How David Park built Jenni AI’s influencer team (cheaply)

Influencer marketing doesn’t have to be a mystery. Many brands pay agencies tens of thousands of dollars to find the right creators. But there’s a smarter way to uncover influencers without breaking the bank.

By manually following a curated list of influencers on a new Instagram or TikTok account, anyone can leverage platform algorithms to discover hidden gems.

Manually Follow Target Influencers to Leverage Platform Algorithms

Start by creating a new social media account dedicated solely to this purpose.

Follow a list of influencers in your niche, but don’t follow anyone else.

For example, if you’re in the fitness space, follow established fitness creators.

This keeps the algorithm focused on your target audience.

Engage Fully with Content to Trigger Algorithmic Recommendations

Watch their videos from start to finish. Like, comment, and interact with their posts.

This signals the algorithm to recommend similar creators.

Over time, your feed will fill with influencers in the same category, including emerging ones you might have missed otherwise.

Bypass Expensive Agencies with This DIY Approach

Agencies charge a premium to do what you can achieve yourself. By becoming your own user, you see exactly what the algorithm surfaces.

This hands-on approach saves money and gives you direct control over the discovery process.

Identify Hidden Gems with Low Follower Counts

One of the biggest advantages of this method is finding creators with incredible content but minimal followers.

Imagine discovering someone with just 10 followers who produces amazing videos. These creators are often undervalued and more open to partnerships.

Develop Intuitive Viral Prediction Skills

After consistent engagement, you’ll start to notice patterns. You’ll see a creator’s potential before they go viral.

For instance, you might watch a few videos and think, “This person is 10 videos away from blowing up.” That’s when you make your move before they blow up.

This allows you to find unrecognized talent.

Proactively Reach Out to Emerging Creators

Message or befriend these creators early. Offer collaborations or sponsorships while they’re still accessible.

For example, you could say, “I love your content and believe in your potential. Let’s work together.” Since its their first sponsorship, they will be cheaper.

Create Win-Win Partnerships with Early-Stage Influencers

Early support helps creators overcome posting insecurities.

By sponsoring content they’re already passionate about, you build long-term relationships.

They’ll appreciate your belief in them, and you’ll get great content at a lower cost.

Leverage This Strategy for Unbeatable Deals

This approach secures partnerships at lower rates. David Park from Jenni AI utilized this strategy to build out their influencer squad and take Jenni AI to $10 million ARR with a team of 20. Creators are grateful for early investment in their growth.

For instance, a creator might say, “Wow, I just started, and you already believe in me. I’d love to work with you.” It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

By following this strategy, you’ll uncover influencers others overlook, build meaningful partnerships, and save money in the process. It’s a calm, confident way to navigate the influencer landscape without relying on expensive agencies.

Top Tweets of the day

1/

One of my friends ran a prompt for me to create an e-book on Reddit Algorithm and the results were mind-blowing. The stuff it found out from the depths of the internet was incredible mostly due to semantic search.

It can search various keywords like "reddit algorithm", "reddit upvote", "reddit posting strategy", etc... and bring the best links from around the web.

I didn't get the hype until I saw the output. Unreal stuff if you want to learn something in-depth. Its like an Einstein that finds the best stuff from the web.

2/

Prompt-engineering is not going anywhere. The output quality with better prompting is unreal. It is the difference between solving a problem and not solving a problem. Extremely obvious when you write code.

Just had a prompt that Claude 3.7 Sonnet Thinking, Grok 3, and others couldn't solve it. But Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental did it but only when I prompted it correctly. It is extremely useful with long-context. When they say 1 million context window, it doesn't mean 1 million. It means probably 200k. The outputs get terrible after that.

3/

Ironically, VC-funded companies are like this now. You just have to outlast them till their money runs out.

Jeff Bezos laid out the strategy long time ago, "There are two kinds of companies, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second."

Current example is Gemini and DeepSeek eating both ChatGPT and Claude by giving away their API for free.

It is a flawed strategy if you don't have a business model that can sustain it. See Stable Diffusion. Gemini is funded by Google and DeepSeek has a quant-trading firm behind it.

Rabbit Holes

1. Elon Musk's 6 Rules to Get Ahead of 99% of People by Leila Hormozi

2. Study finds rude associates sell more in luxury stores by Tom Ryan

3. Quieting the lizard brain by Seth Godin

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