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For four years people asked us the same question in the comments: do you have a YouTube? The answer was always "not yet." Then a brand partner Kate has worked with for years asked her to start one. A client we work with had a hole in their customer journey that long form was the obvious fix for. And Adrian came on the show and lit a fire under both of us. So we're on YouTube now, for ourselves and for a client, and we're learning in public. This episode is the first few weeks: why brands wanted it, what the learning curve has been, what we're filming with, and how Tea got 5,000 views on her first video by launching it like a course. What We Cover: Why we put off YouTube for years, and what finally pushed us The brand partner who told Kate they'd partner with her on YouTube if she started one Why our client had a glaring gap in their customer journey and how we pitched YouTube to fill it Short form as top of funnel, YouTube as trust and retention The learning curve: hours to script, hours to film, hours to edit, and why that's normal How years of short form trained our brains for long form retention Kate's teacher brain: treating a YouTube video like a lesson plan instead of a passionate ramble Tea's mic dying at minute seven of a 22-minute video You don't need a camera: Kate's phone-and-CapCut setup, Tea's Descript setup Tea's first-video launch: built with brand gaps, warmed-up email list, Instagram and TikTok funnel, an automation, a free resource inside the video, 5K views day one Why the first 12 hours of a YouTube video matter and how Tea drives short form traffic to every upload Kate's first video: posted Friday afternoon, zero prep, still found her people Why the levers you already have as an educational creator are the same levers that work on YouTube What we're saving for the next episode: how Tea is pitching brands on YouTube Your Homework: Pick one thing in your business you've been avoiding and take one tangible step toward it this week. Not the whole thing. One step. Episodes Referenced: Season 2 Episode 14: How to Get YouTube Sponsorships With a Small Channel ft. Adrian Vonarx (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 26: How Much Cash We Brought in as Full-Time Creators in September (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 24: How to Yap on Camera So Brands Want to Work With You (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 17: Content Creator Burnout: How to Stay Consistent Without Quitting (Spotify | Apple) Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco Tags: should you start a YouTube channel, starting a YouTube channel, how to make your first YouTube video, what should my first YouTube video be, short form to long form, TikTok creator starting YouTube, YouTube for beginners, YouTube brand deals, brand deals, how to grow a YouTube channel, YouTube launch strategy, drive TikTok followers to YouTube, Descript, filming YouTube on your phone, content creator tips, how to get brand deals, EDUcreator, creator economy, YouTube for educational creators, long form content

You own your content. Until you sign it away. And most creators are signing it away without realizing it, buried in contracts they skimmed and usage rights they never charged for. We talk about usage rights constantly and somehow never gave it its own episode. Today we break down what usage rights actually are, how to think about charging for them, the exact contract words to search for before you sign, and what to say when a brand pushes back. Grab a notebook. This one's a little nerdy. Standard disclaimer: we are not attorneys. This is not legal advice. Just two creators sharing what we've learned signing a lot of brand contracts. What We Cover: Why brands are buying a license to your content, not ownership, unless the contract explicitly says otherwise The usage rights ladder: organic only, brand reposts and collabs, the brand's own channels (website, emails, Amazon listings), paid ads, billboards/print/TV, and full buyouts Whitelisting vs. paid ad rights, and why you need to know exactly which platforms and how long The creator whose UGC ended up on TV without permission, and the lawsuit that followed AI likeness rights: the new clause sneaking into contracts and our formal stance (no) How usage works differently with UGC The 4 questions to ask every time: where, how long, paid or organic, and can they edit it Our Ctrl+F list: perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, all media now known or hereafter devised, work made for hire, derivative works, name/image/likeness, and sublicense Why you can (and should) redline a brand's "standard contract" Contract traps: keep-it-up clauses, clawback clauses, edits without approval, and ads running past the agreed window on Meta How to check the Meta Ad Library and ask for back pay Word-for-word scripts for when a brand asks for usage or says "this is our standard contract" Your Challenge: 1. Build your usage menu: decide what you'll charge for each rung of the ladder and what's a hard no. 2. Open your last brand contract and Ctrl+F every word on our list. Episodes Referenced: Season 2 Episode 5: Why I said "HELL NO" to this brand deal: Brand Deal Contract Red Flags Every Creator Must Know (Spotify | Apple) Episode 5, Season 1: What to Charge Brands for Content: The 4R Pricing Framework (Spotify | Apple) Episode 23, Season 1: UGC Pricing, Retainer Clients & Why You Don't Need Followers ft. Leslie Cole (Spotify | Apple) Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco Tags: usage rights, influencer usage rights, how much to charge for usage rights, usage rights for content creators, paid ad rights, whitelisting, influencer contract, brand deal contract red flags, in perpetuity, UGC usage rights, how to negotiate brand deals, influencer contract clauses, AI likeness rights, content licensing, Meta ad library, brand deals, how to read a brand contract, EDUcreator, creator economy, content creator business

Everyone wants to know how much content creators actually make. So we're showing you. This is our real September: what we each invoiced from content creation, where every dollar came from, and what the big number doesn't tell you. Together we invoiced $60,037 in one month. Not from views. Not from one-off deals. From retainer brand partnerships, a little UGC, and brand consulting, built over years of showing up for our audiences. We're sharing it so you can see what's possible without selling your soul, and we think this might become a monthly thing. What We Cover: What Tea invoiced in September ($32,100) and why the number doesn't feel like a big deal anymore What Kate invoiced ($21,450) doing her bare-ass minimum The $6,487 from our joint agency doing creator management and brand consulting Why creator income isn't a salary: $23K one month, $32K the next, and why that swing no longer messes with our nervous systems Brand deals: Tea's 14 videos plus 2 long-form YouTube integrations, Kate's 9 videos across TikTok and Instagram Why every single deal last month was a retainer, and the one-off inbounds we turned down Why Instagram is having a moment for brand deals right now Ad rights: what we actually included last month UGC: $900 each, and why it's the lever we pull when we want extra income Views: the $22 Kate made from 300K+ TikTok followers Brand consulting and how creators are already doing it without realizing it What the numbers don't show: 30% for taxes, business expenses, payment fees, and years of unpaid work Why you shouldn't compare your day 30 to our day 900 Your Challenge: Write down the number you want to see on an invoice someday. Then break it down by income stream (brand deals, retainers, UGC, consulting) and list what it would take to make it real. Come share it in our DMs. Episodes Referenced: Episode 13, Season 1: The Secret Weapon for Consistent Brand Deals: How to Pitch & Land Retainers (Spotify | Apple) Episode 23, Season 1: UGC Pricing, Retainer Clients & Why You Don't Need Followers ft. Leslie Cole (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 1: 5 Types of Content You're Already Creating That Brands Will Pay For (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 14: How to Get YouTube Sponsorships With a Small Channel ft. Adrian Vonarx (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 17: Content Creator Burnout: How to Stay Consistent Without Quitting (Set Your BAM) (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 23: Content Creator Money Systems: Taxes, Fees, and Getting Paid (Spotify | Apple) Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco Tags: how much do content creators make, content creator income, content creator income report, how much I made as a content creator, how much do influencers make, brand deals, how much do brand deals pay, retainer brand deals, UGC income, how much do UGC creators make, brand consulting, creator income streams, TikTok creator income, Instagram brand deals, content creator taxes, monthly income report, full time content creator, EDUcreator, creator economy, make money as a content creator

Most podcast guests get interviewed after they've figured it out. Hannah Jurczak is in the middle of it. She started posting in January. Went viral in February. Landed a $7,000 single-video brand deal in July. And she's also, by her own account, in a rut right now. That's exactly why we wanted her on. Hannah is a corporate dropout documenting what it looks like to make $130 a day across three income streams to stay out of a 9 to 5. She's at 18K on Instagram and 32K on TikTok, and she's done it in under a year by studying storytelling harder than most creators ever will. What We Cover: Why she started posting: she wanted to practice for UGC and needed a story The video she almost didn't make, a month and a half in, that became her first viral hit The second layer, the financial side, that turned a viral video into a following Her storytelling rule: every video has to teach something or connect as a human, or it doesn't get posted How "Day in the Life of a Corporate Dropout" became an accidental signature series, and why the $130-a-day stake works as a character arc Her honest take on signature series: lazy-girl content that got her 10K followers, and why she might retire it The $7,000 brand deal five months in, and why it came from community first, not brand first The deal she took too low, the failed negotiation, and the text she sent Kate "How would it feel in your gut if they said yes?" as a guidepost Her editing formula: text animations, matched sound effects, keyframes, and why you always film changing rooms Why low views hurt worse than hate comments, and Tea's reframe on ego versus data What she'd tell January Hannah Rapid fire: TikTok or Instagram, the orangutan arms comment, and the Diet Coke dream partnership Find Hannah: @hannahjurczak on TikTok and Instagram Episodes Referenced: Season 2 Episode 24: How to Yap on Camera So Brands Want to Work With You (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 3: How to Build a Community That Attracts Brand Deals Using Storytelling ft. Mackenzie Heflin (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 12: How to Monetize Your Content Without Losing Your Audience's Trust (Spotify | Apple) Season 2 Episode 13: How to Respond When a Brand Asks "What Are Your Rates?" (Spotify | Apple) Episode 5, Season 1: What to Charge Brands for Content: The 4R Pricing Framework (Spotify | Apple) Episode 17, Season 1: How to Deal With Hate Comments as a Creator (Spotify | Apple) Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco Tags: quit my job to become a content creator, corporate dropout, first brand deal, how to get brand deals as a small creator, brand deals, how much do small creators make, content creator income, signature series, how to start a series on TikTok, storytelling for content creators, views dropped after going viral, what to do after a viral video, low views, small creator, UGC creator, how to quit your 9 to 5, content creator first year, day in the life content, EDUcreator, creator economy

Everybody is suddenly talking about yap content. People are making millions teaching it. Here's our confession: this is how we built our audiences, years before anyone named it. It's also how we built the trust that brands have paid us over a million dollars to access. Today we're yapping about yapping. What it is, why brands care, why it feels awkward at first, the anatomy of a good yap, and a 7-day challenge to get you started. What We Cover: What yap content is and the difference between yapping and rambling Why talking-head content on Instagram started authoritative, and why that's not the trust brands are buying Why yap content is AI-proof and what that means for educational creators The familiarity it builds, and why that parasocial trust is what makes brand partnerships convert Tea's first million-view video: she opened her camera out of frustration Kate's first talking-head video that took two hours to film in chunks Why it feels awkward and the mindset shift that fixes it The anatomy of a good yap: one idea, start where it's interesting, talk to one person, sound like yourself, land the plane The one-take trick: find the line a minute in and move it to the front Kate's Photopea tutorial that pulled tens of thousands of views for a problem nobody talks about Why Tea films holding her phone instead of on a tripod Permission slips: stop scripting, record before you're ready, watch yourself back, stop sounding like an expert The 7-day yap challenge Your Challenge: Seven days of yap content. If it doesn't feel sustainable, you're overthinking it. Episodes Referenced: Season 2 Episode 10: Stop Using AI Like This Season 2 Episode 12: How to Monetize Your Content Without Losing Your Audience's Trust Season 2 Episode 1: You're Already Doing This for Free Episode 25, Season 1: How to Grow on TikTok as a Business ft. Sarah Weiss Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco Tags: yap content, how to yap on camera, yapping videos, yap content creator, talking head videos, how to talk to camera, brand deals, how to get brand deals, build trust with your audience, content creator tips, how to be confident on camera, AI proof content, authentic content, how to grow on TikTok, how to grow on Instagram, content that attracts brands, EDUcreator, creator economy, content creation tips, parasocial trust

Nobody makes fun TikToks about this. Nobody DMs us asking about it. But your money systems matter more than almost anything else we talk about on this show if you want a sustainable career. This is the unsexy, essential episode: separating your money, setting aside for taxes, how you get paid, the fees eating your income, and the weekly habit that keeps it all from piling up. Standard disclaimer: not attorneys, not accountants, not financial advisors. Just two business owners sharing what we've done. What We Cover: Why Tea ran her entire business out of the family bank account and why that's a problem Liability, asset freezes, and why separation protects more than your bookkeeping Why forming an LLC is what unlocks a business bank account and credit card The 30% rule: how much to set aside from every payment, and how Kate buckets it Tea's daughters and the taxes cup Quarterly estimated taxes, when they apply, and what happens when you miss them Kate's one-day-late interest charge she's still mad about Net 30 and net 60: what they mean and why you're always paid after the work Bank transfer versus PayPal, the instant transfer trap, and Tea's $13,000 in fees Why split payments sound better than they are Brands pay late. Here's how to follow up without feeling awkward The weekly money date and why it should be a standing calendar appointment Your Challenge: Pick one: separate your accounts, or set up your tax bucket. Done by end of week. Episodes Referenced: Season 2 Episode 8: 5 Content Creator Business Mistakes Keeping You Broke Season 2 Episode 6: Should You Accept Gifted Collabs? Episode 16, Season 1: Legal Gaps ft. Alyssa from Legal Doer Form your LLC with Tailor Brands: [AFFILIATE LINK] Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco Tags: content creator taxes, how much to set aside for taxes content creator, quarterly taxes content creator, content creator money management, separate business and personal finances, LLC for content creators, content creator bookkeeping, influencer taxes, net 30 payment terms, how creators get paid, PayPal fees creators, ACH bank transfer, invoicing for creators, content creator finances, self-employed taxes, brand deal payment, content creator business, EDUcreator, creator economy, content creator income

We made over 1 million in brand deals and neither of us has ever hired a manager. Managers take 15 to 25% of every deal, and for educational creators specifically, we think there's a strong case for keeping that money and learning the job yourself. This episode breaks down the six things a manager does, why we've chosen not to outsource any of them, and how to build the systems to manage your own brand deals without losing your mind. What We Cover: Why management makes sense for celebrity-style endorsement deals and less sense for educational creators What you lose when a middleman sits between you and the brand Why the brands you choose are a reflection of you, and why that decision shouldn't be outsourced The commission question: whether deals you sourced yourself still get a cut Job 1: Finding deals, inbound and outbound Job 2: Calculating your base rate before any brand conversation Job 3: Negotiating, and the myth that managers keep it from getting personal Job 4: Contracting. Not writing them. Reading them. Why brand-side managers often don't know what's in their own contracts Job 5: Project management, from Notion to an Apple Note Job 6: Getting paid, and the contract language that delays it What a $13,500 one-off deal cost Kate in hours Why retainers cut the admin load in half What to do if you decide to hire a manager anyway Your Challenge: Pick the one job you're avoiding most. Build the system this week. Episodes Referenced: Episode 4, Season 1: The Obvious YES Pitch Episode 5, Season 1: What You Should Charge Episode 7, Season 1: The LEVEL Framework Season 2 Episode 5: Brand Deal Contract Red Flags Season 2 Episode 9: What Brands Look For Before They Say Yes ft. Yulia Storozhuk Season 2 Episode 18: Money Systems for Creators Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco

We got a deal to what we thought was the finish line. Waiting on the contract. Then it started falling apart. This is a real brand deal negotiation happening behind the scenes right now. We can't share the brand or the numbers, but we're walking you through every step: the initial offer, our counter, the six-month pause they proposed, the restructured deal that came back, and the call that changed everything. And you should know this isn't just us. Industry reporting shows brands across the market pausing deals, declining to negotiate, and asking for more scope at lower pay. If it's happening to you, you're not doing anything wrong. What We Cover: Redlining every line of the initial pitch before expressing interest Doing real math on usage rights, name and likeness, and funnel strategy before countering Pitching a number that felt uncomfortable and why the math made it obvious The six-month pause offer and why we said no The future promise: the negotiation tactic you should recognize when you see it Negotiate scope, not rate: how we restructured the deal to fit their budget The contract that came back with money missing Having a moment, then asking for a call The questions beginner-us would have been afraid to ask Why influencer managers aren't the opposing team A verbal yes is not a deal Learning to see your work inside a brand's full marketing system Book Mentioned: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss Episodes Referenced: Episode 22: What Brands Are Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands Season 2 Episode 9: What Brands Look For Before They Say Yes ft. Yulia Storozhuk of Kittl Season 2 Episode 13: How to Respond When a Brand Asks What Are Your Rates Season 2 Episode 7: How to Renegotiate Your Brand Deal Rates Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco

We spend a lot of time teaching you how to pitch. This episode is the other side: how to set things up so brands come to you. Inbound is the highest-margin path in the creator economy, because when a brand reaches out, you're the target instead of one applicant in a pile. Neither of us has actively sought out a new brand partnership in a while, and this is why. What We Cover: How brands actually find creators, from two people who now source creators for their own agency Why your influencer manager is just a person scrolling, and what that means for your strategy The folder of creators we've saved with nothing to offer them yet Why tagging brands in organic content is a strategy, not free labor Kate's HelloFresh video that turned into an inbound months later The types of content that attract brands, including leaving an intentional brand-shaped gap Why your page should demonstrate top, middle, and bottom of funnel ability Keywords: why your bio and captions have to be searchable, with a before-and-after example Why hashtags still matter in 2026 for creator sourcing Why you need a lane before you earn the freedom to broaden Make it easy: why Kate has 998 unread TikTok message requests and one of them was from a head of marketing Why your media kit should already exist before anyone asks Reply fast: the 24-hour window that closes more deals Where Kate and Tea differ on response speed and what to take from each Playing the long game, the Toyota story, and using affiliate programs as an entry point Your Challenge: Part one, run a findability audit on your page. Part two, pick one dream brand and mention them organically this week. No pitch. Just start. Episodes Referenced: Episode 22: What Brands Are Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands Season 2 Episode 1: You're Already Doing This for Free Season 2 Episode 2: Is Your Profile Brand Ready? Season 2 Episode 4: How to Make a Media Kit That Gets Brand Deals Episode 8, Season 1: Affiliate Income the Right Way Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco

We don't do gossip. But something happened in the creator space this month big enough that skipping it would be a disservice. Good Good Golf, a creator-led brand with four million followers across platforms, released a co-branded ad with Callaway depicting a man shoving a woman to the ground. Callaway ended a three-year partnership. Good Good lost a PGA Tour title sponsorship. Retailers pulled merchandise. Callaway's CEO confirmed his company approved the ad before it posted. We're not naming the creators. We are talking about what every creator should take from it. What We Cover: What actually happened, and where the fallout stands now Why "they were just actors" misses the point entirely How every brand you work with becomes part of your personal brand, permanently What happens if a brand keeps running an ad you no longer want your face on Why brand approval is not protection for your reputation Creative freedom means creative responsibility, and what that means when you're driving the concept The reputational risk you can't control: the brand we worked with for three years that collapsed and took our credibility with it Short-sightedness at a smaller scale: what to do when a brand asks you to bash a competitor you've worked with Why the gut feeling of resistance is worth listening to How to push back on a creative brief before you're locked into a contract Why this matters even more for UGC creators Your challenge: write down your lines now, before money is involved Episodes Referenced: S2E12: How to monetize content without losing your audience trust S2E5: Brand deal contract red flags you MUST know Ep 3: Brand deals that don't suck / green flags Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco If you want more current creator news takes like this, let us know.

52% of creators have experienced burnout because of their careers. Nearly 2 in 5 have thought about quitting entirely. Most consistency advice assumes your life stays the same every week, and it doesn't. Today we're talking about your BAM: your bare ass minimum. The floor you commit to no matter what season you're in. Kate has been in BAM mode for two weeks and breaks down exactly what hers looks like right now. What We Cover: What a BAM is and where the concept came from (shoutout to Grace) The two failure modes creators default to without one: treating every week like a peak week, or all-or-nothing cycling Why your BAM is a business decision, not a self-care decision How consistency shows up when a brand evaluates your page Why retainer partnerships make a BAM non-negotiable Question 1: What can you sustain in your absolute worst week? Question 2: What's the least that keeps your page alive? Kate's exact current BAM, including what she's dropped entirely Question 3: What can you batch or systematize? Why the tasks you dread almost always take less time than you think Question 4: What are you giving yourself permission not to do? Why guilt about not working is worse than either working or resting The trap: your BAM is a tent, not a house How to recognize your cues for shifting in and out of BAM mode Why what you see on other creators' pages tells you nothing about what's happening behind them Your Challenge: Answer the four questions. Write down your BAM. Then write down the cue that tells you it's time to shift back out. Episodes Referenced: S2E2: Is your profile brand ready? Ep 13: Retainers Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco

Most creators think making more money means landing more brand deals. It doesn't. 61% of creators leave 20 to 30% on the table through underpricing, which means the fastest path to more revenue is charging correctly for the deals you already have. Five things you're probably giving away for free. Grab a notebook. What We Cover: Ad rights: what they are, why 20 to 50% of your base rate per month is standard, and why they often out-earn the original video fee The Instagram problem: why you can't set an ad rights expiration, and how Kate caught brands running past the window twice Why the creator team and the paid media team at a brand rarely talk, and what to do about it Exclusivity: why 25 to 100% premium is standard and how broad category exclusivity can quietly cost you thousands Why exclusivity is often buried in the contract and never mentioned in the email Packages over single videos, and why one video can't deliver what most brands are asking for The funnel package Tea pitched that turned into a bigger renegotiation Affiliate income as a cherry on top, and how to read affiliate-only inbounds critically Kate's 16% conversion rate that turned an affiliate link into a paid partnership Charging for your expertise: why strategy calls, performance analysis, and access to your resources are consulting, not courtesy Your challenge: audit your last deal and count what you gave away Episodes Referenced: Episode 5, Season 1: What You Should Charge Episode 7, Season 1: The LEVEL Framework Episode 16, Season 1: Legal Gaps ft. Alyssa from Legal Doer Episode 8, Season 1: Affiliate Income the Right Way Join the Creator Club Waitlist Follow us: @notaninfluencerco

You're pitching. You're posting. You're doing what everyone told you to do. And still: nothing. Short, sassy, slightly-calling-you-out episode. Three specific things killing your chances of landing brand partnerships, pulled straight from the DMs we get from creators who say they're following all the advice and still hearing crickets. It's almost always one of these three. What We Cover: Killer 1: Making your pitch all about you, and what brands are actually buying instead The pitch style Tea used early on that never got a response, and why she now sees it daily in her own agency inbox Killer 2: When your page doesn't back up your pitch, and what a brand sees when they can't tell who your audience is How Kate folds lifestyle content into a side hustle niche without diluting it Vacuum Gate: the $500 brand deal Tea took that had nothing to do with print on demand Killer 3: Fumbling the rate conversation, and the two ways creators blow it Why "what are your rates?" is rarely a question about one video Your challenge: fix one of the three this week Episodes Referenced: Ep 4: The Obvious YES Pitch S2E2:  Is your profile brand ready? S2E13: How to respond to "what's your rates!?" Ep 5: Pricing / 4R framework More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

Adrian had 3,000 subscribers on YouTube and 25,000 followers on TikTok. He charged more for YouTube. Every brand said yes immediately, which he now knows means he undercharged. Eighteen months later YouTube is his single largest income stream. Our guest Adrian Vonarx is a print on demand educator and longtime listener of this show, and this conversation is genuinely one of the most tactical we've recorded. If you've been sitting on YouTube thinking you need a big channel before brands will pay you, this episode dismantles that. Also, fair warning, Kate cries a little. Adrian tells the story of a Google Meet the two of them had in December 2024 that changed the entire trajectory of his business. What We Cover: Adrian's 30-day TikTok challenge and why his first 30 videos being terrible was the whole point How five years of print on demand turned into an education business almost by accident Why the giving economy means you have to serve before you earn, and how that produces brand deals as a byproduct The DM Adrian sent Kate offering to pay for her time, the 90-minute call that followed, and what it changed Why Adrian had never renegotiated a single brand rate before that conversation, and what happened when he did How he pitched YouTube to three existing TikTok brand partners and got three yeses Why brands paid him more for 1,500 YouTube views than for 5,000 TikTok views The three YouTube sponsorship deal structures: mid-roll ads, dedicated videos, and integrations Why integrations are his favorite and how leading with value before the pitch changes the comment section entirely How Adrian stacks three to four aligned sponsors into a single YouTube video and why no brand has ever objected How to price a YouTube sponsorship when you have no benchmark, and Adrian's honest admission that he threw out a number and every brand said yes Kate's pushback: why letting the brand name the number first costs you, and when to set the anchor yourself Why YouTube content has a longer shelf life, lower click friction, and better link tracking than short form, and why brands pay for that The TikTokification of YouTube and why average views now matter more than subscriber count The metrics Adrian actually sends brands: average views per video, engagement rate, average watch time, and audience geography Why a 10-minute YouTube video is really just ten TikToks stacked, and how to repurpose your best performing short form into long form Why you should commit to mastery of one platform before adding another The guerrilla tactic Adrian used to land deals: integrate a brand for free, then show them the performance   Episodes Referenced: Episode 5, Season 1: What You Should Charge, the 4R Pricing Framework Season 2 Episode 7: How to Renegotiate Your Brand Deal Rates Season 2 Episode 13: How to Respond When a Brand Asks What Are Your Rates Season 2 Episode 4: How to Make a Media Kit That Gets Brand Deals   More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

Four words from a brand: what are your rates? It's one of the most mishandled emails in the entire creator economy. And how you respond determines whether you land the deal at your value or fumble it before the negotiation even starts. Here's what most creators miss: that first email IS the negotiation. Whoever puts the first number down anchors everything that follows. Every counteroffer, every package discussion, everything that feels "fair" gets measured against that first number. Brands are handing you that anchor for free when they ask for your rates. This episode is about what to do with it. We're covering the five most common ways creators fumble this email, then teaching you the Anchor Method: our four-step process for responding in a way that positions you as a strategic partner and sets the entire negotiation up in your favor. Built on negotiation science, including lessons from Never Split the Difference, plus our own years of brand deal experience on both the creator and agency side. What We Cover: Why your first response to "what are your rates?" is the start of a negotiation, not a formality The psychology of anchoring: why the first number named controls everything that comes after it Kate's negotiation origin story, from buying her first car alone at 21 to landing screaming deals on brand partnerships Fumble 1: Sending a naked rate card. Why "here's my media kit, let me know what you think" reduces you to a price tag and invites ghosting Fumble 2: Justifying your rate with effort. Brands don't care how long the video took. They're buying the outcome, not your hours Fumble 3: Anchoring by follower count. Why "I have X followers so I charge X" is outdated and what brands weigh instead Fumble 4: Answering with "what's your budget?" Why it signals you'll adapt to whatever they'll pay, and the scope questions to ask instead Fumble 5: The preemptive retreat. Why "but I'm open to whatever works for your budget" undoes your anchor the moment you set it Why holding your number without softening it feels so uncomfortable, especially for women, and the CEO reframe that fixes it The Anchor Method Step 1: Position before price. Build context with your engagement rate, audience overlap, and a piece of content that proves the fit Tea's real inbound story: the video she posted the day before a brand reached out, and how it became her anchor Step 2: Anchor with a bolstering range. Why the top of your range should feel like a stretch and the bottom should be your true floor Step 3: Attach your range to a defined package. Why brands rarely know what they need, and why a single video is almost never the right offer Step 4: Close with momentum. Killing "let me know if that works" energy and replacing it with timeline questions that keep the deal moving Kate's real story of closing the loop with a brand that went quiet, and why hearing no beats an open tab in your brain Your Challenge: Write your Anchor Method response template before you need it. Go to Episode 5 for the 4R Framework if you haven't calculated your rates. Map your range for one video, three videos, and ad rights. Add your scope questions. Save it. The next time a brand asks what your rates are, you'll respond prepared instead of panicked. Episodes Referenced: Ep 5  Season 1: What You Should Charge, the 4R Pricing Framework Ep 7 Season 1: The LEVEL Framework, the levers to pull when adjusting rates and packages mid-negotiation Season 2 Episode 11: How to Create Brand Deal Content That Gets Results, understanding brand goals before you price S2E8: 5 Content Creator Business Mistakes Keeping You Broke, the CEO vs. creator mindset Book Recommendation: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco   A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.