/work-with-creators-creator-discovery

name: work-with-creators-creator-discovery
description: >-
  Step of the work-with-creators playbook: builds and screens a long list of creators from fans,
  category creators and search, and ranks finalists to vet next. Run work-with-creators instead; not
  for direct use.
version: 0.1.0

creator-discovery

**Reads:** the plan (roles, platforms, tiers, geography); `brand_read` organic (the brand's and competitors' recent posts) and competitors; `social_inspiration_library` / `social_inspiration_search`; the existing roster (declined / never-again / already shortlisted); `../work-with-creators/references/discovery.md`; `../work-with-creators/references/data-sources.md`.

**Does:** 1. Free pass, all of it, before any paid read: creators tagged in or behind the brand's and rivals' recent organic posts (free in the brain; the founder's account for founder-led brands); rivals' partnership ads in the Meta Ad Library, read in the host browser; web search ("<category> creator tiktok", "best <concern> creators <year>", roundups and agency lists, "#ad <rival>", "<rival> partnership"); TikTok, Instagram and YouTube search, hashtag and profile pages in the host browser, read as a person would (no scripted paging); the brand's own tagged posts and brand-name mentions where the public page shows them (sentiment read); saved Inspiration outliers; creators the human named. An empty Inspiration library is normal — carry on. 2. Paid discovery only inside an approved top-up, to widen a thin free result: keyword and user search at volume, tagged posts behind a login, commenters under category leaders, lookalikes. 3. Long list: one line per creator — handle, platform, source, why surfaced. Open each profile before it goes on: the handle must match the name, niche and location the source gave (roundups often carry wrong handles). 4. Quick screen on the public profile (active ≤14 days, on-niche, language/geography, tier inside the plan, not a minor, bio and top posts clean, not declined/never-again). 5. Rank finalists by source strength (positive existing fans > proven in category > search) and screen notes; keep 10–25 for paid/UGC roles, 20–40 for a gift-only seeding wave in the free pass; mark each for full, light, UGC-rubric or B2B-branch vetting.

**Writes:** long list with screen results; finalist list with source, screen notes and vetting depth; in a top-up, the running sum of reported charges.

**Rules:** never rank on follower count. A creator found through one viral post goes forward only as "needs consistency check".