---
url: https://superduperai.co/library/phase-two-trigger-paid-micro-creators/
title: Phase 2 trigger: when to pay micro-creators, and how much
description: Pay nobody until one video passes a view threshold AND its campaign link shows installs. Then 3-5 micro-creators in the same niche, paid per video or per million views, no retainer yet.
category: growth
platforms: [tiktok, reels, shorts]
works_with: [claude, chatgpt, any-llm, claude-code, manual]
tags: [paid-creators, micro-creators, ugc, phase-2, cost-per-install, creator-growth]
difficulty: intermediate
verified: false
created: 2026-11-01
skill: creator-growth
---

# Phase 2 trigger: when to pay micro-creators, and how much

Pay nobody until one video passes a view threshold AND its campaign link shows installs. Then 3-5 micro-creators in the same niche, paid per video or per million views, no retainer yet.

## Prompt

```text
Check the Phase 2 trigger for {app name} and, if it fires, write the creator brief.

TRIGGER (both must be true):
1. One video passed {view threshold, e.g. 100000} views.
2. That video's campaign link shows {install threshold} installs in App Store Connect or Play Console (installs, not clicks).
If either is false: stay in Phase 1, say which condition failed, stop.

If both are true:
- Hire 3-5 micro-creators in the same niche as the video that fired, not bigger creators in a wider niche.
- Pay per video ({per video fee}; $50-200 is the agency norm) or a bonus per views (about $1,000 per million views is the agency norm). No retainer until cost per install is known from these first videos.
- Brief: the format that fired (shot by shot, from the winning video), the output of the app to show, the one setting to show, the hook text, the length, the campaign link for that creator (ct = {platform}-{creator handle}), what not to say (no 'link in bio' in the voice track), delivery date, usage rights for the app's own accounts.
- Measurement: one campaign link per creator; judge after a week on installs per link. Cost per install = fee / installs. Only a creator whose cost per install is under {target CPI} gets a second video.

Output: the trigger verdict with the two numbers, then the brief as a one-page text a creator can read on a phone.
```

## Steps

1. Set the two thresholds in writing before any video goes up, so the trigger is a number and not a feeling.
2. Look for creators among the people who duet, stitch or comment on the video that fired; their audience already responded to the format.
3. Pay per video for the first round even if a creator asks for a retainer; the retainer comes after the cost per install is known.

## Tips

- Views without installs is a format that entertains and does not sell. It does not fire the trigger, however large the number.
- The agency's own advice to unfunded founders is: do it yourself first. The trigger is the point where that stops being true.
- Keep the winning video's shot list; it is the brief. Creators copy a video better than they follow a paragraph.

## Works with

- Claude: Paste into claude.ai or the Claude app.
- ChatGPT: Paste into ChatGPT; works with any GPT model.
- Any LLM: Model-agnostic: Gemini, Mistral, a local model.
- Claude Code: Runs as a skill or a prompt in the terminal; can read your files and write the result.
- By hand: No tool needed: a checklist or a technique.