What Is The Internet Creators Guild?

Last year, Hank Green pitched me the idea of a membership association BY and FOR creators that would support, educate, connect, and represent them, and which he wanted me to run.

We shopped the idea around with a number of people in the early days and everyone was enthusiastic. We kept hearing that creators wanted ICG to exist. This includes our wonderful Board of Directors and our Advisory Board, who quickly signed on (with one of them agreeing within 4 minutes of having sent the email). There was a similar response when we announced the guild to the world.

Clearly, the community of professional creators wants this to be a thing.

Four months later, we want to say thank you to the nearly 650 members who are already supporting us. In speaking with members so far, the Internet Creators Guild has been looking for tangible ways to make creators’ lives easier. We are aiming to look across the lives of thousands of individuals in the industry and find systemic problems to solve.

We’ve identified 3 Primary Goals to tackle first:

1. Contracts. Creators don’t understand the deals they’re signing and things to look out for when negotiating with networks, employers, brands, and production companies. We’ll research contracts, talk to legal experts, and create samples with explanations to help navigate this important and often intimidating part of the business.
2. Brand deal rates. Creators struggle to know how much to charge or expect for sponsored content. We’ll conduct a survey to understand rates and what influences those rates.
3. Representation to platforms. Creators are frustrated when they feel platforms are difficult to reach and don’t clearly explain decisions that affect their livelihoods. Because creators have no unified voice, they don’t have a seat at the table with these companies. We’ll create a system to consult with a wide spectrum of creators and establish direct points of contact at each of the major social media platforms.

In working to solve these initial problems, I’m not alone. Since launching the guild, countless creators, industry members, MCN employees, managers, agents, lawyers, platforms, non-profits, and other individuals have reached out wanting to help.

While we focus on these initial three goals, we’ll continue to develop resources for members and the creator community. We’ve kicked off many of these already, such as:

1. A members-only podcast featuring stories and advice from a varied group of creators.
2. An online ICG community allowing people to ask and answer questions because many creators face similar challenges and feel isolated in dealing with them or don’t have access to each other’s solutions.
3. A knowledge base with resources on personal identity security, budgeting basics, common problems with platforms, moderating your community, as well as case studies.
4. Articles from creators sharing how they overcame specific challenges and the decisions they made.
5. Articles interpreting platform developments, as we did in the YouTube de-monetization situation.
6. Discounts on services, events, and other expenses.

Beyond the value of what an individual is going to get out of membership, annual dues create an organization that represents all creators and provides resources to them.

When members of an industry help educate one another, contribute to understanding challenges, and share in the process of finding solutions to common problems, everyone benefits. Online video is barely a decade old, and ICG has only existed for four months. We can’t see what the industry will look like in 20 years, but we’re here to help create it as we go.

With your support, ICG serves the collective good. We strive to work for all internet creators, whether they’re members or not. This organization represents creators’ interests, solely and primarily. We aren’t answering to shareholders or chasing eyeballs. We’re trying to make the profession of internet creator more esteemed, credible, and sustainable.

ICG is what we do. It is what we all make it.

Here’s how you can help:

• If you are a professional creator, become a member for $60 per year at internetcreatorsguild.com/join. By being a member, you can help us work on the initial goals, develop the next challenges we’ll work on, contribute to the knowledge base, suggest topics, and mentor others.
• If you are a creator or industry member with a unique perspective or expertise, we may call on you to contribute to the knowledge base.
• If you work as an MCN employee, lawyer, manager, or agent, we may reach out for your partnership in helping creators understand contracts and brand deal rates.
• If you are interested in funding or partnering on one of the primary goals, future goals, or discussing bigger projects, please contact us. The ability to scale up or hire consultants is dependent on resources.

To express interest in participating, email info@internetcreatorsguild.com.

Laura Chernikoff is the Executive Director of the Internet Creators Guild. Before this, she was the Guest Manager of VidCon where she worked closely with hundreds of creators on security, scheduling, content, and their overall experience at the event. In that role, she was the internal advocate for creators and their priorities and interests. She continues that work on a larger scale at the ICG.