The Creator Spotlight Podcast
Creator Spotlight
Every week we spend an hour in conversation with a notable creator, discussing their approach to audience growth, monetization, and content production. Hosted by Francis Zierer (Twitter and LinkedIn).New episodes every Thursday.This podcast is part of our newsletter, Creator Spotlight.
Ep. 55: Why creators make the best entrepreneurs ft. Jesse Feister
This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we are joined by Jesse Feister, the Executive Director of the Webby Media Group. In the lead up to the 29th annual Webby Awards ceremony, Francis and Jesse reflect on the evolution of the Webby Awards and the creator economy, exploring the creator to business pipeline and three skills necessary to succeed as a creator.__Links and ReferencesCheck out the Webby AwardsFollow the Webby Awards on X/Twitter, Instagram and YouTubeFollow Jesse on LinkedIn and I
Apr 22, • 50:26
Ep. 54: She built a 150K-member, $1M/year community ft. Grace Ling
This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we are joined by Grace Ling, founder of the thriving Design Buddies community, which turns five years old this month, has over 150,000 members, and generates $1 million in annual recurring revenue. She is also a talented content creator and has found particular success on LinkedIn where she has nearly 50,000 followers. She is also the cohost of the How Creators Make Money podcast.__Follow Grace on Instagram and LinkedIn Check out Design Buddies and How
Apr 15, • 51:23
Ep. 53: How to Make a Living as a Creator — from a podcasting expert ft. Amanda McLoughlin
This week Francis is joined by podcasting Amanda McLoughlin, CEO of Multitude and co-host of the podcasts Spirits, Attach Your Resume, and Join the Party. Amanda began her journey as a creator vlogging on YouTube and has since spent over a decade in the podcast space. Amanda's Podcasts:Attach Your ResumeJoin the PartySpiritsAll Multitude showsTimestamps:00:00:00 Introducing Amanda McLoughlin 00:01:29 Building a network through the early YouTube community 00:05:04 How the podcasting world has cha
Apr 10, • 1:10:19
Ep. 52: 125 days to make $10k/month ft. Thomas Yeum
This week Francis is joined by Thomas Yeum, an ambitious video-first creator specializing in YouTube and Instagram. Thomas is well known for his Instagram series '125 days to make 10k/month'. Thomas shares his journey from software engineering to content creation, discussing the challenges and opportunities within the creator economy. Follow Thomas: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomasyeum/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Toemas LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yeumthomas/00:00 Int
Apr 3, • 56:14
Ep. 51: How creators unlock the future of American soccer ft. Kyle Sheldon
This week Francis is joined by Kyle Sheldon, founder and CEO of Name and Number, a soccer specific marketing and creative agency. Kyle has worked within the US soccer world for two decades and held marketing roles at multiple MLS clubs. Kyle is also the founder and editor of Pathway, a newsletter aimed at helping individuals break into the soccer industry.Kyle: https://x.com/kylesheldonName and Number: https://www.nameandnumber.comPathway: https://pathwayhq.com00:00 Introducing Kyle Sheldon01:05
Mar 27, • 54:51
Ep. 50: 1 year and 190k subscribers later: An all-in bet on indie media ft. Phil Rosen
This week Francis is joined by award winning financial reporter, Phil Rosen. Last year Phil left his role as Senior Markets Reporter at Business Insider to pursue his independent newsletter-first media company, Opening Bell Daily. His flagship newsletter Opening Bell Daily, now has over 190k subscribers within its first year of operation. Opening Bell Daily: https://www.openingbelldailynews.com Phil's X: https://x.com/philrosenn 00:00 Introducing Phil Rosen and Opening Bell Daily 02:00 Building
Mar 20, • 51:19
Ep. 49: The best time to be a writer is NOW ft. Leigh Stein
This week Francis is joined by six-time author, cultural critic and book publishing coach, Leigh Stein. Leigh is also the creator of the newsletter Attention Economy. Attention Economy: https://leighstein.substack.com/Leigh's Website: https://www.leighstein.com/00:00 Leigh's prolific content output01:43 Is now the best time to be a writer?04:38 Defining 'writing vs creating'08:47 The art is the product16:45 Does form come before content?20:25 TikToks instability and the importance of BookTok23:0
Mar 13, • 56:06
Ep. 48: How to Make a Living as a Podcaster in 2025 ft. Eric Silver
This week Francis is joined by Eric Silver, a podcaster, podcast producer and head of development at Multitude, a podcast studio and production company. Multitude: https://multitude.productions 00:00 Introducing Eric Silver 03:14 Crafting your interview style 06:04 The details of teaching podcasting 11:56 Podcasting does not mean video 19:41 The future of audio-only podcasts 25:39 The intention behind the creator 28:24 What makes a good podcast guest? 31:46 The difficulties of guest-based podcas
Mar 6, • 59:37
Ep. 47: Making the internet a better place ft. Matt Brown
This week Francis is joined by Matt Brown of Extra Points. With a laser focus on writing high quality content, Matt is an independent sports journalist covering the world of college sports in America. Extra Points: https://www.extrapointsmb.com 00:00:00 Introducing Matt Brown and Extra Points 00:01:47 The focus on producing quality content 00:05:26 The unique story of acquisition and reacquisition 00:13:11 Striving to make the internet a better place 00:19:36 Balancing creativity and business in
Feb 27, • 1:07:12
Ep. 46: "I'm not a creator, I'm a writer" ft. Alicia Kennedy
This week Francis is joined by essayist and culture critic, Alicia Kennedy. Alicia is primarily a food writer, however also has many refined takes on writing, the algorithm, and the attention economy.Alicia's Newsletter: https://www.aliciakennedy.news/00:00:00 Introducing Alicia Kennedy00:01:38 Rejecting the idea of the creator00:07:06 Declining media literacy in the digital age00:12:36 The fragmentation of public intellectualism00:17:09 Attaching value to greatest achievements00:19:32 The creat
Feb 20, • 1:01:19
Ep. 45: He's a social media Swiss Army Knife ft. Kofie Yeboah
This week Francis is joined by Kofie Yeboah a versatile creator in the sports media landscape. Kofie does it all, social media, long-form, short-form, podcasts, research and writing. He's here to tell us how he does it all.Kofie's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KofieWhy00:00 Introducing Kofie Yeboah01:25 Kofie's early introduction to sports05:35 The evolution from long-form to short-form10:21 TikTok's endless opportunities and constant insecurity14:37 Balancing roles as a content creator and
Feb 13, • 54:42
Ep. 44: She broke YouTube’s algorithm with a 9-minute lie ft. Jenna Stoeber
This week Francis is joined by Jenna Stoeber, a video essayist and content creator known for her deep dives into video game and media culture. Jenna's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@the_jenna/ Jenna's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thejenna.bsky.social 00:00:00 Laying the content creator foundation 00:07:00 The art of constructing informative videos 00:09:20 If I create, am I a creator? 00:14:36 The dichotomy of creating and consuming 00:17:19 Beating the algorithm with one simple video 00
Jan 30, • 1:09:16
Ep. 43: Meet the activist who tripled his revenue in 1 year
This week, Francis is joined by Henry Winslow, founder and writer of Tricycle Day, a newsletter focused on psychedelics research, policy, and business. Francis interviewed Henry exactly one year ago, and this conversation is centred around Henry's growth over the past year. Tricycle Day Newsletter: https://www.tricycleday.com Tricycle Day Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tricycleday 00:00 Sustaining a creator-led business following rapid growth 06:27 The key to growing your first 1000 subscr
Jan 23, • 45:00
Ep. 42: The blueprint for growing your business online ft. Matt McGarry
This week Francis is joined by Matt McGarry, also known as the Newsletter Guy. They discuss his agency Growletter, the nuances of newsletter-only businesses, the challenges of monetization, and the evolving role of creators in the media landscape. Newsletter Marketing Summit: https://newslettermarketingsummit.com FOR $200 OFF, USE CODE: CS200 Newsletter Operator: https://www.newsletteroperator.com Growletter: https://growletter.co Write Grow Sell: https://writegrowsell.com Matt McGarry:
Jan 16, • 1:04:35
Ep. 41: How a journalist becomes an entrepreneur ft. Lindsey Stanberry
This week Francis Zierer speaks with Lindsey Stanberry, creator of The Purse, a newsletter focused on money, motherhood, work, and relationships. Lindsay shares her journey from working in corporate media to becoming an independent creator/entrepreneur.The Purse: https://thepurse.substack.com/00:00 Introducing Lindsey and The Purse 01:25 Transitioning from Corporate to Independent Creation 06:16 Developing a Blog into a Sustainable Brand 09:30 The Biggest Detriment to Journalists in Media 14:26
Jan 9, • 57:40
Ep. 40: How to build a media company: Use streetwear brand tactics
In this episode of Creator Spotlight Francis is joined by Daisy Alioto, CEO, editor and writer of Dirt Media. They explore the evolution of Dirt Media, its unique approach to content and community, and the challenges faced in the current media landscape. Daisy: https://x.com/daisandconfused Dirt: https://dirt.fyi Tasteland: https://www.tasteland.fyi 00:00 Introducing Daisy Alioto and Dirt Media 04:00 Treating Subscribers as Collectors 06:35 The Primordial Soup of the Media Environment 11:49 Runn
Jan 2, • 37:55
Ep. 39: How to make $100k+ as a local news creator ft. Michael Kauffman
This week Francis is joined by Michael Kauffman to discusses his journey building a local newsletter business, Catskill Crew. He shares insights on audience engagement, growth strategies, and the importance of branding in the creator economy.Catskill Crew: https://catskillcrew.comNewsletter Club: https://thenewsletter.club00:00 Building a Community-Led Newsletter05:57 Local Relationships are Crucial for Newsletter Success12:29 Building Businesses Around a Local Newsletter14:28 Why You Must Begin
Dec 19, 2024 • 1:03:55
Ep. 38: He's helped creators earn $200M — here's how ft. John Hu
This week Francis is joined by content creator and entrepreneur John Hu, also known as Jayhoovy. John is the founder of Stan, an all-in-one monetization tool for creators. He shares insights on the challenges creators face in the business landscape and how his platform, Stan, aims to empower them. Check out Stan: https://www.stan.store/ John's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhoovy 00:00 Introducing John and his company, Stan 01:24 Building an Audience and Personal Brand 05:05 The Artist to
Dec 12, 2024 • 40:35
Ep. 37: 10+ years in media, 1 piece of advice ft. Workweek's Adam Ryan
This episode is with one of the best business minds in the newsletter world, Adam Ryan of workweek.com Workweek: https://workweek.com Adam: https://x.com/adamry_n 00:00 Introducing Adam Ryan and Workweek 03:44 The Balance of Creativity and Sales 06:21 Key Levers for Audience Growth 08:53 Content Trends and Audience Engagement 10:03 Current Projects and Initiatives at Workweek 12:39 The Difficulties of Balancing Creativity and Entrepreneurship 15:59 The Importance of Consistency as a Creator 20:4
Dec 5, 2024 • 46:25
Ep. 36: Making big bucks with a small audience ft. Lex Roman
This week Francis is joined by creative entrepreneur, Lex Roman. Lex is a freelance growth marketer with two newsletters, Journalists Pay Themselves and Revenue Rulebreaker. Journalists Pay Themselves: https://journalistspaythemselves.com/ Lex's Website: https://lexroman.com/ 00:00 The Multi-Hyphenate Journey of Lex Roman 04:00 Defining Creators and Creative Entrepreneurs 10:53 Monetization Strategies for Creators 15:43 The Boutique Creator Model 19:00 Revenue Streams and Success in the Creator
Nov 21, 2024 • 51:58
Ep. 35: Being an idiot will make you a better writer ft. Alex Dobrenko
This week Francis is joined by Alex Dobrenko, a comedian and writer of the newsletter Both Are True. Both Are True: https://botharetrue.substack.com Alex's Twitter/X: https://x.com/dobrenkz 00:00 Intro 01:23 The Journey to Comedy and Writing 08:20 Writing Style and Honesty 15:02 The Role of Improv Comedy in Creativity 22:07 The Growth of an Audience 30:26 Professionalization of Content Creation and "Selling Out" 38:57 Whoa: Exploring Deeper Conversations through Interviews 45:37 Navigating the S
Nov 14, 2024 • 59:30
Ep. 34: Behaving Badly and Going Viral ft. Penn Weinberger
This week Francis is joined by Penn Weinberger, founder and head of the agency Bad Behavior. Bad Behavior works with creators to produce original short-form shows for brands; they’ve worked with clients like Lyft, Columbia Records, Cash App, and Stanley. Bad Behavior: https://www.bad-behavior.com/ 00:00 Introducing Penn and Bad Behavior 01:42 Working with Creators vs. Influencers 05:00 The Impact of Viral Marketing 07:14 Empowering Creators 09:35 Upsetting the Traditional Advertising Model 13:42
Nov 7, 2024 • 45:15
Ep. 33: Discovering an Untapped Market Worth $30k a Month ft. Rameel Sheikh
This week Francis is joined by Rameel Sheikh, founder and writer of The Bottleneck which, in his words, is the only weekly newsletter offering stories, frameworks, and tactics to sharpen how you execute. thebottleneck.io 00:00 Introducing Rameel Sheikh and The Bottleneck01:09 Building a Strong Audience Relationship03:07 Lessons Learnt from the Startup World07:18 The Decision to Start a Newsletter13:31 The Structure of the Newsletter17:00 Experimenting with Different Writing Styles20:08 How the N
Oct 31, 2024 • 58:15
Ep. 32: The YouTube space race ft. Swapna Krishna
Today’s guest is Swapna Krishna, creator of Ad Astra, a YouTube channel and beehiiv newsletter about space. She’s a professional writer with over a decade of experience doing everything from journalism to content marketing to authoring a book.She’s been all-in on Ad Astra, her first venture as an independent creator since the start of 2024. 00:00 Intro 01:20 The Journey of Writing and Publishing a Book 04:35 Transitioning to Video Content Creation 07:22 Developing Presentation Skills Through Pod
Oct 24, 2024 • 1:03:45
Ep. 31: 1 million YouTube subscribers (twice) ft. Alex Emery
Today’s guest is Alex Emery, a creative director and content strategist who spent the first 8 years of his career at Sky Sports before leaving 2 years ago to work with creators. His first client was John Nellis, a YouTuber with 5,000 followers at the time — they’ve since increased that number to 1.74 million and counting, and Alex is working with John full-time.00:00 Intro 01:10 Getting into the world of football content 04:43 Tripling the growth of Sky Sports YouTube channel 07:27 The partnersh
Oct 17, 2024 • 59:37
Ep. 30: Lifestyle over empire ft. Caitlin Dewey
Today’s guest is Caitlin Dewey, creator if Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends, a newsletter she started nearly 11 years ago, when she was the social media reporter for the Washington Post. She wrote it for 2 years, taking a 4-year break before bringing it back in 2020; earlier this year, she decided to go all-in and make it her main gig.We spoke about the particular challenges of being a creator-journalist, how to write an actually good links aggregation newsletter, and choosing to build
Oct 10, 2024 • 57:44
Ep. 29: "Posting content on the internet changed my life" ft. Tommy Clark
Today’s guest is Tommy Clark, creator of the Social Files newsletter, founder of Compound Content Studio, and a B2B social media expert. He started making content for his nutrition coaching business while still a college student, in 2018 — he never set out to build a career in content. Five years later, he has an agency on track to make over $1 million this year.00:00 Intro01:20 Accidentally starting a marketing agency03:30 Building a team and hiring for content creation06:17 Growing the newslet
Sep 26, 2024 • 47:30
Ep. 28 He sold his newsletter then bought it back for $1 ft. Ryan Gilbert of Workspaces
Ryan Gilbert, creator and writer of the newsletter 'Workspaces' joins us for episode 28 of The Creator Spotlight Podcast. Workspaces: workspaces.xyz 00:00 From supply chain to tech startups 04:31 Building a niche from scratch 10:57 Monetizing with affiliate links 12:42 Abandoning a career to pursue content 16:32 The acquisition and reacquisition of the newsletter 25:08 Monetizing the newsletter is harder now 28:22 How the newsletter grew to 13k+ subscribers 35:35 The stats 37:12 The best home-of
Sep 19, 2024 • 53:54
Ep. 27: The anti-Gary Vaynerchuk social media resource ft. Rachel Karten of Link in Bio
This week we speak with Rachel Karten, the woman behind every social media manager's favorite newsletter, Link in Bio, and an excellent social media consultant herself. 00:00 Getting started with food Instagram04:39 Advice for working with brands09:02 Winning and judging Webby awards14:05 Building a newsletter for content creators, Link in Bio25:03 Growing an email audience of 65k+35:50 Being a good social media managerIntro music produced by J. and Doug Organ.
Sep 12, 2024 • 42:54
Ep. 26: How to monetize a digital media business ft. Michelle Curb of Gloria
This week we are joined by Michelle Curb, co-founder and editor of Gloria (hellogloria.com) Michelle is an expert in leading monetization for online media brands — she's been doing it for most of two decades.00:00 The Gloria newsletter 05:50 Getting started in online media 08:52 IS it hard to sell a media company? 14:15 Monetization and stats 15:58 Building an audience online 24:52 “I don’t want to be online” 27:38 Day in a life of a media founder 39:21 How to monetize as a creator 45:35 Looking
Sep 5, 2024 • 50:31
Ep. 25: Building a career in soccer journalism ft. Theo Lloyd-Hughes of Squad Depth
On today's pod we talk building a career in soccer journalism, the women's game, producing one of The Athletic's flagship podcasts ("Full Time with Meg Linehan"), and plenty more.00:00 Why Theo pursued soccer journalism 08:23 How much does soccer journalism pay? 17:24 How to tell the real story 23:36 Newsletters are the future of journalism 39:11 The stats 41:17 Building a newsletter into a sustainable business 47:01 How to get better at podcasting Intro music produced by J. and Doug Organ
Aug 29, 2024 • 57:50
Ep. 24: Reflecting on one year running a daily design newsletter ft. Cole Derochie
Today's guest is Cole Derochie, creator of theToday in Design newsletter and a multitalented design professional (he's done everything from web design to leatherwork, not necessarily in that order).00:00 How Cole accidentally became a designer08:04 The espresso of newsletters13:43 Evolving and growing the newsletter20:24 Finding sources for design news26:16 Writing a newsletter in 1 hour29:08 Monetizing a 5,000 subscriber newsletter37:53 Using Twitter to grow your brandIntro music produced by J.
Aug 22, 2024 • 44:20
Ep. 23: Zero to 820k newsletter subscribers in 3 years ft. Sean Devlin of Nice News
Today’s guest is Sean Devlin, a media entrepreneur whose Nice News newsletter has, in less than three years, gone from 0 to 820k subscribers. The company currently has a team of seven full-time employees, plus at least four freelancers — and it’s been profitable for just under one year.00:00 Building a 800k subscriber newsletter 08:53 The biggest mistakes when designing a newsletter 12:26 Why it’s important to have nice news 19:20 How to find positive content online 22:32 Who subscribes to nice
Aug 15, 2024 • 53:38
Ep. 22: Building a serious, sustainable media business ft. Ambreen Ali
Ambreen Ali is a tenured and accomplished journalist as well as Founding Editor of Central Desi, a local newsletter focussing on the South Asian community in New Jersey. She joins us for episode 22 of the Creator Spotlight podcast. Central Desi: centraldesi.beehiiv.com 00:00:00 Ambreen Ali - putting journalism first 00:05:02 Growing a local newsletter 00:14:07 Why being a journalist is difficult 00:22:02 Is society losing its media literacy? 00:28:53 The best and worst of tradition journalism 00
Aug 8, 2024 • 1:01:00
Ep. 21: How $5–7.5k turns into 10.8 million views ft. Glennda Baker
Today’s guest is Glennda Baker, a real estate agent from Atlanta who has become a social media star over the last four years. After a couple of false starts, her content marketing play has turned into a full-fledged media business.00:00 Glennda Baker, TikTok's favorite realtor05:58 How Glennda Baker makes 30-50 videos per month26:18 Sharing your life online — what about the family?35:16 Glennda’s newsletter — working with a writing partner40:57 The business of being Glennda Baker (business is go
Aug 1, 2024 • 50:12
Ep. 20: Is the internet getting better or worse? (ft. Ernie Smith of Tedium)
Today's guest, Ernie Smith, has been writing for the internet for 15 years. He's been writing his current newsletter, Tedium, for almost 10. We spoke about his approach to newslettering, turning down money from Substack, and making cool stuff for the internet purely for the sake of it. 00:00 Who is Ernie Smith? 01:30 Why (and how) Ernie coded his newsletter himself 05:35 Has personality been stripped from the internet? 12:44 How Ernie grew his audience 15:20 UDM14 — Google without all the fluff1
Jul 25, 2024 • 51:27
Ep. 19: Building a high-value network by podcasting and newslettering
Today’s guest, Justin Gordon, seems to have more energy to expend in a day than we do in a week. Literally: we put out one ~50min podcast episode per week; he once put out one ~50min podcast episode per day for 112 days straight.Justin has been a podcaster, vlogger, producer, and newsletterist, sometimes all at once, for the last 12 years. In this episode:00:00 Who is Justin Gordon?01:24 Lessons from 500+ interviews04:30 Podcasting every day for 112 days12:55 6 Lessons from podcasting every day1
Jul 18, 2024 • 45:20
Ep. 18: The Charli D'Amelio of newsletters (ft. Kate Lindsay)
Kate Lindsay is a freelance writer and newsletter editor whose own newsletter, Embedded, is pushing 35k subscribers. She's one of the best people out there writing about the internet for the internet. This is an episode about why more newsletters should be run by two people, an indie newsletter born from a shuttered publication, and paying NYC rent with premium newsletter subscriptions.00:00 Who is Kate and what is Embedded?05:33 How Embedded evolved from a killed publication09:56 Kate's other p
Jul 11, 2024 • 42:42
Ep. 17: A 13-year-long bet to become a creator-entrepreneur
Today’s guest, Andrew Southworth, always wanted to become a musician. To do so, he became a mechanical engineer. Last year he quit his day job to make music and help other people market their music full time. He does YouTube, newsletters, courses, he has an agency — he does it all. We spoke about:📆 A 13-year long bet to become a creator-entrepreneur🪴 How to diversify, effectively, as a creator🤔 Can you over-diversify?00:00 Andrew Southworth's many businesses04:27 When to hire as a creator07:4
Jun 27, 2024 • 30:00
Ep. 16: Acquiring a newsletter ft. Akhil Chauhan of TWJN
Today’s guest is Akhil Chauhan, who runs The Writer’s Job Newsletter (TWJN). But he didn’t create the newsletter — he acquired it.Akhil has been running TWJN solo (besides occasional social media help) for two years. The guy he bought it from ran it for only one year. We spoke about:💰️ The economics of a newsletter acquisition🤐 Keeping his personality (mostly) out of the newsletter🤝 Pulling off a seamless handoff after acquiring the newsletter🧑💼 Being accountable to subscribers who rely on
Jun 20, 2024 • 47:59
Ep. 15: Peter Ramsey of Built for Mars
Today’s guest is Peter Ramsey. He runs Built for Mars, a UX consultancy and content library he started almost by accident after the company he founded during university was acquired in 2018. I was drawn both to his story and the undeniable quality of his content.Peter is a rare type — an obsessively detailed researcher but not pedantic about it. He’s just as talented at spinning that research into fun, useful, and easy-to-digest narratives.In this episode:00:00 Who is Peter Ramsey and what is Bu
Jun 13, 2024 • 51:41
Ep. 14: Caitlin Murray of @bigtimeadulting
Today’s guest is Caitlin Murray, better known by her Instagram handle @bigtimeadulting. After her son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016, she started writing about it to friends and family — nearly 8 years later, she has 1.4 million Instagram followers. It’s a great story.In today’s episode:00:00 The origin story05:50 How to gain over 1 million followers10:15 The 4 chapters of @bigtimeadulting14:15 Turning Instagram into a business19:25 Building a positive community24:08 Growing an Instagram fo
Jun 6, 2024 • 59:48
Ep. 13: Tyler O'Shea, creator of Joker Mag
Today's guest is Tyler O’Shea, creator of Joker Mag, a website and newsletter about sports underdogs. He started the project in that “what am I gonna do with my life” period after graduating college. Nearly 7 years of posting later, he’s still doing it as a side project, but it’s also led him to a career in SEO (search engine optimization).In this episode, we talk about:🐶 Learning how to write for the internet🌟 What writing and posting content online can do for you🔎 How posting led Tyler to d
May 30, 2024 • 58:52
Ep. 12: Kate Samuelson, co-creator of Cheapskate London
Today's guest is Kate Samuelson, co-creator of Cheapskate London. Every Monday, they send out a newsletter built around free events, two for each day of the coming week. Over the last five years they’ve built an audience of over 19k, winning praise from longstanding media institutions in the process.All the while, Cheapskate is a side project; during the day, Kate works as a journalist. She specializes in newsletters.In this issue:🍸️ Giving subscribers a free bottle of gin as a referral reward�
May 23, 2024 • 58:27
Ep. 11: Haya Kaylani, creator of The Deep Dive
Today's guest is Haya Kaylani, creator of a curation-style newsletter called The Deep Dive. What does she curate? YouTube video essays, five of them every Wednesday. She’s built an audience of 92k TikTok followers and 13.5k newsletter subscribers in just 15 months — pure organic growth, with almost all of her newsletter subscribers coming over from TikTok.In this issue, we discuss:🎨 Curating, gatekeeping, and gatecreating📺️ Why writing about YouTube is a huge opportunity📢 Applying lessons fro
May 16, 2024 • 51:19
Ep. 10: PJ Milani, creator of the Visual I.D.E.A.s Newsletter
Today's guest is PJ Milani, a high school animation teacher recently turned social media star. He’s known for his “visual metaphors” — single-panel illustrations featuring lessons about life and creativity. Across his socials he has over 200k followers, his newsletter has 16k subscribers, and he teaches a perennially sold-out cohort course about visual thinking on Maven.In this issue, we discuss:🌱 Organic growth🔜 Trusting the process, every day🎨 What it means to live a creative life🤝 Working
May 9, 2024 • 45:30
Ep. 9: Ryan Broderick, creator of Garbage Day
Ryan Broderick is the creator of Garbage Day, “A newsletter about having fun online.” He’s among the most popular journalists-turned-newsletter-creators out there. It’s clear by the numbers (68k subscribers, 3k of whom pay for premium content), praise from other creators, and the nearly 200 press clippings on his About page.In this episode we discuss: 📰 There’s (almost) no difference between journalists and creators🛋️ Why you need a Simpsons couch gag in your newsletter🫵 Every American is a
May 2, 2024 • 57:07
Ep. 8: Jared Dashevsky, creator of Healthcare Huddle
Jared Dashevsky runs Healthcare Huddle, a twice-weekly newsletter for physicians and other healthcare professionals. In just over four years, he’s built an audience of 30,000. He’s also built a team of 13, dismantled that team and been acquired. But today, Jared is once again a solo creator.In this episode, we discuss:🎓️ The cap on how far Healthcare Huddle can or should scale😍 Understanding your newsletter’s “true fans”✍️ Creating a sustainable newsletter workflow🧠 Jared’s four key lessons f
Apr 25, 2024 • 50:11
Ep. 7: Arielle Nissenblatt, creator of EarBuds Podcast Collective
Arielle Nissenblatt knows podcasts. She writes a weekly newsletter about podcasts, hosts a podcast version of that newsletter, co-hosts another weekly podcast and a daily podcast. She runs a Discord community for podcasters. On top of all that, she works full-time as a community marketing manager at Descript.In this episode, we discuss:🤝 How Arielle broke into the podcasting industry🎙️ Why you should not start a podcast (unless you should)🫂 What “community” means to brands and creators💖 The
Apr 18, 2024 • 50:14
Ep. 6: Ryan Sneddon, creator of Naptown Scoop
Ryan Sneddon runs Naptown Scoop, a local newsletter serving Annapolis, Maryland. In three-and-a-half years, he’s built an audience of over 18,000 (nearly half the town’s population), and last year the business generated around $200,000 in revenue.In this episode, we discuss:🏘️ How Ryan got half the town to sign up for the Scoop👩 Exactly how Ryan defined his core reader 💲 How Ryan prices the newsletter’s ad spots👀 The Scoop’s simple and incredibly effective referral system📈 Ryan’s plans to i
Apr 11, 2024 • 59:42
Ep. 5: Ali Abassi, creator of AI for Work
Ali built an audience of over 7,000 subscribers before he even sent the first issue of his newsletter, AI for Work. He would only end up sending 13 issues before (at approximately 30,000 subscribers) he went looking for advice on how to monetize and ending up selling the whole thing instead.We spent an hour discussing:🧲 How he built an ingenious, highly successful lead magnet👀 Emailing every new subscriber to build relationships💰️ Experimenting with monetization🤖 Using TikTok to grow his ema
Apr 4, 2024 • 58:11
Ep. 4: Andrew Huang, author of Make Your Own Rules
Andrew Huang is lifelong musician and a pioneer in the Creator Economy. He made his first dollar online auctioning off songwriting commissions on eBay two decades ago and has since became a celebrated YouTuber with 2.36 million followers, produced commercial commissions for international brands, and published a book.Make Your Own Rules: Stories and Hard-Earned Advice from a Creator in the Digital Age came out in February 2024. We spoke with Andrew shortly after about:📍 Why he focuses his output
Mar 28, 2024 • 49:31
Ep. 3: Casey Lewis of After School
Casey has been writing the youth consumer trends newsletter After School for three years, the culmination of nearly two decades writing and editing content about and for teens in her own online publications and in Teen Vogue and New York Magazine. On the occasion of Casey leaving her day job to work full time on a newsletter — for the second time in her career — we spoke about:💵 Building and selling her first newsletter business (2016–2019)📭 Writing her newsletter to 0 subscribers for the firs
Mar 21, 2024 • 1:10:30
Ep. 2: Eric Cantor and Adam Katz of Vincent
Eric, alongside Slava Rubin (host of the Smart Humans podcast), co-founded Vincent in 2019 as an aggregator platform for alternative investment opportunities. It's evolved into a media company with three newsletters and a podcast, still focused on alternative investments. Adam joined the team a couple of years ago as a researcher and writer.We spoke about:🏋️ Building a solid core audience over four years📰 Deciding not to put names on the newsletter byline👎 Knowing what not to write about💰 Ge
Mar 14, 2024 • 55:15
