Good morning. A TikTok creator went viral (like, 44 million views viral) over the weekend after discovering what she claimed to be her “dream” $8,000 couch on the streets of New York—furniture refurbishing TikTok may never be the same.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Colin and Samir Launch a Discord

The official Colin and Samir Discord community launched last week—welcoming creators from all backgrounds to talk about their video analytics, offer thumbnail feedback, and discuss the latest creator news.

Why launch a Discord? “It’s a big step in continuing to build depth with our audience and offer opportunities for them to not only engage with us, but engage with each other,” Samir said.

Here’s a peek inside their strategy…

The launch → Colin and Samir announced that the Discord was live (and shared the invite link) in the latest episode of their Creator Support podcast, a strategy that rewarded listeners with early access before the invite went out on the duo’s other social media channels.

Within one hour, the server had roughly 250 members; by the end of the weekend, that figure had grown north of 2,300. Colin described the barrage of instant, enthusiastic conversations as “insane.” “It almost makes my head hurt,” he joked.

The community → Popular channels so far have included…

The team has stayed flexible and encouraged members to leave suggestions for future Discord tools and conversations in a dedicated channel.

“We knew that not everything would be figured out before the launch, and being willing to add channels and functionality would likely add to the experience,” community moderator and Colin and Samir team member Julian Saliani told us.

Looking ahead → Something that excites Samir about the Discord server: The collaborations and conversations already emerging from the community at all times of the day, even when the guys aren’t online or hitting publish.

“It’s crazy to think that when we go to bed, this thing will still be going,” Samir told us.

Interested in debriefing each edition of The Publish Press with other readers and our writing team…plus a whole lot more? You can join Colin and Samir’s Discord here.

Linus Sebastian Steps Down as CEO

Linus Sebastian, the creator and founder behind popular tech review YouTube channel “Linus Tech Tips,” is stepping down as CEO of his Linus Media Group, he announced in a video last Thursday.

“Most successful companies eventually outgrow the leadership of their founders, and it looks like my time is now,” Sebastian said.

Context: Sebastian said the media company’s growth over the last decade made it difficult for him to focus on what he’s best at—pitching new content and product ideas, not solving management issues.

Now, Sebastian will become Chief Vision Officer while Terren Tong (a former executive at several tech manufacturers like Dell and Corsair) will take over as CEO.

By the numbers:

Read the room: As MrBeast recently tweeted, scaling a business as a creator can sometimes be “like being an elite level athlete and the CEO of a publicly traded company at the same time.”

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How Artists and Entertainers Power Their Merch Stores

Did you know that merch is a huge part of the music business? Artists like Rihanna, Shakira, and Jay-Z all have merch lines that drive meaningful sales—especially when they’re on tour.

While some superfans might wait in the zigzagging line throughout a concert arena to get theirs, all these megastars also have an ecommerce site—all hosted on .Store.

.Store is the ecommerce domain extension designed for online selling. These multi-hyphenates are known for everything from music to beauty lines to movies and when they send their fans to a website ending in .Store—the audience knows why they're here. The clarity and memorability bring value to their merch brands and businesses, with SEO benefits and search discovery to boot.

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Michelle Khare Drops Apparel Collab with Seek Discomfort

On Saturday, challenge creator Michelle Khare dropped a limited-edition apparel collection in collaboration with Yes Theory’s Seek Discomfort merchandise line.

The message: “At the heart of this collection is one main message that we and Michelle share and wholeheartedly believe: That on the other side of fear lies your biggest success,” Seek Discomfort said in their announcement video.

The rollout: The announcement video went out at the same time as Khare’s behind the scenes film that documented her journey to boxing at Creator Clash 2—an event during which she wore pieces from the collection.

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