The problem
A creator has seven slots this week and a brand list of 40 products. They pick the one with the prettiest bottle. Two weeks later the video barely sells. Was it the video? Often, no. It was the product, and you could have seen that before anyone hit record.
The rule
Check the product before you check the script. A great video on the wrong product still loses.
Four questions, in this order:
- Is anyone making money on it? Look at the last month. If nobody is converting, your creator probably will not be the first.
- Is the money spread out, or stuck in one account? If one creator has most of the product’s sales, that is not a product that converts. That is one creator who converts. What the others make is your realistic number.
- How crowded is it? A product with hundreds of creators and flat sales is a crowd. A product with a few dozen and rising sales is a door.
- What is the payout? Commission times price times a realistic sales rate. If that does not cover the creator’s time, it is a hobby.
Say it to a creator
“The powder looks busy, but strip out the one big account and nobody is making money on it. The gummy is the slot.”
The example
Two products, same brand.
| Gummy | Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Videos above the money line, last 30 days | 84 | 9 |
| Top creator's share of sales | 22% | 71% |
| Creators posting, last 30 days | 380 | 1,400 |
| Commission | 15% | 8% |
| Price | $34 | $29 |
Powder
- More creators and a big top account. Looks busy
- Strip the top account out and the rest are making almost nothing
- Low commission on top
Gummy
- Fewer creators, more winners
- Money spread across them
- That is the slot
What not to do
Do not pick by the brand’s enthusiasm. Brands push what they need to move, not what converts. Do not pick by total sales. Total sales rewards the crowd, not the opportunity.
Do this in Verdict
- 1Enter the product on the Pre-Slot Screener. It runs the checks and flags the ones that fail.
- 2When the pool is lopsided, it shows what a normal creator makes on the product, not what the top one makes. Plan on that number.