Happy New Year.

Feels like nothing slowed down after COVID.

Anyway, back to the internet being the internet.

Last week, I saw someone saying on Facebook, “Influencer marketing is dead.”

Is it?

Two scrolls later, I read a story on Business Insider that Unilever told its teams to work with 20 times more creators, not as a test, but as a main plan.

Big brands don’t scale stuff like that for fun.

They do it because it sells.

Yes, influencer or creator marketing didn’t die. It got more serious. More tracked. More like ads, but with humans.

So why am I telling you this?

Because if you’re hustling to grow anything online, you can actually use what the big brands are doing, just on a smaller scale.

➡️ Stop paying for random shoutouts.

Look for creators who already talk to your exact audience, and build a simple partnership.

If you want a quick list of tools that make this easier (finding creators, tracking, managing deals), I’ve put them here on this blog post.

➡️ Track outcomes, not likes.

Choose one goal for each collab, like getting email signups, free trials, or sales. If you can’t track it, it’s a waste.

➡️ Use a one-page creator brief.

Keep it simple: who you’re targeting, what they should post, what success looks like, and the deadline.

➡️ Treat your budget like ad spend.

Set a cap. Know your max cost per signup or sale. Don’t “just try it” with money you’ll miss.

➡️ Start low-risk if you sell on Shopify.

Shopify Collabs lets you work with creators and pay commission when sales happen. It’s free to start for eligible Shopify plans.

So, you don’t need lots of money. You just need a clear goal and a simple, smart test.

Stay curious,

Minosh.

PS: Want to see what’s helping other sellers earn on Shopify? Give this post a read.