What I’d Be Doing If I Were Starting Today🔮My Big Bets: March 2025

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👋 New Monthly Drop: My Big Bets
This is the first edition of a new series I’ll be doing on the first of every month — breaking down where the creator economy is heading, what shifts actually matter, and where I see the biggest opportunities for creators, brands, and builders trying to make real money in this space.

This isn’t a roundup. It’s what I’d be betting on right now. Let’s get into it 👇

🧠 The Big Picture

As much as it feels like the creator economy’s been around forever… it hasn’t.
It’s still new. But it’s maturing fast.

This thing went from “maybe I can get free stuff” to “this is my career” in just a few years.
Now we’re watching creators become businesses.
We’re watching brands rewire their entire marketing playbooks around influencer-led media.
And we’re seeing platforms tighten the screws—pushing harder on monetization, ownership, and content that performs.

The rules are changing. And fast.

Here’s what I’m betting on this month:

• The mid-tier is rising

• Long-term utility is beating short-term virality

• And the smartest creators, marketers, and builders are leaning into content that compounds

Let’s break it down 👇

🎯 THE RISE OF THE MIDDLE

Mid-Tier Creators Are Winning—But Brands Are Still Playing Catch-Up

We’re in a moment where niche creators with loyal audiences are outperforming the big names.

And yep, I fall squarely in that category.

Creators like me, who show up consistently, speak to a specific audience, and actually convert, are becoming more valuable than ever.
Brands are waking up to it.
But the real challenge? Tapping into this segment at scale.

🧠 What to do:

• If you're a creator: Own your niche. Be the category expert, not just the content machine.

• If you're a brand: Build systems, not one-off campaigns. The scalable path forward is through infrastructure.

🛠 FOR CREATORS: AUTHENTICITY > AESTHETICS

This next chapter of the creator economy will be won by the people who keep it real.

Audiences are sharper now.
They can feel when you’re faking expertise. They can tell when it’s just a performance.
The creators who are going deep on what they know — and showing up as they are — are going to stand out.

You don’t need to act like a brand. You just need to be believable.

🧠 What to try:

• Show more process, not just polished outcomes

• Double down on topics you actually live, not just ones that trend

• Talk like a real person — no corporate voice needed

People want connection. Not content that sounds like ChatGPT wrote it.

🤖 AI: ENHANCE, DON’T OUTSOURCE

I know, I know, AI is the buzzword that won’t die.
And honestly? It’ll fade. Most of the hype tools will disappear.
But what’s left will quietly change how we work forever.

AI won’t replace creators. It’ll replace creators who aren’t thinking.

Use it to enhance your process. Speed things up. Clear mental bandwidth.
But the thinking, the positioning, the resonance? That’s still on you.

🧠 Try this:

• Use AI to draft outlines or generate variations — but you do the final pass

• Automate what’s repeatable, protect what’s original

• Don’t aim for more content — aim for better content, faster

This is about leverage, not laziness.

🙌 Support This Drop

This newsletter is creator-built. No media company. No team. Just me, testing what works, sharing what I learn, and trying to make sense of the chaos we call the creator economy.

If you’ve gotten value from these drops, there’s a way to support:
→ I run a name-your-price subscription, $1, $20, whatever feels right.
Right now, I’ve got 12 subscribers supporting at a total of $30/month.

I don’t gate anything.
I don’t have exclusive content (yet).
I’m just incredibly grateful — and you should know that supporting this work is helping reshape how the internet works.

If that’s worth something to you, even a little: “Upgrade” below.

And if not? No stress. Sharing this with someone who needs it goes just as far.

📈 FOR ENTREPRENEURS: BUILD WITH CREATORS, NOT JUST FOR THEM

We’re in the era of creator-operators.

If you’re building a tool, product, or platform, don’t just market to creators. Build with one.

The best partnerships now look like:

• A niche creator with deep trust

• A builder with a product

• A co-launch that hits distribution and solves a real problem

🧠 Try this:

• Get in the DMs. Talk to creators before you ship anything.

• Offer rev-share, not just flat fees.

• Build distribution into your roadmap.

💼 FOR BRANDS: SHIFT FROM INFLUENCE TO INFRASTRUCTURE

Most brands still treat creator marketing like PR.
Meanwhile, the smart ones are treating creators like performance partners.

If your creator content isn’t getting plugged into paid, landing pages, or product pages, you’re doing it wrong.

🧠 What to do:

• Repurpose UGC and influencer content across paid channels

• Test UGC-style ads with $100–$500 before scaling

• Build a system to work with mid-tier creators consistently, not just once

This is how you build a modern growth engine.

5️⃣ Final Thoughts

I’ve seen creators hit $10K/month from faceless channels, affiliate videos, and UGC packages.
But none of them stumbled into it.

They built systems. They tested relentlessly. They treated it like a real business.

This is the creator economy evolving again.
Less about audience. More about alignment.
Less about hype. More about utility.
Less about short-term views. More about long-term ownership.

The earlier you adapt, the bigger the upside.

💼 Sponsors

Huge thanks to this week’s supporters of The Creator Economy Insider.
Remember: you clicking and reading the info they’re sharing actually helps keep this going.

Want to sponsor an upcoming issue?
→ Email me: [email protected]

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