So I had this creator I had been following for a while. I always loved her content. One day I noticed a post that looked like it could have been sponsored, and I thought to myself, she would be a great fit to promote my product.

I reached out. She got back to me quickly and said yes. She explained that she only works with brands that align with her and her audience, and she thought my product would be a good fit. The price for the post would be just under four digits, and she offered to include a few stories to give it an extra push.

I did not know if I was getting a good deal or not. I also knew there was no way I would make that back in product sales alone. But I told myself, if I looked at it as more than just immediate revenue, if I thought about brand visibility and reaching a new audience, maybe it could still be worth it. It felt like an investment in my brand.

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The Post

The content was delivered quickly, and at first I thought, wow, this is amazing. I even wondered if it could really be this easy every time. Looking back, I realize I was just lucky that it went so smoothly, because I had no contract, no deadlines, and nothing to hold anyone accountable if things had gone differently.

Then the post went up, and I was eager to see how it would perform. I kept checking back. There was some interaction, but the activity felt lower than her usual posts.

As a business head I wanted to understand what was really happening. All I could see were comments, likes, and shares. Was it reaching her audience? Should I run an ad on top of it? I did not know. I wanted real data, but I could not tell if what I was seeing was normal or not.

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The Realization

That is when I started to see the problem. Running a collab by yourself feels simple, but you are really just buying a post. Without reporting, you are guessing. Without data, you do not know how engaged the followers actually are.

It gave me visibility, sure. But I walked away without answers. Not every collab delivers, and you never really know what you are paying for.

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The Takeaway

If I was to do it again I would definitely hire someone to manage it because I did see value in the experience. I know it is the right way forward, people are doing it every day. But that was just one person on my radar.

What if I had worked with other creators? What if I had chosen a mix of audiences, some bigger, some smaller, to see how they perform together? How much more could I have sold, and maybe for less?

I would do it again, but I would do it smarter. Since I have done it once, I am not walking in blind anymore.

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