Goooooooood morning and happy Wednesday creators and creator nerds!

I’m in a great mood this week. The ball continues to roll on CreatorPad updates (even more new tools being launched this week 😤), folks are loving the new color card additions, and we’ve heard so much excitement for the collaboration matching system to start up! All I can say is there is so much more on the horizon, and these are just the small updates. 😎

Outside of CreatorPad, I’ve started picking up the camera a bit thanks to a push from Evan Monsma, an incredible creator I spotlighted a few weeks back. Evan gave me the kick I needed to just start pressing record and talking directly to camera. I might not even put this content out anywhere, but flexing my creative muscles and feeling more comfortable talking to the cam are goals of mine for 2024. So big thank you to Evan for the push. This is just a small example of why creator connections are so important, so let’s keep those connections rolling on CreatorPad!!

Any tips or tricks you readers can drop for me in regards to filming myself? Reply to this email with some of your favorites for a feature in next week’s issue!

Ludwig Launches Creator-Centric Show 📺️ 

Ludwig continues to push the boundaries of the content he creates by expanding into an all-new show featuring some of your favorite creators. Ludwig continues to command the creator space as he conquers new content formats with his new show, Unpaid Intern.

In this new series, Ludwig invites his creator friends featuring creators like Schlatt, Lily Pichu, Kydae and more to compete in a series of… “challenges?”

Ok maybe they’re not that challenging, but they’re definitely funny, unhinged, and a great look into how these creators act when out of their elements. The show, which had its first part posted on Ludwig’s YouTube livestream, has seen just under 1M views and is getting a massive amount of love in the comments.

Some viewers even mention that this might be one of their favorite videos he’s ever made.

Seeing Ludwig explore so many different niches and video types, he is a perfect example of the dynamic approach you can take with your content while still adhering to what your fans want and expect from you.

Creators who go beyond their normal content to explore their interests, and stretch their creative muscles continue to command their creator careers (holy alliteration). As creatives, we almost always need and want to try out other types of content and work with our friends, but the algorithm can tend to keep us creating the same stuff. Sticking to that same content can lead to burnout, frustration, and potential breaks in posting (I’ve had it happen to me, so I can’t even imagine what a creator like Ludwig must feel).

Seeing Ludwig and many other creators continue to diversify their content types makes me insanely excited for content to come in the future. Readers, let’s learn a lesson from these other creators who are paving the new path to content norms, and flex those creative muscles in upcoming content. 💪 

Watch the full episode (stream) here!

IG Bring Marketplace to Eight Countries 🎱 

Instagram is expanding its Creator Marketplace to eight new countries after its initial launch in 2022. Now adding Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, and Brazil to this expansion, this is a game changer for international IG creators to earn more money, and find more opportunities within the platform.

Let’s dive into the details and learn a bit more about the opportunities👇️ 

Expansion Details:

• This expansion grants access to "thousands" of existing creators and brands from the US marketplace.

• In a play that will surely begin to pull folks away from TikTok, Chinese export brands can now also connect with creators outside of China, although no specifics were mentioned on this front. I smell some stiff competition for TikTok Shop incoming.

What this means for Creators: