Holiday marketing tip #7: Do an influencer collab, the genuine way

Petra Gönczi

09 Nov 2025 — 5 min read

Hi! 👋

If there's one marketing tactic I see very few—or close to none—artists and makers do, it's influencer marketing. Let me tell you why you should consider it anyway.

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Holiday marketing tip of the week 🎄

For this holiday marketing tip of the week, I'd like to explain why people might be so wary of influencer marketing, because I think it's important to get the whole picture, but if you're not interested in that, hop to the parts below 👇 where I give you actionable tips:

What to keep in mind if you'd like to try influencer marketing?
What are quick and easy ways to do influencer marketing as a creator, artist, or maker?

I think influencer marketing has a bad reputation, and I understand why that is. We've all encountered influencer content that was poorly crafted, or the link between the influencer and the brand they promoted was very weak and inauthentic.

It happens with every new and shiny thing in marketing (or in any other world). As influencer marketing became a much-talked-about tactic all those years ago, many brands hopped on its wagon, but many did so without being strategic about it. It was a "let's do it, because everybody is doing it" endeavor, which rarely leads to true, long-term success—in fact, it can be disastrous.

With all that said, influencer marketing can be effective and truly fruitful when done right. Maybe even more importantly, I'd like to emphasise that influencer marketing is not only for big brands—creators, artists, and makers with small creative businesses can invest in it, too.

And this is an important bit. Influencers can get so much hype, and with their huge follower bases, they might seem unreachable to small creative businesses. Asking them if they're interested in a collab might feel like walking up to a celebrity, and for so many, that's scary. But the truth is, we give them imaginary personalities and think of imaginary scenarios that might never match reality. That's human nature.

That's when you need a "Who cares? What's the fuss about?" attitude, and that's when you need to act quickly, while the question and the feeling last.

Honestly, who said a small creative business cannot reach out to an influencer? Do not limit yourself, your art, your products by saying no to an opportunity that could grow into a genuine, fruitful collab, even if it's a one-time thing. Sometimes a single moment of advertising can do wonders for a small business.

For further support, I'd like to give you some tips before you dive in.

What to keep in mind if you'd like to try influencer marketing?

The most important deciding factors have to do with picking out the right influencer. See how you two fit not just as humans, but as two brands. Also, don't be misled by big numbers.

You want an engaged audience on your partner's side, too (people who comment frequently and are visibly interested in keeping in touch with the given influencer, which you can tell by the content and message of their comments), and not "hollow" follower numbers.

Not every influencer is a good fit. Review, to your best ability, how your audiences overlap, if your values align, and if your brand and products are "safe" to appear in the influencer's content environment. Check what topics they talk about. What is their overall message? What issues do they stand by?
Start small. You don't need someone with millions of followers. In fact, small micro influencers often have more engaged communities. Relevance and authenticity are far more important.

Creators, artists, and makers will likely be more successful working with lifestyle influencers—those who talk about topics from daily life to interests, which, of course, can be specific to each person, from food to home decor.

For instance, imagine a ceramicist's mug in a YouTuber's hands as they're recording a sit-down video, talking about a topic that's important to them, while mentioning that this mug was a gift from a certain creator (you).

Maybe the mention happens in the video, maybe it'll happen in the description of the video with a tag, or in the comment section when viewers ask about it. Either way, sending one mug to one person can lead to new paths, new audiences, and new customers for you.

Which brings me to the next point—how to actually do influencer marketing?

What are quick and easy ways to do influencer marketing as a creator, artist, or maker?

Here are four ways you can do influencer marketing that are quick and easy, from simply sending a gift to your partner to organising a marketing activity together:

Send a thoughtful gift: Many influencers naturally share when they receive something unique. For this, reach out to the influencer and ask if they'd be okay with getting something you made, and if so, what address you can send it to.
Offer products for a holiday giveaway: Your influencer partner can share and promote the contest (alternatively, it can be visible on both of your profiles), you provide the prizes, and both of you get exposure.
Exclusive collab item: Make a limited-edition version of your product inspired by their brand or content. This could either be a gift only for them, or a second piece could be offered for a giveaway so their fans can win one, too.
Discount code partnership: Give their followers a unique discount—easy for you, valuable for them. This might work better once the influencer has already mentioned you, so people would be familiar with your name and work, and the discount simply becomes an added incentive. On the other hand, if offering a discount to their audience is something that feels authentic for the influencer, and it's certainly not a foreign idea in the holiday season anyway, then don't think too hard about it.

Whichever tactic you go with, make sure to synchronize both of your communication. Tag each other. Share each other's content. Thank each other publicly. Engage with each other's communities in the comment sections.

If you're a creator, artist, or maker, and you have questions about how to do an influencer collaboration, feel free to reach out at hello@thecreatorsdiary.com 👋. I have plenty of influencer marketing campaigns behind me, and I'm happy to nudge you in the right direction.

Creator snippet of the week 📌

Hanna runs a bookstagram account and recently posted about ways her followers can support small independent businesses this Christmas. Her post mentions creators who make stickers, bookmarks, vegan candles, home decor, tote bags, ceramic, and clay figurines.

All businesses are tagged so they're easy to find, and the second business mentioned also gave her a discount code: Hanna's followers get 10% off when they use her code at checkout with Lore & Whimsy.

I don't have information about whether that's part of an ongoing collaboration or the code was offered specifically for this post. Still, either way, it's a perfect example of how a creator can engage in a relevant, authentic, valuable influencer marketing activity.