Sourdough Sidekick, creator engine

Ten creators, one feeder, one number to protect

A first roster of 10 creators for the Sourdough Sidekick, paid on views and held to a $1 cost per 1,000 views.

creators live by week six: 10
creator videos a month at the full roster: 303
weeks from the first creator to the full roster: 5

I set the day and time. The Sidekick did the feeding.

Illustrative: a creator films the Auto mode setup on her kitchen island, then shows the starter ready on the day she chose, and says it needs no discarding for up to a week.

Illustrative post

Summary

Creator engine summary
Roster	10 creators, live over six weeks	Two creators a week up to 10, by week: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.
Who	Home bakers and kitchen creators	Real kitchens, their own starter, clean comments. Starter, Standard and Premium bands by reach.
Production	7 videos a week each	303 videos a month at 10 creators, five formats, one variable per test.
Pay	Three bands, $300 base up to $1,500 cap	Starter $300 and $600, Standard $500 and $1,000, Premium $800 and $1,500: base pay, then cap.
Bonus	$50 flat above 100,000 views	One bonus per creator per month, organic views only. Cap bonuses: $300, $500, $700.
Compliance	Paid partnership label on every post	Claims sheet of approved lines. Anything else goes to #claims before filming.
Category rule	No health claims, ever	Creators describe what the Sidekick does, using the brand's own wording only.
Goal	$1 per 1,000 views	The first simulation lands at $5.74. Closing that gap is the work.
Report	Every Monday, one sheet	Views, cost per 1,000 views against $1, best hook, videos that earned the bonus.
Decision	Day ninety: hold, grow or stop	Ceiling of $15,000 a month with all 10 at the top cap, bonuses excluded.

Part 1 of 15, continued

The program in numbers

Creators live at full roster: 10; Proposed
Videos per creator per week: 7; Proposed
Creator videos a month: 303; Calculated
Base pay per creator: $1,000; Proposed
Bonus past 100,000 views: $50; Proposed
Bonus at the top cap of the highest band: $700; Calculated
Program cost a month, bonuses included: $10,050; Calculated
Views a month at the assumptions: 1.8M; Calculated
Cost per 1,000 views: $5.74; Calculated
Target cost per 1,000 views: $1; Proposed

Part 2 of 15

History

Former COO of Tabs. I built its creator program to 100M monthly social impressions, and the paid ad engine alongside it. The numbers below come from videos that program produced.

This is the same playbook I ran at Tabs: a creator program feeding a paid ad engine, losers killed early, winners scaled. The category is different. I have not run an automatic feeder for sourdough starter, so product detail and claims stay with your team while I run the experiments.

monthly social impressions at Tabs: 100M+
views on one reel: 17.7M
views on one video: 8M
views on one video: 6.5M

Part 3 of 15

Why now

270
Reviews to build on
The Sourdough Sidekick has 270 reviews at 4.51 out of 5 on its product page. Creators can point viewers to that without us inventing a word.
Published
$179.99
A price that needs a demo
The feeder costs $179.99. At that price a viewer wants to see it work, and a creator filming Auto mode can show it in one take.
Published
30 Day
Returns lower the risk
Free Shipping and 30 Day Returns are on the site, so a creator can name the offer without adding anything to it.
Published

Part 4 of 15

Principles

One number to protect
The number is cost per 1,000 views. The target is $1. The first simulation lands at $5.74, so the work is closing that gap.
One variable per test
Each week changes one thing: the hook, the opener or the format. Losers are killed early. Winners go into the hook library.
Small roster, fast ramp
Two creators a week up to 10, six weeks in total. Each makes 7 videos a week, so 303 videos a month at the full roster.
One shared channel
Briefs, claim questions, drafts and reports live in one team workspace. A claim question gets an answer there before the video goes up.

Part 4 of 15, continued

One channel for everything

#briefs

Briefs, drafts, reviews and the weekly numbers

Illustrative

Priya (brand lead)Mon 8:30 AM
This week's test: one hook, three openers. Show the Sidekick on the island, say your starter is ready when you are, and film the Auto mode screen. One variable per test.
JoTue 10:15 AM
Can I say the Sidekick means I never discard?
No. Say there is no discarding for up to a week in Auto mode. That line is on the claims sheet.
Weekly botAppMon 9:00 AM
Weekly report posted: 7 videos per creator, best hook was the flour pour. Cost per 1,000 views is tracked against the $1 target.
Priya (brand lead)Wed 2:00 PM
Draft back to Leo: the opener runs long and the Auto mode screen is cut off. Reshoot the first shot with the mode screen fully in frame.
AnaFri 11:40 AM
My grip band video just passed 100,000 views. Should I post a follow-up?
Yes. Same hook, new opener. The $50 flat bonus applies once for you this month.
Check botAppThu 4:00 PM
Check on Ana's live video: the paid partnership label is on, and every spoken line matches the claims sheet. Result: pass.

The messages illustrate the working channel, with invented people: briefs go out on Monday, claims questions get an answer the same day, and nothing posts without the check.

Part 5 of 15

Formats

Brief 01
Flour day
“I set the day and time. The Sidekick does the feeding.”
Overhead on the counter: pour flour into the hopper, close the lid, show the target day and time on screen. One take, no cuts.
Brief 02
Pick your mode
“Three modes. I picked Auto.”
Hand-held over the shoulder: scroll the three modes, choose Auto, set the goal amount. Say what the screen says as you tap.
Brief 03
King Arthur flour
“Co-created with King Arthur Baking Company. Here is my flour.”
Hold the flour bag next to the Sidekick, then fill the hopper. Say co-created with King Arthur Baking Company once, nothing more.
Brief 04
Grip band close-up
“A $14.95 band for a secure, non-slip hold on the glass crock.”
Close-up: slide the Crock Grip Band onto the glass crock, lift it with one hand, show the hold. Price on screen at the end.
Brief 05
Auto feed in motion
“Watch it feed my starter while I do nothing.”
Locked-off shot of a feeding cycle, speed up the middle, return to the finished starter. Add a text line: ready when you are.

Every product line in a video comes off the claims sheet word for word, for example “Your starter, ready when you are”, “No discarding for up to a week”, “In Auto mode, it'll be ready on the day and time you set, hands-free for up to a week.”. Product names are said as printed.

Part 6 of 15

Recruiting

Four sources in

Home bakers on short-form video
Creators who already film bread, starter and kitchen routines. They know the feeding chore the Sidekick takes off the counter.
Kitchen and gadget creators
Meal-prep, busy-parent and kitchen-tech channels with a home kitchen. Wide reach, so we test them in small batches first.
Owners already posting the Sidekick
Customers who already show their Sourdough Sidekick online. We reach out directly and only work with those who say yes.
Affiliate or ambassador page
I looked for an affiliate or ambassador page on sourdoughsidekick.com and did not find one, so recruiting starts with direct outreach.

Five filters, fewer each step

1Real kitchen
Films in a home kitchen with their own starter, not on a studio set.
2Reads the claims sheet
Says only approved lines and asks in #claims when unsure.
3Hook sense
Opens the first second with a result or a question, not a logo.
4Posts on schedule
Delivers the week's videos without reminders, in the agreed formats.
5Clean audience
Comments show real baking questions, not giveaway chatter.

Part 7 of 15

Who

Busy-parent baker
Bakes on weekends and forgets feedings. Auto mode is hands-free for up to a week.
Likely product: The Sourdough Sidekick
Beginner starter keeper
Afraid of losing a new starter. Can show that a from-scratch starter can take 14+ days.
Likely product: The Sourdough Sidekick
Kitchen gadget reviewer
Unboxes kitchen tech and tests it honestly, from the mixing lid to the paddle.
Likely product: Mixing Paddle for Sourdough Sidekick
Bake-merch fan
Baking creator whose audience likes kitchen merch and branded gear.
Likely product: Sourdough Sidekick T-shirt
Kitchen-tidy creator
Counter organization and routine videos; the glass crock and grip band fit in.
Likely product: Crock Grip Band
Upkeep explainer
Explains replacement parts to owners, with the set prices of the hopper and tank.
Likely product: Flour Hopper for Sourdough Sidekick

Left off, every time

Always left out: creators who make health claims about bread or starter, accounts with bought followers, anyone who will not use the paid partnership label, and anyone who ranks the Sidekick against other methods. Any claim off the sheet is asked first.

Part 8 of 15

Twenty

Home bakers who post a weekly loaf
Beginners documenting their first starter
Busy parents baking on weekends
Night-shift workers with a bread habit
Small-batch bakers who sell loaves locally
Kitchen gadget reviewers
Apartment cooks with small counters
Meal-prep creators adding bread to the routine
Retired bakers who share their methods
Home cooks who film flour-to-loaf timelapses
Cottage-bakery owners on short video
Pizza-at-home creators who use starter dough
Pancake and discard-recipe creators who hate waste
Kitchen organization creators
Home fermenting hobbyists
Travel and camping bakers who plan ahead
Gift-guide creators who cover bakers
Recipe creators with a loyal weekend audience
Homestead creators who bake their own bread
Creators who already show King Arthur flour in their bakes

Part 9 of 15

Claims

Approved, word for word

Quoted exactly as the brand publishes it.

“Your starter, ready when you are”
Opener, caption and closing line of any format.
“Auto mode builds the starter you need and has it ready on the day and time you choose.”
Voiceover over the Auto mode screen in Flour day and Pick your mode.
“No discarding for up to a week”
Hook or caption; always with Auto mode named.
“Auto mode eliminates the math, messy maintenance and missed feedings.”
Voiceover in Auto feed in motion.
“Three modes built for every user keep your starter thriving.”
Pick your mode, over the shot of the mode screen.
“The Sidekick can produce up to 525g of starter.”
Flour day, when the hopper is filled and the goal amount is set.

Never said

Each one with the reason it stays out.

Never feed your starter again
The site says no discarding for up to a week in Auto mode. Not forever.
It makes healthier bread
No health outcome is stated by the brand. Creators say none.
Better than feeding by hand
No comparison is on the claims sheet. We do not rank methods.
King Arthur recommends it
The site says co-created, not that anyone recommends it.
It survives any power cut
Recovery is up to 12 hours, and depends on the app update.
Guaranteed perfect starter
A from-scratch starter can take 14+ days. No promise of results.
Works with any jar
The parts are sold for the Sidekick's own glass crock. Do not promise other jars.

To confirm with the brand

Held until someone on the brand side signs off.

Recovers from a power loss of up to 12 hours
The update was announced for Sept. 1-8, 2026 through the SmartHQ app. Confirm owners have it before creators say it.
Dishwasher safe parts
A photo shows it but the text I have does not say it. Confirm the exact wording first.
Return for any reason within 30 days
A 20% restocking fee also applies. Confirm how creators phrase the returns line.

Part 10 of 15

Pay

Starter
$300–600
a month, by band
For new creators with a real kitchen and a small audience: lower base pay, lower cap.
Bonus at the cap: $300
Standard
$500–1,000
a month, by band
For creators who post on schedule with steady views: the middle base pay and cap.
Bonus at the cap: $500
Premium
$800–1,500
a month, by band
For creators with proven reach and a clean claims record: the highest base pay and cap.
Bonus at the cap: $700

Under 100,000 views
$0
The base pay covers the work.
100,000 views
+$50 flat
Whatever the band.
1,000,000 views
Top-up to your cap
Bonus = band cap − base pay.

One bonus per creator per month, however many videos pass 100,000 views.
The bonus attaches to one video, the one that passed 100,000 views, and the report names it.
Only organic views count. A paid boost never adds to a creator's bonus.
No bonus on a video that broke the claims sheet or the category rule, even above 100,000 views.

Starter: $600 cap − $300 fee = $300 bonus; Standard: $1,000 cap − $500 fee = $500 bonus; Premium: $1,500 cap − $800 fee = $700 bonus.

The bonus pays for reach after the work is done, never instead of it. One bonus per creator per calendar month keeps it an incentive and keeps the program cost predictable.

Part 11 of 15

Simulator

Read it this way: 303 videos a month give 1.8M views and $5.74 per 1,000 views against the $1 target. To close it, 4.2% of videos must go viral or the median video must reach 21,711 views.

Program facts

Sourdough Sidekick creator engine, per month

Monthly cost: $10,050
Base pay: $10,000
Est. bonuses: $50
Videos / month: 303
Est. views / month: 1.8M
Cost per 1,000 views: $5.74

Above the $1 target at these inputs.

To hit $1, the roster needs about 10.1M views a month. That means about 4.2% of videos going viral, or a median near 22K views per video. That is why the day-90 gate exists: keep the accounts that clear it, replace the rest.

Proposed, not measured. Views = videos × median, breakouts at 10× the median, viral at 750K. Bonus: +$50 for a viral video, one per creator per month.

Part 11 of 15, continued

What moves the result

Cost per 1,000 views by median views per video
If the median is	Views / month	Monthly cost	Cost / 1K	Hits target
750	1.4M	$10,050	$6.96	No
1,500	1.8M	$10,050	$5.74	No
3,000	2.4M	$10,050	$4.24	No

Cost per 1,000 views by share of viral videos
If the viral share is	Views / month	Monthly cost	Cost / 1K	Hits target
0.3%	1.2M	$10,000	$8.44	No
0.5%	1.8M	$10,050	$5.74	No
1%	2.9M	$10,150	$3.52	No

The math. Videos a month = 10 creators × 7 a week × 52 ÷ 12 = 303. Views per video = (1 − 4% − 0.5%) × 1,500 + 4% × 10 × 1,500 + 0.5% × 750,000 = 5,782.5; 303 videos × 5,782.5 = 1.8M views a month. Cost = 10 × $1,000 = $10,000 base + 1 bonus × $50 = $10,050. Cost per 1,000 views = $10,050 ÷ 1.8M × 1,000 = $5.74 against a $1.00 target. To hit the target, either 4.2% of videos go viral or the median video reaches 21,711 views, other inputs held.

Move the sliders and the label recalculates. The result is only as good as the guesses behind it, so the median views, the share of breakouts and the share of viral videos are marked as Assumptions until the first month of posts replaces them.

Part 12 of 15

Phases

Creators live by week (proposed): 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

0Wk 1
2Wk 2
4Wk 3
6Wk 4
8Wk 5
10Wk 6

Creator ramp by week
Item	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6
Creators live	0	2	4	6	8	10
Videos a week	0	14	28	42	56	70
Base pay a month	$0	$2,000	$4,000	$6,000	$8,000	$10,000

Warm-up
Claims sheet and trial shoots
Before week one: claims sheet agreed, three trial shoots to check the Auto mode footage. No creator is paid before the sheet is signed off.
Month one
Ramp to 10
Two creators a week up to 10 over six weeks, 7 videos each a week. One hook test at a time, losers killed early.
Month two
Full roster of 10
All 10 creators post, about 303 videos a month. Winners get a new opener. I rank formats by cost per 1,000 views against the $1 target.
Month three
Cut and double down
Drop the weakest formats, move creators between bands on results, and take the best hooks into the paid engine.
Day ninety
Review with the brand
One page: cost per 1,000 views against $1, which formats and bands worked, and whether to hold, grow or stop.
Ceiling
Monthly cap on pay
Base pay and caps stay under $15,000 a month with all 10 creators at the top cap, bonuses excluded.

$15,000 Monthly ceiling, all 10 creators at the top cap, bonuses excluded Proposed

The roster grows by two creators a week, so hook performance can be read week over week instead of by anecdote.

Part 13 of 15

Report

Every Monday the brand gets one sheet: videos posted, views, cost per 1,000 views against the $1 target, the best hook and the videos that earned the bonus.

Creator engine, last 4 weeks

Target $1 per 1,000 organic views Illustrative

Creators reporting: 5
Posts last week: 32
Avg cost per 1,000 views: $8.94
Bonuses owed: $0
Keep / Watch / Replace: 1 / 1 / 3

Per-creator results, last four weeks, sorted by cost per 1,000 views
Creator	Band	Format	Posts	Median	Best	Cost / 1K	Bonus	Flags	Call
Creator A	Starter	Flour day	7	2.1K	25K	$3.37	$0	None	Keep
Creator B	Standard	Pick your mode	7	1.4K	8.4K	$9.83	$0	Claim check	Replace
Creator C	Premium	King Arthur flour	6	1.8K	54K	$7.94	$0	None	Watch
Creator D	Starter	Grip band close-up	5	900	3.6K	$12.99	$0	Over cap?	Replace
Creator E	Standard	Auto feed in motion	7	1.2K	11K	$10.59	$0	Release missing	Replace
All creators	not applicable	not applicable	32	1.5K	54K	$8.94	$0	not applicable	not applicable

Illustrative rows with invented creators, coherent with the pay bands above. Keep means the cost per 1,000 views is at or under the program average, Watch is up to half again over it, and Replace is anything higher.

Part 14 of 15

Exit

From organic to paid

Pick the winner
A video that passes 100,000 views organically is flagged in the Monday report with its hook and format.
Confirm usage rights
Before any spend, the creator agrees in writing to paid use of that video.
Test small
Run it as an ad against one audience with a small budget, changing one variable at a time.
Scale or kill
Raise spend while cost per 1,000 views holds near the $1 target. Stop the ad when it slips.

From the video to the checkout

Send viewers to the product page of The Sourdough Sidekick, priced at $179.99.
Name the offer that is on the site: Free Shipping and 30 Day Returns.
Say it ships free via FedEx from Indiana when shipping is the point of the video.
Parts videos point to the accessory pages: Crock Grip Band at $14.95, Glass Crock with Metal Lid at $40.00.
No store list was found, so nothing points to a shelf. Checkout on sourdoughsidekick.com is the only destination.

Part 15 of 15

Want to see the first briefs?

Grab a time here

Reviews to build on

A price that needs a demo

Returns lower the risk

One number to protect

One variable per test

Small roster, fast ramp

One shared channel

Flour day

Pick your mode

King Arthur flour

Grip band close-up

Auto feed in motion

Four sources in

Five filters, fewer each step

Busy-parent baker

Beginner starter keeper

Kitchen gadget reviewer

Bake-merch fan

Kitchen-tidy creator

Upkeep explainer

Left off, every time

Approved, word for word

Never said

To confirm with the brand

Starter

Standard

Premium

Claims sheet and trial shoots

Ramp to 10

Full roster of 10

Cut and double down

Review with the brand

Monthly cap on pay

From organic to paid

From the video to the checkout

Rules for a food appliance

No health claims

Disclose the pay

Stay on the claims sheet

Show real use

Respect the limits

No comparisons

Want to see the first briefs?