Top LTK affiliate creator Ty Hill’s tips for content that drives sales.
Can you study your way into becoming a creator?
Illustration by Annelise Capossela/For The Washington Post
Colleges mark back to school with new creator programs
Syracuse University senior Mattingly Weisholtz started posting content and building a following on TikTok and Instagram after taking an advertising class and learning about how brands work with creators during her freshman year.
Now, she credits her experience as a creator for landing her internships and a recent all-expense paid trip to New York City, as well as approximately $40,000 worth of products gifted to her sorority. She said she no longer has to pay for makeup due to the amount she receives in PR packages, and knows multiple classmates in the same boat.
“I am able to live off my content creation salary right now as a college student, and I only have 23,000 followers on TikTok,” said the incoming president of the student organization at the school’s new Center for the Creator Economy. “I don't even have to work this semester because I'm making money from my content creation, and I also have friends that have even more followers than me that pay [other students to act as their] assistants,” she added. She is also considering hiring an intern for support as she films an average of five paid partnership videos a week.
Weisholtz’s college experience is emblematic of how the creator economy has transformed campuses across the country, and why universities are now launching academic programs to attempt to prepare students for the industry — not just those who aspire to be creators themselves, but the vast range of positions that make up the ecosystem.
To meet student interest and keep up with the economic power of the creator space, a number of colleges have launched major and minor programs, including Arizona State University’s new bachelor’s degree in content creation. Other colleges with minors include Colorado State University and Quinnipiac University, as well as the Syracuse program. Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism announced last week it now will offer a Creator Journalism elective concentration as part of its master’s program, and Stanford Graduate School of Business just launched a “Mastering the Creator Economy” class for MBA students.
For students who grew up with social media and aspirations of monetizing their own content creation, the existence of degree programs seem obvious. Gen Z and Gen Alpha have seen the power of student creators, from #RushTok and NIL to many of today’s top creators who built their audiences while still in school. …
The Creator Takeover: How creators flexed their power this week.
Crashing a plane for clicks: influencers push shock content to get views (New York Times)
Deepfakes are wrecking influencers’ credibility, one fake ad at a time (The Guardian)
Steven Bartlett partners with Authentic Brands to launch OBSN Brand Development venture (Variety)
Kai Cenat conquered streaming. Then he learned to sew. (New York Times)
Quen Blackwell is coming for Hollywood (The Cut)
The NFL launched its most expansive creator programming yet, including continuing "Creator of the Week" partnership with YouTube
IMDb introduced a digital creator category (LinkedIn)
Influencers are urging Home Depot and Lowe's to drop Flock (Business Insider)
He raged against the American Dream. His audience wanted more. (Washington Post)
Crooked Media’s nonprofit launches new political creator drive (Semafor)
Creator Q+A: Ty Hill
Image courtesy of Ty Hill
Ty Hill is an affiliate creator who got her start posting fitness content before becoming a faceless Amazon affiliate creator and later a LTK creator known for sharing athleisure fashion. Now, she is a 2026 LTK Awards recipient, one of the 50 creators recently recognized by the company for their ability to influence sales. According to the shopping platform, LTK creators drive more than $6 billion in annual retail sales.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Dylan Wells: How does the affiliate space inform your brand partnerships? You mentioned Adidas is your top seller and that you're known for posting content about them.
Ty Hill: We are the new advertisers. I've worked with Adidas for almost 16 months consistently. Sometimes the rate is a little low, and I'm like, I've made you all $40,000 in a week. They're like, “Okay, what can we do? Let's help each other.” Because they trust me, and also they trust that I have this engaged audience. So I always try to go above and beyond. So if I have to do just one story set, or one reel, I'm also taking additional photos because not only is it just for the campaign, I wear it in real life. I'm an athleisure girl. I love elevated athleisure. That's my style. So it just also resonates with me as a consumer.
The Platforms:
Meta launched a creator marketing hub and Instagram Live video ads
YouTube’s Culture and Trends report found 70% of 14-44 year olds describe themselves as video content creators.
Substack introduced a new podcast tab.
TikTok rejects Meta ads amid settlement pressure campaign
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