A major change has quietly rolled out in Creator Connections that impacts every Amazon influencer regardless of their creator tier level. Rob from Oink for Influencers explains how the new early access system for gold and platinum creators has fundamentally changed the landscape, why brand messaging sentiment is shifting, and what your new strategy should be whether you are bronze, silver, gold, or platinum.
Table of Contents
- The Shift in Brand Messaging Sentiment
- The Big Change That Snuck In
- Strategy for Gold and Platinum Creators
- Why Brands Love This Change
- The Impact on Bronze and Silver Creators
- New Strategy for Bronze and Silver Creators
- A Better Messaging Approach
- Watch the Full Video
The Shift in Brand Messaging Sentiment
Before discussing the big change, Rob notes an interesting trend he has been observing. Several high-level influencers who were doing brand messaging at a very high level have started moving away from it. Their response rates from brands have been declining, and messages that did get responses were not leading anywhere productive. This is not surprising given that brands are being absolutely slammed with messages from creators every time a new campaign launches. Some brands were sending out samples and not getting content back, which soured them on the whole process.
The Big Change That Snuck In
Right after the AWS outage, Amazon quietly changed how new Creator Connections campaigns are released. All new campaigns now go into early access status first, meaning gold and platinum creators see them for approximately a full week before bronze and silver creators get access. This is a dramatic expansion from the previous system where the head start was only a couple of days at most. Gold and platinum creators now have a significant window to work campaigns before lower-tier creators even know they exist.
Strategy for Gold and Platinum Creators
If you are gold or platinum, this change is a major benefit. During that first week of early access, the room is significantly less crowded. All the noise from bronze and silver creators messaging brands is simply not there anymore. This means your brand messages will get more visibility and likely a much higher response rate. Rob recommends focusing primarily on early access campaigns and working them hard during that first week. After the early access period ends and all tiers have access, the campaigns get noisy again, so the window of opportunity is that first week.
Why Brands Love This Change
From a brand’s perspective, this system is excellent. They still have plenty of collaboration opportunities, but they are no longer getting overwhelmed with messages. During that first week, every creator who reaches out has passed Amazon’s qualification test based on sales volume. Brands know that anyone messaging them during early access is a proven seller, making the influencer more reliable in terms of actually creating content if they receive a product. This builds trust and makes the collaboration process smoother for everyone.
The Impact on Bronze and Silver Creators
For bronze and silver creators, this change is unfortunately a significant detriment. Every new campaign that appears as a new release is not actually new. Gold and platinum creators have been working that campaign for at least a week. By the time bronze and silver creators see it, the brands have already been getting messages, already sent out samples, and already collaborated with who they wanted. The campaigns are essentially stale by the time lower-tier creators get access.
New Strategy for Bronze and Silver Creators
If you are bronze or silver, Rob recommends completely ignoring new releases in Creator Connections. Instead, change your sort order to potential commissions, start date, end date, or anything other than new releases. Look for campaigns that have been around for a couple of months but still have significant time remaining. These older campaigns are ones that people may have forgotten about, and you will have a much higher chance of getting responses compared to the freshly released campaigns that gold and platinum creators have already picked over.
A Better Messaging Approach
Cold outreach where you introduce yourself and ask for products is going to be increasingly difficult for bronze and silver creators. Instead, Rob suggests a warmer approach: after submitting video links to a campaign, follow up with a message saying you just submitted content and would love to collaborate further. This is not a cold outreach because you have already provided value. Rob reports getting much higher response rates with this follow-up method compared to traditional cold messaging. The days of simply reaching out and saying you like a brand’s products and asking them to send you samples are dwindling, so creativity in your messaging strategy is more important than ever.
Watch the Full Video
Watch the original video from Oink for Influencers on YouTube:
