I’m going to break down my VidCon revenue and expenses below, so keep reading to see what I spent and what I made.
My post-VidCon recap is a bit late because I got sick last week, so I appreciate your patience.
Let's get into it!
VidCon’s for the rest of us
You may have noticed the split screen last month: Cannes Lions for the 0.001%, VidCon for the rest of us.
I'll take the rest of us every time.
A few things stood out:
No big platform presence - YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram barely had presences despite huge activations at Cannes. Instead, Pop.Store came on as a new title sponsor, building tools that actually make Creators' lives easier and their businesses more successful. (Save up to $850 on those tools as a CAN member)
The programming was more valuable - Workshops and talks were both interactive and packed with high-value tactics and real examples, instead of the PR-led boring executive fluff.
Creators continued to organize - Town halls (some led by me) gave the Creator Middle Class an actual voice in shaping where the space goes next. I’m heading to DC next week for the Congressional Creator Caucus, on behalf of the Creator’s Guild of America, to lobby for greater recognition and benefits of Creators by the government - a direct outcome of these conversations at VidCon! (Get 1 year of CGA membership free as a CAN member)
It’s all about subculture
VidCon's original premise was simple: the most famous thing you've never heard of.
This year proved it's still true.
There was a full Korean cosmetics section.
There was an entire sub-ticketed microconvention for Gorilla Tag, a game most people my age have never heard of but brought tween boys out in droves.
For the first time since 2018, I heard fans screaming from across the convention hall. That only happens in subcultures, where the connection is so personal you can't stop your body from reacting, like running into an old friend after years apart.
I'm glad big money has found our space. That's good for everyone.
But the passion fueled by these endemic subcultures are what VidCon is to me.
Another year, another (few thousand) dollar(s)
A few highlights from what was easily my busiest VidCon:
Pop.Store partnered with me to bring Creator Access Network to the show floor, with free membership giveaways, ice cold CANs of water, and a panel on how Creators are actually using AI. Grateful to Carolyn Williamson and Josephine Wong for the ongoing partnership. If you're an Instagram Creator, you should be using Pop.Store's Echo.me for engagement and sales automation. Nobody else is close.
(If you want the VidCon x Pop.Store deal on Creator Access Network, get it here.)
I secured speaking slots for my advisory client, Chronicle Studios at the Leadership Summit and on the Creator track. CEO Aaron Sisto, creator growth expert Dariush Brizuela-Nothaft, and I talked through why you need machines to beat machines, and how Chronicle's agentic YouTube channel management platform outperforms humans at growing channels through optimization and advertising.
(If you want to get on the waitlist for their impressive agentic YouTube channel management platform you can do that here).
Creator Access Network also held our first community dinner! We had a great member turnout, including Nikki Sult, Joel K. Savitt, Adelasoye Oladapo, Alix Gucovsky, Christopher Wolf, Nick Ramos, and Jacob Huang. Dinner and open bar were provided by our partners at Driff, a dedicated space for communities to talk directly to, and learn from, Creators, artists, and experts. Worth a look if you're building direct relationships with your audience. They’ll have an offer on CAN soon.
My VidCon P&L
Here’s a rough breakdown of my VidCon P&L:
+$12,500 - Activation sponsorship revenue across panels and events (I can't get more specific for contractual reasons)
-$5,100 - Community dinner (meals + open bar for 50 people)
-$2,800 - Staffing (I brought my CAN team to VidCon)
-$1,100 - Anaheim Marriott hotel for 3 nights
-$430 - 428 cans of CAN branded water to hand out
-$230 - CAN branded cooler for branded water activation
-$220 - Miscellaneous expenses (food, parking, etc.)
= $2,620 in profit for VidCon 2026
And that's just for the activations I did. Other benefits include:
11 leads on companies to add to Creator Access Network
6 leads on advisory clients ($30,000/mo in pipeline)
1 happy advisory client
This is a replicable model for most any Creator.
Reach out to brands you have relationships with and ask if they would like for you to speak on panels, host dinners, hand out at booths, etc. at events relevant to your industry.
You'll be surprised how many say yes and what they're willing to pay.
Until next time!
Avi