---
title: Creator outreach at scale — funnel math, emails, calls and referrals
slug: creator-outreach-at-scale
summary: How Cal AI signed 2,000–3,000 creators from ~220,000 contacted (25 assistants sending ~2,000 emails a day, AI-handled replies, a sales call, $100–200 referral bonuses), plus Coconote's rule for spotting reachable creators and why relationships compound.
domain: mobile-apps
tags: [organic-growth, influencer-marketing, creator-outreach, operations, cal-ai]
related: [influencer-deal-pricing-rpm-and-flat-rates, content-creators-vs-influencers, ugc-program-management-and-coaching, ugc-creator-recruiting-and-pay, creator-niche-selection-by-audience-intent]
sources: [yt:l0vswWcGmMs, yt:22wFjjVyXUI, yt:Wg70HlO-5gY, yt:VGJWRjz6nq8, yt:qnDdabj8Fok]
updated: 2026-10-24
---

# Creator outreach at scale

## TL;DR
- Expect **~1% conversion**: Cal AI contacted **~220,000** influencers and signed **2,000–3,000**.[^1]
- Alfie Dickens's rough funnel per 100 emails: ~10 replies, ~2 calls, ~1 signed. Real numbers were often nearer 1 signed per 1,000.[^1]
- Volume: **25 outreach assistants × ~100 emails a day ≈ 2,000 a day**. **Email beats DMs** (DM limits, low reply rates unless you're famous).[^2][^3]
- Don't ask for a call in message one. Answer "what's your budget?" by pitching "seamless integration, long-term partnership, keep making your normal videos", *then* ask for a call. Calls ~**10×** the chance of signing on good terms.[^4][^5]
- Pay creators **$100–200 per referred friend** you sign — it also gets you around agents.[^6]
- Coconote's filter: a **Gmail address and 5–10K followers** with good engagement is the sweet spot; an agency email in the bio means "you're too late".[^7][^8]

## Details
**Cal AI's machine ([[people/alfie-dickens]]).**
- Started with ~5 marketing assistants doing ~100 contacts each a day; grew to 25, hired through an outsourcing company. Real output was often 40–70 a day.[^2][^3]
- After the first email, **AI handled the initial back-and-forth** and handed warm leads to a manager's calendar.[^3]
- Alfie's call script: get to know the creator first, then pitch "you keep doing what you're doing, just sneak the app in". Creators hate word-for-word scripts.[^9]
- Deals died almost only on price.[^10]
- Assistants got monthly prizes (cash, vouchers) for most contacts and most sign-ups via "referred by" tracking.[^11]
- Signing targets were 50+ creators a month, sometimes 100.[^12]
- Agents block deals a creator would take; Cal AI pushed to get the influencer themselves into the deal group chat.[^13][^6]
- Being less picky than most brands helped: Cal AI contacted creators in France, Germany, Spain, the UK and the US, and said yes whenever the app fit the video at a decent CPM.[^14]

**It's a grind ([[people/jake-castillo]]).** There's no secret: thousands of messages, mostly unanswered, painful negotiations, every day for 18 months. Jake sees the difficulty as the moat — competitors quit after a day.[^15][^16]

**Relationships compound.** Treat early creators as partners: Cal AI gave [[people/dawson-gibbs]] unprompted bonuses because he iterated on angles without nickel-and-diming, and happy creators refer friends.[^17] Dawson referred ~100 creators to Cal AI for a per-creator fee.[^18]

**Onboarding friction ([[people/drew-levin]]).** Script every step: outreach message → 5-minute call → Notion page to join the campaign and submit handles. If it isn't easy, the program never gets off the ground.[^19]

## Disagreements / caveats
- Cal AI's volume worked because fitness has a near-endless creator supply; in a small niche you'll run out of creators long before 220K.
- Nicole Cheung ([[ugc-creator-recruiting-and-pay]]) recruits mostly through inbound and Discord communities once established, rather than cold volume.

## See also
- [[content-creators-vs-influencers]]
- [[influencer-deal-pricing-rpm-and-flat-rates]]

[^1]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 35:21 — Alfie Dickens
[^2]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 34:06 — Alfie Dickens
[^3]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 44:25 — Alfie Dickens
[^4]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 37:39 — Alfie Dickens
[^5]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 39:15 — Alfie Dickens
[^6]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 45:33 — Alfie Dickens
[^7]: yt:Wg70HlO-5gY @ 24:43 — Zack Hargett
[^8]: yt:Wg70HlO-5gY @ 25:31 — Zack Hargett
[^9]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 07:05 — Alfie Dickens
[^10]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 40:46 — Alfie Dickens
[^11]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 42:20 — Alfie Dickens
[^12]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 16:12 — Alfie Dickens
[^13]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 46:35 — Alfie Dickens
[^14]: yt:l0vswWcGmMs @ 36:41 — Alfie Dickens
[^15]: yt:22wFjjVyXUI @ 43:33 — Jake Castillo
[^16]: yt:22wFjjVyXUI @ 44:25 — Jake Castillo
[^17]: yt:22wFjjVyXUI @ 06:35 — Jake Castillo
[^18]: yt:VGJWRjz6nq8 @ 04:09 — Dawson Gibbs
[^19]: yt:qnDdabj8Fok @ 14:02 — Drew Levin