Jake Castillo's UGC Playbook: From the First Creator to 300

Key points

1. 1

   Creators are the input

   Influencer marketing was Cal AI's main growth channel. AI means more apps launch than ever, so more companies chase the same influencers, and large ones cost too much for a solo founder. Castillo uses UGC creators instead: everyday people who open a new account just for your app. Post a job on SideShift, or search for UGC creators on TikTok and Instagram. Pick people who talk to the camera and have one talking-head video past a million views. Start with 10 videos at $10 each. If they are good, move to 30 videos a month at $30 each, with bonuses at 100K, 500K and 1M views. Negotiate on a call, not by email.

   “the biggest lesson I learned from all of this is that good outputs start with great inputs and creators are your inputs”

2. 2

   Warm up the account before the brand appears

   The creator opens a new account for your app. For about 30 minutes a day they watch, like and comment in the niche, like a normal user. Then they post a few niche videos that do not mention your brand. TikTok and Instagram spot creator accounts that post branded content and shadowban them, so the videos never reach the algorithm. The warm-up proves the account is clean.

   “And then once you see a video breaks a thousand views, you can have them start posting actual branded content.”

3. 3

   Magic moment or painful problem

   Castillo calls the content format the most important step. First question: does the app have a magic moment, a feature so visual that viewers do a double take? Cal AI did. Then the creator tells the most viral story they can and shows the app at a natural point. Expect more views and a lower conversion rate. With no magic moment, ask whether the app solves a painful problem. If it does, open on the problem until viewers see themselves, then bring in the app, for fewer views and higher conversion. If neither is true, rethink the product or its positioning.

   “where you will have the creator make the most viral story they possibly can, and then find a natural point within that story”

4. 4

   Scale when revenue per 1,000 views beats the cost

   His worked example: $900 buys 30 videos, which get 600K views, a $1.50 CPM. At two installs per 1,000 views that is 1,200 installs. A 10% conversion rate gives 120 paying users, and at $20 each that is $2,400. So revenue per 1,000 views is $4. He calls two installs per 1,000 views the bare minimum. Below it you have a content problem or an app problem. New accounts are slow: 20 videos can sit under 5K views before the 21st gets 200K.

   “if I'm paying a $1.50 to acquire a customer that pays me $4, then I'm ready to scale.”

5. 5

   Assume every creator gets cut

   Each creator has to earn renewal with data. Castillo checks three things. Economics: did their views earn more than they cost? Intent: do the comments ask what the app is, or tag friends? Correlation: did a viral video line up with a download spike in App Store Connect? For each creator cut, bring in two. At about 50 active creators, hire one creator manager per 50. His rough ranges: about $10K a month at 5 to 10 creators, $100K to $200K at 50, and millions at 100 to 300.

   “And I start my analysis for every creator under the assumption that I'm going to cut everyone.”