IN TODAY'S ISSUE โ
- ๐๏ธ TL;DR โ When it's okay to take unpaid brand deals vs. when they absolutely are notโ
- ๐ซถ New analytics coming to YouTube and Threads will give you a better insight on how to create content that attracts new audience members
- โจ Brand deal opportunities from Rubbermaid, Spikeball, and Birkenstock
- ๐ค Opportunities to get support from Soulcialmate
Hi Reader,
Listen, I will be the first person to tell you that I don't want you to ever work for free. It's work. Work should be paid.
But I do believe there are some points where it's okay to work without formal compensation. Let me explain.
For the last day or two, I've been sharing posts on Threads offering free rate audits because I know that people have such a hard time figuring out what to charge.
I've probably spent about 1.5 hours this morning answering as many of their responses as I could โ yes, I'm working for free to help people get to know my profile and expertise, and to show that I am a trustworthy coach who genuinely wants their success.
I expect this will lead to some new members in our paid community, Soulcial Suite.
So, my "free" work will (hopefully) ultimately lead to income.
I believe this is really similar for brand partnerships, but only in some situations and with caveats.
Unpaid brand deals are acceptable when:
โ- You're a brand new creator who needs experience under your belt
- The price of the product is equal to your rate (this is personal preference, but I often feel okay about accepting these deals)
- You have flexibility on what you're going to post with that product
- Maybe it's a new niche that you want to start dipping your toes into (I took a lot of free product-for-Stories dog product deals when I first starting posting about the dogs)
Unpaid brand deals are NOT ACCEPTABLE when:
โ- The brand is demanding specific content (and lots of it)
- The brand is also for ANY sort of paid usage rights with it
- The product is not worth the work and time that is going to go into creating the product
- You are already well known in the niche of this product and your endorsement will be ultra valuable to the brand
And truthfully, there are some situations where creators I've worked with have tried and tried their hardest to negotiate, but the brand isn't budging and they REALLY want to work with this brand. Look, I'm not going to STOP you, but I think it's always worth first
a) trying to negotiate as hard as you can for payment
b) asking yourself "Is this really going to be worth it for me??"
I'll leave you with that ๐
THE SOULCIAL SCOOP
Social media news
creators need to know
๐ Threads is adding new analytics options โ They are hoping to help creators understand how their Threads content was discovered.
๐ Instagram claims that using the term โlink in bioโ does not affect your reach โ After many people have speculated that using โlink in bioโ in your content decreases their reach, Adam Mosseri came out to say that this isnโt true.
๐ YouTube announced new analytics to track viewer metrics โ They break viewers down into categories like new, casual, and regular.
Join us in Soulcial Suite to see all of the latest news on social media! We share weekly updates of what's going on with social media platforms so you can be a better creator.
FOSTER, RESCUE, ADOPT
Adoptable Pet of
the Week
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ADOPTABLE MICHAEL SCOTTโ
Yes, that Michael Scott. Him and his brothers, Dwight and Jim, are all looking for homes. Ask me what breed they are, and I will laugh in your face because how am I supposed to know what the HECK this thing is??? ๐ Look at him, lol.
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BE A BETTER CREATOR
Grow & scale
your creator biz
๐ถ Should you post outside your niche? โ My opinion is that you shouldn't suppress things that are genuinely part of your life. It will help you connect with your audience on a deeper level and humanize you.
๐ตโ๐ซ Is low reach and engagement causing you to spiral? โ Don't worry - there are real reasons we're all seeing a decrease in our numbers, and it's not because of our content.
๐ฐ You should be charging brands for exclusivity โ If a brand wants you to stay exclusive to them, you should be compensated appropriately. The rates will vary depending on the difficulty it takes to stay exclusive to that brand and how long the exclusivity lasts.
WEEKLY PAGES
What I Read
This Week
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NO PLACE TO HIDE BY MEGAN LALLY
โ3/5 โญ๏ธ
I feel like I need to listen to myself more often when I say in my head that if a book has under 4 stars on Goodreads, I usually don't love it, lol. This book was no exception. I feel like for a murder mystery, I should have been done with this a while ago, but I'm just not super invested in it to pick it up instead of watching The Hunting Wives, lol.
While, speaking of, ARE YOU WATCHING IT? OMG, just finished episode 7!!
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GET THAT BAG $
Brand Partnership
Opportunities
Each week, we source incredible brand deal opportunities for you from all over the internet.
Join us in Soulcial Suite to see the full list! We typically share about 5-10 opportunities per week inside (many that are not platform-based as many of these are).
YOUR NEW CREATOR BFF
Meet Our Soulcial Suite
Creator Members
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Hi! Iโm Kylie a Northern California based creator!
I started my journey on YouTube 6 years ago and now also make TikTok and Instagram content!
I have one daughter who is 3 and two puppies! Iโve been married for 4 years and cannot wait to learn more and make friends!
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Get to know Kylie ๐ฏโโ๏ธ โ
โ๐ฎ Favorite Food: Falafel or any Afghani food!
โ๐ Favorite Book: Loved the books: Across The Lake, After Midnight, Society of Lies, We Were Liars, The Handmaid Series
๐ Favorite Place Traveled To: Germany! The castles were beautiful and cobblestone roads and rainy weather have my heart.
๐ง Current Snack Fixation: Peanut butter and apples/nectarines and coconut waters
๐ฉโ๐ป Current Job Title: Crime/Travel Content Creator
โ