Most creator programs run into the same problem as they grow: relationships get harder to manage. With a growing creator base comes extra communication, constant requests, missed follow-ups, and a higher risk of creators feeling overlooked.

G FUEL has been dealing with that challenge for years.

The brand works with hundreds of paid creators, thousands of ambassadors and publishing affiliates, and a growing network of TikTok creators. At that scale, relationship management becomes an operational challenge just as much as a marketing one.

This breakdown explores the system behind G FUEL's creator program and the lessons brands can apply as their own creator communities continue to grow.

The principles behind the system

Managing thousands of creator relationships forces every brand to answer the same question: How do you stay efficient without making affiliate creators feel like they're part of a workflow?

At G FUEL, the answer comes down to two principles:

• Accomplish more with less
• Treat everybody as inherently valuable

Each principle solves a different problem.

The first helps the team operate efficiently across thousands of creator relationships. The second ensures creators still feel valued as people, even when much of the communication is systematized.

Together, they create the foundation for G FUEL's operating philosophy: 90% automation and 10% personal connection.

Everything else in the program, from community commerce management to creator communication, is built around that balance.

Building the right mix of automation and human connection

Managing a creator program at G FUEL's scale comes with an obvious operational challenge.

The team works with hundreds of paid creators, thousands of ambassadors and publishing affiliates, and a growing network of TikTok creators. Every partnership requires onboarding, updates, support, and follow-up. Without systems in place, the program becomes difficult to manage quickly.

That's why automation plays such a central role in the program.

The goal isn't simply to automate more, but to automate as much as possible without creators feeling like they're interacting with a machine.

That's where G FUEL's 90/10 framework comes from.

"You need to automate as much as you can without the creator feeling like they're talking to a robot." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL

Use automation to handle operational complexity

At scale, creator programs generate a huge amount of repetitive work. Teams need to:

• Send program updates
• Share promotions and campaign information
• Segment creators by program type
• Trigger onboarding and follow-up workflows
• Track creator activity and engagement

These tasks may not build relationships directly, but they create the operational foundation that allows the program to run smoothly.

Automation helps G FUEL manage this complexity without creating unnecessary manual work.

Why automation alone creates a transactional experience

Automation helps G FUEL manage these moving pieces without creating unnecessary manual work for the team. But that alone isn’t enough.

Most creators can immediately tell when communication feels overly automated, whether it is broken personalization, generic copy, or messaging that feels like it could have been sent to anyone.

Over time, that dynamic changes how creators experience the relationship. Creators hear from the brand only when something needs to happen, respond when necessary, and move on.

"That's how you kill the drive of a creator, because now they feel it's all transactional. You see them as a dollar sign at the bottom of the profit line; there's no personal connection." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL 

That's rarely the type of relationship brands are trying to build. G FUEL's approach recognizes that creators remember how interactions with a brand make them feel.

The 10% that creators actually remember

Most communication inside a creator program is operational.

Creators need affiliate links, updates, campaign details, offers, and program resources. Those interactions keep the program moving, but they aren't usually the moments that stick.

The memorable moments tend to be much smaller:

• Referencing an inside joke
• Adding personality to a message
• Recognizing a creator milestone
• Joining conversations inside the community
• Showing creators there's a real person behind the brand

"These are the exact moments you have to be building with your affiliate programs. You have to build relationships, be funny, be relatable, and most importantly, be a part of their story." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL

Those interactions represent a small percentage of total communication, but they often shape how creators feel about the relationship far more than the operational touchpoints ever will.

Creating community through Discord

G FUEL's 90/10 philosophy doesn't end with email workflows and automation. The team also thinks carefully about where creator relationships actually happen.

Email does a great job of distributing information. Campaign updates go out, promotions get announced, and creators stay informed.

But creator relationships are not built through information alone.

When communication only happens through email, the relationship can start feeling one-sided. Creators receive updates, but there are fewer opportunities to ask questions, share ideas, or feel connected to the people running the program.

That is where Discord comes in.

Why email alone isn't enough

Creators have questions. They want feedback. They want to see what other creators are doing. They want direct access to the people behind the brand and a space to feel connected between campaigns.

A newsletter can't create those interactions. Discord can.

Instead of simply receiving information, creators can jump into conversations, ask questions, share ideas, and engage with the broader community. That changes the dynamic completely.

How G FUEL uses Discord to engage creators

G FUEL treats Discord as more than a support channel. It's where creators interact with both the brand and each other.

The platform gives creators a place to:

• Ask questions about the program
• Share wins and performance milestones
• Learn from other creators
• Stay connected between campaigns

"When you are doing nothing but email, it can create a one-way street. Using a Discord DM, for example, creates a sense of partnership, a sense of friendship." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL 

Just as importantly, it gives the team opportunities to stay visible.

Rather than only appearing when there's a promotion to announce or a campaign to launch, team members can join conversations, answer questions, and participate in the community more organically.

Those interactions may be brief, but they help reinforce something important: there are real people behind the program.

Turning communication into participation

One of the most interesting aspects of G FUEL's approach is that it turns creators from passive recipients into active participants in the community. 

Instead of only hearing from the brand when a campaign launches, creators can join conversations, ask questions, and engage with the broader community. Over time, community conversations create stronger relationships, not just between the brand and creators, but among creators themselves.

That sense of community becomes increasingly valuable as the program grows.

Structuring access across thousands of creators

One of the more practical lessons from G FUEL's system is that creators don't necessarily need constant one-on-one communication. They need access.

"I don't let all the smaller affiliates friend me on Discord, because I would be losing the company money if I spent time having one-on-one conversations with thousands of creators." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL 

Sometimes that access comes through direct messages. Other times, it comes through community conversations. Sometimes it's simply knowing that the people behind the program are present and engaged.

"I do make drops in our Discord where I come by and jump in the general chat, talk with the people in the public chat. That gives them more of a sense of a personal relationship with me. I'm just tackling them all at once." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL

That balance is what makes the system scalable.

Creators feel connected to the brand without the team spending every hour inside individual inboxes.

Keeping relationships at the center of the program

Most creator programs become more efficient as they grow. Fewer become more relational. 

That's what makes G FUEL's approach interesting.

Every system in the program is designed to solve an operational challenge. Automation helps manage communication. Discord helps maintain engagement. Structured access helps the team prioritize time and attention.

But none of those decisions exist in isolation. 

They all support the same goal: helping creators feel like they're part of a partnership rather than a program.

That's an important distinction because creator relationships don't scale in the same way workflows do.

"What does your team or department stand for? If you don't know what your core values are, that's my first challenge for you. It's simple. Accomplish more with less. Treat everybody as inherently valuable." - Chris Chisholm, Director of Talent Management at G FUEL 

You can automate your influencer partnership workflows, including communication, onboarding, and reporting. What you can't automate is how people feel about working with your brand.

Creators remember whether interactions felt genuine. They remember whether the team was accessible when they needed help. They remember whether the relationship existed outside the moments when the brand needed something.

That's why G FUEL's system works.

The company is not trying to build one-on-one relationships with thousands of creators individually. It's creating an environment where creators consistently feel valued, supported, and connected to the brand.

As creator programs grow, that mindset often becomes more important than any single tool or platform.

Key lessons from the G FUEL System

If you're managing a growing creator program, G FUEL's approach comes down to a few key principles:

• Build systems before communication becomes difficult to manage.
• Use automation to handle repetitive operational work.
• Make automated communication feel thoughtful and relevant.
• Create spaces where creators can interact with both the brand and each other.
• Use the community as a way to maintain engagement between campaigns.
• Structure creator access intentionally, instead of treating every relationship the same.
• Focus your team's time on the relationships that benefit most from direct interaction.
• Create small moments that make creators feel recognized and valued.
• Treat creator relationships like a long-term asset, not a campaign-by-campaign activity.
• Design every system around the creator experience, not just operational efficiency.

Ready to create more meaningful creator partnerships?

G FUEL's creator program is built on a simple idea: scale the systems, not the relationships.

Automation, community, and structured access all play a role, but the goal stays the same: helping creators feel connected to the brand behind the program.

That balance becomes increasingly important as creator programs grow. The brands that build lasting partnerships are usually the ones that create operational efficiency without losing the human connection that creators actually remember.

Social Snowball helps ecommerce brands manage creator relationships at scale through affiliate management, creator recruitment, automated workflows, gifting, and relationship tracking, all in one place.