Finding YouTube influencers: 10 ways to find suitable creators

You can find YouTube influencers by searching for topics your customers care about. Combine a product or question with words such as review, explanation or comparison. Make a list of suitable video creators and review their recent videos and audience before contacting them. Do not choose based only on the number of subscribers: the creator must also fit your product and your plan.

Below, you will read where to search, how to compare creators and what to include in a proposal.

Finding YouTube influencers starts with the audience you want to reach

First write down who you want the video to be made for. What should that person get out of it? With that answer, you can search more precisely than by using only the name of your product.

• Audience: who uses your product? Which country do these people live in and what language do they speak?
• Topic: what questions do they have about your product or how to use it?
• Goal: do you want to explain something, raise awareness of your brand or send people to a product page?
• Budget: what can you pay for the creator’s work, the product and any additional costs?

A fictional example: you have a Belgian shop selling bicycle bags. You want to reach Dutch speaking people who cycle to work. In that case, do not search only for sports channels. Videos about cycling to work, rain and carrying belongings may be a better fit.

The creator’s place of residence does not show where all viewers live. A creator from Antwerp may also have many viewers from the Netherlands. Therefore, ask for viewer data if the country is important for your collaboration.

Finding YouTube creators: eight ways without a paid tool

Keep a list while searching. Note the channel link, a suitable video, the language and why the creator appeals to you. You do not need to assess every channel in detail yet. Do that once you have several potential candidates.

1. Search for your customers’ questions.

   For example, try “bicycle bag laptop rain” or “what to take on a bicycle to work” on YouTube. This helps you find creators who already explain your topic. Also try different words for the same question.

2. Search for reviews and comparisons.

   Add “review”, “test” or “compare” after your product type. Check whether the creator explains who the product is suitable for. A discussion of pros and cons shows more of the creator’s approach than enthusiastic footage alone.

3. Search through Google too.

   Try site:youtube.com fietstas review Nederlands. With site:youtube.com focus the search on YouTube. Then change the topic or language to continue searching.

4. Add a country or place.

   Use words such as “Belgium”, “Flanders”, “Netherlands” or a city that is important to you. This helps you find local topics. It does not prove that the viewers live there too.

5. View Shorts and hashtags.

   Search for a topic with a hashtag, such as #fietsen, and view the short videos. Then open a suitable creator’s channel. Do they also make the type of video you are looking for? A short demonstration is different from an in depth product test.

6. Follow collaborations between creators.

   Pay attention to guests, joint recordings and other channels mentioned by a creator. See who is involved in the video’s content. This can help you discover smaller channels that you did not find with your initial searches.

7. Ask your customers and look in groups.

   For example, ask: “Which YouTube creator helps you choose bicycle equipment?” Also see which videos people share in groups about your topic. Review a recommended channel yourself before adding it to your list.

8. Find creators from other platforms on YouTube.

   Have you come across a suitable creator on Instagram, TikTok or in a podcast? Check whether they also have an active YouTube channel. Assess the videos on that channel separately. Good results on another platform do not say enough about a YouTube collaboration.

Finding YouTube influencers through databases and Creator Partnerships

Is searching yourself not producing enough suitable creators? Then you can consider these two options. First check what they offer before paying for anything.

9. View a database or an agency’s directory.

   A database is a collection of creator profiles. Check whether you can search by YouTube, topic, language and country. Also ask how recent the data is. An agency may show only the creators it represents. The directory then does not include all possible candidates.

10. Check whether you can use Creator Partnerships.

    According to YouTube’s announcement Creator Partnerships is the successor to BrandConnect. Availability may differ by market and account.

    Check whether you can use this option with your account. If not, continue searching with the earlier methods and contact creators directly.

Assessing YouTube influencers by videos, audience and figures

For each serious candidate, review several recent videos that resemble your plan. Do not compare a twenty second video with a fifteen minute product test. Also choose videos that have been online for roughly the same length of time.

See how the creator explains the topic

Watch at least one suitable video all the way through. Is the explanation clear? Does the topic receive enough attention? Does the tone fit your brand? Also review earlier advertising. Does it fit the video or does it feel separate from it?

Then read some of the comments. Questions about use, price or experiences can show what viewers care about. Individual emojis or a sudden high number of comments do not by themselves prove how engaged the audience is.

Ask for the viewer data you need

Are you seriously interested? Then ask for recent figures about the audience as a whole. You do not need viewers’ names or other personal data.

For figures, always ask which period and which videos they concern. Can the creator not share something? Mark it as unknown in your overview. Do not fill in the answer yourself.

Calculate likes and comments as an additional indication

You can compare likes and comments with the number of views. Add the likes and comments together. Divide that number by the views and multiply the result by 100. This gives you a percentage. Count the same types of actions for each video.

A fictional example: a video has 6.000 views, 240 likes and 30 comments. Together, that is 270 actions. The full calculation is (240 + 30) ÷ 6.000 × 100 = 4,5%.

Those 270 actions do not necessarily come from 270 different people. Views are not a count of unique viewers either. The result therefore does not mean that 4,5% of viewers commented. Use the percentage alongside the content, audience and figures from comparable videos.

There is no fixed percentage that predicts a good collaboration for every channel. Bought views or subscribers do not prove genuine attention. They also do not guarantee customers, reach that arises automatically or results from your collaboration. Does a figure stand out? Ask for an explanation instead of immediately assuming that the creator bought numbers.

Approaching YouTube influencers: put your idea and agreements in writing

Use the business contact address that the creator makes public themselves. Briefly explain why you chose this particular channel. Mention a specific video, your idea, the desired period and your budget or how much flexibility you have in it.

You can adapt this fictional message:

Hi [name], your video about arriving at work dry is a good fit for our bicycle bags. We are looking for a Dutch speaking creator for an honest demonstration during a daily bicycle ride. Would you be interested in a paid collaboration in September? We are thinking of one video and have a budget of [amount]. We would appreciate your proposal, rate and recent data about the countries where your viewers are located. We do not want to use the video ourselves as an advertisement. If that changes later, we will make separate agreements about it.

Give the creator room to suggest their own idea. They can indicate which type of explanation suits the channel. Before agreeing, ask for a clear quotation. What is included in the price and what costs extra?

Then record these points:

• How many videos the creator will make and what type of videos they will be.
• When the video will appear.
• The fee, any tax and product costs.
• How you will check factual errors before publication.
• Whether you may use the footage yourself later, where and for how long.
• Which results the creator will share afterwards and when.
• What happens in the event of delay or cancellation.

Also agree on how you will assess the result. For an explanatory video, you can look at views and watch time. Do you want to send people to your website? Record how you will measure those visits. None of these figures alone proves that you sold more.

YouTube collaborations: make clear agreements about advertising

For paid product placement, sponsorship or endorsements, the creator must disclose this on YouTube. Local legal obligations also continue to apply. This is stated in YouTube’s explanation of paid promotion.

The disclosure on YouTube is therefore not your complete compliance check for the Netherlands or Belgium. Which additional obligations apply depends on the situation. Before publication, have the current rules for the relevant countries checked.

In any case, make agreements about the execution:

• Use a clear designation, such as “Advertisement” or “This video contains a paid collaboration with [brand]”.
• Agree where and when the creator will mention the collaboration, so viewers can easily recognise the advertising.
• Record who will handle the disclosure on YouTube.
• Also discuss free products and payment per purchase, not only a fixed monetary amount.
• Check claims about your product. Do not allow performance or results to be promised that you cannot substantiate.

These agreements are not a complete legal checklist for both countries. Have additional requirements assessed if, for example, you reach children or promote products with health claims.

Choosing YouTube influencers: compare your candidates with this checklist

Put your best candidates side by side. For each point, enter “yes”, “no” or “still need to ask”. This shows what you still need to find out before assigning the work.

• The creator covers topics that fit your product.
• The audience matches the language and country you want to reach.
• You have figures from several recent, comparable videos.
• The explanation and filming style fit your idea.
• You know what you are paying and what the creator will do for it.
• You have agreed whether you may use the footage and how you will check factual errors.
• The agreements about advertising and sharing results are in writing.

Does the audience or topic not fit? Do not let a large number of subscribers be the deciding factor. Are many questions still open? Ask them first. If in doubt, you can start with one clearly agreed assignment instead of immediately committing to a long series of videos.

Also read how creators work on their channels

Would you like to understand the creator’s perspective better? Then read about getting more YouTube subscribers and getting more likes on YouTube. To discuss how much editing your video requires, you can read the explanation of editing a YouTube video view it. If you are also considering paid options, our YouTube services lets you compare packages for subscribers and views, including the available quantities and prices.