In this episode of The Creator Spotlight Podcast, Francis speaks with Melanie Ehrenkranz, the creator of the Laid Off newsletter and Discord community. They discuss the origins of Laid Off, building a community where people feel supported and engaged, and the concept of the laid off to creator/entrepreneur pipeline.
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Follow Melanie
Laid Off Newsletter: https://laid0ff.substack.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-ehrenkranz-07231126/
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References
Melanie's Laid Off survey: https://laid0ff.substack.com/p/hundreds-of-layoff-stories
Never Post podcast episode with Melanie: https://www.neverpo.st/any-rigid-idea-about-yourself-is-a-prison/
Interview with The Sidebar: https://mozillasidebar.substack.com/p/inside-the-newsletter-making-layoffs
Interview with The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/03/style/laid-off-newsletter-substack.html
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00:00 Introducing Melanie
01:44 How 'Laid Off' began
06:32 Building an engaged, valuable community
10:12 Trend reports and insights from the laid off experience
13:20 Monetization that gives back to the community
22:47 LinkedIn culture and the need for personal brand
30:36 Potential future services for Laid Off
35:48 Permeable definitions of the creator
39:56 The creativity of the newsletter format
42:28 The laid off to creator pipeline
49:01 How to gain your first 10K subscribers
51:26 One year of Laid Off
#podcast #laidoff #creatoreconomy
