Your ATTN Please
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Your ATTN Please || Thursday, 6 November

Your ATTN Please || Thursday, 6 November

Abdel & Charlotte Ellis
November 06, 2025

Hey, do you mind shouting out our brand to your audience of 200,000?

As a thank you, we’d love to send you a coupon for $10 off your next order. WOW! What a great deal!!!🙄 Sure, the life of an influencer looks glam. But for many, it’s riddled with ridiculous requests like this. And although yesterday I told you it’s about to become a half-trillion-dollar industry, less than 5% of creators earn a full-time income making content. So what makes those creators stand out from the other 95%? Yeah, they’re often hot as heck. But it’s more than just that…

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Zaddy Santa’s back, Claire’s tries to rise from the grave & Ozempic may become more affordable

Target brings back "Hot Santa" that we were all downbad for.

I’m not sure how many of you remember ‘Zaddy Santa’ from last year. But he’s returned. And I’m still waiting to find out if you’re still allowed to sit on his lap. The fictitious character, named Kris. K, was successful in grabbing the attention of shoppers last season, having led to over 70 million views on TikTok under the hashtag #TargetSanta.

Can Claire’s make a comeback?

The “I got my lobotomy at Claire's!” memes may not have been enough to save the retailer, but its new owners might just be. In September, the company was acquired by private holding company Ames Watson, rescuing the brand from the industry’s graveyard. Ames Watson uses its own capital, as opposed to outside investors, to fund its acquisitions.

And they’re banking on store experience, merchandising and discovery being the defibrillator. With the target audience of Claire's being anywhere between 3 and 13, the firm wants to emphasise it as a defining brand in coming of age. Or as Lawrence Berger, partner and co-founder at Ames Watson said, “old enough to buy your first lip gloss, but still young enough to believe it could change your world.”

Ozempic for everybody! White House nears deal to lower obesity drug prices for Medicare coverage.

The deal is expected to be announced this week, potentially lowering prices of the drugs to $149 per month in some cases (the average is currently $1,300). It could also expand access to the medication, since Medicare can only cover Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy to treat diabetes and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for sleep apnoea. Currently, the coverage does not extend to weight loss.

The deal is part of a wider push to secure “Most Favoured Nation” pricing deals with pharma manufacturers and link U.S. drug prices to lower costs overseas, and is probably the most significant one so far.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Hey, do you like YAP?

If so, why not share it with a friend? The more we grow this thing, the more resources we can put into making it awesome for you. Even if every subscriber invites just 1 person to YAP, we’ll meet our growth goal for 2025. So, you in?

DEEP DIVE

An honest survival guide for creators

While writing about Gen Z building the creator economy with their bare hands, I thought about friends of mine who are creators.

For some, it’s a full-time gig. For others, they’re working 9 – 5 while ALSO making content. Either way, there are so many challenges they face.

Because behind the glossy reels and perfectly imperfect low-fi TikToks lies a slightly less romantic truth: it’s exhausting. I mean, it’s exhausting even for me to witness, and I’m not doing sh*t.

For every viral hit, there’s a creator fighting burnout, chasing metrics, and negotiating with brands that think “exposure” counts as payment.

While the creator economy booms, the creators themselves work hard to keep it that way. It’s not all free skincare, flashy product launches and delusions of grandeur.

If you’re a creator right now, I see you soldier. But there is work to be done yet. Here’s my honest survival guide from what I’ve gathered in proximity.

1. The competition is brutal, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Everyone’s a creator now. Your cousin. Your boss. Your dentist who just launched a podcast called “Tooth Be Told.” The barrier to entry has never been lower. The bar, in hell, which means standing out has never been harder.

The trick isn’t to be first; it’s to be specific. You don’t need to invent a new niche. You just need to own a corner of the internet that feels unmistakably you.

Be the “chaotic apartment meal-prep girl.” Be the “guy who reviews public toilets.” Be the “pop culture theorist who explains the Barbie movie like it’s Shakespeare.” The internet rewards distinct energy, not generic excellence.

And if you think it’s all been done before? Trust me, it hasn’t been done your way.

2. Monetisation is messy (and weirdly emotional).

Here’s a fun stat: less than 5% of creators make a full-time income from their content. The rest are trapped in the world’s most unpredictable freelance job where paydays are inconsistent, rates are arbitrary, and “brand partnerships” sometimes mean free skincare samples.

The secret to surviving it? Think like a small business, not a starving artist.

Diversify your income streams: affiliate links, digital products, community memberships, merch, brand deals. The algorithm might crash tomorrow, but your audience’s loyalty (and your email list) won’t. Work smarter, not harder, baby.

Also, track your money. Automate invoices. Create templates. It’s boring, yes, but it’s how you turn the chaos into a career.

3. Burnout is the real villain here.

And she wants you crying in a ball, eating Takis in sweatpants. The creator economy runs on a dangerous lie: that consistency equals success. You’re told to post three times a day, reply to every comment, jump on every trend, and never take a day off or risk being forgotten by the algorithm gods.

The truth? Creative energy is renewable, but it’s not infinite.

Batch your work when you’re inspired. Create “lazy day” formats for when you’re not. Reuse your best-performing content (no one remembers everything you post). And if you need a break, take it before you hit the meltdown phase where you start filming “why I’m quitting social media” videos at 2am. (Even I’ve been there, and I have 2,000 followers lmfao.)

Remember, burnout doesn’t make you dedicated. It makes you disposable. And, due to the fact that it's entirely preventable, a bit of a silly goose.

4. The algorithm is your landlord. And, like all good landlords, it does not care about you.

Creators live and die by algorithm updates they’ll never fully understand. One tweak to TikTok’s For You page, and suddenly your reach is gone. You’re shadow-banned, ghosted, and begging your followers to “turn on notifications.”

You can’t control the algorithm. But you can control your foundations.

Build an audience outside the platforms--Substack, Patreon, Discord, newsletters, wherever your community can exist without disappearing overnight. Cross-post content across multiple channels. Don’t rely on one feed to define your worth (or your rent).

If the algorithm is your landlord, then your mailing list is your house. Own it.

5. You’re not just a creator, you’re an entrepreneur, baby!

The creator economy doesn’t work without you. But that also means you need to treat what you’re doing like a business, not a passion project.

Set boundaries. Know your rates. Get contracts. Say no when something doesn’t feel right, especially if it pays in “clout.”

The most successful creators aren’t the ones posting the most; they’re the ones managing their energy, finances, and community like a CEO.

You’re not just building an audience. You’re building a brand, an ecosystem, and a future career that doesn’t depend on whether the algorithm had its morning coffee.

Gen Z might have built the creator economy, but now they’re learning how to run it.

And while it can absolutely eat you alive, it can also feed you IF you stop trying to play the game, and start treating yourself like the prize (you are ☆).

Because the platforms aren’t in charge anymore. You are.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

TREND PLUG

"Robert... South Carolina is gone"

Breaking news, everyone: South Carolina is gone. I dunno what it means either. Just work with me here.

This all stems from Marcus The Worm and Robert, two friends who post their VR Chat misadventures to TikTok. In one of countless clips bathed in absurdism, Marcus makes a shock announcement to his friend:

"Robert... South Carolina is gone."

What does it mean? Not sure. Why does Marcus, a "worm", have arms and legs? Who knows. Is South Carolina actually gone? I dunno - have YOU seen it recently?

Anyway - Marcus' bizarre line, followed by a classic Vine boom at the end, makes for perfect audio to pair with unexpected and/or terrible announcements. From rare catch-ups with long distance friends to a relationship crumbling right after announcing it, we've all at some point had to drop some earth-shattering news out of the blue.

How you can jump on this trend:

Put the camera on yourself. Then use this sound and lip-sync with Marcus's line (note that there's a 6-second gap between "Robert" and "South Carolina", so be patient!) Then, add onscreen text describing a time you had to drop some heavy news on someone.

There's not much audio to work with, so your facial expressions need to count! Keep the camera close to your face and try looking as despondent and spaced out as you can!

A few ideas to get you started:

"Meeting your supervisor for your regular catch-up after a hellish week"
"Telling your boss you missed the meeting with a high-paying client after sending them the wrong time"
"When your colleague accidentally messages the company group chat, and you're the only one brave enough to point it out to them"

Devin Pike, Copywriter

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😲WTF: How that goat get there
✨Daily inspo: It IS working out in your favour
🎧Soooo tingly: Phone Case ASMR (why is it so nice)
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Nepalese Momo Dumplings!

ASK THE EDITOR

How can I create a content strategy that is professional for a B2B brand, while still being engaging and not stale? Emphasis on the professional due to leadership preferences. -Katerina

Hi Katerina,

This can absolutely be challenging! You have a few ways to go about this. You can create a second brand account and use this for trying out content you think will work for your niche. That way, if it takes off, you can keep this separate and use the original account for more "traditional" content. Once you have proof of what gets good engagement, you can use this to show leadership what you did and why.

Another direction is you could opt for creating educational content about your industry. This is a difficult content style to pull off well, but it will likely be the most palatable for the higher-ups. Pull together source material of other brands (not necessarily in your niche) who do this well, break down what they've done, then replicate it. Using Instagram trials is a great way to A/B test elements like your OST so you can see what is most effective.