Instagram Influencer Top: Why Email-in-Bio Signals a Serious Creator

Lydia Lee, a social media and influencer marketing veteran with over 15 years of experience building brands to Inc 5000 status, walks through her practical approach to sourcing creators on Instagram without relying on expensive software. She recommends starting by studying competitors and complementary brands, specifically looking at who is tagging them in posts and which creators they are already working with.

From there, Lydia filters her outreach list immediately by checking bios for listed email addresses, arguing that creators who include contact details are measurably more serious about their work. Her most counterintuitive point is the stock trader framing: influencers are long-term investments, not one-post transactions, and brands that expect immediate returns from a single sponsored post are misreading how creator marketing actually compounds over time.

Finding the right Instagram influencer top of your sourcing list matters less than building a repeatable system for evaluating and committing to the right people. Watch to see exactly how Lydia sequences these steps when starting from scratch with a brand new account and zero existing creator relationships.