Hi CCs,

Something fun to share: if you’re interested in improving your sales techniques (particularly for service providers such as myself, but also relevant for product-based businesses), from January 28th-30th I am taking the virtual ‘Selling Online’ challenge led by Russell Brunson. It is only $100 and I’ve read his books and taken some online webinars before and it’s always value-packed so I am confident it will be worth it.

If you aren’t familiar, Russell Brunson is an entrepreneur, author, and marketing expert best known as the co-founder of ClickFunnels, a leading software platform that empowers entrepreneurs and businesses to create effective sales funnels. He’s also the author of bestselling books such as DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets, and Traffic Secrets, which have become go-to guides for anyone building an online business.

If you’re interested you can sign up here. Respond to this email and let me know if you’re taking it so we can connect on our experience after! 😊

Now, lot’s to discuss. Let’s get into it.

TikTok prepares to shut down app in US on Sunday, sources say

TikTok plans to shut U.S. operations of its social media app used by 170 million Americans on Sunday, when a federal ban is set to take effect, barring a last-minute reprieve, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

“The Washington Post reported President-elect Donald Trump, whose term begins a day after a ban would start, is considering issuing an executive order to suspend enforcement of a shutdown for 60 to 90 days. The newspaper did not say how Trump could legally do so.” — Yahoo News

Khloé Kardashian launches a video podcast, “Khloé in Wonder Land”

Khloé has a history of doing her own dedicated shows like Revenge Body, Kocktails with Khloé, and more. I think it’s fitting that she launched her own show that she owns completely on YouTube. Her first episode features Scott Disick (sorry, I’m not a big fan of him), and I will be interested to see where this goes. From the trailer she’s bringing on some interesting guests. Although…someone’s gotta say it. She’s definitely getting aesthetic inspiration from our girl Grace Beverly.

My predictions for performance marketing in 2025 (Meta ads, AI, and big brand strategies!)

Every year, Meta Ads expert Dara Denney does a predictions video for the year and it’s very interesting to get her take as a leader in the industry. At my agency, Posture Media, we definitely keep an eye on everything Dara says and implement tactics for our clients to stay up-to-date. Watch below to learn what strategies Dara thinks brands need to adapt in 2025.

How to monetize LinkedIn with brand partnerships

Content strategist and B2B writer Kiran Shahid published this thorough roundup for Zapier of ways you can monetize on LinkedIn and it’s full of awesome advice for anyone looking to build another revenue stream by leveraging the platform.

I know many people still think LinkedIn is cringe, but I have to tell you that people are building entire careers as LinkedIn influencers. I know your friends may not be hanging out on the platform, but potential clients and customers are. So don’t sleep on it.

🤳 Content Inspo

It would feel illegal to gatekeep this from you all. Oren, who I have interviewed previously on deepfeed Podcast, just dropped a video on 50 Video Ideas For Your Brand and it comes with a Notion document as well. Tons of inspo on here to help your 2025 content strategy game. 🔥

More inspiration:

The unhinged explainer product launch video by Jenn Chia. [LINK]
Creator Jenn Chia has grown a sizable following for her personal brand and her activewear brand terrae. Instead of just dropping some e-comm photos to announce a new product launch, consider it a creative challenge for how you can introduce your new product in a way that leans into humor or entertainment. This might be worth exploring a collaboration with a creator with the right personality. This bag sold out in 24 hours so it’s worth bookmarking for future reference. ✍️

Grace Beverly series “things I wish I knew when I started my business.” [LINK]
This is a valuable, easy to produce series concept for any founder. Not only are you giving away free advice which is key for building a brand, but it also positions you as an expert in the process. Give it a go.

Creator Brooke Yoakam on how brands like MidDay Squares & Chamberlain Coffee are using photoshoots to make any moment bigger. [LINK]
Really great concept for how to announce a new retail partner, or any milestone for your business, that gets people excited for you and want to support your journey. The takeaway: have fun with it.

Bringing brand FAQs to life with SUAY SEW SHOP. [LINK]
People love team content because we love to see who is working behind the scenes. Consider this opportunity to make a list of all FAQs you’ve received and get your team involved by having them provide the answers. I’d go for at least three if possible. Incorporate b-roll to demonstrate what they are saying and make it more engaging like the reference.

📡 On Our Radar

What is Rednote? Chinese-owned “TikTok clone” shoots up app store as ban looms. [LINK]

Brand Strategist Eugene Healey on how status symbols are changing in response to the decline of the luxury industry and a hypersaturated image culture. [LINK]

Substack just made live video available to all publishers in the app. [LINK]

Tim Ferriss is releasing his first new book in 7 years tentatively titled The No Book which “is a blueprint for how to get everything you want by saying no to everything you don’t. Don’t let the title mislead you; it’s probably the most life-affirming book I’ve ever written.” [LINK]

24 new hooks to test in 2025 by paid social expert Social Savannah. [LINK]

“2025 Beauty Predictions — Wrinkle-Free Robots, Emotion-As-Luxury, & Longevity Dads” by beauty reporter Jessica DeFino. [LINK]

Walmart’s ‘new’ logo made the internet furious. [LINK]

Spotify is testing an option that allows users to share a video snippet from a podcast episode to their Instagram Stories. [LINK]

🎶 TikTok

CES: TikTok execs share bright future forecast, ignore looming ban. [LINK]

Trump promised to ‘save’ TikTok, but he doesn’t have a lot of options. [LINK]

TikTok pushes users to Lemon8 as ban looms. [LINK]

TikTok’s testing an AI song generation process. [LINK]

📸 Meta

Meta says Threads and Instagram users will no longer be able to opt out of being shown political content from people they do not follow. [LINK]

Meta and Amazon scale back diversity initiatives. [LINK]

Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram) on what Instagram will be focusing on in 2025. [LINK]

Meta and YouTube stand to gain 50% of reallocated US TikTok ad dollars. [LINK]

Meta implements first elements of Community Notes. [LINK]

Meta exempts top advertisers from standard content moderation process. [LINK]

Advertisers’ concerned over Meta's ‘free speech’ overhaul, Zuckerberg's attempts to cosy up to Trump. [LINK]

🧵 Threads

Threads could soon let you attach music to posts. [LINK]

Threads experiments with custom display names, cover images for profiles. [LINK]

☠️ 𝕏

X flags coming algorithm update to focus on entertaining content. [LINK]

X plans to launch ‘money’ in limited form this year. [LINK]

Emmanuel Macron joins growing criticism of Elon Musk in Europe. [LINK]

🦋 Bluesky

Bluesky seeks a $700 million valuation—and an identity apart from Meta, X. [LINK]

📹 YouTube

Delta inks exclusive pact with YouTube for in-flight viewing as airline enhances entertainment experiences and courts showbiz passengers. [LINK]

YouTube expands 3-minute Shorts to all users. [LINK]

Justin Moore, sponsorship coach and the founder of Creator Wizard, sat down with Nick Nimmin, YouTube creator and educator, for a livestream about “why your sponsorship strategy for 2025 needs to be different.” [WATCH]

📘 Linkedin

LinkedIn shares insights into the most in-demand jobs and skills. [LINK]

🤖 AI Boom

Sam Altman shares a new blog reflecting on his journey building OpenAI. [LINK]

Apple just joined a massive tech alliance (AMD, Intel, AWS, Google, Meta, and Microsoft) trying to break NVIDIA's AI monopoly. [LINK]

The Biden Administration issued an executive order to accelerate AI data center construction by making federal land available and streamlining permits. [LINK]

Microsoft, OpenAI ask federal judge to toss news orgs’ copyright claims. [LINK]

Adobe’s new AI tool, “Firefly Bulk Create,” can edit 10,000 images in one click. [LINK]

Amazon Ads brings generative AI to Amazon Marketing Cloud with new SQL generator. [LINK]

That’s it for this week. If you made it to the end, reply with a 🦇 emoji. Much love.

Winter Mendelson
Co-Founder, Posture Media
Instagram / Linkedin / Threads

P.S. I will probably have typos in the event that my dad is unavailable to proofread. Sorry in advance.

​Creative Commerce is a newsletter for entrepreneurs, marketers, and social media managers. It is written, edited, and published by Posture Media, an independent branding and marketing studio based in Brooklyn.

Were you forwarded this email? Feel free to sign up here.

Interested in advertising in Creative Commerce? Learn more and get in touch here.