Good morning. Big news in sports media: ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a joint streaming service for live sports yesterday. In other words, weโ€™ll now have three unique broadcasts cutting to Taylor Swift during Chiefs gamesโ€”all for the price of one.ย 

How Salary Transparent Street is Future-Proofing

Hannah Williams of Salary Transparent Street (left) shares that her brand earned $1,043,593 in gross revenue in 2023 (right) / Salary Transparent Street

Hannah Williams of Salary Transparent Street (STS) has become known for asking strangers how much money they makeโ€”with the goal of increasing pay transparency. Williams recently made waves for flipping the script: unpacking how she made $1 million for STS in 2023.

Breaking it down: Brand partnerships with companies like Indeed, Sofi, and Deputy accounted for 97% of STSโ€™s $1 million in income last year. But in a very meta moment, Williams told us she found out she was โ€œcharging way too lowโ€ for some conversion partnerships after creator peers chimed in on her revenue breakdown last month.

โ€œYou see $1 million, but in my mind I see something that can go away in a split-second,โ€ Williams told us.

So to future-proof her business, decrease her reliance on partnerships budgets, and ultimately double her income to $2 million this year, Williams is leaning into new revenue streams: data and community.

  • STS has a free newsletter and email-gated salary database. Both offer valuable first-hand data on STSโ€™s audience.

  • STS also plans to launch a job board with a recruitment referral process.

โ€œIn my mind, having data and having a system that brings people together in a way that current databases don't is worth something. It cost $200,000 to make and we own everything, which is on purpose because if it gets acquired that could be a huge payout,โ€ Williams said.

Another benefit to investing in her site? Providing a space off social platforms where users can share their salaries and research others. According to Williams, thatโ€™s part of what makes STS stand out from other person-on-the-street shows.ย 

Three Creator Show Launches Weโ€™re Watching

Rhett & Link (left) tease a main channel show, ex-Too Hot To Handle star Harry Jowsey (top right) joins Unwell, and Epic Gardening launches a brand with a new host, Joe (bottom right) / Rhett & Link, Harry Jowsey, Epic Off-Grid Living

Several top creator-led companies announced new shows this week, each with a unique distribution strategy. Three weโ€™re watching:

Rhett & Link are debuting a new TV show on their personal YouTube channel. In an upload Tuesday, the longtime creators and co-hosts of Good Mythical Morning expressed frustration with their attempts over the last several years to sell a project they wrote to traditional TV studios.

So, instead of continuing to pitch studios, the duo will make the show as a Mythical production and release it through their original Rhett & Link channel in the fall. โ€œWe see it as an investment in ourselves, in our creative ideas, and in our team,โ€ Rhett said.

Alex Cooper adds a third podcast to her Unwell Network. Reality TV star Harry Jowsey will join the Unwell talent roster alongside TikTok creators Alix Earle and Madeline Argy. Jowsey has become a fan favorite among Cooperโ€™s listeners after multiple appearances on Call Her Daddy.

Jowseyโ€™s Boyfriend Material, featuring conversations about dating and relationships, will launch across audio platforms on February 27.ย 

Epic Gardening is going off the grid. Its new media brand Off-Grid Living explores how to live sustainably in the wilderness through 1) a pair of vertical videos each day across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram and 2) one weekly longform video.

Sponsored by Shopify

Unpack Shopifyโ€™s 2024 Product Drop

Building a creator-led business is a lot like building a house. You canโ€™t build one without having a solid foundation in place.

Discover new tools for laying the groundwork of your business inside Editions, Shopifyโ€™s twice-yearly drop of platform-enhancing products. Their Winter 2024 announcement has over 100+ product updates that make running an online store easier than ever, including:

  1. Shopify Magic: Save time with AI-powered features that write product descriptions and edit product photos for you (will be available in early 2024).

  2. Shopify Subscriptions: Create more predictable revenue by offering customers recurring product orders.

  3. Shopify Lending: Keep scaling with more financing options, like a flexible Line of Credit you can access at any time.

Create a more efficient and successful online store in 2024. Dig into all of Shopifyโ€™s latest releases by checking out Editions today.

YouTube CEO Unveils Platformโ€™s Top Priorities

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, who spoke with Colin and Samir in 2023, shares the platformโ€™s priorities for the new year / Colin and Samir

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan published a letter yesterday outlining the companyโ€™s top priorities for 2024.

The main takeaways:

  1. The YouTube Partner Program is thriving. More than 3 million channels are now registered in the program, which has paid out more than $70 billion to creators over the last three years.

  2. More generative AI experiments are coming, Mohan promised. FYI: Last year, YouTube announced several AI features, including tools that let creators sing like their favorite artists or create text-to-image backgrounds for Shorts.

  3. The living room is YouTubeโ€™s โ€œnext frontier.โ€ Mohan said the number of top creators who received the majority of their watchtime on TVs increased more than 400% in the last three years (a trend that factored into Colin and Samirโ€™s content strategy in 2023).

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