Thursday, January 22nd

Top Creator News, Stories & Tips

Author

Paul Boulet
January 22, 2026

Hey, marketers & entrepreneurs,

It’s Paul from Click Analytic 👋

Welcome to our 42 new subscribers, who are joining a community of 56,000+ marketers & founders building with creators every day.

Quick one this week 👇
We’re breaking down what’s actually working with creators right now.

From Lemme’s $13M TikTok play, to brands hijacking the “2016” trend, and a reality check on Chiara Ferragni’s comeback.

Plus: Netflix bets on creators, TikTok keeps experimenting, and Instagram is adding “friends”

Let’s get into it 👇👇

🗓️ Quick Recap:

And more…

  Estimated read time: 2 minutes or less

📊 Did you know?

61% of marketing leaders plan to increase creator budgets this year, even as many admit they’re still “flying blind” on ROI.

(Decision Marketing 2026)

🔔 Top Creator Stories

📺️ Alix Earle lands a Netflix reality show

Netflix is betting on creator-led IP again — this time with a reality show centered on Alix Earle and her family.

Proof that creators are becoming media franchises, not just talent.

↩️ Brands jump on the “2016” nostalgia trend

The 2016 aesthetic is everywhere right now with 55M+ videos on TikTok.

Check how Rare Beauty and other brands found smart ways to activate it.

🔙 Chiara Ferragni returns… but with $82M almost gone

Cleared of fraud charges and named the face of a new GUESS campaign — yet her $82M empire lost ~95% of its value.

The big question: can creator trust be rebuilt after controversy?

🎾 Australian Open wants to be the Super Bowl of beauty

The AO is positioning itself as the go-to global stage for experiential beauty marketing.

Think creators, pop-ups, and IRL moments built for social distribution.

🚀 How Lemme made $13M/month on TikTok

Lemme, Kourtney Kardashian’s wellness brand, generated $13M in a single month on TikTok Shop!!

All without relying on a handful of mega-influencers ❌ 

Instead, they went wide 👇️ 

The playbook:
👉️ 13,000+ affiliates activated
👉️ 50,000+ native videos created
👉️ Multiple posts per creator

Why it worked:

TikTok doesn’t reward one polished ad.

It rewards repetition, variation, and creator-native storytelling.

Lemme stacked smart growth levers:
• Heavy product seeding → organic creator posts
• TikTok LIVE shopping → sales spikes
• Affiliate commissions → scalable incentives
• Subscriptions post-purchase → higher LTV

Plus, they did one underrated move:

→ retail credibility first.
Lemme launched in Erewhon and Ulta before scaling TikTok Shop — later expanding to Target and Walmart.

So when creators talked about it, the product felt familiar, not gimmicky.

What you can steal 👇️ 

☑️ Stop chasing one “perfect” creator but prioritize volume
☑️ Incentivize repeat posts, not one-offs
☑️ Use affiliates or performance-based deals to scale cheaply
☑️ Pair UGC + LIVE with retention loops (subscriptions)
☑️ Build off-platform credibility so creator content converts

TikTok isn’t just a content channel anymore.

📱 Social Snapshot

🛒 Shopify merchants will now pay a 4% fee on sales made via ChatGPT

🎬 TikTok quietly launched PineDrama, a new micro-drama app

🤖 YouTube Shorts will soon let creators use their AI likeness

🎨 YouTube refreshes its visual identity

👋 TikTok’s global head of creators exits amid a company reorg

🎛 Instagram rolls out algorithm control to all English-speaking users

👥 Instagram tests renaming Following to Friends

🌍 Meta expands AI translations for Reels

🚀 X launches Starter Packs to help users discover creators

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That’s it for this week 👊
More insights, case studies & campaign breakdowns coming next Thursday!

Until then → keep building, keep testing, and create moments worth sharing.

— Paul from Click Analytic

See you next week!