Navigating the Creator Economy

I grossed $81,109 in Q2 as a part-time creator. no management or viral moment. Just consistent systems, repeatable offers, and a clear message that attracts the right brands. Here’s where the revenue came from: ✔️ Sponsored Content (67%) ✔️ Brand Partnerships (14%) ✔️ Speaking Engagements (9%) ✔️ Advising (7%) ✔️ Digital Products (2%) ✔️ Newsletter Ads (1%) I share this because 3 years ago when I started I didn’t know how to charge more than $500 for anything. I thought I needed a huge audience and representation. But all I needed was a strategy. Here’s what worked for me: 1. Revenue follows trust and trust is built in public. From day one, I shared my ideas, gave away value for free, and stayed consistent. That's still my number one focus today. 2. Price everything in advance. Know your rates before they ask. It removes emotion and speeds up decisions. 3. Save a counter-offer email template. A calm, clear response helps you push back without burning bridges. 4. Treat your brand like a business. The newsletter, brand deals, advisory work, and speaking gigs aren’t side hustles. They’re business lines and I have a plan to grow each. 5. Be selective. Growth isn’t about saying yes to more. It’s about saying yes to the right things, the ones that compound your credibility, audience, and income. 🧠 If you’re a creator-entrepreneur who wants help, I break this down weekly in my newsletter Content to Commas 📩 Join the community → https://lnkd.in/g9EGuyRa

It's NOT rocket science. I've built multiple 6-figures ($) in my online business through organic content. Here's what I've learnt: 1. You Are the Niche You don’t need to fit into a niche. → You are the niche. Your unique mix of experiences, skills, and personality is your competitive advantage. When you show up as your true self and share your story, you’ll naturally attract the right audience. Don’t overthink this step. Just start. 2. Focus on Your Personal Brand Building trust is the foundation of any successful online business. And trust comes from showing up consistently. Use platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram to share valuable insights, lessons learned, or even mistakes you’ve made. Your audience will value your authenticity. In a world that will be run by AI agents, your personal brand and being human will be everything. Your personal brand drives your business. 3. Engage, Don’t Just Publish Content Think of social media as a two-way conversation. Engage with your audience. Respond to comments, ask questions, and listen to what people want. This helps you activate the platform’s algorithm and the feedback loop helps you refine your offerings. If you engage with your followers they will feel seen and heard and invest more time in you. → Together you will build your business. 4. Monetize Through Value Start small. Offer something that solves a specific problem; an e-book, a course, or a consultation call. Once you understand what your audience needs, you can expand into subscriptions, done-for-you services, courses, memberships, or collaborations. 5. Stay Lean and Profitable It’s tempting to chase rapid growth, but in the early stages 💰 cash flow is more important than scale. Focus on creating a lean operation that serves your clients well and keeps expenses low. Growth will come naturally once you’ve built a solid foundation. Remember: 🐫 Camels are the new unicorns 6. You Don’t Need Complex Strategies and Fancy Tools to Monetize Your Audience You have indirect access to 5.5 billion people through the internet. You don’t need fancy tools to start monetizing your audience. Start with the basics. Once you’ve established workflows and understand your processes, introduce AI tools to save time and scale. From generating content ideas to automating customer engagement, AI can help you work smarter, not harder. The key is to keep it simple at the beginning and scale as you grow. 7. Great Things Take Time Lastly, don’t rush the process. Building something sustainable takes time. Test different ideas, gather feedback, and refine your approach as you go. Focus on showing up authentically, delivering value, and staying consistent. Over time, you’ll build not just a business, but a community of people who trust and believe in what you offer. Hope you found this helpful. 👋 Want more actionable advice like this? Subscribe to my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dT6GVaZc

In 2025, for the first time, over half of US marketers will work with creators and influencers on YouTube. Here's what's happening. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗧𝗼𝗸'𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀. The turmoil has prompted a shift in perception among consumers, advertisers and creators. While brands aren't abandoning TikTok, they're hesitant to sign on TikTok-only creators, requiring partners to be active on at least one other platform. Meanwhile, as YouTube - and its creators - dominate media headlines and consumption, the platform is becoming the place to be for marketers to tap into culture and storytelling. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻. Despite - and because - of its scale, YouTube has long been a white space for many brands. Short-form content is more accessible, and as brands think more holistically about their video strategies, the ability to complement it with long-form YouTube is now a major draw. More on this in the report we collaborated on with YouTube Advertisers (link in comments). 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗶ving 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀. In February, CEO Neal Mohan promised to introduce new ways for creators to partner with brands. That already includes streamlined partnership tools on BrandConnect, and the reported release of dynamic host-read podcast ads. The easier and more scalable YouTube’s offerings become, the more brands it will attract.

After 9 hours of research, I discovered the major social media shifts in 2025. Social media is now a young adult, leaving the parents' home—traditional marketing—and carving its own identity—this theme is shared across all trends. 1. Social Media is breaking free from brand identity - Social teams are breaking free from the rigid “stay on brand” rule because it kills creativity. Look at AirAsia's on-trend content or myBurgerLab's quirky customer-centric posts. They don’t look corporate but stick in your audience’s mind. The truth? Social media’s job is to entertain and connect. If your content does that, you win—even if it feels off-brand. 2. Influencer Marketing moved beyond “Can we pay you to post?” Sure, influencer posts can generate awareness, but clicks and conversions? Not so much. Viewers have to jump through too many hoops to reach your product page. The solution? Turn influencer content into ads. Platforms like Shopee and Lazada already do this, letting influencers showcase products directly through shoppable ads. Another example? Brands like Muji Malaysia Sdn Bhd are doubling down on authentic, user-generated content for paid campaigns. The less polished the content, the better it performs—it feels real, unlike an ad. UGC-style content stops the scroll, and the results speak for themselves. 3. Video has been on every trend list for 20 years, right? But in 2025, it’s evolving again. You need a face that is raw and engaging; even LinkedIn is prioritizing the same. This is where Employee-Generated Content (EGC) comes in. Take Tokopedia's employee-led TikToks—simple, fun, and insanely shareable. However, not every brand has willing or camera-ready employees. Enter brand hosts—creators explicitly hired to represent your brand on video. Look at platforms like TikTok, Kumu, or Douyin, where brands do this at scale. 4. Social Shopping—Remember when high-end brands avoided e-commerce giants like Lazada & Amazon? Now, they’re embracing it because the revenue is undeniable. The same shift is happening with TikTok Shop and Shopee Live. Take Dyson, which showcased premium products during TikTok Live sessions for Singles’ Day sales and crushed it. Social shopping isn’t just for low-cost items anymore. It’s for anything—and it’s reaching massive audiences. 5. Live Content - Live isn’t new but more critical than ever heading into 2025. Why? Platforms like Shopee Live, Kumu , and Taobao Marketplace Live drive trends like live shopping and creator monetization. Live streams are proof of authenticity in a world dominated by AI-generated content. Even as AI-generated videos become indistinguishable from real ones, live content will stand out as raw, unfiltered, and honest at least for a while. Final Hot Take: In 2025, social media should be an independent team that doesn't have to be part of branding and marketing. #ravisbook  #socialmedia  #contenstratetgy #2025strategy

The smartest creators in 2025 aren’t entertainers. They’re educators who can hold your attention. We’ve left the era of lifestyle p*rn. Curated feeds. Glossy hauls. Vague captions. People don’t care what you bought. They care how you think. They’re looking for: → Clarity → Context → Content that makes them smarter And they want it in a format they’ll actually watch. Welcome to the Infotainer Era, a term I saw coined by Charlotte Mair It's where the people winning attention are the ones who can teach and still keep you hooked. Not “thought leaders.” Not influencers. They're creators who blend credibility with personality. You’re seeing it everywhere: → Creators turning memes into insight → Makeup artists doing cultural breakdowns and history on beauty trends → Founders building frameworks instead of flexing revenue Like Codie A. Sanchez breaking down private equity plays on LinkedIn in a way that’s both smart and shareable. Of course, some people were already doing this. But now? It’s becoming the new default. Being watchable isn’t enough. You’ve got to be useful. And being useful isn’t enough you’ve got to earn attention. So if you’re building a brand in 2025? Don’t just chase visibility build trust, teach clearly, and entertain strategically And the creators who master that blend? They won’t just grow. They’ll own the next decade of influence.

After managing creators for 7 years, here's the advice I keep repeating: Stop obsessing over view counts. I've seen creators with: • 10M views → $0 in revenue (pretty much) • 100k views → $100k in revenue • 1M followers → No real business • 50k followers → 7-figure business The thing that actually matters? Your ability to inspire action. I can't stress it enough: • A small audience that buys > large audience that scrolls • Email list of 100 buyers > 100k passive followers • 50 true fans at your event > 1M views from algorithms • Community that trusts you > Followers who know you I get it. Big numbers are addicting. They feed our ego. (It's the same trap as founders choosing revenue over profit...) But after seeing behind the scenes of countless creator's businesses, here's what I know: The creators who build real wealth focus on: • Conversion over reach • Action over attention • Impact over impressions • Trust over traffic We all love getting lots of views but you can't build a sustainable business on views alone. 1,000 people who trust you enough to take action will always beat 1M who just double tap. Repost this if you agree. #creatoreconomy #entrepreneurship #business

Corporate America didn’t take him seriously because of his TikToks. Now he consults for major corporations such as LinkedIn and Google, becoming known as “The Corporate Baddie.” DeAndre Brown was one of the 48% of Gen Z’rs entering the workforce during the pandemic. Like many, he started his career on a screen in isolation with little guidance. To combat this, DeAndre began making TikToks to share his workplace experiences and help other young professionals navigate corporate life. Many judged him, saying his TikToks weren’t serious or made his time in corporate America look like a joke. But DeAndre saw the bigger picture. He leveraged the power of a rising social platform to talk about challenges in the workplace and teach others through humorous and relatable content. This led to 1.1M followers, 75M+ likes, and a thriving community known as “The Elite.” Even after his success, he still received harsh criticism and backlash. Many of us default to producing content that is sanitized and buttoned-up, and by avoiding humor or playfulness, we often see less engagement and weaker recognition. What people often miss is that the best awareness and engagement comes from “having people feel seen.” Nobody remembers how many views you got or how many products you launched, but people remember “how you make them feel.” Millions view DeAndre’s content and feel seen or heard through their daily workplace experiences. When content is engaging and relatable, you earn the green light to educate others on the topics you aim to bring awareness to. DeAndre shares career tips, interview advice, and insights on navigating the workplace. His workplace experiences shaped him into an entrepreneur, strategic content creator, and adviser. He often talks about the importance of practicing good habits, like sending personalized thank you notes to brand partners and recognizing the team behind every great brand. Leading with authenticity and reliability in your content often unlocks doors you didn’t even know were there. DeAndre’s rise in social media and Gen Z work culture is one of the most fascinating stories I’ve seen, and one professionals and brands can learn from. #CreatorEconomy

From the age of 20, I had multiple sources of income. I started as a content creator, had no fixed salary, delayed payments, and monthly bills that couldn’t wait. I always knew in order to sustain myself and my team I need to have multiple streams of income. Here’s how I did it along with an income break down. 1. One-on-one sessions (3–5%) About 5–6 months into content creation, I started taking one-on-one sessions on career growth. Having a good distribution helped me reach more students. 2. Brand collaborations (15%) As a creator, Instagram and LinkedIn collaborations form another steady part of my income. 3. My agency (60%) After leaving my job, I used my experience in social media marketing to start freelancing and eventually turned it into a full-fledged agency that now manages social media for multiple clients. 4. Teaching startup (20%) I recently started a social media School with Shreya Bajaj Shah. It’s still in early stages, so we’re reinvesting all profits. I used my social media skills to build businesses, create income security, and turn my passion into a career. The takeaway? Invest in your skills, work on side projects, and find ways to monetize what you do best. #skills #contentcreation #agency

After working with the TikTok Shop team... here's what I think is going to unfold over the next 6 months First off, the evolution of TikTok Shop has been fascinating. We've seen a transition from low-priced drop shipped products to higher quality brands finding success with standout products. Currently, the default agency strategy involves massive outreach via bots that send upwards of 5000 DM to creators per day This will be unsustainable and TikTok is tightening controls here They're putting a limit on the number of DMs a brand can send per day, based on their amount in GMV And they require creators to post within seven days after getting a gift to maintain their affiliate eligibility An effort that aims to decrease bot message fatigue while driving DM engagement/ecosystem health. As we approach the next phase, the key questions are Will brands continue to keep creator relationships on TikTok Shop or move relationships off-platform? AND what type of creator will perform over time? In my opinion, TikTok Shop is becoming the defacto way you work with ANY of your TikTok creators... and that is a HUGE milestone. I think we're going to see a shift from mass top of funnel approaches, with the hope that a nano creator goes viral to.... fewer higher quality relationships with slightly larger creators The platform's future lies in balancing tools for new creator discovery while also allowing the nurturing of established brand-creator relationships, I'm optimistic about where TikTok Shop is headed and excited to see how these predictions pan out Knowing how fast this landscape changes... I could certainly be wrong... and quickly so

One thing I’ve been noticing (and testing myself) is just how powerful consistency is on TikTok right now. I'm seeing a huge spike in video performance when creators stick to a daily posting schedule, especially when posting at a similar time every day. It’s not just about showing up, it's about training your audience and the algorithm when to expect your content. As a result; - I have videos consistently hitting 10M+ views - Stronger follower growth - Higher engagement & retention - Better algorithm favorability over time It’s less about chasing trends and more about being strategic and consistent. When you treat your TikTok presence like a well oiled machine, the results follow. If you’re a creator or a brand trying to scale, don’t overlook the power of: 1. Posting daily 2. Time-slot consistency 3. Creating content that aligns with your niche, but still feels fresh 4. Reviewing analytics weekly to double down on what’s working The platform rewards consistency, and your audience does too. #BrookeMonk #TikTok #InfluencerMarketing #Advice