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Last night, I hosted a party with the Tech Week team at a16z, inviting about 50 creators to participate.
Participants included meme lords, TikTok creators, lifestyle bloggers, cinematic video creators, Substack authors, email newsletter operators, podcast producers, YouTube bloggers, and social media managers.
It covers almost all areas of internet content creators.
In this article, I will share 7 key insights gleaned from multiple conversations.
a16z and Tech Week team
1. Own your audience
Everyone is building email lists.
Even creators who focus on short videos on TikTok or Instagram consider email a core foundation of their business.
Some attract new subscribers through campaigns, while others turn Instagram DMs into a growth engine through paid advertising, creating lead magnets, or using ManyChat.
The frequency of release is not important; some release weekly, some monthly, some quarterly, and some even occasionally.
What matters is ownership.
Every creator seems to yearn for a direct and lasting way to connect with their audience, rather than relying on algorithmic changes.
2. Establish offline touchpoints
Offline interactions have become even more popular.
Many creators have spent years building their audience, community, and fan base online.
Now, they are looking for ways to translate these connections into offline interactions.
Podcast producers started hosting live recording events; social media creators organized private dinners, local gatherings, and even vacations.
These are not just "fan events," but channels for deepening relationships, building trust, and exploring higher-value collaborations.
The interactive flywheel effect of shifting from online to offline is demonstrating its powerful force.
3. Package Sponsorship Plan
The advertising sponsorship model is becoming packaged.
Creators are gradually moving away from the one-off ad transaction model.
They chose to integrate their newsletter, podcast, social media content, and offline events into a single sponsorship package.
This model is more advantageous for creators: revenue is more predictable, negotiations are reduced, long-term relationships are built, and multi-platform integration with audiences is better facilitated.
It's also better for brands: one partnership can cover multiple channels, generate a lot of reusable content, and offer more creative collaboration methods than traditional ad placements.
This shift signifies the maturity of the industry, which I greatly appreciate.
4. Cultivate niche markets
Wealth lies in market segmentation.
The more precise the segmentation, the stronger the business.
Just like the Car Dealership Guy, whom I recently invited to my podcast, we met for the first time yesterday.
His target audience totals 155,000 car dealerships and their employees, but he has built a massive business because his content and products are entirely focused on the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Many people believe that their niche market is too small, but in reality, as long as the positioning is accurate, its value often exceeds expectations.
Adam (Blueprint), Yossi (car dealership), Avi (Creator Logic), Litquidity
5. Cooperation leads to win-win results
Cooperation can accelerate growth.
1 + 1 = 3.
Creators are actively seeking collaborations.
Newsletter exchanges, podcast guest deals, joint events, and cross-promotion of products.
If you can find partners with a similar target audience, the growth rate will increase exponentially. This is not only faster, but also more interesting than going it alone.
Although this strategy is not new, it is still heartening to see it happening in reality.
More and more people are choosing the approach of "making the pie bigger".
6. Lead a platform
Platform dominance remains important.
Almost every creator has a "main battleground".
Although they may have expanded across platforms, the platforms that initially brought them traffic remain their core—whether it's YouTube, Substack, Instagram, or TikTok.
This is where their community forges the strongest connections with them.
Expansion is important, but dominance is key.
Some creators even hire teams to fill gaps on other platforms while still maintaining firm control over the platform that initially made them successful.
First, build your empire on a platform.
7. Distribution is the ultimate moat.
This is a point that almost everyone agrees on.
In an era where anyone can launch a product, tool, or service, the key differentiator for creators is not what they create, but how they distribute their content.
Brand + Distribution = Moat
This is a point I have been emphasizing and will continue to uphold until more people realize its importance.
Frankly, it's refreshing to see such a consensus among everyone — especially considering that many industries outside the creator economy are still lagging behind this idea.
Summarize
The creator economy is maturing.
Strategies are becoming more sophisticated, business models are becoming more complex, and opportunities are greater than ever before.
If you are building content online, please note the following:
• Have your audience (email)
Establish offline touchpoints
• Package sponsorship plan
• Deepen the cultivation of niche markets
Cooperation leads to win-win results
• Lead a platform
• Treat distribution as a moat
This is a successful approach I've observed in practice.
Looking forward to the next wave of innovation and breakthroughs from creators!
