Does anyone else feel like, as marketers, we’re constantly being asked to do more? More content, more reports, more results. More, more, more. 

Today, I’m giving you permission to do less. By doing less, you can move faster. And speed is an often overlooked competitive advantage.

Think about it.  

Can you, like, just stop doing some stuff? 

Hear me out.

The more tasks you have, the slower you’re moving. The more tasks you have, the less time you have to focus on the things that actually matter, like thinking, building relationships, and being creative.

Trimming the unnecessary from our workflows makes us faster and more focused. You can test more influencers, experiment, learn who or what works quickly, and give yourself a chance to grab opportunities.

If you do one thing this week/month, let it be this 👇

Examine each of your processes, find the unimportant tasks, and then stop or automate them. The result: You work more meaningful hours each week.

In the meantime, here are 3 things that might be slowing you down and how you can fix them.

Slow-mo #1 Your team has low autonomy 

There are far too many steps in influencer marketing to micromanage. Whether you have one influencer marketer or ten, every person on your team has to have enough freedom to make decisions. Going to a manager or founder for approval at every step slows things down too much. 

Andreea Moise, Influencer Marketing Consultant at HypeMaven recommends documenting the steps and strategies of your framework. 

Map out everything you need to do to take one influencer collaboration from ideation to execution and turn it into a referenceable handbook. This helps the whole team feel confident about moving forward without a manager's hand-holding. 

Update your handbook regularly as your strategy and workflows change. Mark a time in your calendar to do this every 3-6 months.

Slow-mo #2 Legal reviewzzzzzzzz

Another task that can slow you way down and take you off track is the unsexy but important legal sign-off. Your legal department needs to approve contracts before you start a creator collaboration. Sometimes, you even need their backing after the influencer content is delivered. 

While you can’t (and shouldn’t!) eliminate the legal stuff completely, you can speed things up at least a little. 

Lia Haberman, Creator Economy Expert of ICYMI advises you to do the prep work before you need legal.

Remember the handbook I mentioned before? Here’s how to use it to be proactive. Include contract templates your team can use with instructions on when and how to use them.

And in some cases (like gifting), you might not even need a contract. If you’re doing a small collab with a free product, the deal value isn’t high (e.g., $20–$100), and there are no unusual conditions... Why waste time creating a contract? Nobody will enforce it anyway.

Having a clear written record for everyone via email is enough.

Slo-mo #3: Rounds & rounds of content approvals

We all say we want to give creative freedom, yet we hold on to content approvals like they’re our safety blankie.

Content approvals will always take up time on an influencer marketing team's plate. And while it's tricky to remove those steps entirely, if your goal is to execute faster, consider whether there might be some specific scenarios where you give less creative input.

Think about cases like this: 

• The influencer is a trusted long-term partner

• They're promoting a product that they know well, or they're unlikely to get something wrong

• The creative concept is relatively simple

Is removing some or most of the approval steps in these cases possible to increase speed? 

Here’s something that Anna-Marie Klappenbach, the Community and Brand Marketing Lead at Aumio, tried. She reduced the time between briefing and posting. 

See how being fast lets creators and brands jump on trends? That’s the beauty of speed. You’re flexible and adaptable enough to be part of current conversations.

This might not make sense to you, but it’s an example of what can happen when you stop, pause, and evaluate your processes.

What’s everyone else NOT doing?

43% of influencer marketers are NOT using software tools to get and analyze influencer data.

Instead, about 37% are still going back and forth with creators asking for screenshots of their data.

Relying on creator screenshots is like working in reverse and in slow motion. You’re reaching out to people who might not be a fit and then waaaaaiting to hear back from them before you can even think about making a decision.

It’s far more efficient (and speedy) to contact only those who you know fit your criteria.

When evaluating your processes and considering what you can stop doing entirely, you should also consider what you can automate.

Google Sheets & screenshots work brilliantly up to a point. But if you want to move faster, software is the answer — and I’m not just saying this because I work at Modash. 🙈

Handpicked job openings

• Lush is looking for an Influencer Marketing Lead for North America. The role is remote within the U.S. 

• HeliosX is looking for an Influencers & Affiliates Lead in London, England. 

• Burga is looking for a German-speaking Influencer Marketing Manager. This role is remote. 

• Burga is also looking for a Polish-speaking Influencer Marketing Manager. 

• Velvet Caviar is looking for an Influencer Marketing Manager - Promotions & Partnerships in Brooklyn, New York, US. 

See you in the next issue of ROI!
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.