It's Here: The Creator Recession
It's Here: The Creator Recession
Let’s get one thing straight: You are NOT the problem.
The majority of creators I speak to and work with are actually doing things quite nicely. They show up. They create content. They’re genuinely interested in their community. They check their metrics. In short, they’re doing all things that they hear online should “work.” But the reality is, the game has changed and the rules have shifted in a way that no self-proclaimed 27yr old online “creator coach” prepared you for.
I hear it from creators all the time… how they’re feeling it. How engagement isn’t how it used to be, or how they have to try (and/or post) twice as hard… how brand budgets are tightening. And lemme let you in on a little secret: even top-tier influencers are quietly taking corporate gigs again. The algorithm gods giveth and taketh away, and most days, it feels like they’re taketh-ing more than they’re giveth-ing. Feel me so far?
But this isn’t about your content, your talent, or your work ethic. It’s about an economy that was built on instability. The phrase “evolving creator economy” has been more played and overused than the word “obsessed.” But it’s true, bc platforms DO change their priorities quite often. Brands HAVE changed how they spend. Audiences ARE shortening their attention spans. And all of this is happening so damn fast that creators are being held to impossible standards while the infrastructure around them collapses. Feeling me even more now?
This is what I call The Great Creator Recession.
Not because creators have failed, but because the economy that promised them a “future” was never built to sustain them the way they actually started. In short, creators have evolved faster than the industry that’s supposed to support them. You’re smarter, more strategic, more self-aware than ever sure. But you’re also exhausted, burned out, and probably thinking you have to produce new and better content on the daily. It no longer matters how talented you are when social media platforms keep moving the goalposts…. the TRENDS… the ALGORITHM updates… the SONGS….
You can be doing everything “right” and still feel like you’re losing.
And that disconnect is what’s breaking people.
But the part I want to shine on a light on bc it seems no one else is, is that the creators who are feeling this the most are also the ones most equipped to lead the next era. No cap. And it really boils down to that these creators (you, my dear reader) already have the skills, the instincts, and the audience.
So what you’re really craving isn’t necessarily a “growth hack,” it’s a sustainable framework.
This recession is merely the end of the illusion that creators could win by playing by the platforms’ rules. And so, the creators who are currently thriving and will continue to do so are the ones who learn to step off the hamster wheel and build systems that can actually outlast a bad quarter, a bad algorithm, or a bad week online.
Here is where I want to make you a personal promise. I want 2026 to be freakin’ life changing for you. And no, you know I’m not cheesy or tacky. I really mean it when I say that things CAN CHANGE. I put a photo of Annabelle Fleur above as an example. Even as an OG creator, her business was stalling. She was playing by the 2017 rules. She did the Private Lab and within a year.. BOOM… she doubled her income and now brands are eager to work with her again.
Or take for example Rachel Triller… when she started the Private Lab she had less than 3,000 followers. She didn’t know if what she was doing was “right” but she had a hunger in her to make it in the business. Now she has over 20k followers and has brands emailing her for partnerships.
So no, it doesn’t matter if you have a million or a thousand followers. If you build a sustainable system, a sustainable business will follow. No ifs, ands, or buts.
I want the same for you. So let’s do something wild. Let’s do something crazy. Let’s do something you’ve never done before : DOUBLE DOWN on yourself. Double down on your dream. Double down on the life you want to truly be living.
And to think it can start with one free call. Yeah, literally. Click here and fill out this quick form, and I’ll set you up with a free exploratory call with no strings attached. I want to hear your story. I want to know what your dreams are. I want to genuinely see how my team and I can support you and your vision and your journey.
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XX Idalia