01
Business action
What do we want a viewer to do?
Filled example
Check that the roof rack fits their vehicle, then buy it.
Why this answer matters
The team can now judge the purchase path, instead of treating views as the goal.
Free creator campaign decision worksheet
Know whether your next creator campaign deserves more budget.
For automotive ecommerce teams planning a paid creator campaign or reviewing one that already ran. In about 15 minutes, turn audience fit, campaign costs, sales evidence and contribution margin into a written Start, Repeat, Change, Stop or Hold decision.
Free to useAbout 15 minutesPlan or reviewNo sign-up to start
What you leave withDecision record
A campaign decision your team can act on.
“Change the purchase path before increasing spend.”
6guided campaign questions
1break-even sales calculator
1downloadable decision record
01 / Guided example
See how a completed worksheet reaches a decision.
Ridge Rack is a fictional automotive accessories brand used to demonstrate each question, the answer it produces and how those answers lead to a next-budget decision. The figures are illustrative, not a client result or industry benchmark.
QuestionCompleted answerWhy this answer matters
02
Buyer and creator fit
Why would this audience need it here?
Filled example
A car camping creator fits the roof rack to their SUV before a trip.
Why this answer matters
The product solves a visible problem inside the creator's normal content.
03
Offer and path
What will the viewer see and where will they go?
Filled example
A direct link should lead to a page where the viewer can check compatibility before buying.
Why this answer matters
This identifies the step that later became the campaign's first weak link.
04
Full cost
What is the total amount at risk?
Filled example
$4,000 creator + $1,500 management + $500 sample, shipping and production = $6,000.
Why this answer matters
Every campaign-created cost is counted once, in one currency and one test period.
05
Success rule
When and against what hurdle will we review?
Filled example
Review after 90 days. At a known 40% contribution margin, $15,000 in additional net sales would cover the $6,000 cost.
Why this answer matters
The 40% figure is fictional and already known in this example. A real brand should ask finance rather than guess.
06
Evidence
What can we actually count?
Filled example
Use a tagged link and creator code for 90 days. Record what each source counts; neither alone proves additional sales.
Why this answer matters
The team defines the evidence boundary before interpreting the result.
What happened
80,000video views
700tagged visits
50code orders
$10,000code-assigned net sales
Interested viewers ask about vehicle fitment, but the link leads to a general product page where that answer is hard to find. Code users may not have clicked the tagged link, so 50 ÷ 700 is not a valid conversion rate for these sources.
04 / Decide
Modify before a larger commitment.
Even if every code-assigned sale were additional, 40% of $10,000 gives $4,000 in contribution, still $2,000 below the $6,000 cost. That does not establish profitability. The brand also cannot prove the page caused the shortfall from these signals alone.
The ecommerce lead makes vehicle fitment easier to check on a direct product page. The campaign lead briefs a clearer reason to visit and verifies the link. The budget owner considers a smaller, capped follow-up test by May 15 in this fictional timeline. The next large spend stays on hold.
Now build your own campaign decision. Choose whether you are planning or reviewing. Each question will keep the relevant Ridge Rack answer beside your blank space as a guide.
Start my worksheet02 / Your path
Are you planning or reviewing?
Use the planning path before approving a paid creator campaign. Use the reviewing path after publication when you need to decide whether the campaign should be repeated, changed or stopped.
03 / Build your decision
Your campaign, guided by the example.
Choose planning or reviewing above. The fictional Ridge Rack answer will change with your path, giving you a practical reference while you complete your own campaign record.
Case in view
Ridge Rack: $6,000 spent · 700 tagged visits · 50 code orders · $10,000 code-assigned net sales. Its team changed the purchase path and held the next large spend.
Revisit the full exampleStart by choosing I am planning or I am reviewing above.
Choose a pathThe output
“Before we commit the next budget, we will [action] because [evidence or assumption], and [owner] will check [deciding fact] by [date].”
04 / Count the money
See the whole investment.
Use net sales after discounts and expected returns. Ask the finance or ecommerce owner for contribution margin before campaign cost, after the variable costs of making and fulfilling a sale.
A code or link can assign sales to a campaign. It cannot by itself establish how many sales were additional.
Planning hurdle
Worked example from the fictional Ridge Rack campaign
Campaign cost$6,000
Contribution margin40%
Additional net sales needed$15,000
Total cost includes the creator payment, service fee, product and shipping, production, paid distribution and other costs caused by the test. Count each once.
05 / Before launch
Five gates before a post goes live.
For each gap, name an owner and due date. Pending means hold launch until the gate passes.
- Business action, test idea, budget cap, success rule and review date are written down.
- Creator, fee, deliverables, usage rights, disclosures and approval process are agreed.
- Content, product claims, offer and action fit the real product-use story.
- Link, code, product page, price, inventory and checkout work for the viewer.
- Launch owner and results owner are named.
While it runs
Log publication, link or code changes, stockouts, price changes, new promotions, competing sponsors and content revisions with dates. The reviewer needs to know what the test actually was.
06 / Read the result
Find the first weak link.
Compare with this brand's own expectations or comparable activity. A pattern tells you what to investigate. It does not prove its cause.
Relevant attentionVisitsPurchasesContribution
What you seeCheck firstPossible next move
Little relevant attention
Audience fit, publication and the actual content.
Change creator, placement or story before spending more.
Attention, few visits
Reason to act, clarity of the next step and working link.
Make the action clearer or use a stronger product-use moment.
Visits, few purchases
Product findability, compatibility, stock, price and checkout.
Fix the purchase path or offer before retesting.
Orders, weak economics
All fees, net sales after discounts and returns, and margin.
Renegotiate, change scope or stop.
Unclear result
Mixed codes, links, time windows or other campaigns.
Repair measurement and run a smaller, cleaner test.
Do not treat a widely shared old discount code as proof that a new video sold the product. Record what the reporting source counts and over what period.
Your next move
Close the loop in five lines.
- We planned…
- We observed…
- The financial reading is…
- We will start, repeat, change or stop because…
- Owner, next action and date…
Use the worksheet to make a written call, even if some evidence is missing. Name what would change your mind and who will check it.
Return to my worksheet