The Creator Spotlight Podcast

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 good)43:57 Creating social media videos is better than creating reality TVIntro music produced by J. & Doug Organ.

In this conversation, Ernie Smith, an experienced writer with a decade's worth of insights from his newsletter Tedium, shares his unique journey in online content creation. He dives into the technical challenges of coding newsletters and why he prefers DIY over platforms. Ernie laments the fading personality of the internet amidst rising commercialization, while also discussing the delicate balance between creativity and structured deadlines. He contemplates the future of the creator economy, emphasizing the need for integrity and innovation in a saturated digital landscape.

Guest Justin Gordon shares insights from 12 years in podcasting, vlogging, producing, and newslettering. Topics include daily podcasting, lessons from 500+ interviews, starting a newsletter, making money as a creator, best and worst interviews, and advice for podcasters and writers.

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 projects (as a newsletter editor and writer)13:35 Blowing up with the Millennial Pause16:44 Being an editor vs. a writer19:09 What is a newsletter? What is a creator?27:42 The stats — how to grow a newsletter34:22 Are creators the new journalists?38:49 Advice for online creatorsIntro music produced by J. & Doug Organ.

Andrew Southworth, a musician and creator-entrepreneur, shares his 13-year journey from mechanical engineer to full-time musician. He discusses his myriad of ventures, from YouTube to newsletters. Southworth explains the importance of diversifying income streams while cautioning against over-diversification. He reflects on his early YouTube days, the evolution of his audience, and how he balances personal life with creativity. Plus, he offers invaluable advice for aspiring creators on hiring help and maximizing creative outreach.

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 the newsletter for jobs00:00 Acquiring a newsletter 08:05 Researching solo 14:10 The differences in journalism in the UK vs US 15:35 Growing a newsletter to 10k+ subscribers 23:18 Work/life balance as a creator 29:23 Premium subscribers and monetisation 33:04 Keeping a distance from your audience 36:50 Advice to creators, from a creator 41:05 The future of TWJN 45:30 The biggest regret as a creator Intro music produced by J. & Doug Organ.

Peter Ramsey of Built for Mars shares his journey from accidental consultancy to viral bank study. Topics include newsletter monetization, UX gamification, and content creation challenges. He discusses the diverse audience of Built for Mars, the future of online businesses, and his disdain for social media.

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 following, organically29:22 Podcasting is hard33:41 Monetizing as a creator38:31 Starting and building a newsletter47:45 Having multiple monetization streams51:53 Advice lightning roundIntro music produced by J. & Doug Organ.

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 discover and start working in SEO📱 How to figure out which social media platform is most useful for youNote: Yes, Francis' sound is slightly off in this episode. Good thing Tyler does most of the talking!00:00 Tyler’s motivation and the mentality of a creator 05:37 The inspiration to start writing 08:40 Is Google’s AI killing SEO ?11:36 The average Joker Mag reader 14:44 Finding amazing sports stories 18:37 How to grow a loyal audience 23:25 How much time does it take to grow a newsletter? 27:38 The different monetization channels 32:03 Hiring other writers 37:21 SEO tips: How to make your website the best 39:06 Advice for creators 43:40 Future goals 49:30 Quick Q&A Intro music produced by J. & Doug Organ.

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📰 Operating a newsletter while working full-time in journalism💷 Running paid ads for your newsletter is easier than it sounds00:00 What is Cheapskate London? 06:10 Who is the average reader? 10:03 Choosing what content to include — curation17:36 Kate’s career as a journalist30:45 The stats — how to grow an audience38:42 Kate’s unique referral program — giveaways!41:58 Monetization 52:49 Advice for newsletter creators Intro music produced by J. & Doug Organ.