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— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Koji Launches New Ebook Feature

Last week, link-in-bio platform Koji announced a revamped template that lets creators sell ebooks and audiobooks directly within platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Koji is capitalizing on the popularity of #BookTok and its more than 114 billion views on TikTok. #BookTok, which is a force constituted by readers, reviewers, and writers sharing their ideas with other bookworms, is powerful—authors like Abby Jimenez and Colleen Hoover have seen their sales skyrocket in recent years as fanatic readers give their works, both old and new, the viral treatment.

Koji is leaning in—and shifting its strategy. Its revamped ebook feature is part of the company’s broader effort to focus on the “creator middle class,” particularly lesser-known creators who are focused on moving products.

Not every creator “has the aspiration to become the next [Martin] Scorsese with millions of fans,” Koji’s Head of Creators Paul Bakaus told us. “But they did have an aspiration to feed their families.”

For many creators, that aspiration manifests in the sale of products like ebooks. Koji’s goal is to help creators skip pay-to-play marketplaces like the Kindle Store and instead sell their ebooks to their social audiences directly.

• How that works: Creators upload their ebook to a Koji template. Koji generates a landing page and custom URL for the ebook.

• Followers can read a popup preview (such as the first three chapters) and immediately unlock the rest through a one-click payment via Koji, which takes a 10% cut.

Zoom out: According to Influencers Club, as of 2022, there are 62 link-in-bio companies. Koji is focused on differentiating its platform by zeroing in on “commerce creators” like authors who are primarily interested in selling products to the audiences they’re building.

BetterHelp Under Fire for Selling User Data

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission alleged that online therapy company BetterHelp illegally sold consumer data for advertising purposes on platforms like Facebook and Snapchat—even after promising that data was kept private.

Why it matters: BetterHelp has spent over $100 million on advertising over the last year, according to MediaRadar. And tons of that spending has gone toward partnerships with major creators like Anthony Padilla and celebrities like Ariana Grande.

FYI: BetterHelp has been in hot water before—it was criticized in 2019 for refusing patients in dire mental health situations. And in 2018, critics suggested that creators who worked with BetterHelp including Phil DeFranco and Shane Dawson were profiting off of fans struggling with depression.

Big picture: Creators who work with brands are, in effect, vouching for those brands when their campaigns go live. The FTC’s allegations against BetterHelp have opened the conversation around the importance of creators vetting sponsors.

Bottom line: The brands creators work with are an extension of those creators and their values, Dave Wiskus, the CEO of talent management company Nebula Talent, told us.

“Every sponsorship you run at the end of every video…you’re telling the audience something about yourself and themselves,” Wiskus said. “You’re holding up a mirror.”

Sponsored by Spreadshop

What it Means to Have 1,000 True Fans

You’re probably familiar with the theory of 1,000 True Fans.

Coined by Kevin Kelly in 2008, the principle states that to find success as a creator or artist, you need 1,000 True Fans—1,000 people that will spend $100+ per year on your products.

In today’s creator landscape though, the criteria for a True Fan has evolved. The team at Spreadshop breaks down how to apply the True Fans theory to your own creator business.

Here’s a preview of what they cover:

• Tactics to identify your True Fans beyond the $100/year principle

• What revenue streams make the most sense for your True Fans

• How to apply the 80/20 rule to your creator business

Watch the full video here.

TikTokers Collaborate with Chipotle

Some menu hacks are too good to stay secret for long—and TikTok food critics Keith Lee and Alexis Frost, who went viral for adding fajita vegetables to Chipotle steak quesadillas, are proof.

Now their creations, the Keithadilla and Fajita Quesadilla Hack, respectively, are on Chipotle’s app and website menus.

Zoom out: Chipotle has invested heavily in creators, from a collaboration with Tinx to an exclusive TikTok Hack Menu.

The numbers show why: In the weeks after Lee and Frost posted about their Chipotle hack, TikTok content about the steak quesadilla with fajita veggies got more than 30.6 million views, 3.7 million likes, and 69,500 shares.

FYI: The rollout has been a little bumpy—some fans are balking at the quesadilla’s $13 price tag.

👀 Creator Moves

• Johnny Harris is hiring an editor and a thumbnail designer.

• Jesser is hiring across roles, from YouTube Production to Apparel Operations.

• Annie Long is hiring a video editor.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Why brands are hiring creators as creative directors.

• Mark Rober dives deep on…bed bugs.

• Hot Ones boneless wings are now available at Walmart.

• How KallMeKris got 100 million followers.

• Podcast agency Sweet Fish is hiring a Lead Producer, and they’re looking for someone with a Creator skillset. Apply here.*

• Why Black teen girls are the curators of culture.

• How the Bold Glamour TikTok filter works.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

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