Accidentally Influential

Kate Robb and Teanna Scot
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Accidentally Influential is the show for EDUcreators, experts, and business owners who never set out to be "influencers"… but built influence anyway. Hosted by Kate Robb and Teanna Scot, we've grown a 479K+ audience and landed over half a million in brand deals; now we're pulling back the curtain on how YOU can turn your authority into income. From sponsorship strategy to creator psychology, this is your no-fluff guide to building a creator business that stacks ontop of what you're already doing. You might've become accidentally influential… but what you do with it now? That part is intentional.

  1. The Brand Side of Brand Deals, Part 2: What It Takes to Land a Creator Partnership ft. Yulia Storozhuk of Kittl

    1h ago

    The Brand Side of Brand Deals, Part 2: What It Takes to Land a Creator Partnership ft. Yulia Storozhuk of Kittl

    This wins because "why brands ghost creators/your pitch" and "how to pitch brands and actually hear back" are verified high-volume, high-intent searches across multiple sources, and "ft. Yulia" plus "Kittl" adds discoverability for anyone searching that brand or guest directly. Show Notes: 72% of creator pitches never get a response. Most people assume that means rejection. It usually doesn't. This is our second deep dive into the brand side of brand partnerships — and this time we're hearing from someone who has personally worked with over 300 creators and spent more than $3 million on creator collaborations. Yulia Storozhuk leads influencer marketing and partnerships at Kittl, the AI-powered design platform based in Berlin, and she brings a deeply data-driven approach to everything she does. If you've ever sent a pitch and heard nothing back, wondered what actually makes a brand say yes, or wanted real insight into how an influencer marketing manager thinks — this episode is for you. What We Cover: Yulia's path to building a profitable influencer marketing engine from scratch What actually happens to a pitch once it lands in a brand's inbox Why most pitches get ignored — and why it's usually not personal What brands are actually looking for that has nothing to do with follower count How a data-driven brand evaluates creators before ever responding The difference between a pitch that gets ghosted and one that gets a reply What makes Yulia remember a creator long after a single campaign ends How Kittl as a design platform evaluates creator fit and alignment The European vs. US influencer marketing landscape — what's different, what's the same Communication and professionalism as the real differentiator brands are watching for Find Yulia & Kittl: Kittl: kittl.com Episodes Referenced: Ep 22:  What Brands Are Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands Episode 4: The Obvious YES Pitch — the 5C Framework for pitching brands like a partner S2E4:  How to Make a Media Kit That Gets Brand Deals More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    1h 1m

  2. Jun 22

    5 Content Creator Business Mistakes Keeping You Broke (LLC, Rates, and More)

    Your content is great, but you're stuck thinking like a creator instead of a business owner. In this episode Kate and Tea break down the 5 biggest mistakes keeping content creators from making real, predictable money — pulled directly from what they're seeing while sourcing creators for their own agency. If you've been posting consistently and still aren't landing the partnerships or rates you want, one of these five is probably the reason. What We Cover: Mistake 1: Not having your business basics set up — why an LLC isn't just for "real businesses," and why creators with one get noticed differently by brands and agencies Mistake 2: Guessing on your rates — why pricing based on confidence, fear, or a random TikTok video is costing you money and credibility Why "it takes me a long time to edit" is not a justification a brand will ever accept Mistake 3: Making it hard for brands to pay you — the email-in-bio problem, broken links, and why DMs are not a real contact strategy Mistake 4: The two extremes of readiness — waiting to feel "legitimate enough" vs. expecting opportunities before doing the work Mistake 5: Thinking deal-to-deal instead of relationship-to-relationship — why CEO creators play the long game with retainers, referrals, and repeat partnerships Why operating as a business changes how brands and agencies perceive you before a single word is exchanged The single accountability action to take this week to shift from creator mode to CEO mode Your Challenge: Pick one of these five mistakes where you know you're operating like a creator instead of a CEO. Spend the next seven days fixing it — start your LLC, build your media kit, fix your bio, or follow up with a brand you haven't talked to in a while. Episodes Referenced: Ep 5:  What You Should Actually Charge — the 4R Pricing Framework, our most downloaded episode S2E4:  How to Make a Media Kit That Gets Brand Deals S2E7:  How to Renegotiate Your Brand Deal Rates Ep 13: Why Retainers Are the Secret to Scalable Creator Income Ep 22:  What Brands Are Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands More From Us: Start your LLC with Tailor Brands — our affiliate link is always in the show notes Join the Creator Club Waitlist — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    33 min
  3. How to Renegotiate Your Brand Deal Rates (Real Example + 3-Step Framework)

    Jun 15

    How to Renegotiate Your Brand Deal Rates (Real Example + 3-Step Framework)

    Creators who negotiate their rates earn on average 40% more than creators who don't. Kate hadn't renegotiated with one of her longest-standing brand partners in over a year. This episode is what happened next. This is a live one. We're walking through Kate's actual renegotiation process in real time — the data she pulled, how she structured the email, what she asked for, and the mindset it takes to send it without adding "no worries if not" at the end. If you have a retainer client, a recurring brand deal, or a rate that hasn't moved in a while — this episode is your sign. What We Cover: Why renegotiating a long-term brand deal feels scarier than it should — and why brands almost never walk away over it How Kate went from a healthy renegotiation cadence to accidentally going a full year without revisiting her rates Why retainer partnerships are the easiest ones to forget to renegotiate (and the most important ones to review) Step 1: Know your before and after — how to pull a snapshot of your stats from when you last negotiated vs. right now Step 2: Translate data into brand value — engagement rate, affiliate revenue, follower growth, and what each one actually says to a brand Step 3: Make a specific ask — why ranges and soft language kill your negotiation before it starts The real data Kate used: 84% follower growth, a maintained engagement rate, and nearly $200K in attributed affiliate revenue How to structure the renegotiation email — what to open with, how to present data, and exactly how to close Why your number should feel a little scary — and why that's actually the right signal The mindset trap: how approaching a renegotiation from scarcity or desperation kills it before it starts Tea's story: when having the data wasn't enough because the energy was wrong When NOT to renegotiate: too soon, stagnant performance, shaky relationship, or any state of financial desperation The 3-Step Renegotiation Framework: Pull your before and after data — stats from last negotiation vs. now Translate the data into brand value — what does it mean for their ROI, not yours Make a specific ask — one number, fully justified, no soft landings Episodes Referenced: Ep 7:  The LEVEL Framework — how to negotiate an inbound offer (the foundation before this episode) Ep 13: Why Retainers Are the Secret to Scalable Creator Income — why this conversation matters most for retainer clients Ep 5: What You Should Actually Charge — the 4R Pricing Framework for building your base rate More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    37 min
  4. Should You Accept Gifted Collabs? The Truth EDUcreators Need to Hear

    Jun 14

    Should You Accept Gifted Collabs? The Truth EDUcreators Need to Hear

    Every article on the internet will tell you gifted collabs are a great starting point. We're here to tell you that depends entirely on who you are and what you're building — and for most education-based content creators, the answer is more complicated than "just say yes." This is a quick one but it will make you think twice before you hit accept on that next inbound. What We Cover: What a gifted collab actually is — and why it is not the same as PR Why brands love gifted collabs so much (hint: it has everything to do with them and almost nothing to do with you) The tax reality nobody tells you: gifted product counts as taxable income even if you never see a dollar FTC rules for gifted collabs — why "it's just free product" is still legally an ad that requires disclosure Why a page full of gifted collabs signals to brands that you're not worth paying — and actively works against landing paid partnerships Your personal brand as real estate: why every post is a decision about what gets to live there The difference between a gifted collab and PR — and why that line matters for your business The one scenario where a gifted collab might make sense for an EDUcreator Why anchoring yourself at free makes it nearly impossible to negotiate your way to paid later How to decline a gifted collab without burning the relationship How to try to flip a gifted collab into a paid opportunity The 3-question framework for deciding whether to say yes or no The 3-Question Framework: Would I be talking about this brand in my content anyway? Is this building toward something paid? What is this replacing in my personal brand real estate? Your Homework: Go to your page right now. Count your last 20 posts. How many are gifted or sponsored? What percentage is that? If a dream brand landed on your page today — is there even room for them? Episodes Referenced: S2E1: You're Already Doing This for Free — the 5 types of content brands pay for that you're probably already creating, and why you don't need gifted collabs to build a portfolio Ep 5: What You Should Actually Charge — how to know when your content is worth more than free product Ep 11: The Confidence Crisis — saying no from abundance not scarcity More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco     A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    28 min
  5. Why I said "HELL NO" to this brand deal: Brand Deal Contract Red Flags Every Creator Must Know

    Jun 1

    Why I said "HELL NO" to this brand deal: Brand Deal Contract Red Flags Every Creator Must Know

    Tea got an inbound from a LEGIT agency. Established brand. Green flag email. $700 for zero extra work on a video she posted two and a half years ago. She almost said yes. Then she read the contract. In this episode Kate reads Tea's real brand deal contract out loud — clause by clause — and breaks down every red flag hiding inside language that was designed to be confusing on purpose. This isn't legal advice. This is two business owners who have signed enough contracts to know when something is trying to take advantage of you. If you've ever felt pressure to sign fast, gotten excited about easy money, or had a gut feeling that something was off — this episode is for you. What We Cover: How a viral video Tea posted two and a half years ago led to a brand inbound in 2025 — and why your old content still matters Why fast-moving brands can be a red flag before you even open the contract Red Flag 1: Broad usage rights — what "in perpetuity" actually means and why it should make you stop reading immediately Why ad rights should always be sold in 30-day increments and never signed away forever The math on what perpetual usage rights would have actually cost this brand if Tea had charged correctly Red Flag 2: Extensive editing rights — how brands can slice, dice, and reframe your content into something you never said Red Flag 3: Persona rights — how a brand can legally use your name, likeness, voice, and social media handles for whatever they want The AI likeness risk that makes persona rights scarier than ever in 2025 Red Flag 4: Delayed payment terms — what's standard, what's a stretch, and what's a no Red Flag 5: Total waiver of creative control — the clause that essentially says "we can do whatever we want and you have no say" Why saying no to a bad contract protects the entire creator industry — not just you When to negotiate vs. when to walk away entirely The 5 questions to ask yourself before signing any brand deal contract Why the only thing this contract had going for it was the payment terms Your Challenge: Before you sign your next contract ask yourself: Does this align with my long-term goals? Am I comfortable with the usage? Are they hoping I know less than I do? Is the compensation proportional? Would I regret this later? Episodes Referenced: Ep 11: The Confidence Crisis — the mindset episode on scarcity thinking and saying no from a place of abundance Ep 5: What You Should Actually Charge — the 4R Pricing Framework including how to price ad rights Ep 16: Legal Gaps with Alyssa from Legal Doer — going deeper on creator contracts and legal protection Ep 7: How to Turn a $500 Offer Into a $2K+ Package — the LEVEL Framework for negotiating More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    35 min
  6. How to Make a Media Kit That Gets Brand Deals (What to Include and What to Leave Out)

    May 25

    How to Make a Media Kit That Gets Brand Deals (What to Include and What to Leave Out)

    A media kit won't land you a brand deal by itself. But not having one — or having the wrong things in it — will definitely cost you deals you should have gotten. This is Season 2 Episode 4 of Accidentally Influential, and this one has been a long time coming. We've mentioned media kits in episode four, episode five, episode 27, and basically every time we've talked about pitching brands. Today we're actually breaking it down — what goes in, what to leave out, and the free tool that builds yours in ten minutes. What We Cover: What a media kit actually is and what job it's doing for you when you send it Why brands spend less than 30 seconds scanning yours — and how to build it so the right things land immediately The 7 elements every creator media kit needs (in the exact order a brand will look for them) Element 1: Who you are and who you serve — the one statement that does all the heavy lifting Element 2: Your engagement rate, average views, and follower count — why engagement rate is the number brands actually care about Element 3: Audience demographics — why this is what brands are really buying when they partner with you Element 4: Content examples — why your most viral video is probably not the right choice here Element 5: Past brand partnerships and case studies — and the question you should be asking every brand you've worked with Element 6: Your rates — why the research says including them gets you more deals, not fewer Element 7: How to reach you — yes, this still needs to be said What NOT to include in your media kit (including the life story nobody asked for) Why you should never make up numbers — and why brands will find out if you do Beacons — the free tool that builds your media kit automatically and updates it every week without you touching it Your challenge: have a media kit done by next Monday Your Homework: Go to beacons.ai, connect your platforms, and let it pull your stats. Fill in your bio in one sentence. Done. You have a media kit. DM us the link when it's ready. Episodes Referenced: Ep 22: What Brands Are Actually Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands — Noam confirmed Beacons is a tool brands actually recognize and appreciate Ep 5: What You Should Actually Charge — the 4R Pricing Framework for figuring out your rates S2E1: You're Already Doing This for Free — where to find content examples to include in your kit Ep 25:  Is Your Profile Brand Ready? — the 5-point checklist that complements this episode More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    38 min
  7. How to Build a Community That Attracts Brand Deals Using Storytelling ft. Mackenzie Heflin

    May 18

    How to Build a Community That Attracts Brand Deals Using Storytelling ft. Mackenzie Heflin

    Followers are vanity. Community is currency. And nobody teaches that better than today's guest. Mackenzie Heflin is a storytelling specialist and content coach who went from losing her entire business overnight — her Facebook group got hacked and deleted at seven months pregnant — to rebuilding from scratch, going viral 27 days into a new storytelling strategy, and working with over 200 clients one-on-one, including Ariana Grande's photographer. In this episode we get into why storytelling is the most underrated strategy for EDUcreators who want to land brand deals — and how to write pitch emails, build community trust, and attract inbounds by just showing up as yourself. What We Cover: Mackenzie's origin story — how losing everything led to building something better Why she posted 5-7 times a day for four months before anything clicked (and what that means for you if you're early) The mindset shift from chasing followers to building a community — and why it changes everything Why TikTok is the greatest gift for educational content creators who don't want to perform How storytelling content strategy leads to better brand deal inbounds — organically The difference between a sponsored post that feels like an ad and one that feels like a story (and what brands are actually noticing) How to write a pitch email that sounds human — not like ChatGPT wrote it Why saying no to misaligned brand deals protects your community and your rates The structure Mackenzie teaches for brand-ready storytelling content The biggest storytelling mistake creators make in 2026 (spoiler: it involves production value) Why authority-based content is the unlock for creators who don't trust themselves yet Rapid fire: storytelling vs strategy, the content that changed her business, and the biggest mistake she sees Find Mackenzie: TikTok, Instagram & Threads: @mackenzie_heflin Episodes Referenced: S2E1: You're Already Doing This for Free — the unpaid brand work hiding in your content S2E2: Is Your Profile Brand Ready? — the 5-point checklist Ep 22: What Brands Are Actually Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands Ep 4: The Obvious YES Pitch — the 5C Framework for pitching brands like a partner More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco   A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    43 min
  8. Is Your Profile Brand Ready? The 5-Point Checklist to Attract Brand Deals as a Content Creator

    May 11

    Is Your Profile Brand Ready? The 5-Point Checklist to Attract Brand Deals as a Content Creator

    If you've been posting consistently and still haven't landed a brand deal, your content might not be the problem. Your profile might be. This is Season 2, Episode 2 of Accidentally Influential — and this season is a full curriculum. Every episode builds on the last. If you haven't listened to Season 2 Episode 1 yet, start there — then come back here. Today we're walking you through our 5-point Brand Ready Page Checklist: the exact things a brand looks at when they land on your profile and decide whether to reach out. Not your follower count. Not your aesthetics. These five things. What We Cover: How brands actually review your page before they decide to reach out — and what they're really looking for Why follower count is one of the last things brands care about (and what they look at instead) Check 1: Niche clarity — can a brand tell within seconds who you're talking to and why they'd want to be there? Check 2: Natural brand fit — are there visible gaps in your content where a brand could naturally live? Check 3: Evidence of movement — are people in your community actually taking action on your content, or just watching? Check 4: Consistency — what your posting cadence tells a brand about whether you're a reliable partner Check 5: Reachability — the embarrassingly simple thing that's blocking more brand deals than anything else (Kate's origin story) The red flags that kill brand deals even when your content is good — mismatched past partnerships, undisclosed ads, and fake engagement Why FTC disclosure isn't just a legal requirement — it's a trust signal that brands are actively looking for Your challenge: run your own page through all 5 checks before you close this episode Your Homework: Pull up your page right now. Cover your username and bio. Can a total stranger tell within the first few seconds what you talk about and who you talk to? If not — that's where you start. Episodes Referenced: S2E1: You're Probably Already Doing This for Free — the unpaid brand work hiding in your content Ep 22: What Brands Are Actually Looking For ft. Noam Giras of Tailor Brands — the brand-side perspective that informs this entire checklist Ep 25:  How to Grow on TikTok as a Business Owner ft. Sarah Weiss — the live 4R pricing exercise we reference More From Us: Join the Creator Club Waitlist  — coaching, templates, rate calculators, and direct help pitching brands Follow us on IG & TikTok: @notaninfluencerco   A Note From Our Sponsor: We talk a lot on this show about treating your content creation like a business — and that means setting yourself up with the right foundation. When Tea and I made Not An Influencer Creator Agency official, we used Tailor Brands to form our LLC. The process was genuinely simple — we filed from our laptops in under an hour, tracked our filing status right inside the Tailor dashboard, and had everything we needed to keep moving. Tailor also offers additional services like EIN setup, business bank accounts, and a finance manager to track your income and expenses as you grow. Search "Tailor Business Builder" to get started today.

    38 min
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Accidentally Influential is the show for EDUcreators, experts, and business owners who never set out to be "influencers"… but built influence anyway. Hosted by Kate Robb and Teanna Scot, we've grown a 479K+ audience and landed over half a million in brand deals; now we're pulling back the curtain on how YOU can turn your authority into income. From sponsorship strategy to creator psychology, this is your no-fluff guide to building a creator business that stacks ontop of what you're already doing. You might've become accidentally influential… but what you do with it now? That part is intentional.

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