As you’re reading this, you might already know which one I’m talking about. Maybe it’s living in a Google doc tab you’ve had open since 2022. Maybe it’s that product idea that keeps falling on deaf ears (no matter how exciting it sounds to you). Or it could be that community you built back in lockdown that’s now on life support. You keep it alive because axing it feels like admitting defeat. So, how do you know when one of your darlings is worth reviving, and when it’s time to let it go like Elsa?

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

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**T&Cs apply

This holiday season, many brands are no longer handing out flat fees to influencers. Now, they’re layering in affiliate arrangements that tie earnings directly to performance. Instead of paying upfront for reach or engagement that may never convert, these marketers are embracing commission-based structures. These pay creators based on actual sales or clicks driven.

It’s a safer bet for brands watching budgets closely. And it aligns incentives, so creators are rewarded only when their audiences take action. According to industry tracking platforms, holiday affiliate content has climbed ~17% year-over-year as companies look for ROI they can prove. This is especially true in a crowded, attention-scarce season.

Huge news for the unemployed. Instagram just expanded its sharing options. You can now re-post any public Story to your own Story feed, even if the original creator hasn’t tagged you.

This goes beyond the older model where re-shares were limited to Stories you were mentioned in. And it means more content can spread organically through the app without clunky screenshots or workarounds. When you re-share, Instagram automatically credits the original poster. This helps creators get visibility while still giving their content broader reach. For brands and influencers, this opens up a cleaner way to amplify buzz or highlights from public accounts. However, creators can opt out in settings if they don’t want their Stories re-shared.

More updates on the app! Instagram’s latest experiment with algorithm transparency is now live for all U.S. users. The Reels tab gets a “Your Algorithm” control panel that lets you see and tweak the topics shaping your recommendations.

Instead of passively letting AI choose everything you see, you can add or remove interests and fine tune the algorithm toward the content you actually want. Yay! The feature appears as a control icon in the Reels feed. It shows example videos tied to each topic, making it easier to refine what appears on your screen. It’s a noteworthy shift for Meta, pushing back, at least a bit, against opaque feed curation and giving people a say in what’s served up. Thank God I say. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Whole departments get folded, platforms mutate, beloved products get sunsetted like they were never the backbone of someone’s career KPIs. CEOs make billion-dollar calls before breakfast like they’re deleting a typo.

It’s a dog-eat-dog world. And, baby, everyone’s chowing down.

It’s made me really think about how hard it must be to make seismic decisions at the top level. Because I know at my level, with ideas that fall far from billion-dollar entities, and instead are more like tiny little Frankensteins, stitched together with love, caffeine, and delusion, it feels damn near impossible.

Nonetheless, sometimes, it must be done. Sometimes, we have to kill our darlings. Even if we do it with eyes full of tears.

The idea you keep pitching even though no one laughs anymore. The workflow you built for your team three years ago that now feels like medieval torture. The experimental series you’re low-key embarrassed by but refuse to cancel.

Darlings are things you love too much to admit they’re holding you back.

A darling usually has at least three of the following symptoms:

This isn’t about cruelty. The world is full enough if that. It’s about clearing room for evolution. Marie Kondo-ing your sh*t.

Every industry shift we’re witnessing right now is a direct response to one truth: what worked then doesn’t work now. Not because it was bad, but because time moved. The natural order of things etc. etc.

We want transformation without the part where something has to die. We want the next season of our career without writing the finale of the last one.

But growth is subtraction, real strategy is subtraction. Making space for your next breakthrough is subtraction. There is nothing more liberating than removing the thing you’ve been carrying out of obligation, nostalgia, or pride.

You sharpen your instincts, stop clinging and start curating. Media giants do this at scale because survival demands it. We do it on a smaller scale, yes, but the stakes feel just as high because the darling was ours.

But on the other side of every darling you let go, something better, sharper, and far more aligned always emerges. Every. Single. Time. I promise.

It’s not about being ruthless. It’s about being honest.

Some things just need to die so you can finally live (I’m not crying you are).

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Today's audio comes from a scene in Wicked 2, where the now good-turned-wicked Glinda suggests a ruthless plan - urging Madame Morrible to smoke out Elphaba by starting a rumour about her sister.

Reluctantly, she goes "Her sister, use her sister". The audio is now being used to pitch a "lightbulb moment" idea. Creators are pairing it with an underrated opinion or overlooked strategy, declaring the words as if they've cracked Morse code. 

This trend went viral because it perfectly frames that scheming energy, when you know the option is so wrong, but so right. It's all about announcing your sneaky remark, or that morally questionable shortcut. 

Some of my fav examples are:

Using this audio, turn the camera to yourself and glance to the sides as if you're scheming up something. Include OST explaining a scenario that could use an alternative option. 

A few ideas to get you started: 

-Raewyn Zhao, Intern

😂Yap’s funniest home videos Fly zipper fail
❤How wholesome Cycling fanboy
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🍝What you should make for dinner tonight Filipino pancit bihon

Hey Leah!

The best thing you can do is start putting out as much content as you can. In our team, we talk about how you can create content from 3 perspectives, depending on where you are in your journey right now. The first perspective is the Reporter. This means you don't know a whole lot yet--you're just learning. So you create content about everything as you learn it. This means as you listen to podcasts, go to events, or read books, make content about what you get out of them.

Over time, you'll probably start creating content as an Expert because you'll know what you're talking about! Then, one day, you'll move onto being what we call the Fool. This is someone who knows enough to realise they actually know nothing! But for now, just share what you're learning. It's the perfect place to start.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

p.s. For more on the 3 stages of content creation, check out this article.

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.