So you might have heard of Creative Juice they are a new platform that was founded by big YouTubers like Mr Beast, Roberto Blake, Graham stephan and more.
I wish there was a way to invest in social media influencers! Idk anything about the stock market and I find it boring.
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) December 1, 2020
I recently signed up for the platform as I thought it could be useful and provides creators with some unique tools, like a media kit or getting AdSense payments 30 days earlier either by paying a small fee or by default you can see your AdSense earning a few days earlier free.
You can also apply for the Juice fund, which is a fund set up to support creators with a cash lump sum for a stake in the channel. I personally think it’s a great idea, but again you need to have around $1000 of AdSense income as a minimum.
I found it easy to set up but as a UK-based creator I then encountered numerous issues, and I hope this info helps other creators who are not from the US with time and money.
Here is some feedback on the platform I have already shared this with Creative Juice and I hope they can build on this and provide this service to more countries.
- Block sign-ups -Firstly I would not allow UK users to sign up, I used a UK-based ID and address etc. If only US accounts are supported then this makes no sense.
- You must have a bank account at sign up — It would be good to sign up and be able to use the Media kit etc without the need for a bank account etc.
- You also need another US bank — You must link another us bank and add funds to use the account and get your bank card. Having to add another bank account to fund the current bank account seems odd to me because if you are using this account as your main one, having another bank should not be a factor.
- Juice Fund — The Juice fund should not allow you to apply unless you have met the requirements. I managed to apply even though I wasn’t eligible, which was frustrating. However, the staff at creative juice were friendly and did say things could change and try to apply again in the future.
- Bank and account can be closed anytime by support — My bank account was closed along with the account from the back end without any chance to remove funds ($5). This is a pretty bad process, I should have been given a warning, or be allowed to keep the CJ media kit part open. Usually, a bank can’t be closed with money in the account… I really don’t know what will happen after they close my account.
- Adsense advance payments — I like the thought of being able to have an advance on Adsense, I could see how creators find this useful. but I have no idea why my account was allowed to apply… especially since I couldn’t link my UK Adsense account.
I did want to discuss this over the phone with Creative Juice to explain my concerns but this was cancelled I just provided the feedback back over email.
I think this could be a fantastic way to help new creators but for me, I’m happy having my own bank which I’m fully in control of. Maybe allowing bank accounts to be linked would be a better model.
I wish CJ all the best but hope this helps some of you out there.