Why creators are turning down cash deals
What happens when creators want a stake, not just a fee?
Hi friends!
Welcome back to Sell! Sell! Sell!
This week we’re looking at Meta building AI shopping agents into Instagram, Pinterest trying to prove it can move beyond inspiration, and Apothékary showing what actually makes TikTok Shop work at the brand level after generating $1M in sales in 30 days.
We’re also looking at a bigger shift in the creator economy: creators taking ownership instead of just cash.
Let’s get into it.
May 12th
🤖 Meta Readies AI Shopping Agents for Instagram
Meta is developing AI shopping tools for Instagram, including an assistant that could help users identify products in Reels and feeds, navigate to external sites, and complete purchases inside the platform. The feature could launch by Q4, according to EMARKETER.
The timing matters. Meta expects 47.2% of U.S. social buyers to shop on Instagram this year, compared with 51% on TikTok. The gap is close enough for Meta to compete, but TikTok has already trained users to treat content as a place to buy. Meta’s AI push is an attempt to reduce friction and make Instagram feel more transactional without rebuilding the app around a marketplace.
📌 Pinterest Wants to Prove It Can Drive More Than Inspiration
Pinterest reported $1 billion in Q1 revenue, up 18% year over year, with 631 million monthly active users, an all-time high. The company is now trying to prove it can move beyond discovery and become a stronger multichannel marketing platform.
The strategy is built around intent. Pinterest is leaning into AI-powered ad tools, shoppable partnerships with companies like Walmart and Instacart, and its acquisition of tvScientific to connect Pinterest data with CTV performance. The platform has always been good at knowing what people want next. Now it needs to show advertisers it can help close the loop.
🎙️ Podcasts Are Pulling in More Advertising Dollars
Podcast advertising continues to grow as brands look for environments with longer attention spans and more intentional audiences. According to The New York Times, podcasts and broader creator-led content mixes are attracting a larger share of ad budgets as marketers move beyond short-form reach alone.
The appeal is partly structural. Podcasts offer sustained engagement, host trust, and formats that are harder to replicate in feeds built around speed and interruption. As creators expand across video, audio, newsletters, and live content, advertisers are increasingly buying into ecosystems rather than individual posts.
🧠 Brand Move of the Week
Apothékary Builds a TikTok Shop Playbook Around Operations
The Japanese wellness company Apothékary made $1 million on TikTok Shop in one month, but the interesting part is how unflashy the playbook was. The wellness brand didn’t start with viral creative. It started by improving its TikTok Shop performance score, which affects access to key features like sample distribution for affiliate creators.
@hangingwithalo On day 4 and so far still working great!! I am still making sure I eat throughout the day even if it’s smaller meals!! But I can def say t... See more
Once that foundation was in place, the brand built an affiliate creator sales force. Apothékary offered 20% commissions instead of the more typical 15%, supported creators through TikTok and Discord group chats, and ran education sessions to make sure affiliates understood the product.
The brand also found a hero product. Blue Burn, a $39 liquid herbal supplement, worked because creators could explain it clearly and customers could understand the use case quickly. That is the part many brands miss. TikTok Shop rewards content, but the backend still has to work. Fulfillment, creator incentives, product clarity, and customer service are not side details. They are the system.
🔭 Trend Watch
More creators are taking equity in brands
A growing number of creators are thinking beyond the sponsorship fee.
SuperOrdinary is now offering creators access to a shareholder program, including a 7% dividend and the option to convert shares into equity. Digiday also reported on micro-influencers exploring ownership-driven deals as a way to build more security beyond one-off sponsorships.
The logic is simple. If creators are helping brands acquire customers, move product, and build cultural relevance, some want exposure to the upside they are creating.
This is not going to replace cash deals. Most creators still need predictable income, and equity is risky. It can be illiquid, hard to value, and tied to outcomes that may take years. For smaller creators, a standard sponsorship is often the better deal.
Given the instability of social media, more creators are looking beyond the four walls of the platforms to maintain their careers, said the expert who asked to remain anonymous. Many creators may not be relevant in 10 years, they added.
But the direction is worth watching, with both Digiday and Netinfluencer reporting on similar stories this week. The creator economy is moving from posts to assets. Revenue share, equity, licensing, co-created products, and IP all sit inside the same broader shift. Creators who build long-term businesses are trying to own more of the value chain instead of renting their audience to brands campaign by campaign.
That does not mean every creator should become an investor. It means the best creators are starting to think less like media inventory and more like business partners.
Ok, see you next week. In the meantime, Sell! Sell! Sell! 🫡