Mike Bienstock’s Post

Okay, this is going to press some buttons. But I’m not afraid to put my stake in the ground after two decades of business in the Influencer space. So here it is: You can’t build a sustainable business on short-form content alone, even though it’s hard as H3ll to produce, and it feels like you should be able to. Your success is actually found in long-form content, and it actually makes sense when we break it down. I tell everyone this “all the money is in long form content”. (Yea, yea, yea, OK — your TikTok buddy is earning $100K doing only short-form content? Well, guess what? He / she would be earning $1 MILLION then if they produced long-form content.) The viewing habit of this generation of social consumers is actually in direct contradiction to connection habits of us as humans. You know how it goes… - You watch a short clip and move on.  - Ten or 20 minutes or even 3 hours are gone in a flash. - You probably can’t name a single Creator you’ve watched. - You can’t recall the specifics of a video you watched from your feed either. Now, take that same time but put it into long-form content. You are investing 8-12 minutes on a single video or storyline. You are investing in the Creator and CAN recall specifics. The result? You feel more connected to the content AND to the Creator. This, my friends, is why the rates per brand integration are higher for long form vs short term. The YouTube / Google money machine pays a higher rate, but TikTok’s success is ruining the Creator financial model. Bad news for Creators hoping to monetize their audience from short-form content alone. Why? You haven’t built an audience connection. People buy from people they trust, but if they are only seeing your face or content for 10 to 20-seconds at a time, good luck. Like your mom said about snacks, snackable content fools you into thinking you’ve been fed. But the reality is you need BOTH. → Short-form content is basically your sales and marketing arm. It brings in a new audience. → Long-form keeps your audience engaged and converts them into brand-repping, product-purchasing subscribers and fans. Short-term content has its place, but it’ll never replace the monetization ability of long-form. Think of it as the advertising arm of your long content business. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. → Who is your favorite long-form Creator? Why? #creatoreconomy #tiktok #youtube #linkedin —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). DM me for a convo.

If it wasn’t for the TV show “Family Ties,” I wouldn’t be a CEO. Wait, seriously?! Yea, I’m serious. Let me take you back to 1989. The visionary in me respected Michael J. Fox’s character (Alex Keaton) on that show and how everything he did tied back to business. Even as a kid I ate this stuff up. This guy was always “All In” on everything. I admired how Alex was always looking out for everyone else, but in doing so, he always benefited in the end as well. It blew my mind even as a kid how you could be both others-focused AND business-savvy. Enter college and the “Wolf of Wall Street” Era of the late ‘80s. (Not to mention the movie “Wall Street's slogan “GREED IS GOOD” was the slogan of the decade!) I did all the right things and took all the right classes as a Bio/Pre-Med major. I was going to be a respectable scientist or life saving doctor or something. A “make my parents proud" kind of job. I couldn’t shake the draw to follow that path into the business world that Alex Keaton on “Family Ties” lived in.  Lucky for me, Organic Chemistry paved the way. I absolutely bombed that class and knew, like all good weed-out classes, it was going to do its thing…It weeded me out. The thought of taking an Organic Chemistry lab class for the  next two semesters literally gave me anxiety. (So long, Dr. Mike Bienstock.) Still, I had a choice to make: Keep attempting to love “OChem” as we called it back then and keep being ever more miserable, or, put everything on the line to follow my passion for business. It so happened that I joined an entrepreneurial club on campus and met a fellow who dreamed up an idea for food delivery. The early ‘90s version of UberEats. We made a deal with a local restaurant to purchase the food for 25% under retail menu price and deliver it to campus kids at the listed menu cost. We recruited 30 friends and had a portfolio of 2 restaurants: One Chinese take out and a local favorite Italian restaurant. We ran the delivery operation 7 evenings a week with 2-3 drivers per shift. This was the turning point in my career. It wasn’t just failing at Organic Chem in school (I mean I got a C+ but that’s basically the same thing), but it was coupled with succeeding at a business venture outside of school. I knew business was my calling. I switched majors and went on to get a degree in Economics, but I also really give credit to that TV show from my childhood. I had aspired my life to a fictional character, and I couldn’t have been happier. Alex P. Keaton may not be a real person, but his character showed me a leadership truth. By always (and I mean always) looking out for everyone else, you’ll benefit in the end as well. Another thing I learned?  Organic Chemistry is always going to be pure misery. I think Founder / CEO Mike sounds better than Dr. Mike anyway… What do you think? #creatoreconomy #linkedin #ceo + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency.

Once upon a time, the traditional brand merch story was a hoodie, T-shirt and beanie. Simple swag to show support. Now? The game has changed. Creators are realizing that as the merch game has changed, their Creator game has to change, too. We’re moving from the Merch Economy to the Licensing Economy. Throwing up a hoodie on Shopify (15 mins).  Enter the world of retail (15 months). Yep, “the kids” are growing up. What people don’t understand is the world of retail is a slow, complex operation. It’s both like a battleship and a dinosaur: Very slow, extensive and expensive all together. So, if you want your business to grow up, it means you have to have a very sustained audience connection. So long, Shiny-Object Creators. So long, One-Hit Wonders. You have to be the REAL DEAL and here for the long-haul. Your content has to drive true audience attention over time to create true audience connection. In order to build a sustainable Creator business that lasts, you have to think beyond creating merch and start thinking about building products. Products that last need Creators who last, who can continue to outlast the months of materials, manufacturing and distribution meetings it takes to create not only merch… You need to build a BRAND. An honest-to-goodness brand. This is a MARATHON, not a sprint, Creators. Be ready to build connections now that create a loyal audience later. And this loyal audience wants more than a hoodie, T-shirt and beanie. They want an actual product tied to an actual brand that SHOWS they have an actual connection to the Creator themselves. Yea…to you. → When was the last time you bought a Creator’s swag? #creatoreconomy #brand #merch #youtube —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more).

This isn’t going to be a popular post about CEOs and leaders. But most leaders (GREAT leaders) I know… Care more about growth than popularity anyway. The last 4 years have been rough. Covid challenges (Enough said.) Work from home vs Return to office challenges Inflation challenges (first in a generation for many of us) It’s not easy to lead right now. How things used to work vs things are working now vs how people WANT things to work. Navigating these chasms is challenging. Everything seems to be different with respect to what people want. Everything feels difficult to execute. Even the once-easy things seem to be challenging to accomplish. So, what is a leader to do? What are YOU going to do? I know damn well you aren’t going to face down a challenge without a fight. I won’t either. The only way to navigate past this is to be ALL IN or ALL OUT. If you can’t find your fight to face what we’re up against, you aren’t going to last. Read that again. What keeps me going? This isn’t going to be popular in the lovey-dovey land of LinkedIn, but it’s the truth. You only have to be ONE step better, stronger, quicker, faster than your competitors. That’s it. Stop trying to win the entire war. It’s exhausting and, frankly, wastes energy. I’m not even sure it’s possible in this environment with all the headwinds blowing against you. You just need to win the next step. It worked for me in the 2008 economic meltdown, and I know it will work again in the 2024 storm that’s still raging strong since early 2023. Consider this your flashing signal to reignite your competitive edge and survival instinct. CEOs, leaders: If you are doing a few beats better than the status quo, you will likely be OK. We are going to be OK. One step (ahead) at a time. → How do you stay one step ahead of your competition? #creatoreconomy #smallbusiness #linkedin #leadership —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). DM me for a convo.

We signed a Pet Influencer to a likely life-altering deal late last year. But this post has nothing to do with The Weens specifically and everything to do with having a connected audience. Working in the YouTube and digital media space means I am always on the lookout for the next BIG Creator we can help sign to brand deals and such. But the game has changed tremendously, and it’s no longer simply about finding Creators with just strong views and stats. We are always looking for Creators who have a very strong connection to their audience. What we found (okay, WHO we found) checked all the boxes: Adorable Strong Brand Light-hearted Content People are CRAVING all of the above these days. Look, I’ve been around long enough to know having adorable, light content is not enough to build a long-term, sustainable business. We needed to find a strong product partner for Grace and The Weens. And find we did. We landed on PatchWork Pet, a match made in Pet Influencer heaven. PatchWork understood the power of connection and, ironically, had been wanting to reach out to Grace, even though they weren’t sure the best way to do so. They ended up with a phenomenal pairing and we are now in pre-production on an entire line of pet toy products that everyone involved is SO excited about. Grace has fully maintained her creative vision. PatchWork Pet appreciates and values her audience connection. We at Semaphore love being the connecting point between the two. Look, this wouldn’t be possible if Grace and The Weens had just created “cute” content. You HAVE to create in a way that creates connection with your audience. Your audience craves more than cuteness. Give them what they need: Connection. → How do you connect with your audience? #creatoreconomy #smallbusiness #youtube —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). Reach out for a convo.

I went to law school in 1992, but I didn’t become a lawyer. I did something 1,000x better. It was my roommate, Scott Katz, who caused it all to happen.  (Seems all good stories start with an interesting roommate, huh?) Fast forward to 2008. We lost touch, but Scott looked me up a couple years later when he and a friend had this idea about a company that provided resources to YouTubers. His inspiration was the company who did this for the movie industry at the dawn of Hollywood (you might have heard of them: United Artists). He envisioned a company where you can share props, sets, cameras and such. Anyhow, most monetizing Creators way back in the Stone Age of 2008 were making maybe $1-3K a month. The very few Titans were MAYBE just breaking $10K a month. My company, Semaphore, had been formed to initially support small businesses in the film and entertainment industry here in California with back-end financial services. I was working with a publicly traded sound house, TODD-AO, and other local optical effects companies around Hollywood. When my buddy Scott called me up, his idea seemed sensible to me. It was about substituting hard drives for cans of film in some respects, and he wanted me to work with him and his co-founders. Long story shorter: Maker Studios was born, and just a few years later it was sold for almost $1B to Disney. But that wasn’t the end. Having had a front-row seat to the Maker Studios growth story helped me pivot Semaphore to help Creators to create small businesses, something we still do to this day. If I hadn’t gone to law school, none of this would've happened.  If I hadn’t met Scott Katz, none of this would've happened. So, maybe law school isn’t for everyone. It certainly wasn’t for me, that I can promise you. Perhaps the point is that you never know what successes come through the relationships built when you aren’t looking for them. Yeah, even if you’re a law-school-dropout-turned-CEO Founder like me. → Are you still in touch with any college or grad school roommates? #creatoreconomy #smallbusiness #youtube —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). DM me for a convo.

LinkedIn’s algorithm does not care what you think. It does care about ONE thing though. It’s just not you. (Sorry, not sorry.) Look, I know we’re here on LinkedIn trying to figure it all out, but I’ll shoot you straight after working with YouTube’s algorithm for almost 20 years. The algorithm only cares about what your audience thinks about you — not about you at all. It also cares about what the audience thinks about your content, and it’ll funnel views based on that perspective. Catch that? It cares about the AUDIENCE — the viewers of your content — not you. Instead of fighting the algorithm and listening to gurus who say asinine things like: — The algorithm is punishing you! — You must not be posting at the correct time! — OMG you are being shadowbanned! — You must not be doing (insert hack of the day) enough! Learn to embrace the algorithm by discovering what your audience and community finds valuable. Figure out what they want to watch and learn — what they are willing to spend a long time watching / interacting with.. Then double down on that content. Sounds simple, but how do you do that? 1. A/B test your content 2. Lean into the DATA it provides 3. Pivot, create, iterate, try again. Listen, the algorithm will not be ignored, so you may as well learn from it. Listen to what it’s telling you. If we’re talking YouTube, for example, find some viral content and get analytical: — How many new characters were introduced? — Is there an obstacle or challenge presented?  — How many times does the background scene change? — How fast is the story pacing? How many jump cuts are in the final cut? You’ll start to see PATTERNS. Then, replicate. Create more content in line with the ones that did well. Make less of what did poorly. Want to figure out the algorithm? Start to act like a data scientist yourself instead of listening to random gurus. Yea, even the algorithm gurus. Mark my words. After almost 20 years in the game, I know this: If you fight the algorithm you’ll lose. 100/100 times. And it will not be fun. It will be a long, painful loss, but you will lose. That’s simply a fact as the algorithm is stronger than you; you cannot “beat it.”  But, if you work with it, and listen to what it’s saying…? You’ll win. 100/100 times. Absolutely guaranteed! → Did you think the algorithm punishes you? Do you still think that way? #creatoreconomy #algorithm #linkedin #youtube —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (think brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). DM me for a conversation.

Top YouTube Creators earn $250K+ (a month, or even a week for some, depending on view counts). Think it’s a pipedream for LinkedIn? The good news: It’s possible. It really is. The bad news: It’s not going to be here for a while, perhaps even a long while. The better news: You can still put in the work to monetize like a YouTube Creator and capitalize on your brand by doing the same things Top Creators do. Look, I’m not saying LinkedIn is ever going to be Creator-friendly in the same way YouTube has been, but Creators CAN learn to monetize. Steal my playbook after representing YouTube Influencers for 20 years. (Yes, since before “Creator Economy” was a thing anyone spoke about.) 1. Build a BRAND —  You need a differentiating factor that is UNIQUE. We’re talking about IP (aka intellectual property).  —  You need to create a strong brand  / character so you can have strong alignment to potential future product lines. —  No more cute content that merely gets lots of views. Think QUALITY. Think CONNECTION. —  Expand your brand to a WIDE audience by co-branding content where appropriate. 2. Diversify —  Don’t rely on ONE platform and one style of content. —  Reuse, repackage and repurpose content for greater production utilization (aka — bang for your buck). 3. Hire help — You need to get it out of your head that you’re the only one who can do this. — Top Creators build a team before they desperately need one and they delegate out the business pieces. Above all else, CONNECTABILITY is what translates. Stop being confused by thinking you have an “IT” factor. It’s not your style or format people are drawn to enough to pay you in some way (be it a brand deal or merch or membership or product). It’s your connection to your audience that will drive success and build a community. Focus on THIS as your special sauce. Delegate the rest. You can monetize your brand like an Influencer. You just have to be smart about it. →  Have you monetized your brand on any platform yet? #creatoreconomy #linkedin #brand #youtube —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (think brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more).

Solopreneurship and Solocreatorship is dead, even if the LinkedIn rhetoric says otherwise.  Conversational I know, but hear me out… THIS is why: 2023 was no walk in the park for Creators. It was more like a train wreck. 2024 looks only slightly better, but all the same threats still loom: → Lower view counts and lower impressions. → Lower Monetization aka LESS MONEY → Loss of well-known Creator funds (Looking at you, TikTok, but small is better than none) Look, you can both quickly and easily sink your business if you aren’t prepared to navigate the continued headwinds in the Creator Economy. Short-form videos have clearly taken off, but they pay out a mere fraction of what long form pays (Thanks, TikTok, for showing platforms that you can get more content for ever less cost and thanks “noob” creators for allowing this to happen.) High-volume video delivery requirements by the platforms coupled with low payouts is really hurting Creators. Not great, right? Now you have to create more content than is actually realistic for one person. And it MUST be good content. We are years past the “anything goes” phase of videos. So, what’s a Creator to do? You HAVE to think like a business. You HAVE to partner with a business. You HAVE to decide if you are ready to run a business and DO SO. The line between success and non-success is getting sharper. It’s getting harder to win. But, obviously, no one likes to fail, so what can one do? Who’s winning this new game? Those with TEAMS. The “accidental YouTuber” is long past us. I’ve been saying this for a while now. Not only do you have to be a Creator. But you have to become a PROFESSIONAL. Which means we have to stop this dream of being a Solopreneur and Solocreator. Instead, start putting a team in place. It will help you create more, earn more, save more and monetize — MORE. Anyone can get a hit post or video. Only those who form the right partnerships can get a hit Creator career. Stop listening to the newly minted LinkedIn gurus. Start listening to those of us who have been in the game since 2010 — and are still working with hundreds of successful creators every day. → Have you ever thought of getting help with your Creator business? #creatoreconomy #smallbusiness #youtube #linkedin —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (think brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). DM me for a convo.

Owning Semaphore is an absolute adventure. Yea, I know all CEOs say that, especially when they are Founders. But… Here’s why I’m totally serious. I know my team isn’t composed of doctors saving lives outright, but changing Creators’ lives gets me fired up. I love it. I love that Creators have more control over their individual brands than ever before, which leads them to a better financial path forward. It’s the Creators themselves who drew me to the new media world over a decade ago. We recently signed a Pet Influencer (yea, it’s a thing, I mean who doesn't love cute dog videos), and the types of meetings and design presentations I get to be a part of are radically different across talent. One day it’s a Skincare Influencer distribution meeting, and the next it’s a fashion / beauty Influencer product brainstorm session. Tomorrow is going to be different from today, and it’s the spectrum of work that excites me. I know you get it. Yea, it’s business. But I love business too — that’s the best part about it. Although we don’t make the decisions for the Creators (I like to joke they always remain “the boss”), we absolutely give them the tools to make better decisions. We are the guides because we’ve been down the trail MANY times. We’ve seen every bump imaginable in the thousands of brand deals we've put together. We’ve seen both large and small bumps in both creator licensing and merch programs. This never gets boring because the scenery is always changing. The challenges are daily, but Creators overcome them by refusing to give up. No matter what speed bumps there are behind the scenes, it’s my mission for our Creators and small business owner clients to cruise right over them. So, yea, it's quite the adventure here in the Wild Wild West of the Creator Economy. I’ve been riding the trails before it even had a name as it does today. Still, there’s nothing even comparable to the adventure and thrills of being a Founding CEO. I love it, but it’s certainly not for all. But if it’s for you, you’ll need to be able to handle some white knuckle rides — that’s for certain! → Why do you love your job? #creatoreconomy #smallbusiness #linkedin #work —- + I’m Mike. I’m the co-founder of @Semaphore Family of Companies, the leading Creator and Brand Influencer Agency. We work with many of the world’s most notable influencers and some of the world’s biggest brands (brand deals, negotiations, influencer marketing, merchandising, licensing, tax, accounting and more). DM me for a convo.