The problem with ‘verified’ influencer pools + Free guide

‘Verified influencer’ sounds reassuring. It suggests previous campaigns, known performance and less risk for the next advertiser. But what exactly has been verified?
An influencer may have solid reach, consistent engagement and a history of generating FTDs. Yet none of those numbers tells you whether the acquired players stayed active or whether the campaign ever paid back.

When a ‘verified’ influencer has already failed elsewhere

A creator may deliver traffic that fails to pay back for one product and later be offered to another advertiser as a proven option. The agency may simply not have the data to know how that traffic performed after the first deposit.
Because agencies operate as intermediaries between creators and advertisers, they mainly have access to audience data, views, engagement, clicks, and, in some cases, FTDs. Retention, deposit behaviour, NGR and cohort payback, however, sit on the product side.
If the agency doesn’t have access to that data, the poor economics of a previous campaign may never factor into its assessment of the creator. Based on the metrics available to the agency, the influencer is still a strong option.

What FTD data doesn’t show

Consider two previous campaigns. Campaign A delivered 200 FTDs, while Campaign B delivered 50.
Based on FTD volume, Campaign A looks stronger. But if most of those 200 players deposited once while Campaign B’s players kept depositing and remained active, Campaign B may deliver better economics over time.
FTD volume is useful, but it isn’t enough to assess traffic quality. Deposit frequency, retention, NGR and payback show what happens to the acquired cohort after the first deposit.

What you can check before an integration

Retention and payback only become visible after launch. Before the first integration, it’s important to assess the creator using more than individual screenshots or standout content results.
One example is the creator’s own analytics for the past 28 days. This provides a more representative view of channel performance than a single high-performing piece of content.
This is only one part of the pre-launch assessment. The complete checklist is available in the guide below.

What ‘verified’ should mean for an advertiser

A creator can be called verified because the audience is real, the GEO matches or previous integrations generated FTDs. These indicators do not confirm whether previous cohorts actually paid back.
For an advertiser, this matters when deciding whether to continue working with a creator or increase the campaign budget.
When evaluating a verified influencer pool, you need to know which data was used to assess each creator.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 benchmarks in one guide

Makeberry Affiliates works as a direct advertiser, which gives the team access to product analytics beyond the first deposit. We used that experience to build the Makeberry Influence Guide for Tier 1 and Tier 2.
What payback period should you aim for? Which numbers should raise a red flag before launch? When is a creator ready to scale, and when should you stop?

The guide includes the benchmarks, checks and methods we use in practice. Get it for free via this Google Form.