# Micro-Influencer Discovery Toolkit A working set of worksheets, scoring rubrics, and outreach templates used by ~200 small-brand founders building on CollabBook. Copy this file into your own Notion / Docs and fill it in. Nothing is gated, use it however you want. Pairs with the post: *How to find micro-influencers for a small brand in 2026* → https://collabbook.co/blog/find-micro-influencers-for-a-small-brand-in-2026/ — Dorcas Faleti, CollabBook --- ## 1. The Converting-Customer Worksheet (do this BEFORE you open Instagram) Fill in every blank. If you can't, you're not ready to brief or shortlist. - Age range (5-year window): __________ - Geography (top-30 metro, suburban, rural, global): __________ - Income proxy (monthly spend in your category): $______ /mo - Already follows ___ creators in your category (number) - Already buys from these 2–3 competitor brands: __________ - Has searched these 3 long-tail phrases in the last 90 days: __________ - The one belief that has to be true for them to buy from you: __________ If you can't fill the last line in a single sentence, stop and do positioning work first. Don't pay a creator to do it for you. --- ## 2. Platform-Native Discovery Cheat Sheet ### Instagram - Search "Accounts" tab with **long-tail phrases your customer types**, not single-word niches. - Bad: "fitness" → 4M results, all mass-market - Good: "marathon training brooklyn" → ~80 results, all targeted - Open the top 5 profiles → tap the **Suggested sidebar** → mine 5 adjacent creators per profile. - You should generate 25 candidates per query in under 20 minutes. ### TikTok - Pick a hashtag in the **50K–500K volume band**. Below = too narrow. Above = mass-market noise. - Sort by "Most Liked" → click into top 3 videos → watch the **duet / stitch chain**. - Each chain surfaces ~10 creators already in conversation with that audience. ### YouTube - Open Shorts feed → filter by niche keyword. - Hunt the gap: **Short with 50K+ views, channel with <100K subs.** That gap is engaged sub-community territory. Save the budget. You don't need a paid database for your first 50 candidates. --- ## 3. The 60-Second Engagement-Quality Scorecard For each candidate, screenshot 3 recent posts and score on 4 questions. Give 0, 1, or 2 per question. Max score per post = 8. Average across 3 posts. | Question | 0 | 1 | 2 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Are the comments complete sentences or just emoji? | Mostly emoji / "🔥🔥🔥" | Mixed | Mostly full sentences | | Does the creator reply to comments? | No replies | A few replies | Replies in every thread | | Are people asking product questions unsolicited? | None | 1–2 per post | 3+ per post | | Cross-platform footprint (newsletter, Discord, Substack, podcast) | Instagram-only | One other surface (small) | Two+ surfaces, one is opt-in (newsletter/list) | **Shortlist rule:** Anyone averaging 5+ goes on the shortlist. Anyone below 4 is a pass, regardless of follower count. --- ## 4. Deal-First DM Template (31% reply rate vs 6% for "let's chat") Copy and adapt. Keep it tight. > Hi [first name], I run [brand], we make [one-line product description]. I'd like to pay $[X] for one [Reel / TikTok / YouTube Short] featuring [product]. Timeline: live by [date, 2 weeks out]. Whitelisting rights for 30 days included. Funds will sit in escrow until your post is live + disclosed. > > Quick yes / no / counter? > >, [first name], [brand] Why this works: specific dollar amount, specific deliverable, specific rights, specific timeline, plus a trust signal (escrow). You're not making the creator do unpaid sales work to find the number. ### Pricing baseline (adjust on quality, not vibes) - **Base rate:** $100 per 10K followers per post - **Engagement-quality multiplier:** 1.5×–2× for creators scoring 6+ on the rubric above - **Whitelisting (running their post as your paid ad):** +30–50% on base. Pay it. Almost always the highest-ROI line item. - **Exclusivity (21-day, category, named competitors):** +15–25% --- ## 5. The 30-Day, $2,000 Compressed Loop If you're starting from zero: | Week | Spend | Action | | ---- | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | $0 | Write the converting-customer brief. Pull 30 candidates from native search. | | 2 | $0 | Score them on the rubric. Send deal-first DMs to your top 10. | | 3 | $1,500 | Sign contracts with the 3 who respond. Fund escrow. Brief them tightly. | | 4 | $0 (+ $500 reserve) | Posts go live. Run the proof-of-delivery checklist. Re-book the top performer for month 2. | Run this loop monthly. Iterate one variable at a time. Month 3 is when the math starts working. --- ## 6. The "Do This Every Month" Reminders - [ ] Re-score your existing roster on the 2x2 (see *When to re-book a creator vs. find a new one*) - [ ] Replenish top of funnel, 10 new candidates per month minimum - [ ] Re-book any creator who beat your target CAC by 2×, within 30 days, +10–15% rate - [ ] Drop anyone with a Cell 4 result, no second chances - [ ] Update the converting-customer worksheet quarterly, your customer drifts --- ## Related templates in this series - One-page Creator Brief Template → /blog/downloads/one-page-creator-brief-template.md - Two-page Creator Contract Template → /blog/downloads/two-page-creator-contract-template.md - Escrow vs. Deposit Calculator → /blog/downloads/escrow-vs-deposit-calculator.md - Proof-of-Delivery Checklist → /blog/downloads/proof-of-delivery-checklist.md - Creator Roster 2x2 Tracker → /blog/downloads/creator-roster-2x2-tracker.md If you want all of this wired together, discovery, contracts, escrow, proof of delivery, in one product, [join the CollabBook beta](https://collabbook.co/#waitlist).