Creators and brands need to promote and sell products or services. Right now they pay employees or an agency to perform this function. The employees or agencies may not be users, know what motivations drive the users or have organic relationships with users. They make up for this by spending money on market research and “testing” the market. It’s... See more

If an internet celebrity or content creator doesn't get paid per view, then "fans" aren't worth so much. Revenue sharing platforms like YouTube and Twitch reward influencers for having legions of casual followers who rack up ad impression. But you need a different strategy on platforms like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat that don't share... See more

In the past few years, startups like Substack, Patreon, and Shopify have created alternative ways for creators to build businesses online through direct transactions, rather than advertising. This shift exposed a simple fact: in an ad-driven world, creators were generally under-monetizing their audiences.