IZEA Begins Sending Creators Early Access Codes for Shake™

Orlando, Florida, June 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA), the premier provider of influencer marketing technology, data, and services for the world’s leading brands, today announced that it has begun sending Creators early access codes for Shake. The access codes allow recipients to establish their Creator profile and begin generating their first “Shake” listings in the platform. Shakes are submitted for review and curated by IZEA before they will be listed for buyers to purchase. Shake is a new online marketplace that allows creators to offer their services, delivered digitally, for a self-determined price. Influencers, photographers, writers, podcasters, and more can use IZEA Shake to collaborate and transact with marketers and individual buyers.

Esports Sponsorships
IZEA also announced today that it will facilitate sponsorships for gamers who utilize online Esports streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Gaming, within Shake. Streamers will be able to create their own pricing and deals, then offer sponsorship opportunities to marketers through a streamlined transaction process.

Total Esports viewership is “expected to grow at a 9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2019 and 2023, up from 454 million in 2019 to 646 million in 2023,” according to Business Insider. Newzoo’s Global Esports Market Report 2020 estimates that “global Esports revenues will grow to $1.1 billion in 2020, a year-on-year growth of +15.7%, up from $950.6 million in 2019.” In 2020, they predict that “$822.4 million in revenues—or three-quarters of the total market—will come from media rights and sponsorship.”

“We are delighted to begin the Shake Creator onboarding process,” said IZEA Founder and CEO Ted Murphy. “We are already seeing some wonderful examples of how Shake will expand IZEA’s footprint to cover a much broader range of creative and marketing services. The open and flexible nature of the Shake marketplace opens the door for digital creatives of all types and the early listings we are seeing reflect the diverse nature of our Creator base.”

Creators who would like to join Shake can visit https://shake.izea.com.

About IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (“IZEA”) operates IZEAx, the premier online marketplace that connects marketers with content creators. IZEAx automates influencer marketing and custom content development, allowing brands and agencies to scale their marketing programs. IZEA creators include celebrities and accredited journalists. Creators are compensated for producing unique content such as long and short form text, videos, photos, status updates, and illustrations for marketers or distributing such content on behalf of marketers through their personal websites, blogs, and social media channels. Marketers receive influential content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about IZEA, visit https://izea.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement
All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “intends,” “likely,” “projects,” “plans,” “pursue,” “strategy” or “future,” or the negative of these words or other words or expressions of similar meaning. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expectations concerning IZEA’s ability to increase revenue and improve Adjusted EBITDA, expectations with respect to operational efficiency, and expectations concerning IZEA’s business strategy. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including, among others, the following: our ability to raise additional funding needed to fund our business operation in the future, uncertainty relating to the effects of COVID-19, competitive conditions in the content and social sponsorship segment in which IZEA operates; failure to popularize the IZEAx marketplace platform; inability to finance growth initiatives in a timely manner; our ability to satisfy the requirements for continued listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market; changing economic conditions that are less favorable than expected; and other risks and uncertainties described in IZEA’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements made in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and IZEA assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in expectations, except as otherwise required by law.

Martin Smith
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Phone: 407-674-6911
Email: [email protected]