IN TODAY'S ISSUE ↓
🎙️ TL;DR → If a brand tells you not to work with competitors after a post goes live but isn’t paying you more, that’s exclusivity, and it could be costing you serious money. This week on YouTube, I break down how to spot it, why it matters, and how to figure out what you should actually be charging. You can watch the video here.
This week, we're so excited to welcome Maria, Julia, Lynsie, and Loren to Soulcial Suite!
Before we get into it: Welcome to 2026! You may notice that we've made some tweaks to our typical Wednesday newsletter. That's because I'm expecting a baby anytime now, 😱 and our newsletter will be a bit abbreviated for the next few months.
My big goal for 2026 is to be in my ✨ YouTube era ✨ so each week, I'll be sharing a "creator mini lesson" with you that has a full YouTube video attached to it if you'd like to learn more.
While I'll be a little slower to respond as I get my footing as a new mom, I am still here for you and want to support you as you build your creator biz, so just know that you can always reply to these emails if you need help! Cheers to the new year!
THIS WEEK'S MINI LESSON: EXCLUSIVITY
Ever had a brand tell you that you can't work with their competitors for a few weeks (or even months!) after your post goes live?
Believe it or not — This is a service, and you should be getting paid for it.
As a creator, fully understanding exclusivity is SO important because if you're not charging for it correctly, I can promise that you're leaving money on the table (and that SUCKS — none of this in 2026).
The tricky part is figuring out what to charge because, realistically, some brands are more challenging to stay exclusive to than others.
Let me share an example.
Say you're a fashion creator who shares haul videos from all your favorite retailers, and an indestructible stockings/tights company reaches out to you asking for exclusivity.
GREAT. Realistically, that's an easy brand to stay exclusive to mostly because how many indestructible tights brands are there to work with? Hardly any, right?
Now, on the other hand, say Abercrombie reaches out to you to work together, asking for 3 months of exclusivity.
That's THREE MONTHS where you won't be able to share Old Navy, American Eagle, Aerie, Madewell, etc. and that could box you out of A LOT of other brand deals.
(aka YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON $$$$$ OPPORTUNITIES!!)
This is a great example of:
a) Why you need to get paid for exclusivity — period.
b) Why the RATE that you charge for exclusivity is going to RANGE depending on the brand and how many potential opportunities you're going to miss out on, right?
Ex: Indestructible tights - eh, you may charge 10% of your base rate per 30 days of exclusivity, while for Abercrombie, you may be charging 100% (!!!!) of your base rate per 30-day period.
To really nail down the right exclusivity rate, you need to ask the brand questions and gather as much info as possible.
I'm sharing ALL the questions to ask and plenty more on this topic in this week's YouTube video.