Dunno if this helps anyone but thought I'd share the thinking behind a new tactic we are using, in case it’s useful for others building who are working with creators to help amplify their marketing.

Our customers ARE creators—Podcasters, YouTubers, Musicians, Comedians, Authors etc—so it felt logical to treat them as true partners, not just marketing channels. We decided to set up a “Board of Creators” program where creators can earn equity in return for:

- Advising on product direction; - Being regular users (with zero platform fees forever) - Champion the product to other creators (for which we will also pay them a referral)

We’re hoping this approach leads to some early product advocates that will help accelerate our growth. I have no idea (yet) as to the quality or reach, but the response so far on LI has been pretty good (using the good ol' comment for more info approach to ensure we land in more feeds).

I would think this doesn't have to be just for creator businesses either, it could work more broadly for anyone using creators in their marketing.

This is early for us, so we’re keen to see how it plays out—and curious if others have tried similar models.

You will never own your data on a 3rd party platform so there was always this risk. Music industry was blind to it.

As silly as it sounds, email is still a great way to own the comms with your customers. OK it's not what it was, but at least you have control!