YouTube Influencer: Why a 6-Month Runway Comes Before Outreach

Molly Cole, influencer marketing manager at Epic Gardening, walks through exactly how her team sources YouTube creators for a gardening brand where timing is everything. Unlike beauty partnerships where a product can ship and post within days, Molly explains that gardening collaborations often require a six-month runway, so she tracks what future projects creators are planning before ever pitching them.

She scouts by browsing recommended channels, watching suggested videos, and noting seasonal intentions, like a creator mentioning they want to start an orchard next year. When that matches a timely product launch, like Epic Gardening's new live goods line, she opens a relationship now and times the actual send for when planting conditions are right. Inbound interest has also grown because the brand now features guest creators on its own YouTube influencer channel, which drives creators to reach out directly.

Watch to see how Molly coordinates that inbound volume with her outbound sourcing process and allocates creators across their programs.