About 6 years ago, I signed up for every free link-in-bio and then wrote a LinkedIn post comparing them.

I would share it, but LinkedIn’s post search isn’t strong.

But my point was this: there are a ton of platforms that all, effectively, operated exactly the same.

Maybe one small feature difference here and there, but it was a race for acquisition on a necessary technology, as Instagram at the time only allowed for one link at the top of a bio (hence the name “link-in-bio”) and creators wanted an easy way to promote multiple things.

It was a necessary hack to work around a random rule imposed by a dominant platform, like easy grab tape on Christmas.

Now that Meta is claiming the death of the link-in-bio companies they helped create, now is a good time to reflect on who these companies are, what they do, and whether Meta can crush them.

Also in this edition:

🧑🏽‍💼 More Creators Should Be Raising Investment (Thoughts Are My Own)

😻 iShowSpeed Goes Anime

🤐 MetaAI Tells Your Friends You Use It

❌ X Goes Harder For Original Creators

🇮🇷 Iranian Goes Viral With Scathing Lego Animation

💪🏼 Jobs from United Talent Agency, DoorDash, and 2K Games

🎭 …and a dank meme from yours truly!

Let’s get into it.

TLDR:

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re probably industry-savvy enough to know about Linktree, maybe even Beacons, Hoo.be, or About.me.

But what about Viewws? Or Alfan? Or Snipfeed or Bento or Linkfire or Milkshake, Tap.bio, Unfold, Campsite, Shorby, ContactInBio, Bio.fm, Solo.to, Bio.link, Biolincs.me, url.bio, Linkjoy, GetAllMyLinks, Bio.site, Linq, or any of the other hundreds (thousands?) of link-in-bio companies.

The point is: there’s a lot.

So when Meta’s Nicola Mendelsohn announced the death of the link-in-bio because of their Instagram shoppable content feature, it felt probable.

Linktree raised $166m with the last round in 2022 and, from the outside, it doesn’t seem the tech or brand has made any splashy moves in the past four years.

That’s a lot of companies offering free tech to creators with little monetization, and most of the platforms that were previously subscription-only have moved to a freemium model.

And Mendelsohn was right about one thing: Linktree’s own 2024 report said 20% of Linktree’s 1.3 million monthly clicks went to retail sites.

And, remember, the type of person who visits a link-in-bio site for a creator are ‘high intent’, meaning they clearly want to learn more about the creator or something they represent, so they’re very likely to click on something.

Okay, so we have a ton of platforms battling each other to get mostly free users who are monetizing their audience outside of the link-in-bio platform. So Mendelsohn was right, right?

Not even close.

First of all, Instagram only makes up around 50% of all link-in-bio clicks (varies based on study)

As I mentioned before, shopping accounted for only about 20% of link-in-bio clicks.

And Instagram’snew tool just focuses on brands that are both part of Instagram Shop and have opted into their affiliate program.

Many brands like to focus on their own affiliate program, as the data set is far richer when they control it. Talk to any brand that sells on TikTok Shop and they’ll tell you how little actual information they get about their customers.

So with only 50% of link-in-bio clicks coming from Instagram, 20% of those taken up by shopping, and let’s generously say 10% of those are going to be focused on selling through Instagram’s affiliate program instead of going direct, going through Impact, LTK, ShopMy, Amazon, or their own platform, this is likely to impact maybe 1% of total clicks.

A hit, but not the death of link-in-bio.

The true death of link-in-bio: the FYP.

Less people go to creator pages anymore. They open TikTok, Reels, or YouTube Shorts, then get a parade of likable content fed to their faces before their teacher tells them to put their phone away.

We’re not in a search-surf-subscribe world anymore. We’re in a ‘you’ll eat what we feed you’ world.

So creators, keep those link-in-bios updated. Link-in-bio companies, don’t sweat the Meta comment. And Meta, let’s stop with the ‘death talk’ unless we’re talking about unregulated AI models, then let’s talk about it a lot more.

Spotter has famously given creators huge sums of money to license and monetize creator’s catalogues, including MrBeast, Dude Perfect, Michelle Khare, Jordan Matter, Rebecca Zamolo, and Ryan Trahan.

Not a bad lineup!

When this was happening, other creator funding options like Breeze, Viewture, and Fundmates, fan funding like GigaStar, and traditional VC money from Slow, Bessemer, and Animal Capital hit the scene.

I’ve now pitched upfront investment to hundreds of creators, often at terms that would make any bank blush, and most have the same feedback.

But with interest I’ll lose money in the long-term, right?

Yes! Welcome to the world of loans!

With due respect, I think most creators are making a mistake ignoring creator funding models.

Here’s a few both quantitative and qualitative stats I’ve seen over my past two decades in digital content:

Let’s say you make $1,000,000 per year and take a $1,000,000 loan at 10% interest over 5 years, you end up paying $1,274,820 total.

Ouch, right? Who would do that?

But here’s the question: Would $1,000,000 today lead you to more than 8% growth year over year?

Would hiring an editor help you make 8% more content?

Would bringing an in-house salesperson onboard get you 8% more sales revenue?

Would localizing your content into 10 additional languages bring you 8% more AdSense revenue?

If the answer is ‘yes’, and in most cases it should be, then this loan is a steal.

Remember, you’re not just covering the interest with this growth, you’re building a more valuable company.

Always be careful when taking any investment, loans, or upfront capital, but, creators, you should be far more receptive to this than you have been in the past.

What creators, brands, governments, and platforms are making waves this week in the name of fortune, fame, and fun?

😻 IRL-streaming superstar iShowSpeed is developing an anime project written by ‘One Piece’ showrunner Matt Owens produced by creator economy OG Brian Robbins. No word yet whether the star’s superpower will be…you know…being very, very fast.

🤐 TechCrunch reported that if you watch content on MetaAI, your friends will get a Facebook notification alerting them of that fact and it will be really, really embarrassing. I didn’t need to read the article because it happened to me. And, yes, it was really, really embarrassing.

❌ X announced they are cracking down on stolen content and clickbait for their monetization program, which has already created an uproar in the conservative content community. This begs the question: will there be anyone left in the monetization program when the crackdown is complete?

🇮🇷 A pro-Iran filmmaker went viral for posting a Lego animation video highlighting, amongst other things, U.S. leadership ties to Epstein, the unprompted nature of the war, and decades of bombing Iran without clear objectives. YouTube has taken down the account of the filmmaker, but the video continues to go viral through clips, media reactions, and, of course, Reddit.

Manager, Culture Marketing, United Talent Agency

‘Culture marketing’ is the new hip term for ‘being terminally online and knowing what the heck people are talking about’, but it’s also make-or-break for brands these days. Just ask Duolingo. This position not only gives you access to top celebrities and brands, but at an agency that embraced digital content creators before most.

Manager, Executive Social Strategy & Operations Lead, DoorDash

Yes, every executive needs to be posting on LinkedIn these days. It’s important for customers to know the people behind the brand. But most execs are as dry as Texas toast that has been sitting in LA rush hour traffic for 60 minutes, so they need brilliant minds like the one that will fill this role. B2B marketing for a new age while growing a valuable skill.

Senior Manager, Influencer, 2K Games

Go work with my former Facebook Games colleague Josh Maresca! 2k has a lot of top franchises that would make any gaming nerd drool, including Civilization, NBA 2K, WWE 2K, and, of course, one of my favorites, Bioshock. This role will give you the opportunity to interface with top gamers who already worship the games, so it will be like selling selling ketchup at a french fry convention.