Influencer marketing, at its core, is supposed to be about relationships.

That’s the theory, anyway.

The reality? Looks very different.

Ask any influencer marketer what their day-to-day feels like, and the answer won’t sound like brand building. It won’t sound like creativity. It won’t sound like partnership.

It will sound like this: chasing approvals, clarifying briefs, nudging creators to post, explaining usage rights (again), and asking for the third time if they can please tag the brand correctly.

In other words: communication. Endless, exhausting, broken communication.

This isn’t marketing anymore. It’s logistics with a side of customer support.

This is what influencer marketing really looks like right now

In our latest survey, influencer marketers gave us a brutally honest look at how they spend their time.

Many are working with 11–50 creators each month. Managing that many relationships should be exciting, but it mostly feels overwhelming.

The scale alone creates complexity. Which is fine. Just add another row in your spreadsheet, right?

Not quite. That complexity quickly turns into chaos.

According to our data, marketers spend an average of 16 hours a week communicating with influencers. That covers everything from outreach and briefings to approvals, post-campaign reporting, and all the itty-bitty follow-ups in between.

It’s not one or two messages, either. On average, it takes 10 to 20+ messages per creator, per campaign to manage everything. And those conversations? They’re scattered across emails, DMs, Slack channels, spreadsheets, and sometimes even text threads, Discord servers, and Zoom calls.

When communication is this fragmented and time-consuming, cracks inevitably begin to show.

When communication breaks down it takes relationships with it

The first crack is confusion.

When briefs are unclear or scattered across different platforms, creators miss details. This isn’t about creators not caring. It’s about systems that make it almost impossible to stay aligned.

Fernanda Marques explained it like this:

In fact, marketers told us that misunderstandings and unclear instructions were among the most common reasons campaigns go sideways. When that happens, content doesn’t hit the mark. Frustration grows, and trust disappears — on both sides.

Next comes disengagement.

At scale, marketers often default to efficiency-first communication. That means generic outreach emails, templated briefs, and rushed messages. It gets the job done technically, but it turns relationships into transactions.

Creators feel that shift. In our survey, marketers themselves described their communication workflows with words like “manual,” “overwhelming,” “chaotic,” “hectic,” “long,” and “bitty.”

None of these words describe the foundation of a strong, lasting relationship.

Finally, all of this takes a toll on marketers.

Instead of focusing on strategy—growing programs, nurturing relationships, or crafting more creative briefs—marketers are stuck in admin mode. They chase responses, clarify tiny details, and update spreadsheets late into the evening.

At some point, this isn’t even communication anymore.

It’s herding cats. The cats ignore you, and you spend your day yelling into the void.
Whatever that is, it’s not marketing.

Why this matters now

It would be easy to frame this purely as an efficiency issue. “If only we could speed this up, everything would be fine.”

But the problem runs deeper. This isn’t just about wasted hours. It’s about the cost of broken relationships.

68% of marketers say communication bottlenecks damage relationships.

And honestly, how could they not? Imagine sending 12 DMs (and 2 emails) to set up a coffee with a friend, only for them to show up on the wrong day, at the wrong café.

That’s what influencer communication feels like right now. Too many messages. Too many missed signals. And by the end, nobody’s in the mood for coffee, let alone friendship.

When communication fails, creators don’t just miss deadlines — they disengage.

They stop prioritizing your brand. The content gets flatter. The campaigns become more transactional.

And in the long term? The best creators — the ones who care most— quietly move on. They choose brands that communicate better. Brands that make them feel like collaborators, not line items.

This isn’t theoretical. It’s already happening.

Creators are already clocking in and clocking out. They deliver, but they’re not pushing for great ideas. They aren’t sweating the details.

And who can blame them? Endless follow-ups, vague briefs, seven rounds of approvals, and no relationship to speak of.

The result? Brands get forgettable content. Audiences tune it out.

Influencer marketing becomes just more noise in the feed.

And when that happens, we don’t just lose campaigns.
We lose trust. And if influencer marketing loses trust, it loses everything.

What has to change 

This is influencer marketing right now.

Not because marketers don’t care. Not because creators are difficult. But because the systems and habits we’ve inherited make genuine relationships almost impossible.

It’s easy to accept this as normal. To believe that chasing, clarifying, and following up is just part of the job.

But it’s not normal. It’s broken.

If influencer marketing wants to move forward — if marketers want to be seen as brand builders, not inbox managers — the way we communicate has to change.

That’s the shift Modash is building for. Not to automate relationships, but to make great ones possible.

The marketers (and brands) who outpace their competitors will be the ones who understand this:

Influencer marketing doesn’t scale until relationships do.

Is this what you’re seeing and feeling right now? If this topic resonates with you, watch for the following few issues. I’ll be writing more about it throughout May. 

Handpicked job openings

• Kosas is looking for a Senior Manager of Influencer and Affiliate Marketing 

  in Los Angeles.  

• Atolea Jewelry is looking for an Influencer Marketing Manager. The role is remote in the USA.

• Bubble Skincare is looking for an Influencer Marketing Manager in New York, USA.

• Yoto is looking for a Senior Influencer Marketing Manager in London, England.

• Nothing is looking for a Senior Influencer & Culture Marketing Manager in London, England.  

See you next week!
Eleni Zoe xx
Marketing @ Modash. Say hi on LinkedIn or visit Modash.

📌A NOTE ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST READ

The tips in this newsletter might not be right for your specific case. Use good judgment when deciding whether to take advice from the internet—even mine. My team and I survey & interview influencer marketers whose advice and observations come from their direct experience. ROI is meant for you to connect the dots and be inspired or challenged to think about your influencer marketing in a way you haven’t before.