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

Many of you enjoyed last week's Cannes takeaways, so I wanted to share one conversation from the Creator Beach in particular that felt crucial for creators to hear.

Our own NYC community member, Kerry Flynn from Axios, sat down with Mel Robbins for a conversation on audience, impact, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.

One framework she shared completely changed how I've been thinking about creator growth, and I think it's one every NYC creator should borrow.

Let's get into it (plus, our next event below).

One thing Cannes Lions made clear this year: creator marketing is entering a new era.

The conversation has shifted from one-off creator campaigns to building long-term creator programs that are measurable, repeatable, and built to scale.

That's exactly what Later helps brands do. Whether you're discovering creators, managing partnerships, or measuring performance, they're building the infrastructure behind some of the best creator marketing programs in the industry.

At Cannes Lions, Mel Robbins (podcaster, creator, author) shared a simple framework that explains why some creators build businesses that compound while others stay stuck.

It flows like this:

You → One → Many.

Most creators think growth starts with reaching more people.

Her argument was the opposite.

It starts by getting crystal clear on who you are, what you're building, and the one person you're trying to help. Many only happens because you served the one so well they wanted to share your work.

Here's what I took away.

Everything starts with you.

Who are you? What are you actually trying to build? What kind of impact do you want your work to have?

Mel referenced two questions from Seth Godin that every creator should be able to answer:

"If you can't answer those two questions, you do not have a strategy. You have a wish."

For example, when I started Creator Economy NYC, I wasn't trying to build a media company or an events business.

I was trying to create the room I wished existed when I first entered the creator economy.

That became a filter for every decision afterward. Which events to host. Who to invite. Which partnerships made sense. Which opportunities to say no to.

The second step is One.

Creators love talking about scale.

The best businesses usually start much smaller.

Mel's advice was to stop thinking about an audience and start thinking about one person.

Specifically, the person you used to be.

The one asking the questions you've already answered. The one facing the problem you've already worked through. That's who you're uniquely qualified to help.

That's a much easier brief than trying to make something everyone likes.

If one person genuinely feels seen, learns something useful, or solves a real problem because of your work, they'll share it.

That's where Many comes from.

Not because the algorithm randomly blessed you, but because your content became worth recommending.

Mel shared that nearly half of her podcast listeners each week are first-time listeners. That's not because she's constantly chasing the algorithm. It's because people keep sending episodes to friends, coworkers, and family members who need to hear them.

Growth isn't happening because she's reaching more people herself. It's happening because the people she already serves are doing the introducing.

The best distribution strategy is creating something worth sharing.

That's true whether you're building a newsletter, YouTube channel, product, or community.

Once you're unclear about who you're serving, Mel shared how everything else starts breaking.

Everything feels urgent. Every trend, email, partnership, and platform suddenly feels equally important because you don't have a filter for deciding what actually matters.

You mistake volume for progress. More posts. More platforms. More content. Consistency matters, but clarity tells you what deserves your time in the first place. Without it, you just begin producing more noise.

You spend more time consuming than creating. Research quietly turns into procrastination. You convince yourself you need more work, time, etc before publishing the thing you already know you should make. F*ck it, create it.

You optimize for validation instead of impact. Views and vanity metrics become the scoreboard. Helping people stops being the goal. Ironically, that's usually when growth slows down.

So before you publish your next piece of content, answer these questions:

Everything else gets much easier once those answers are clear.

Anddd here is Ally (my fiancée) and I with Mel!

Summer is in full swing and after a packed few months of events, launches, conferences, and creator chaos, we're bringing the community back together.

​Join Creator Economy NYC and our friends at TopFan for an evening of networking, conversation, and connection with creators, marketers, platforms, and industry leaders shaping what's next.

​We'll explore what it means to build a creator business that lasts, from audience ownership and direct fan relationships to creating opportunities beyond the platforms we rely on every day.

Oh, and it’s the night before Creator Economy LIVE East conference happening here in nyc (more on that BELOW).

We're excited to be partnering with Creator Economy Live East, the industry's largest influencer marketing conference, taking place July 29 in Midtown Manhattan (right after our July 28 event)

The event brings together creators, agencies, platforms, and brands including Anthropologie, Estée Lauder, Disney, American Express, and many more for a full day of conversations, networking, and industry insights.

As part of our partnership, I was able to secure 20% off any ticket exclusively for the Creator Economy NYC community, just use code CENYC20.

Hope to see you there!

The Creator Goal Setting Guide (FREE): A simple but powerful document to help you declare who you want to BECOME in 2026. Get it here.

The Creator Accountability System (FREE): Your visual companion for consistent creation in 2026. Get it here.

Thanks for reading! Next week, spend less time worrying about reaching more people and more time serving one person exceptionally well.

Enjoy the 4th of July! Happy bday USA.

F*ck It, Create It,

Brett

+ With research, interview and editorial support by Taylor Cromwell - a newsletter and creator economy expert and founder of Creator Diaries. Follow Taylor on LinkedIn.