Jaice builds your campaign structure, sets up your email flow, and gets you ready to launch. Once creators start applying, the work shifts to running the collaboration smoothly. This article covers everything that happens between the first application and the first post.
💬 Manage Negotiations and Counter-Offers
Before creators start applying, you need to set up Your Compensation Strategy
Once applications come in, here is how to handle the negotiation side.
Importance of negotiations
Negotiation is a normal and expected part of the process. Most successful partnerships involve some back and forth, on rate or deliverables, before both sides align. Engaging in that conversation often leads to stronger long-term collaborators.
Flat payment: you set the rate
You have two ways to approach flat fee negotiations, depending on how much flexibility you want to give creators upfront.
👉 Option 1: Let creators share their price first
Leave the flat fee amount open and activate the counter-offer option in your campaign settings. Creators will propose their rate when they apply. You review each proposal individually from the campaign module and accept, decline, or open the conversation from there.
👉 Option 2: You share your price first
Set a default flat fee in your campaign. Creators see your rate when they apply and accept or decline. You can optionally allow counter-offers, which lets creators propose a different rate if yours does not work for them.
In either case, once you and a creator align on a number, make sure both your price and their price are updated to match in the campaign before moving forward.
💡 Tip: If the rate feels off but the creator feels right, consider starting with a smaller deliverable before committing to a full campaign.
Commission: handle it in the conversation
Commission-based compensation does not go through the standard offer flow. Share the terms directly in your outreach email or campaign brief. Once a creator is approved, their affiliate link is generated automatically inside the campaign and can be shared via merge field.
🔄 Move Creators Through Your Campaign
Your campaign is built around a series of stages that mirror the collaboration lifecycle. Each stage unlocks the next action and triggers the corresponding email in your flow.
Moving creators forward
Your campaign is built around a series of stages that mirror the collaboration lifecycle. Each stage unlocks the next action and triggers the corresponding email in your flow.
A few things worth keeping in mind as you move creators forward:
Make sure creators apply through the campaign form. This is how you collect everything you need upfront: their shipping address, social handles, and any custom questions you added. Skipping this step means chasing that information manually later.
Approve creators promptly. Approval triggers the generation of their affiliate or tracked link inside the platform. Until a creator is approved, that link does not exist and cannot be shared via merge field in your emails. Creators also apply to multiple brands at once, so a fast response increases the chance your top picks stay committed to yours.
A decline does not have to close the door. If a creator is not right for this campaign, you can decline directly from the campaign module, individually or in bulk. It does not affect your relationship with them and does not prevent you from reaching out again in a future campaign. Many brands build a roster of creators they circle back to over time. Keep that in mind before dismissing someone outright.
From your campaign module, you can move creators to the next stage individually or in bulk. Filter by status, select the creators you want to action, and choose the next step.
Skipping stages
Even if a stage does not apply to your campaign, consider keeping it as a communication touchpoint rather than skipping it. Every stage is an opportunity to build trust and keep creators engaged.
No physical product? Use the shipping email to share their affiliate link, discount code, and any hashtags or keywords to use.
No draft review? Use the drafting email to express excitement, remind them to tag your brand, and keep the relationship warm.
To adapt a stage email, simply edit the template Jaice generated and replace the default content with whatever fits your context.
💡 Tip: Long-term creator relationships are built in the small moments between the big ones. A quick, thoughtful message at each stage goes a long way.
If you do need to skip a stage entirely, here is how:
Individually: Click the white arrow next to the creator to move them to the next stage without triggering an email.
In bulk: Select the creators you want to move, click Bulk Action, choose Move to next step, and deactivate the email option before confirming.
📦 Ship Products to Your Creators
If you offer product gifting to your creators, your shipping method will depend on how your store is set up.
Integrated stores (Shopify, WooCommerce, and others)
If your store is connected to Upfluence, shipping is one click from the campaign module. Select the creator, confirm their address, and the order processes directly through your store. Creator addresses are collected automatically when they apply.
No store integration
Go to Campaign Data in your campaign and export the creator list. This gives you their shipping addresses to fulfill orders through your usual process.
Match the shipment email to what you are sending
Jaice generates a shipment email template as part of your campaign flow. Before you send it, make sure the content matches exactly what the creator is receiving:
Physical product: include tracking information
Gift card: share the code directly in the email
No physical product: share the discount code, affiliate link, and any hashtags or keywords to use
This is also the right moment to remind creators to add their affiliate or tracked link to their Instagram Story link sticker, if Stories are part of their deliverables. Story traffic disappears fast. If they do not add the link, that performance data is lost.
✉️ Stay in Touch
Your email flow handles the big touchpoints automatically: invitation, approval, shipment, draft request, and beyond. But the flow is not the only way to reach creators inside your campaign.
When the flow takes care of it
Each time you move a creator to a new stage, the corresponding email sends automatically. This covers the moments that matter most without you having to think about them.
Jaice creates all your email templates as part of your campaign setup. Review them before launch and adjust the tone to match how your brand actually sounds.
Make every stage count
Even if a stage does not apply to your campaign, consider keeping it as a communication touchpoint rather than skipping it. Every stage is an opportunity to build trust and keep creators engaged.
No physical product? Use the shipping email to share their affiliate link, discount code, and any hashtags or keywords to use.
No draft review? Use the drafting email to express excitement, remind them to tag your brand, and keep the relationship warm.
To adapt a stage email, simply edit the template Jaice generated and replace the default content with whatever fits your context.
💡 Tip: Long-term creator relationships are built in the small moments between the big ones. A quick, thoughtful message at each stage goes a long way.
When to send a manual email
For everything in between (a personal check-in, last-minute update...) you can send a one-off email directly from the campaign module to an individual creator or a group. This does not affect the automated flow.
🎨 Content Approval and Drafts
Most content does not need a formal approval process. Over-managing creative direction slows everything down and tends to produce worse content.
Whether draft approval makes sense depends on your campaign type:
Gifting-only or commission campaigns: requiring a draft adds friction without much payoff. Creators working for product or a commission are already motivated to perform well. A formal review step can feel discouraging at that stage of the relationship.
Flat fee campaigns: you are paying for the deliverable, so asking to review it before it goes live is reasonable and expected.
If you do use draft approval, aim for a maximum of two rounds of feedback. Keep notes specific and actionable, and respond within 48 hours to maintain momentum.
Not requiring draft approval
You do not need to skip the drafting stage email entirely. Simply remove the draft submission link and replace it with a warm, casual message instead:
“We cannot wait to see what you create! Tag us when it goes live and let us know if you have any questions.”
This lands at exactly the right moment in the collaboration and keeps the relationship warm without implying a formal review process.
📅 Your Weekly Campaign Rhythm
Running a campaign does not have to feel like constant monitoring. A simple routine keeps everything moving without the overwhelm. In your campaign, you can filter creators by status at any time to get a clear view of who is at each stage. Use this filter as your starting point every time you check in.
Every day (or at your own pace, reactivity matters)
Check new applications and approve or decline quickly. Creators apply to multiple brands at once. A fast response significantly increases the chance they commit to yours.
Filter by stage to see who is at each step of the collaboration
Check who has been shipped to and who has not
Follow up with creators who have gone quiet or are late to post
Review any pending draft submissions and send feedback
Once a week
Report on your pipeline: track the percentage of creators in each stage (applied, approved, drafted, published) and compare against your initial objectives
At the end of the campaign
Export reporting and review what worked: creator size, content type, engagement, sales
Note what you would adjust for next time: compensation structure, outreach timing, brief clarity
⚡ Tools to Level Up
Upfluence MCP
Want to work smarter and faster? Upfluence’s MCP lets you connect the platform directly to AI tools, no technical skills needed. Search for creators, manage campaigns, and pull insights without ever leaving your workflow.
👉 Learn more about our MCP here.
API
For teams with development resources, our API goes even further, letting you integrate creator data and campaign actions directly into your own stack.
👉 Learn more about our API here.