How to build a creator shortlist in KALO IQ

Target shortlist sizes by campaign type:

• Paid micro campaign (3-5 creators posting): Start with 25-30 in your shortlist. With a 25-30% outreach response rate and 60-70% agreement rate from respondents, you need 15-20 responses to confirm 5 creators reliably.
• Gifting programme (20 products): Build a shortlist of 50-60 nano creators. Gift 40. Expect 15-25 to post organically.
• Macro campaign (1-2 large creators): Shortlist 8-10 options. Macro creators have lower response rates (10-20%) so you need a larger pool.

Run your filters in this order for best results:

1. Platform and niche first: These eliminate the most irrelevant results fastest
2. US audience percentage: Set 70%+ immediately - this is your non-negotiable filter for US campaigns
3. Follower range: Apply your tier target
4. Engagement rate: Apply your minimum threshold (3.5% for Instagram micro)
5. Contact available: Filter to only creators you can reach through KALO IQ - this prevents adding profiles to your shortlist that you cannot contact

Run the search and see how many results return. If fewer than 50, loosen one filter at a time (usually engagement rate or niche breadth) until you have a workable pool to shortlist from.

For each creator you are considering, check four things from their KALO IQ profile:

1. US audience percentage: Confirm it is above your threshold. Do not shortlist creators where this is unclear.
2. Engagement rate trend: Is it consistent or declining? A creator at 4.2% average who was at 6.5% six months ago is trending in the wrong direction.
3. Fake follower score: Should be below 30 for any paid campaign.
4. Recent post content: Click through to their actual profile and check the last 5 posts manually. Does the content quality, aesthetic and audience commentary match your brand?

Save evaluated creators to your campaign shortlist with a status tag: Strong (meets all criteria), Maybe (meets most, one concern) or Backup (meets criteria but second-tier fit). When you begin outreach, start with Strong, use Maybe if Strong responses fall short of your target count and hold Backup for last.

This three-tier system prevents the common shortlist problem of contacting 30 creators simultaneously, getting 20 responses and having more confirmed creators than your campaign budget covers.