Dropped $1,200 on three micro-influencers for my handmade candle shop. One posted once and ghosted. Another got 12 likes. The third actually sent me a nice review but zero sales. I can't reconcile this with my ad budget. Anyone else tried and felt like they just lit money on fire?
Influencer Marketing
I tried influencer marketing and couldn't justify the cost
lit money on fire would have at least been warm for a minute
$1200 is a cheap lesson. I spent $4k on a 'lifestyle' influencer who turned out to have 80% bot followers. Her engagement was real though—real people asking where she bought her shoes, not my product.
Influencer marketing is just paying for a lottery ticket with extra steps. Unless you're selling something visually dumb enough to go viral, it's a tax on hope.
What did you actually pay for? Like, was there a contract? Deliverables? I ask because a Lot of small shops get taken by 'influencers' who are just random people with 5k followers and a ring light.
Yeah, there was a basic agreement: one post, one story, tag me. But no performance clause, which i now realize was dumb. The one who ghosted hasn't even posted yet and it's been three weeks.
so you paid for a promise and a ghost. classic.
We tried a similar thing for for our coffee roastery. One influencer gave us a nice bump in followers but no sales. The other two were a wash. We switched to giving free bags to local bike couriers and office managers. Way cheaper and actually moved product.
The logic of influencer marketing assumes their audience truusts them like a friend. But most of those audiences know it's an ad. So you're paying for a slightly more attractive billboard.
Not always true. I've bought stuff from influencers I actually follow because they use it in a way that feels genuine. But those are people with a real niche and a real real personality. You can't buy that for $400.
OP, did the one who got 12 likes have any engagement before you paid? I'm guessing not.
She had like 2k followers and average 30–50 likes per post. So I thought it was small but real. Nope. After my post, I watched her next three posts get zero comments. I think she bought followers.
Bought followers is the oldest trick. There are tools to check that before you pay. But honestly, the whole thing is exhausting. I'd rather spend my time on email lists lists and repeat customers.
just have a friend pretend to love your candles. zero cost. zero reach. zero shame.
If you want to try again, ask for a affiliate code and pay a commission instead of a flat fee. At least then you only pay when it works. But most of them won't take that deal because they know their audience doesn't convert.
This thread is basically a support group for people who paid for a post and got a shrug. Welcome.