Vetting: the 6-point score that filters fakes

Yesterday you built a list of 15-20 prospects. Today we filter them down to your final 5-8 using a 6-point rubric. This step matters because a single bad partnership can produce zero results and waste $100 of your $500 budget.

The 6-point rubric, scored 0-3 each (max score: 18):

Point 1: Audience location match (0-3)

Check the creator's tagged photo locations from the last 12 posts. What percentage are in your metro? - 0: Almost none (creator travels or lives elsewhere) - 1: Some tagged in your metro - 2: Most tagged in your metro - 3: Almost all in your metro, especially your neighborhood

How to check: scroll the creator's profile, click photos, look at the geotag underneath their name. You can also click the location to see if they're a regular at local places.

Point 2: Audience demographic match (0-3)

You can't see their followers directly, but you can infer from who comments. Look at the last 5 posts and click on 10 random commenters. Do they look like your target customer? - 0: Commenters don't match your target at all - 1: 30-40% match - 2: 50-70% match - 3: 70%+ match

This is the most overlooked check. A creator might have the right vibe but their followers are 80% in another country or another age bracket.

Point 3: Engagement rate (0-3)

Calculate: average likes on last 6 posts ÷ follower count × 100. - 0: Under 1.5% - 1: 1.5-3% - 2: 3-6% - 3: Over 6%

Important: this is for non-Reel posts. Reels have inflated engagement because of view counts.

Point 4: Comment quality (0-3)

Read 20 comments on the last 3 posts. Are they: - 0: Mostly emojis or generic ("fire!" "wow!" "love this!") - 1: Some substantive but mostly low-effort - 2: Half are real conversations - 3: Mostly substantive conversations, multiple sentences

Real engagement looks like a conversation. Bot or low-quality engagement looks like a flood of "🔥🔥🔥" comments from accounts that comment on hundreds of posts a day.

Point 5: Brand fit (0-3)

Subjective but critical. Does their feed feel like a place your brand belongs? - 0: Feels off - 1: Could work but not ideal - 2: Good fit - 3: Perfect fit — their feed looks like it was made for your brand

Point 6: Posting consistency (0-3)

Check: when did they last post? How often do they post? - 0: Inactive for 14+ days, or sporadic - 1: 1 post in last 2 weeks - 2: 2-4 posts in last 2 weeks - 3: 5+ posts in last 2 weeks, consistent cadence

Consistent posters are more likely to actually deliver. Inconsistent ones might ghost you after taking the deal.

Scoring interpretation: - 15-18: Top tier — reach out first, offer your best deal - 11-14: Solid — reach out in batch 2 - 7-10: Backup — only reach out if your top picks decline - Under 7: Skip

The red flags that override any score:

Red flag 1: Bought followers. Signs include: - Sudden follower jumps with no content explanation - Engagement that doesn't scale with follower growth (40K followers, 80 likes per post) - Followers who are mostly accounts with no profile photo, no posts, generic names

Red flag 2: Pod activity. Engagement pods are groups of creators who agree to like and comment on each other's posts to inflate metrics. Signs: - Same 20-30 accounts commenting on every post - Generic comments from accounts that post in same style

Red flag 3: Inflammatory or polarizing content. Some creators thrive on controversy. That's their right, but probably not where your brand wants to be. Skim their last 30 posts for anything that would make a customer uncomfortable.

Red flag 4: Past sponsored content overload. If 40%+ of recent posts are sponsored, their audience has likely tuned out. Your post will be #7 of 10 sponsored posts and converts at half the rate.

Red flag 5: Doesn't disclose paid partnerships. FTC requires disclosure with #ad or "Paid partnership with..." Creators who don't disclose are putting you at legal risk. Skip.

Red flag 6: Their recent comments mention "Anyone else having issues with [creator]?" or "I unfollowed because of [reason]." Search their name on Reddit or Twitter — if there's recent controversy, skip until it settles.

The reverse check. After you've scored, also ask: "Would I be excited to see my brand in this person's feed?" If the answer is hesitant, skip them. Your gut is usually right.

Building your final shortlist. Sort your 15-20 by score. Take the top 8 with no red flags. These are your outreach targets for tomorrow.

A note on price expectations by score: - 15-18 score creators: charge $75-$150 for a single post (in your $500 budget) - 11-14 score creators: $50-$100 - 7-10 score creators: $25-$75 or product-trade only

Product-trade is when you give a free meal/service/product instead of cash. About 30% of micro creators in the 1-5K range will accept trade. This stretches your budget.

Tomorrow: the outreach DM that gets responses. We'll cover the exact script that gets 60% response rate vs. the script that gets 5%.