👋🏽 Doors Opening

Hey! Welcome to the Creator Economy NYC newsletter — your weekly dose of actionable insights and strategies to help you build, monetize, and scale as a creator.

Happy newsletter #80! I know some of you have been here since the #1, so thank you all for being part of this journey.

I'm writing this from VidCon in Anaheim, but my mind is still processing an incredible week at the Cannes Lions Festival.

Quick refresher: Cannes Lions is the biggest advertising festival in the world. Think Oscars meets South by Southwest, but for the marketing industry. Global CMOs, agency directors, and the world's biggest brands descend on the French Riviera for a week of panels, meetings, awards, and very expensive rosé.

This year was different. For the first time, creators weren't just being talked about — we were front and center, speaking on main stages and being treated as industry peers, not just "talent."

It was my first time at Cannes, and it was an honor to represent our creator community on advertising's biggest stage. It was also incredibly hot and humid. I destroyed every shirt I wore with sweat.

Nonetheless, here's what struck me most: Creators were everywhere. Creator marketing isn't just becoming advertising…it IS advertising.

Let me share what this means for you.

 🫶 Made Possible by the HubSpot Media Creators Program

My Cannes trip was made possible by the HubSpot Media program — a creator-first partnership offering collaboration, distribution, and editorial respect (not just traditional advertising).

They're treating creators as real media partners. And you're building scalable media on YouTube, podcasts, or newsletters, consider joining the program here.

✍️ Spotlight

3 things every creator should know coming out of Cannes

I spent the week MCing the stage on the “Creator Rooftop” listening to CMOs, agency heads, and creators from around the world. Here's what matters for you as a creator:

1. Brands are learning they need to let go of control

What I heard: "We give creators complete freedom to interpret our brand" and "Bold ideas don't die because they're bad — they die because the systems don't support them."

What this means for you: The best brands are building systems with clear deliverables, clear goals, and clear campaign messaging — then letting you be the creative director within those guidelines.

Think of it like this: They give you the destination and the guardrails, but you choose the route and the vehicle. The brands paying top dollar understand that you're the expert on how to reach YOUR audience.

Look for partnerships where the brief is crystal clear but the execution is yours. Run from the ones that want to script every word.

2. Be specific to you

One creator from South Africa said something that stuck: "When people buy into your brand, they see a reflection of themselves in you."

The data backs this up: Creator-led content is 4x more engaging than brand-created content.

What this means for you: Stop trying to sound like everyone else. The brands paying top dollar want YOUR perspective, YOUR community, YOUR way of communicating. That's literally what they can't replicate in-house.

Your weird is your wealth. Lean into what makes you different. Be specific to you.

3. You're not just making content — you're building media

The Chief Digital Officer TBWA\ Media Arts Lab (Apple’s bespoke agency) said something that reframed everything: "The space in people's phones is really special. It's a privilege to show up there."

What this means for you: Think bigger than just "content creation." You're building a media property. You're earning real estate in people's lives.

Ask yourself: Am I just filling time, or am I genuinely making someone's day better? The creators who obsess over that question are the ones building sustainable creator businesses.

The bottom line

Walking through Cannes, seeing LinkedIn's massive activation, and running into creators in our community like Brandon Smithwrick, Vin Matano, Dara Denney, Colin Rocker and other CENYC folks…one thing became very clear:

The creator economy isn't fighting for a seat at the table anymore. We ARE the table.

Oh, and just for fun, I kept track of the top most-used words across every panel I attended, here they are:

1. Authentic/Authenticity (seriously, every sentence)

2. Community (the new everything)

3. Brand (obviously)

4. Scale (bigger, faster, more)

5. Storytelling (everyone's a narrator now)

🎪 City Happenings

VIRTUAL EVENT: How to WIN on Pinterest

Most creators either haven't tapped into Pinterest, or aren't using it the way they could be. So we're teaming up with Pinterest on July 10th to break it all down in a free, no-fluff virtual workshop built for creators like you.

What to expect:

• A featured interview with NYC-based creator Jessica Morrobel (aka @travelingwithjessica) — who’s mastered Pinterest and turned her storytelling into a thriving business

• A simple way to think about growth, reach, and content that lasts

• Tools and features creators actually use

• Live Q&A

You won’t want to miss this.

WHAT’S NEXT: Summer events preview (RSVP!)

Summer events are in the works! More details coming soon, but for now:

• Mixer & Panel (announcing next week) — July 22 (RSVP EARLY HERE 😎)

• October Mixer & Panel — Mid October (TBA)

All events will be added to our events calendar once confirmed. As always, you'll hear about them first right here in the newsletter, then on our socials.

📚 Resources

COMING SOON: "F*ck It, Create It" Course (Early Access)

I've been working hard on our first creator education course the past few weeks — and yes, it's called exactly what you think it is.

It's focused on breaking through the mental barriers that keep you stuck in planning mode instead of creating mode. Because here's the truth: mindset precedes action, and most creators never fail because of bad idea… they fail because they never start.

I’m looking for early testers to capture feedback and help shape the course. Plus, you get a limited-edition "F*ck It, Create It" hat just for jumping in early.

Resources, challenges, and community accountability all included.

2 FREE resources to accelerate your creator growth

The Creator Goal Setting Guide: A simple but powerful document to help you declare who you want to BECOME in 2025.

The Creator Accountability System: Your visual companion for consistent creation in 2025 (I’m using this now to send one newsletter a week!)

✌🏽 Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Please

Thanks for reading! Cannes reminded me that we're not just witnessing the creator economy grow… we're driving it.

The brands, agencies, and platforms are all trying to figure out how to work with us better. That's a powerful position to be in.

LFC(reate),

Brett