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In a world of AI video generation, the last advantage creators will have is their community.

Why?

Because communities are human-to-human. Can you really argue about the best Weezer B-sides with a robot with the same passion as YourSweetMemory32?

Let’s talk about super fan community platforms so you can find the best one for your or your client.

QUICK NOTE: Sorry this is coming out a day late. I had the weekend double-whammy of my daughter’s 6th birthday and Mother’s Day.

Also in this edition:

• Twitch Radio

• 88% of Creators are Side-Hustlers

• Political Vids are Still Booming

• Studio71 Has Distribution AI Tech

• Job ops from Demonstrate, Techless, and Rigle.

• …and a dank creator economy meme by yours truly!

Let’s get into it.

NEWS:

OnlyCommunityPlatforms

Let me take you back to 2013 when the paid super fan community platform wars only had two combatants, both started by creators.

Subbable, started by vloggers and VidCon-founders Hank and John Green, had both an ad-based revenue model and a fan model.

And Patreon, started by musician Jack Conte, was more like Kickstarter, but you unlock ongoing content for a monthly fee.

At the time, both were very buzzy. Suddenly all of our clients wanted to know if it was right for their audience.

In most cases, the answer was a resounding “No!”

You really can’t do well on these platforms unless you have an audience that wants more from you. And that requires pretty deep fandom.

In 2015, Patreon ‘won’ when it acquired Subbable and became the only game in town.

Right? Not for long…

In 2016, OnlyFans launched as a pay-by-piece-of-content plus subscription play for any type of creator, but attracted one specific kind of creator: adult stars.

And by revenue, it quickly became the biggest player in town, currently paying out $5 billion to creators per year while pocketing $1.25 billion for itself.

Then the market exploded. So as a creator or rep, how do you know what’s right for your client? Here is a breakdown with my opinion of each:

Patreon is still a very strong offering, finally catching up with their product with features like native video (took WAY too long), live video, and content unlocking. However, it’s no longer the right move for adult creators as other platforms has a better brand for that kind of content. Many of their top creators are podcasts, with the top brands making hundreds of thousands of dollars per month for bonus episodes.

Supercast is like Patreon made specifically for podcasts. It’s a bright and cheery AI with way more design choices for podcasts, lots of re-engagement e-mails, and a really clean way to login and listen. It’s less known than Patreon but overcomes that brand issue by making their tech super native to a podcast’s .com site.

Passes* is one of the strongest tech stacks for non-adult unlockable content (though they are going through an underage creator scandal right now). Lucy Guo, their CEO, is one of the youngest self-made billionaires, the platform is exceptionally well funded and designed, and the product is feature rich. No wonder they got huge stars/brands like Shaq, Livvy Dunne, Wall Street Bets, and the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!). Fans can pay for a monthly subscription or follow for free, then pay rates to unlock photos and videos, watch live streams, chat with their favorite stars, and so much more.

Fanfix is kind of like the Instagram of fan-funded super fan platforms, with a clean photo feed on each profile with unlockable content, free and paid subscription fees, and simple chat. It’s less chaotic than other platforms and far easier to administer. Some of the other platforms (OnlyFans included) takes a lot of maintenance. They’re also very strong community managers, throwing great parties, and providing plenty of chances to mix with their young, creator-forward staff.

BrandArmy* is like if a street artist became a paid fan platform. They have attracted a lot of top professional wrestlers for a reason: it’s modern, funky, and has a different vibe than other platforms. It feels less aggressively ‘salesy’ and more like a cool digital gift shop that screams “hang out here if you want, but it’s not all about the money.”

Fourthwall* is first-and-foremost one of my favorite merch providers for creators, but then they did something smart: allow creators to use those merch purchases as a way to unlock paid communities. This makes so much sense, as both cater to only your biggest fans. And often monthly fan subscriptions can be intimidating. What if I hate it? This gives you a chance to buy a t-shirt, get 3 months free to a community, and if you like it, you can continue.

STXT is OnlyFans with AI. Instead of chatting with a creator, you know you’re chatting with an AI version of a model. However, that makes for less work for models, and therefore lower prices for fans. And like most AI stuff these days, it’s all ‘pay by token’ to keep customers from over-spending.

Mighty Networks seems to be less talked-about in creator economy circles, and I’m guessing it’s because often you don’t realize a site you’re on is powered by Mighty Networks. It’s a huge tech stack of super fan offerings from classes to memberships to live events. And the best part: it’s a SaaS platform, so instead of giving up 10% to 20% on each transaction, the top transaction fee on the lowest tier they charge is 3%.

I could keep listing platforms for hours, from the all-new Subs.com to HeyDaily to Fansly to amazing link-in-bio features for paid communities, but just like our current head of Health and Human Services, I recommend you do your own research through shady reviews on Google.

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GROW 1%:

Phil Ranta’s weekly social media growth newsletter with one actionable tip to grow.

This week’s ‘Grow 1%’ is titled Your Content Could Have Been An E-mail 💌 and discusses how you avoid wasting your audience’s time.

I also put it in the wrong feed (in my old ‘Generative Phil’ newsletter feed') so you may have missed it!

Here’s an excerpt, and you can read the entire edition in the link above:

I hate meetings.

Almost every single minute of every single one.

If you get a group of people together for any reason, it takes up a lot of time and, if it's at a company, money.

So the best meetings should be one where you need every single person in that room to be solving problems together, sharing information that can only be done in a meeting context (for example, explaining something that will probably lead to questions), or bonding.

Most meetings could have, and should have, been an e-mail.

I know that line has become a cliche, but to me, that simply means you're wasting a lot of time, space, and energy to do something that would provide equal value if presented more simply.

So often when clients ask for feedback on a newsletter, a vlog, or even a tweet, I may say something like, "The last 4 minutes could have been an e-mail."

It was overdone. Too much time. Too much effort. Not enough impact.

The goal of your content should always be "all killer, no filler."

That means brevity is your friend. Knowing what you're trying to accomplish and making sure every minute, every shot, and every word is contributing.

And not letting a 10-minute 'perfect' be the enemy of the 2-minute 'good'.

Continue reading here.

FAME & FORTUNE:

I’ve always jokingly called Twitch ‘podcasts for nerds’ so I supposed I may have manifested this: Carstream for Twitch is an app that lets you listen to Twitch stream audio in your car. How does it monetize? Who knows. But I can imagine listening to political debates where both sides no nothing about anything while parked on the 405!

Speaking of political content, Streams Charts reported that the influencer election has continued and political streams is up 56% year-over-year. And it’s not just Bernie and The Donald on Twitch (both have channels), but creator debates, huge stars like Hasan Piker, and plenty of call in shows. It’s a great move to grow if you’re looking for a partisan audience, but you have to come correct: creators on both sides of the aisle put up with lots of insults.

The ‘Creator Perspectives’ report by Influencer revealed that 88% of creators have other jobs, including those at the top. This feels right, as a lot of new creators are trying to build their personal brand (*me proudly raising my hand*) as a way to advance their careers. Who knows if SB Mowing is still getting paid to mow, but he doesn’t need to worry about the tip anymore.

Studio71 (my old stomping grounds where I spent 3 years as COO) launched an AI distribution product that will change metadata, formats, and upload on creators’ behalf. Will creators trust the accuracy of AI to post without that final check? I’m guessing a lot will, especially in the mid-tier.

INDUSTRY HIRING:

Demonstrate needs a Social Media & Influencer Marketing Strategist who put the PR in ‘producing TikToks that won’t get clients cancelled.’

Techless is looking for a Director of Partnerships and Affiliates for their distraction-free phones. In other words, a self-hating social media expert.

Rigle wants a Influencer Marketing Manager and you have to have a degree. There’s no rigle-room for that one…

MEME ZONE:

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this edition, give it a share and if you get someone to sign up, I’ll send you my ‘10 Rep-Friendly Ways to Monetize Today!’ deck!

Until next time, protect yo rep.