsoring top, middle, and bottom of funnel puts your videos in front of far more people for better value, with cheaper CPMs and fewer competitors higher up.