Influencer marketing is now an old enough discipline that the most painful mistakes are no longer about strategy but about due diligence. This checklist is the version we wish every brand had used before sending a contract.
Audience authenticity
Inspect follower growth curves for the previous twelve months. Sudden vertical jumps without a corresponding earned media event are a flag. Sample fifty comments on the last ten posts and assess whether they read like real engagement or copy-paste pods. Cross-check audience demographics against three independent estimation tools.
Content history and brand alignment
Read every post from the last twelve months. Yes, every one. Look for past brand partnerships in adjacent or competing categories, political content, and content that touches on your category negatively. The objective is not to find clean creators; it is to know what you are signing up for.
Commercial and operating fit
Confirm the creator works through a manager or directly, the typical contract turnaround time, the rights they will and will not grant, and their stated approach to disclosures. Creators who push back on disclosure language fail this checklist immediately.
Documentation
Every checklist response is dated, named, and stored alongside the contract. If the partnership later becomes a problem, this audit trail is what protects the team that approved it. If you cannot fill in this checklist, you are not ready to sign.
Last updated May 2026 · Filed under Templates