Is Clubhouse overhyped? If you asked me a couple of weeks ago I would say yes, but after  MrBeast's convo with Sriram Krishnan, that just isn't the case. No other platform would've been able to capture the same level of authentic conversation. It ended up being one of the best Clubhouse conversations to date. Others shared this sentiment proving yet again that creators are the new celebrities and ultimately the new brands.  

Today's Highlights:

• Creators are making bank via SMS.
• MrBeast tips on how to go viral.
• Tipping is becoming commonplace as a way to generate revenue from communities.
• TikTok is testing a new feature to allow users to test their own product links.

📰Talking Creators

500,000 Paid Subscriptions Across Substack

With the introduction of Facebook and Twitter in the newsletter space, It doesn't take long to start wondering whether Substack will be able to compete. In a phenomenal essay, Substack co-founder Hamish welcomes FB and Twitter into the arena while also casually dropping that there are currently 500,000 paid subscriptions across Substack with the top ten writers collectively making $15 million a year.
Source: Substack

Driving Sales Through Text

Back in my eCommerce days, SMS was my highest ROI channel. It didn't shock me but I was still surprised given the small number of brands using SMS. It seems I was looking in the wrong direction because influencers are the ones using texts to drive sales via MagicLinks Text2Shop feature. The feature helped drive more than $200,000 in sales for three influencers in a 14-day period.
Source: WWD

GimmeMetal Raises $70,000 For Independent Artists Through Its Virtual Tip Jar

I have to admit, when it comes to tipping as a revenue stream for creators, I don't pay as much attention as I should. I often direct my focus to merch, brand collabs, product releases, courses, and paid communities. But what about when you have a large and engaged audience? GimmeMetal makes me rethink possible revenue opportunities after raising $70,000 for artists through a virtual tip jar.
Source: Brave Worlds

🤳Talking Social & Platforms

TikTok Will Let Creators Test Their Own Product Links

In an effort to push further into commerce and ultimately compete with Instagram, TikTok is testing a new feature to allow their creators to promote their own products in return for a cut of sales. Similar to an OnlyFans model, TikTok will take 20% of revenue while creators receive the remaining 80%.
Source: Engadget

Snapchat Spotlight Ammasses 100 Million Users

The numbers are in. Snapchat Spotlight, Snapchats TikTok clone that offers $1M daily pay outs, pulled in 100 Million Users in just a few months. While these numbers are impressive, it's difficult to determine how much of this is original content. Most winners and Snapchat Spotlight users currently repost their TikTok videos to the platform. To curb this, Snapchat started to prevent users from uploading watermarked videos; however, users found a way around this by using third party programs. It's no dispute that Snapchat has 100 Million Users; however, how many of those users actually spend time on the platform and create original content without the carrot of winning a $1M waved in front of them.
Source: AdWeek

☂️Talking Drops From Creators

In a day and age where trust is becoming more important than ever, Build In Public Legend, Sharath, releases Shoutout after 5 months of development. Shoutout allows you to attract more customers by highlighting your social proof on a curated wall.

Source: Sharath

🧨Talking Marketing & Monetization for Creators

How to go viral (via MrBeast)

1. Don't worry about the quantity of which you post, focus on the amount of work and hooks in your videos. People can tell when you take the time to create quality videos; however, none of that matters if you don't hook people within the first 1 minute or first couple of seconds depending on the platform.

2. Your hook is the most important part of the video. Your goal for every video is to ensure you hook the viewer and get them to watch the video until completion.

3. In order to go viral you have to create content that people can't find anywhere else. This is what generates shares and brings more people to watch, like, and comment on your videos.

🏄Things you want to know

• Epic is giving you the power to make Epic faces all in your browser.
• Amazon brands are going public.
• TikTok becomes a Russian political battleground.

Until Next Time

I hope you enjoyed this week's newsletter. If you enjoyed what you read, forward this email to a friend. Just tell them to subscribe. Lastly, I tend to post more short-form content across social, so if you don't already, follow me and say hi.