Treating them like a target, instead of the real person they are.
Real creators need to trust you before they'll hand over 50% of their income to a stranger in their DMs.
I'm not saying mass DMs don't work entirely - they sometimes do.
I've signed creators from cold outreach before.
My point is, I've signed far more quality creators - creators who actually make money and actually stick around - using these systems than I ever did grinding out mass DMs.
And it didn't require sending thousands of messages that go nowhere.
Creators need to see expertise.
They need to feel safe.
They need to believe you actually know what you're doing.
Imagine how much easier your sales calls would be if creators already knew you were legit - if they'd already seen you help other creators scale - if they reached out to YOU instead of you chasing them.
How would that impact your close rate compared to a "cold" creator who's suspicious because you're the 7th agency in her DMs this week saying the exact same thing as the other 6?
Here's a real example:
A friend of mine was grinding mass DMs for months. Same story you probably know. Hundreds of messages. Barely any replies. Signed one or two bad creators out of desperation.
Then he tried something different.
He struck a deal with ONE female photographer in his city.
She took photos for OF creators. She knew dozens of them personally.
He offered her a cut for any creator she referred.
Over the next year:
She referred him 50+ creators. He signed 12 of them. Multiple hit 20K, 30K, 50K+ in revenue over their lifetime with him.
Total profit from that single relationship: Six figures.
He didn't send a single mass DM to get those creators.
He used a system.
It's time to stop grinding methods that stopped working two years ago.
It's time to start signing quality creators who actually make you money.