The $200K creator business – built on one platform

^{Making a living as a creator shouldn’t be some elusive thing. And what’s the best way to learn how creators are making it work? To go behind-the-scenes. These bi-weekly interview issues are like having coffee with your favorite creators. If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about solopreneurship and the creator economy.}

Good morning. Happy 2026! I hope you had a restful break.

I can’t think of a better creator story to bring you first than this one. She’s gone against the “be everywhere” advice to double down on one platform, with one promise.

Her approach to business is refreshing and liberating. As audiences grapple with AI slop and information overwhelm, this creator’s strategy is right on time.

Enjoy the read. I’m glad you’re here.

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🤝 ^{This edition is kindly brought to you by Solo Health Collective}

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Daria Astanaeva is a 28-year-old Russian-Canadian who works with women entrepreneurs and service providers to help them build authority and get clients with under 10K followers.  

She’s a personal branding coach and content creation agency owner who came from the influencer marketing and PR world. During Astanaeva’s time working in the influencer world, she saw first-hand how some of the biggest creators (with half a million followers) struggled to sell even the lowest-ticket items or are beholden to the paid partnerships model. So, set out to teach business owners how to build relationships with their audience. 

And Astanaeva believes Instagram is the best place to do it. 

Why Instagram? 

“It’s easier to build a story on Instagram rather than other platforms. While it’s easier to grow on TikTok, the audience is often not a community, because TikTok’s algorithm is designed to show new content. With Instagram, you’re more likely to see content from people you follow, so it’s better for long-lasting, authority-driven relationships,” she said. 

Astanaeva walks the talk, attracting 100% of her coaching and agency clients through Instagram. On the coaching side – which accounts for 60% of her revenue – she has multiple offers: 

The $47 bootcamp is the entry point into her funnel. 

“People who sign up for my programs have usually just left their 9-5 and they’re trying to establish authority online. As they work through the program, they learn how to attract clients and get so busy, they can’t keep up with their own content. They’re looking to delegate and this is where the agency side of the business comes in,” she explains. 

“I want to work with the same people over and over again, helping them figure out solutions at different stages.” Done-for-you video editing is her bread and butter service. She has a team of animators, video editors, and an assistant.  

While Astanaeva’s sweet spot is service providers with under 10K followers, she’s also worked with big creators like Kate Telek. Astanaeva helped Telek roll out a video editing course to her 477K audience. 

Networking events 

Her second revenue generator is networking events. Between September 2024 and November 2025, Astanaeva attended 170 networking events. She goes to a lot of events in Vancouver, travels to other regions in Canada, as well as the United States. 

In person is the foundation of trust-building, and the people she meets usually download her lead magnets (like her 50 Reels Idea Guide). “When they reach out to me, they’re basically sold.” 

Between Instagram and networking events, Astanaeva is expecting to pull in over $200K this year. 

Astanaeva says we’re going to see a kind of equalizer between people who have massive followings and those who are growing. “It used to be much harder to compete with creators who had larger audiences. In 2026, your follower count is going to be less and less important, because it’s about the connection you have with your audience.” 

This year is all about going deep with the audience you have, rather than chase bigger numbers. “Likes are also becoming less important. The key KPI will be eyeballs, not likes. We’re seeing so much content these days, so who sees your content will be the lead metric.” 

As always, hit reply if something in here hits home.

Speak soon,
Amanda

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