The creator economy is booming. Creators are entering the industry faster than ever, brands are reallocating larger portions of their marketing budget to influencer collaborations, and campaigns are scaling in both size and frequency.
But there’s a paradox:
Creator volume is rising, yet agency margins are shrinking.
For creator agencies, talent managers, and influencer management teams, this is becoming the most urgent business challenge of 2026.
This article breaks down:
- Why creator volume is increasing
- Why agencies are making less money despite growing demand
- Where margins are leaking
- How systemizing operations through an Agency OS stops the bleed
Let’s dive in.
The Creator Economy Is Growing, But Agency Margins Aren’t
From all angles, the creator economy continues to climb rapidly:
- Business Insider projects global influencer and creator ad spend to reach $37 billion by 2025.
- Influencer Marketing Hub reports over 14 million full-time creators, the largest number the industry has ever seen.
- How creators have become “micro media companies,” producing content at unprecedented frequency.
Demand is exploding.
Creator supply is exploding.
Campaign budgets are increasing.
So… why aren’t agencies seeing the same rise in profitability?
Because complexity is growing faster than revenue.
Why Creator Volume Is Increasing
The barrier to becoming a creator is almost zero
AI tools, short-form video, and platform accessibility have democratized creation.
As Vogue notes, creators now operate like independent media companies, scaling content output quickly.
Brands are spending more on creators
Marketers are shifting from traditional ads to influencer-led campaigns because:
- Higher trust
- Better authenticity
- Stronger conversion rates
The IMH report shows that 64% of brands plan to increase creator budgets year-over-year.
Fragmented audiences → brands need more creators
Brands no longer reach their target audience with 1 mega creator.
They need 20–50 micro creators.
More platforms = more creators
TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram, Twitch, Threads, Snapchat Spotlight, the content landscape is multiplying.
Creator volume isn’t the issue.
Agency infrastructure is.
Why Agency Margins Are Shrinking
Margins aren’t shrinking because business is slow; they’re shrinking because operations are overloaded.
Agencies are managing more creators per campaign
IMH data shows campaigns have grown from 5–10 creators → 20–50 creators.
More creators = more deliverables = more coordination.
Deliverables have tripled in complexity
Modern campaigns require:
- Reels
- Shorts
- Posts
- Stories
- UGC
- Content versions
- Brand revisions
- FTC compliance
Workload has skyrocketed without increasing agency fees.
Operational leaks are everywhere
These tasks don’t generate revenue but eat up massive hours:
- Manual creator discovery
- Outreach
- Negotiations
- WhatsApp follow-ups
- Tracking deliverables in sheets
- Chasing approvals
- Updating spreadsheets
- Compiling reports
- Managing payments
- Cross-team communication
This is the single biggest reason margins collapse.
Reporting expectations are rising
IMH shows 80% of brands demand detailed performance reporting, a huge operational workload.
Risk, fraud, and brand safety workloads
- Fake followers
- AI-generated content
- FTC violations
- Platform policy changes
Compliance adds more overhead with no additional revenue.
This is why creator agencies are working harder but earning less.
Profit Math: How Inefficiency Destroys Margins
Let’s simplify this with real agency patterns.
Scenario: Modern Creator Agency
- 1 ops manager handles 25 creators (manageable)
- In 2026, they now handle 45 creators
- Each creator produces 8–10 deliverables per cycle
- Total tasks: 400–450 per cycle
Now add:
- 20–30% delays
- Approval loops
- WhatsApp miscommunication
- Reshoots
- Tracking errors in spreadsheets
Margins drop from 22–30% → 8–12%.
This isn’t a financial problem.
It’s an operational design problem.
Why Scaling (Without Systems) Makes Margins Worse
Scaling should increase revenue, but for most creator agencies, it does the opposite. As campaigns expand and creator rosters grow, internal systems buckle under the pressure. This is why traditional scaling almost always reduces margins instead of improving them.
More creators = more operational chaos
When an agency adds more creators, the workload doesn't simply increase; it multiplies. Every creator brings deliverables, revisions, approvals, brand communication, compliance checks, and reporting. Without a system, every new creator increases complexity across multiple workflows.
Hiring more managers doesn’t solve the root problem
Agencies often respond by hiring more coordinator-level staff. But if workflows are still manual, these managers simply inherit the same inefficiencies. This increases overhead without improving output, ultimately shrinking margins even further.
Tool sprawl kills efficiency
Most agencies rely on a scattered toolkit: spreadsheets, messaging apps, email chains, and task managers. While each tool works on its own, they don’t work well together. This fragmentation creates bottlenecks, duplicate work, inconsistent updates, and missed deadlines.
Brands expect more deliverables without paying more
Brands now request real-time reporting, multi-format content, compliance records, and version-controlled deliverables, all without increasing campaign budgets. Agencies absorb the extra work, resulting in lower profitability for every campaign.
Manual processes simply don’t scale
As agencies grow, the cracks widen. Delays grow, miscommunication increases, revisions pile up, and internal bandwidth collapses. Scaling without a unified operational system is like building a skyscraper on a sand foundation; it works until it doesn’t.
What High-Margin Agencies Do Differently (2026 Playbook)
The agencies achieving 15–25% margins in 2026 follow a very different playbook:
1. Consolidation over tool sprawl
One central system replacing 10+ tools.
2. Automating repetitive tasks
Discovery, outreach, content tracking, approvals, and reporting.
3. Standardizing workflows
Clear templates and SOPs.
4. Using an Agency OS
One source of truth for creators, brands, content, and approvals.
5. Building internal infrastructure
Technology becomes the core of agency efficiency.
6. Data-driven pricing & forecasting
Agencies track ROI per creator → better margins.
7. Better brand safety + compliance
Reduces costly campaign failures.
How an Agency OS Fixes Shrinking Margins
Systemizing your operations through an Agency OS immediately stops margin leakage.
Centralizes everything
With all workflows living in one environment, creator CRM, content, approvals, communication, contracts, and analytics teams no longer waste time switching tools or searching for updates. This alone can improve output by 20–30%.
Reduces admin load by 40–60%
Data from BCG and McKinsey shows that automated workflows drastically reduce manual operations. Tasks like deliverable tracking, reminders, review cycles, and reporting happen automatically, freeing managers to focus on strategy, not logistics.
Cuts deliverable delays by 50%
When creators know exactly what stage they’re in, drafts, revisions, approvals, publishing, and deliverables move faster. This transparency cuts revision loops, shortens turnaround time, and makes campaigns more predictable.
Makes managers 2–3× more productive
A unified operational system allows each manager to handle 40–50 creators efficiently, compared to 20–25 in a fragmented workflow. This dramatically improves revenue per employee and overall agency margin.
Client satisfaction increases with transparent reporting
With dashboards and automated analytics, agencies can provide brands with real-time visibility. This strengthens client trust, improves retention, and increases the likelihood of long-term retainers, a key margin lever.
How Desilo Helps Agencies Protect and Grow Their Margins
Desilo builds custom Agency OS and AI Ops solutions designed around the exact workflow of modern creator agencies. Instead of offering a generic SaaS tool, Desilo creates a tailored operating system that matches the agency’s structure, team size, creator roster, and campaign complexity, ensuring scalability without sacrificing margins.
Streamlined creator discovery and vetting
Desilo builds automated search, filtering, and verification systems that reduce the time teams spend finding and qualifying creators. This removes one of the biggest early-stage bottlenecks in campaign management.
Automated campaign and deliverable pipelines
From brief creation to creator assignment, content uploads, revisions, approvals, and final reporting, Desilo creates end-to-end workflows that move automatically. This consistency reduces errors and standardizes delivery across teams.
Centralized content planning and approval systems
Instead of scattered Google Drive folders and WhatsApp messages, Desilo provides a single collaborative environment where brand managers, creators, and internal teams can plan, review, approve, and track content in real time.
Unified creator & brand CRM
Every conversation, deliverable, performance insight, rate card, note, and brand history is stored in a structured CRM. This makes agencies more organized and enables them to make faster, data-backed decisions.
ROI-driven analytics and reporting dashboards
Desilo develops real-time dashboards that show what’s working, what isn’t, and where revenue opportunities exist. When agencies can demonstrate performance clearly, they justify higher fees and retain clients longer.
Integrated legal, contract, and payout modules
Desilo includes automated workflows for contract generation, e-signature, payout tracking, and compliance, significantly reducing financial leakage and operational friction.
Role-based dashboards and team collaboration tools
Each role, creators, account managers, finance, strategy, and QA, gets a custom view. This increases accountability and ensures that no tasks fall through the cracks during fast-paced campaigns.
Brand safety and compliance intelligence
Desilo builds fraud detection alerts, FTC compliance logs, and content safety monitoring directly into the agency’s operating system. Protecting brands strengthens long-term client relationships and preserves agency credibility.
Desilo doesn’t just digitize your operations; it rebuilds your agency’s entire operating backbone, enabling higher margins, faster delivery, and scalable team capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why are agency margins shrinking despite rising creator demand?
Because operational workload is increasing faster than revenue, especially with deliverable complexity and multi-creator campaigns.
Q: What causes hidden operational costs in creator agencies?
Manual discovery, approvals, tracking, reporting, compliance, communication, and deliverable follow-ups.
Q: How can agencies improve profitability?
By systemizing with an Agency OS, automating repetitive tasks, and centralizing workflows.
Q: How does creator volume affect profitability?
More creators → more tasks → more operational complexity → lower margins unless systems are in place.
Q: How does Desilo help agencies scale profitably?
By building a custom Agency OS that centralizes discovery, workflows, content, approvals, CRM, payouts, compliance, and brand safety.
Conclusion
The creator economy is expanding fast and that won’t slow down.
But agencies stuck in manual operations will continue to lose profits as creator volume grows.
The agencies winning in 2026 aren’t just great at talent or strategy.
They’re great at systems.
By centralizing workflows, automating operational tasks, and building a customized Agency OS, creator agencies can reverse margin shrinkage and return to healthy profitability.
Desilo helps agencies make this shift turning operational chaos into operational clarity.
