skills/creator-marketing/references/partnership-playbook.md

# Partnership playbook

## Vetting

Assess relevance to buyer and product, recent content examples, sponsored vs organic work, delivery quality and unresolved audience fit. A follower tier is a description, not a performance forecast. Compare engagement only with matching formula, format, denominator and time window; medians and distribution can be more useful than one viral post. Ask finalists for dated audience geography/language, reach examples, past sponsored results and rate cards. Suspicious signals justify verification, not a fraud accusation. Review competitor conflicts and actual source coverage.

## Commercial scope

Separate production fee, organic posting, paid amplification permission, territory, duration, channels, editing/derivatives, raw files and exclusivity. Confirm account-based ad permissions independently of content licensing. State revisions, acceptance criteria, delivery dates, cancellation/payment milestones and reporting duties. Gifting offers no guaranteed post unless a separate deliverable is agreed. Cap commissions/bonuses in pilot scenarios; include product cost, delivery, rights and labor in total economics. Draft terms for review; do not imply a contract has been signed.

## Outreach and brief

A relevant first note references specific observed work, audience/product fit, the proposed collaboration and a clear question about interest/availability/quote. Avoid invented familiarity. Draft only; sending needs explicit authorization.

Brief: campaign goal, audience problem, verified product proof, two or three talking points, format and freedom, CTA/tracking, disclosure and claims review, dates, revisions and rights. Give creators room for honest experience. Check current official market/platform rules before legal specificity; if research is disallowed, leave rule validation as a prelaunch dependency.

## Measurement

Choose an objective before creator selection. Distinguish content-production cost from distribution acquisition cost. Track each placement with available links/codes and a defined conversion window; survey responses supplement rather than automatically add to tracked conversions. Report qualified leads/orders, net attributed revenue, returns/cancellations and total costs. Revenue/cost is attributed ROAS, not profit or causal incrementality. Calculate break-even only with supplied margin/commission assumptions. Small pilots prioritize learning and delivery reliability; do not guarantee statistical significance.

## Ambassador cadence

Start with evidence of genuine category/customer advocacy, define a manageable recurring ask, benefits and responsibilities, provide assets/tracking, assign an owner, and schedule performance/relationship reviews. Renewal depends on the agreed objective and total costs, not just posting volume. Commission payment systems, community operations and live ad execution are separate handoffs.