Ep 9: How Creators Actually Get Discovered (And Why 99% Never Will)

🔥 Event Recap — Our Best One Yet
160 RSVPs, 90 attendees, 3 powerhouse speakers, and one delicious pistachio liqueur later… here’s the full breakdown of our latest creator-marketer mixer, including shoutouts to our partners, volunteers, and standout moments.

🎤 Next Up: The Creator Fireside Chat (May 14)
Join us for an intimate 1:1 with a top creator unpacking how they built their brand, forged major partnerships, and stayed ahead of the algorithm. Expect real talk, no fluff, and the type of insights you can’t Google.

📣 How Creators Actually Get Discovered
Why most creators stay invisible—and how to stand out without selling out. We’re breaking down the real pipeline (platforms, agencies, and shoutouts that work), plus how to make yourself impossible to ignore.

OUR LAST EVENT:

It was truly our best yet — and yes, I say that every time, but this one really hit different.

Here’s the breakdown:

📈 160 RSVPs and ~90 attendees — a strong turnout right in line with top-tier industry events (30–50% attrition is typical).

🎤 Our Speakers:

• Blaise Ffrench – Creator with 5M+ followers, early BodyArmor investor, and actor

• Alex Onaindia – Founder & CEO of Distinction Agency, representing top athletes and digital sports talent

• Melissa Chen – Global Brand, Creative & Experiential Marketing, Senior Manager — a standout voice in bridging brand storytelling with cultural relevance

🤝 Partners:

• The Shorty Awards – Honoring the best of digital and social.

• B&H Creators – Equipping creators with tools to level up their content. We were able to give away three $100 gift cards to some of our attendees!

• Fabrizia Spirits – Provided the drinks (including a surprisingly elite pistachio liqueur — yes, it was amazing). Thanks Gabriella!

📸 Shoutout to our volunteer team — you made it happen:

• Photo/Video Leads: Michael Fox (The Beach) & Kevin Julian (Splendid Snaps)

• Photographers: Manideep Seelam, Freddy Anzurez, Mahek Mata, Ankit Alkunte

• Ops & Logistics: Peter Mamaev, Milo Baron, Kate Morris, Chitan Jikkar, Sarah Prisca, Kouadio

• LifeTime Staff: Evita Scoccia, Ezra Freeman

Grateful for this community — creators, marketers, builders, and believers.

Our Next Event:

Wednesday, May 14th: The Creator Fireside Chat 🔥

Join us for an exclusive 1:1 conversation with a leading digital creator—no fluff, just real talk. We'll dive deep into the journey behind the brand: from humble beginnings to global partnerships, from viral hits to long-term strategy. It’s an unfiltered look at what it actually takes to build in the creator economy today.

Whether you're a marketer, creator, or strategist, expect practical insights and behind-the-scenes stories about:

• 📈 How they got started—and what they’d do differently

• 🤝 Picking the right brand partnerships (and walking away from the wrong ones)

• 🎥 Their approach to content and storytelling across platforms

• 🧠 Thinking like a brand, not just a creator

• 🔮 Where the creator economy is headed next

Who would you want to see on that stage?
What creator could shift the way you view content, business, or community?

I’m writing this from the POSSIBLE Summit in Miami—just heard Haley Kalil speak, and she’s my pick. Her story is wild: scientist turned creator, collaborator with A-list names, and she’s navigated controversy with grace and strategy. I think she could drop gems that change the whole room.

Hit reply and tell me: Who would blow your mind in a fireside chat?

How Creators Really Get Discovered (And Why 99% Never Will)

Let's be real.

There are millions of creators out there right now, all trying to wave their hands in the air, screaming, “Pick me! Pick me!”

But brands aren’t hunting through a forest trying to find you. And agencies aren’t climbing mountains either.

If you want to get discovered, you have to make it stupidly easy to be found.

Let's start with the basics...

1) Just Put Your Damn Email and Location in Your Bio:

You'd be shocked how many creators still don’t have basic contact info in their bio.

You need to have two things (even if it’s in your link in bio).

✅ Your email address
✅ Your location (at least your city!)

Why?
Because the reality is — when an agency is scouting for creators, they want:

• Someone they can reach out to without DM'ing you into the void.

• Someone they can book for a shoot/event without guessing if you're located in NYC or the North Pole.

You want to get picked? Make it easier to be picked.

Honestly, even if you work with an agency, I recommend putting your business email there. Not just your “name/[email protected]”

Yeah, maybe you'll get a few random emails from weird startups trying to sell you mushroom coffee or the next AI platform. But guess what?

Every major opportunity starts with a random email.
(I was a random email once, too - to some of you I still probably am)

2. It's a Freaking "Where's Waldo" Game Out There

You’re not just competing with the creators in your exact niche, you’re competing with all creators.

If you're a food creator... guess what? There are about 100,000 others posting avocado toast today too.

If you normally work with a travel brand that same brand might decide they want to brand out into different content niches like fitness or sports.

Quick Numbers Check 📊 

(I’ve seen numbers all over the place, but simply there are a lot of creators and a lot of competition).

• 50 million+ people worldwide consider themselves creators (SignalFire, 2023). I’ve seen reports that say it’s up to 300M+

• In the U.S. alone?
  → About 14 million creators. I’ve also seen stats that say there are 40M+ full full-time creators (which sounds ridiculous).

• Breakdown by niche (rough estimates based on CreatorIQ and InfluencerMarketingHub data):

  • Lifestyle: 30%

  • Beauty: 15%

  • Fitness/Wellness: 10%

  • Food: 8%

  • Gaming: 7%

  • Fashion: 5%

  • Travel: 5%

  • Business/Education: 5%

  • Other (comedy, pets, etc.): 15%

Point is: You’re Waldo.

3. How Brands (Really) Find You

Spoiler alert: It's mostly not the brands.
It's the agencies behind the brands.
You think Nike’s influencer team is personally handpicking talent? No. They're outsourcing it.

Here's the real pipeline:

1. Platforms like CreatorIQ, Tagger, or Mavrck.

   • Giant databases of millions of creators.

   • If you’re not on them, you basically don’t exist to some agencies.

2. They worked with you before.

   • And usually they found you... wait for it... on one of those platforms.

3. They find you in the feed.

   • Yes, you could get lucky and get noticed organically — but it’s rare unless you’re already making waves. Or the people at the agencies spot you (hopefully, you pop up in their algorithm).

4. Your agency pitches you.

   • If you have a GOOD agency, they're actually outbound pitching you to brands (not just waiting for inbound offers). And they’re pitching you with strategic content ideas.

5. You tag brands in organic content.

   • But you do it smartly — not spamming, and not being a walking billboard for only one company.

4. The Power of Organic Brand Shoutouts (But Don't Overdo It)

Tagging brands you love in your content? 🔥 It works.
Brands want to work with creators who are already organically aligned.

But careful:

• If you ONLY post about one brand, you might accidentally "brand lock" yourself.

• Other brands in that category might think you're too committed (or worse, in an exclusive deal).

• Variety shows you're authentic — you love the category, not just one company writing a check.

• You don’t just want to be on the “PR List” you want a deal.

• Talk about the brand like you’re already in the deal — but leave room for others to think they can still win you.

5. So, How Do You Actually Stand Out?

Here’s your cheat code:
✅ Be easy to contact (email, city, website if you have one).
✅ Be consistently visible (tag, post, engage).
✅ Be on platforms agencies use (don't assume they’ll find you by accident).
✅ Have a point of view.
→ Brands and agencies aren’t just buying your audience — they're buying your voice. Your perspective. Your ability to say why you, as a creator and your engagement are not just good, but better than the other creators that might look or post just like you.
✅ Mix in real relationships.
→ Agencies talk. Build real ones when you can — they're the key to repeat work.
✅ Get your work in on time! (If you make the lives of your agency/brand partners easy, they will work with you again). When I was at TikTok, I pitched creators I liked and I knew were easy to work with.

At the end of the day, you can’t just be Waldo. You’ve gotta be the Waldo who’s jumping off the page in neon green, waving a sign that says "Hire Me."

Because agencies aren’t just looking for reach — they’re looking for reliability, personality, and clarity.

And don’t forget to RSVP to our next event! Looking forward to seeing you there.