🔺 Building Your Influencer Illuminati

Hey everyone,

Welcome back to another bite to chew on.

We have a confession to make…

We don’t know everything. This is a tough gig and things are changing all the time.

It’s why we’re open about sharing both our wins and our losses. Because there are lessons to learn in both.

It’s also why we are committed to meeting other smart people in the community and learning from them.

So today we’re giving the mic to Yash Chavan of SARAL.

We’ve used SARAL for years to help manage our influencer marketing, and we think Yash is one of the most plugged-in people in our network when it comes to this stuff.

So if things like building killer UGC and advocacy programs matter to you, make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this one (he’s added a special offer at the end)…

On the Menu:

• The New Marketing Playbook

• Why “Traditional Ads” Are Dying

• The Illuminati Model: Building Your Advocate Army

Hi Chew On This readers, Yash here…

… Founder & CEO of SARAL. We're building the operating system for influencer marketing (Think - a one stop shop for all your influencer needs - from discovery to outreach to affiliate tracking.)

Before starting SARAL, I ran an agency working with brands on their influencer strategies.

Now, I spend my days helping brands like Obvi, HomeCourt, Branch, and Salud build and scale their creator programs. You could say I've seen a thing or two about what works (and more importantly, what doesn't) in influencer marketing.

Today, I want to share a framework we've developed after working with 250+ brands - a simple but powerful way to structure your influencer program.

Before I dive into the how let me make a case for why influencers should be at the core of your marketing strategy →

The New Marketing Playbook

We live in an attention economy. That means your brand needs to be everywhere to stand out. If this was the 1990s, it would mean you buy every billboard in your city.

Think about where your target customers spend time… On their phones. They wake up and start scrolling. They scroll during lunch. They scroll before bed. Everything happens on screens now.

And you know who's dominating these screens? influencers. They're basically the new billboards, but with an added plus - people actually trust them.

If I asked you the what are the “Top DTC Brands” you know, I bet names like Gymshark, Liquid Death, and our friends at Obvi will pop up. You see them everywhere, right?

That's not by chance, it’s intentional.

They've built this powerful community of influencers who genuinely can't stop talking about them. It's their unfair advantage - something their competitors can't just copy. It's something they "own".

And that's exactly what I want you to take away from this: you need your own channel. Your own community of influencers who consistently talk about you, make content about you, and love what you're doing.

It goes without saying → This isn't something you build overnight. There's a whole strategy behind it, which I'm going to break down for you in just a minute.

Why ‘Traditional’ Ads Are Dying

Every other conversation I have with a customer goes like this: "Yash, ads are just not... working like they used to."

Let's think about this from first principles. How do you use Instagram and TikTok?

You scroll through your feed, right? It's your personal space, carefully curated. And what happens when an ad pops up? You probably scroll past it. Fast.

People don't like ads interrupting their feeds. At least not the boring ones. They don't want their scrolling interrupted by your "Buy Now!" message. Instead, you need to become an organic part of their feed.

And what's already on their feed? People they choose to follow. People they trust.

That's where your owned community comes in. When influencers talk about your brand organically, you're not interrupting - you're part of the conversation. Part of their feed. Part of their world.

I've seen this work again and again with brands. That's why I've developed a strategy - a model for building your influencer marketing program. I call it the… Illuminati model (cue dramatic music).

The Illuminati Model: Building Your Creator Army

Let's get into how you actually do this. And I mean really do this - not just theory, but the exact steps you need to take.

1. We'll start at the bottom of the pyramid → Product Seeding.

Think of this as your foundation.

You're sending free products to influencers in exchange for content. It's the lowest risk way to build your influencer community:

• You're only paying for product cost (COGS)

• You can test different creator niches

• Sometimes you'll even discover new customer groups you never thought about (like our friends at Gourmend Foods who found a whole new market with seeding)

• Most importantly, you'll find out which influencers actually love your product and could become long-term partners.

I’m sure you have questions. Let me tackle the most common ones I get about seeding:

"How do I pick the right influencer?"

Build what I call an 'Ideal Creator Profile'. Focus on niche, not numbers. I can't stress this enough.

A creator with 5K followers who speaks directly to your target audience is worth way more than someone with 100K random followers.

"What should I say in my emails?"

Tell them specifically why you picked them. Make it super easy to post. If you need templates, I’ve got them here (free and not gated).

"What if my product is expensive?"

If you're selling, say $3k furniture, you can't just send free stuff around.

Instead:

• Start with your existing customers who already have your product

• Be super selective with gifting

• Think product-for-content trades

• Focus on building fewer, but deeper relationships

The key with seeding is consistency. Aim for 50-100 new influencers per month. If this sounds like a lot, remember - this is your foundation. Everything else builds on this.

2. Now, let's talk about the second layer of our pyramid → the Ambassador Program.

This is where things get interesting. You take your best partners from the seeding program and give them more reasons to stick around.

"Who should I pick as ambassadors?"

Start with influencers who genuinely love your products. Look for consistent engagement, quality content, and authentic enthusiasm during the seeding phase.

"What perks should I offer?"

Think tiered commissions and perks. Obvi has done a great job at this, BTW.

Start with basics like commissions and monthly product refills, then increase rewards based on performance.

Higher sales = higher commission rates.

Example →

• Bronze: 10% commission

• Silver: 15% commission + monthly product

• Gold: 20% commission + monthly product + an exclusive perk.

"How do I keep them motivated?"

Run exclusive challenges. Create friendly competition. Maybe this month's top performer gets double commission, or the first to hit 10 sales gets a special product bundle.

Keep it fresh and exciting.

Note: This isn't just about paying people to post. It's about building a community of influencers who genuinely love your brand and want to grow with you.

3. The Top of the Pyramid → Custom Partnerships

I know I said this before, but, this is where it gets really interesting. The top 10-20% of your ambassadors graduate to become true partners in your brand's growth.

"What makes someone ready for a custom partnership?" Look for consistent performers from your ambassador program. These are influencers who not only drive sales but truly get your brand and have built a community that trusts them.

"What kind of deals should I offer?" Think beyond basic commission structures:

• Put them on retainer for consistent content

• Offer equity in your brand (yes, really!)

• Give them a seat at the product development table

• Create exclusive product lines with them

"How do I structure these partnerships?" 

Base it on data. Look at their past performance, engagement rates, and sales numbers. This reduces risk and helps you offer fair, performance-based deals.

The Big Picture: Your Marketing Moat

Here's what this pyramid builds into over 6 months:

• A base of 50-100 influencers getting seeded monthly

• About 30-40% of those moving up to become ambassadors

• 10-20% of those becoming true brand partners

The result → At least 100 ambassadors and 20-30 long-term partners posting about your brand 2-3 times every day.

That's not just marketing - that's a moat your competitors can't cross.

Think about it: While your competitors are still figuring out Meta Ads, you'll have built something they can't copy - a community that loves talking about you.

That's the power of the Illuminati Model.

Sum it Up

I could go on about this all day. But instead, why don't I show you?

We built SARAL to help you automate this entire process. From finding the right influencers to managing your ambassador program, we've got you covered.

If you want to see how brands like Obvi are doing this at scale, book a demo with me and mention "Chew on This" - I'll hook you up with an extended 14-day trial and throw in a $500 platform credit for the month of February.

P.S. Thanks to Ron & Ash for letting me take over this week!

Our pleasure Yash!

Till next time everyone,

Ron & Ash