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Tip: Expand your reach on the cheap with micro-influencers

Influencer marketing can be pricey. Get in front of a new audience without breaking the bank by working with micro-influencers.

Big influencers are pricey — we're talking at least $1,000 for a post to 80,000+ followers. Micro-influencers, however, have highly engaged followings, and they only cost roughly $193 per post (up to 1,000 followers). Some are even happy to be compensated with the product alone. Darko of Zero to Users says his research has revealed that a number of indie hackers have had success with this. And he suggests using Twitter, as it tends to be the cheapest platform. When choosing a micro-influencer, confirm that their followers are in your target market, and make a decision based on their engagement; not the size of their following. Check out their content to make sure their values are aligned with your product. Then reach out. Consider giving them free access if they aren't already a customer, so that they become a fan of the product. Then give them free rein to write what they want in their own voice. And of course, make sure they prominently disclose that the post is a paid promotion.

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  1. 2

    I'd clarify that the 'type' of post has a big impact on ROI. For example, if you do a giveaway collab post with an influencer, users will have to follow certain steps to enter. Instagram has a significantly larger user base and has the most giveaways (so people know how to participate), so that's where we've had the most luck.

    Example of how it works:

    1. Find an influencer in your niche
    2. Partner with them on a giveaway (you're still paying them for a post, it's just a giveaway post)
    3. Have them use giveaway rules such as: 1) Like this post, 2) Follow me and @yourcompany, and 3) Tag 3 friends

    Those giveaway rules, especially the "Tag 3 friends" get you exposed to more people through the tags (lookalike audiences). And since most of us are SaaS companies, the giveaway prize could just be X months of a free subscription, which the cost is essentially zero. And once your following gets big enough, you can just run your own giveaways since they are pretty simple.

    There are many free giveaway apps like Popsmash that can track the entries and pick a random giveaway winner for you, so your only cost is what you pay the influencer. Pro tip: there are bunch of paid giveaway apps, but just stick to the free ones, they are usually better. I've used them all. Save your money for the high quality influencers (regardless of audience size) that best represent your target customer to boost your conversion rate.

    1. 1

      Nice, thanks for weighing in! 💪

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