You're scrolling through creator rates again. £5,000 for one Instagram post. £15,000 for a TikTok campaign. £25,000 for a YouTube integration that might (might) drive some traffic to your store.
Meanwhile, that same influencer started with zero followers and a phone camera.
So here's a crazy question: Why are you paying someone else to be the authority in your space when you could become that authority yourself?
The Creator Economy's Best-Kept Secret
The creator economy isn't just about dance videos and lifestyle content. It's about expertise distribution. It's about people with knowledge sharing what they know and building audiences around that value.
And guess what? You already have something more valuable than most influencers: you actually run a business in your industry.
You know your customers' real problems. You understand your products inside and out. You've solved challenges that your audience is still struggling with. You have stories, insights, and expertise that money can't buy.
Yet you're paying someone with a ring light and good lighting to pretend they understand your industry for 30 seconds.
When you become the authority in your space, something magical happens:
Customers seek you out instead of you chasing them down with ads.
Media outlets quote you instead of your competitors.
Other businesses want to partner with you because you're seen as the leader.
Your prices matter less because people buy from authorities, not commodities.
Your content sells your products without feeling like sales pitches.
This isn't theory. This is what happens when business owners step out from behind their logos and start sharing what they actually know. And yes, it’s bloody uncomfortable. And yes… running an ecommerce store is outside most folk’s defined ‘comfort zone’ so why not take the lead with your marketing?
The Expertise You're Sitting On
I’m going to focus more and more on the idea of YOU ‘becoming the influencer’ over the coming weeks. It’s the conversation I have with every consulting or coaching client I work with.
Bit of inspo? This is Gary Vaynerchuk’s first video. He started from zero. Everyone starts from zero. You? You’re starting from zero. And that is okay.
However. Reel back a bit. You're not starting from zero. You're sitting on years of industry expertise that would take any influencer months to fake. You just haven't packaged it yet.
Like Gary now has… yes, nearly 5m subscribers from the starting point above.
Think about what you know that your customers don't:
How to choose between product options in your category
Common mistakes people make with your type of product
Industry trends that will affect buyers
Behind-the-scenes insights about how things are made
Problem-solving approaches that actually work
That's not product marketing. That's valuable content that positions you as the go-to expert.
Start Where You Are
You don't need a million followers to be influential. You need to be useful to the followers you have.
Pick one platform where your customers actually spend time. Not where you think they should be, but where they actually are.
Share one insight per week that only someone in your position would know. Industry trends, common customer mistakes, buying advice, problem-solving tips.
Be consistently helpful instead of occasionally promotional. Answer questions. Share knowledge. Solve problems publicly.
Document your journey as a business owner. The challenges, the wins, the lessons learned. People love behind-the-scenes authenticity.
The Maths That Changes Everything
Let's say, hypothetically, you get to the stage of spending £10,000 per month on influencer partnerships. That's £120,000 per year renting other people's audiences.
Now imagine investing that same money in content creation, video equipment, a content assistant, or simply your own time building authority. In year one, you might reach fewer people. But in year three? You own the audience instead of renting it.
Want to know the advice I give every single ecommerce startup? Start Content First. That means building an audience that you own through the content you create. Be the creator. Become the influencer.
Influencer partnerships depreciate to zero immediately.
Authority appreciates forever.
Beyond Follower Counts
Being an influential authority isn't about going viral or accumulating massive follower counts. It's about becoming the person your ideal customers turn to when they need expertise in your area.
100 people who trust your judgment are worth more than 10,000 people who kind of remember seeing your ad.
When you're the authority, customers don't just buy your products—they buy your recommendations. They follow your advice. They become evangelists for your expertise.
The Creator Economy Reversal
The creator economy taught us that influence is valuable. But we learned the wrong lesson. We thought we needed to buy influence from creators.
The real lesson? Create the influence yourself.
Stop outsourcing your authority to people who learned about your industry from a brand brief. Start building it yourself using the expertise you've accumulated from actually running a business in this space.
Every dollar you spend hiring influencers is an investment in someone else's authority instead of your own.
Every piece of content you create builds your authority instead of theirs.
Every insight you share positions you as the expert instead of the brand that pays experts.
The question isn't whether you have something valuable to say. The question is whether you're willing to say it.
Your customers need your expertise more than they need another sponsored post from someone who discovered your product last week.
Stop renting authority. Start building it.
Stop hiring influencers. Start being one.
The creator economy is waiting for the people who actually know what they're talking about to show up.
Ready to flip the script? Start sharing one piece of industry expertise this week. Your authority journey begins with your first post.