Creator Science

#110: Polina Marinova Pompliano – How "The Internet's Biographer" writes great profiles

Jul 26, 2022

Polina Marinova Pompliano, author of The Profile, a popular newsletter exploring the lives of successful individuals, shares her insights on writing compelling profiles. She discusses the crucial difference between profiles and biographies, emphasizing the importance of details and genuine curiosity. Polina reveals her extensive research methods, including reading millions of words online, and sheds light on the economics of paid newsletters. She highlights effective growth strategies and the balance between creative integrity and advertising in content.

52:06

Creator website

Episode guests

Polina Marinova Pompliano

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Why Celebrity Profiles are so Enjoyable

01:28

Paid News Letter

01:16

Interviewing People With Less Name Recognition

00:55

Intro

2min

The Art and Economics of Profile Writing

2min

Crafting Compelling Profiles

13min

Insights into Running a Paid Newsletter

2min

Navigating Subscription Models and Selective Sponsorships in Digital Publishing

2min

The Balancing Act of Advertising and Creative Integrity

2min

Navigating the Paid Newsletter Model

22min

WATCH

▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube

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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Polina Pompliano is the author of The Profile, which studies the most successful and interesting people and companies in business, entertainment, tech, sports, and more.

The Profile is a paid newsletter. Before Polina was writing The Profile, she wrote for Fortune, USA Today, and CNN. Polina also has nearly 130,000 followers on Twitter and in order to write exceptional profiles, says she read 1.8 million words online last year – the equivalent of 25 books.

Profiles are a rare breed of writing – and Polina is really good at it. She’s written profiles of Sara Blakely, Elon Musk, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Dolly Parton, Kris Jenner, and many more.

In this episode, we talk about the difference between profiles and biographies, the economics behind a paid newsletter, the most effective strategies she’s found for growth, and why the secret to a great profile is found in the Details.

Full transcript and show notes

Subscribe to The Profile

Follow Polina Pompliano on Twitter

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TIMESTAMPS

00:12 - New projects

01:00 - Today’s guest

01:40 - Polina by the numbers

03:00 - What we learn today

03:40 - Why profiles are great

05:40 - Difference between profiles and biographies

06:58 - What makes a great profile?