The Content Creator Tell-All

By Sadie St. Lawrence | Human Machine Collaboration Institute

The time has finally come: my tell-all on content creation.

Okay, maybe not tell-all tell-all. But I do feel like people want to know about this world because it is still such a new career path. It feels elusive. It looks fun. It looks glamorous. And honestly, sometimes it is.

But it is also a real business.

So in this article, I’m going to share:

• what I charge

• how much I make

• advice for brands and marketers on how to work with creators

• how to get started

• how to keep going, which is honestly the hardest part

• and, last but not least, the secret of the industry: what creators talk about behind the scenes at dinner when no one is listening

Okay, let’s start.

For context, how did I even get started in this?

To be honest, I just liked sharing what I was learning. That was it. For me, social media has always been a way to teach and engage with community.

Then, when I started Women in Data, everyone kept quitting the volunteer social media position. So eventually I said, “How hard can it be?” and started creating and sharing content myself.

I used my own personal channel to test things, and then I fell in love with it.

It became a new medium for teaching.

Did I think, “Oh my God, I’m going to have a media business and become a content creator”?

No. Absolutely not.

What happened was I started sharing online, and then people started asking me to come to conferences and they would pay me. Then they started asking me to post about things and they would pay me.

It’s funny because I don’t think I really thought of myself as a content creator until I got paid.

Once that happened, I realized: wait, this is actually a real job. And more than that, it is a real business.

So, what do I charge?

Let’s talk about getting started first.

When you are first starting out, you are just so excited that anyone would ever want to pay you for something you already do for fun. So you may charge $500 or $1,000 for a post.

And then later, you realize that is not enough.

Because now there are content reviews. There are edits. There is back and forth. There is creative direction. There are legal reviews. There is posting. There is follow-up. There is tracking metrics. There is invoicing.

And you also realize something really important: you only have so many slots on your social media channels.

Your audience’s attention is valuable. Your credibility is valuable. Your distribution is valuable.

So when demand for your social media increases, you realize this is so much more work than just “posting a quick video.”

There is:

• copy

• creative

• reviews

• edits

• posting

• follow-up

• tracking metrics

• invoicing

• relationship management

• and making sure it still sounds like you

That is why I do not recommend undercharging.

Right now, I charge anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000+ depending on the scope, deliverables, usage rights, event requirements, and overall partnership.

And there are a lot of nuances that go into that.

For example:

• How long does the brand get organic usage rights?

• Are they boosting the post?

• Are they using it in paid media?

• Is there exclusivity?

• Is it one post or a full campaign?

• Is it a conference or event?

• Am I doing interviews, recaps, thought leadership, or all of the above?

All of those details matter.

For events specifically, I will not go to an event unless the scope and fee make sense for the time, travel, energy, and production involved. And as demand continues to increase, I will continue to raise my prices.

Part of that is because I am investing way more into video editing, content quality, and the team behind the scenes.

But the bigger reason is that I want to have fewer clients and be more deeply invested in the brands I do work with. I want to be able to really tell the story well.

Okay, now part two: advice for brands and marketers.

This is tricky for me to say, but not all content creators are the same. And I do think some content creators have given the rest of the industry a bad reputation.

I will not name names.

That being said, sometimes when you work with brands, they try to babysit every part of the creative process. And for me, I just don’t feel like I can bring my best content when that happens.

The best brand partnerships are built on trust.

I love working with brands that actually know my content. They have watched my videos. They understand my voice. They know my POV. And they trust me to represent the story well.

The best partnerships usually sound like, “Hey Sadie, we know you’re going to do a good job. We trust you.”

That is when the content works.

My advice for brands and marketers is this: do not go for fast clickbait.

If your only goal is cheap views, there are other ways to get that. Working with a creator is not just about views. It is about borrowing their trust, their voice, their POV, and their relationship with their audience.

What you want is authenticity.

You want values alignment.

You want someone who can represent your brand and your story in a way that still feels true to them.

Because that is the whole point.

You cannot hire a creator and then try to turn them into your brand voice. The reason you work with them is because they already have a voice.

Okay, so at this point, maybe you’re thinking, “Oh my God, I want to be a content creator. How do I get started?”

First, I get it.

Part of content creation is showing the FOMO. That is half the job. You are showing the amazing parts, the glamorous parts, the luxurious parts, the exciting parts.

And yes, those parts are real.

But there are also a lot of things that are not so great about it. If you want a full “ins and outs” of the not-so-glamorous side of content creation, I can do a whole post on that too.

But my biggest advice for getting started is probably the advice no one wants to hear:

You have to stay consistent.

Post every day.

I know some people disagree with that. They’ll say, “Don’t post every day, it’s bad for the algorithm,” or “Only post when you have something perfect.”

I get that advice. But for me, posting every day forced me to put in the reps.

It forced me to keep generating ideas. It forced me to practice. It forced me to get less precious. It forced me to learn what resonated and what didn’t.

And honestly, some of the posts I made at the last second, just to keep the habit, ended up being some of the best-performing posts I’ve ever had.

That is why I am a firm believer in setting the goal of consistency.

Some posts will hit. Some will not. That is part of it.

People’s attention is low. The internet moves fast. You have to keep showing up.

If you want to get started, just start.

Just do it. Just be it.

Now, let’s talk about the secrets of the industry.

Yes, there is drama.

Let me spill a little tea.

The tech creator world is tiny. Tiny. But it is growing very quickly.

Behind the scenes, people are constantly trying to figure out:

• Should I get an agent?

• Should I not get an agent?

• What is everyone else making?

• Am I charging the right amount?

• What are the brands paying?

• What is the standard?

• Are usage rights included or separate?

• Is this deal good or am I undercharging?

There is definitely low-key, quiet gossip.

But overall, I will say, most people are really friendly. Everyone is kind of trying to figure it out together.

Because the truth is: this is still a new industry.

There is not really one standard.

And the biggest thing I have learned is this:

It is not what you get. It is what you negotiate.

That applies to pricing. Usage rights. Exclusivity. Travel. Scope. Deliverables. Everything.

So hopefully this was helpful.

And if you want more details, add your questions in the comments. I’m happy to keep sharing what I’m learning as I go.

Sadie St. Lawrence is the Founder & CEO of the Human Machine Collaboration Institute and author of Becoming an AI Orchestrator. She writes weekly about the future of human-machine collaboration, AI in practice, and what it actually takes to build at the frontier.