Creator Debates

Get $400 off your early-bird ticket to Sponsor Games, my first in-person event to help you get more brand deals: https://www.sponsorgames.comCheck out the 30-Day Grow Your Audience Challenge: https://convertk.it/GYABig thanks to ConvertKit for sponsoring this episode!Today we’re talking about the Pros & Cons of being a Full-time vs. Side Hustle Creator. When my wife April and I started on YouTube back in 2009, being a Full-time Creator was not really a “thing.” By default it was a side-hustle, in fact, you couldn’t even make money on YouTube back then… there was no Partner Program.  I was working in medical devices, April was a pre school teacher and we were making YouTube videos on the side for fun.  I actually looked it up and our very first Adsense check was for $130.06 and we were STOKED!  That paid for our electric bill in our little tiny studio apartment. And it wasn’t for *many years* that we even entertained the idea of quitting our 9-5 jobs and just doing social media full-time. I think part of it was we really didn’t know anyone else who had ever done that.  But as the momentum started to build and we started making more and more money, we sat down and had a long hard discussion about the opportunity cost.  What if we could spend 60 hours a week focused on growing our online business instead of being stuck at our day jobs? So, April took the plunge first, she quit her job in 2012, and I kept my job, kept my salary, which critically came with health benefits.  And then I didn’t quit my job until 2014 which was 6 weeks after my first son Liam was born.  And lemme tell you, it was a really scary decision.  Not only did basically everyone in our lives think we were absolutely NUTS, but now we no longer had the safety net of a steady paycheck where we knew predictably every month how much we would make.  Fast-forward to today and my wife and I have been full-time creators for over 8 years and we have seen it all, just a ton of ups and downs, huge changes in our different revenue streams…it’s not for the faint of heart. And you know what? I bet you, dear creator listening and/or watching right now might have struggled with this decision at some point as well.  Maybe you’re still struggling with the Pros and Cons? So, that’s why I asked Cody Jay and Jessica Williams to join me today to talk all this through.  Cody has been a full-time creator & pro make-up artist for over 3 years, he’s got hundreds of thousands of followers, and even coaches other creators how to grow their businesses. And Jessica, on the other hand, has been side-hustling for 6 years, growing a newsletter, juggling it all while caregiving. She even calls herself a Side Hustle Cheerleader in her Twitter headline so you know this is gonna be good. By the end of this episode, you’ll know: 1. The key questions you need to ask yourself to determine whether being a full-time or side-hustle creator is right for you2. How your decision might impact your creativity AND your income 3. Who’s a better Creator Debater: Cody or Jessica?Follow our guests 👇Cody JayInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/codyjayartistryYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@CodyjayartistryTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@codyjayartistryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/codyjayartistryTwitter - https://twitter.com/codyjayartistrySnapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/add/codyjayartistryJessica WilliamsTwitter - https://twitter.com/techbizgurlWebsite - https://techbizgurl.com/jesspicksFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/techbizgurlLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicalavernewilliamsInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/techbizgurl👇   Creator Wizard Affiliates 👇Claim your free ConvertKit account: https://convertkit.com?lmref=NjtOPgCreate a digital course using Thinkific: https://try.thinkific.com/dil41ce876v3Claim your free Restream account: https://restream.grsm.io/creatorwizardClaim your free TubeBudy account: https://www.tubebuddy.com/creatorwizardCamera: https://amzn.to/2Zc8gFGDSLR monitor: https://amzn.to/3psgt3zCamlink (to use camera as webcam): https://amzn.to/2ZcHInTLED Panel Lights: https://amzn.to/3po9Z5IMic: https://amzn.to/3G3eWqxMixer: https://amzn.to/3UFpaUOBusiness inquiries: justin@creatorwizard.com

Get $400 off your early-bird ticket to Sponsor Games, my first in-person event to help you get more brand deals: https://www.sponsorgames.comCheck out the 30-Day Grow Your Audience Challenge: https://convertk.it/GYABig thanks to ConvertKit for sponsoring this episode!Today we’re talking about Twitter vs. Instagram when it comes to growing a business as a creator.I first joined Twitter and Instagram in 2012 but I gotta admit something pretty embarrassing. I used both of them almost every day but I was a consumer of content, not a producer.  Sure, I would post here and there, but I did not have a content strategy.  So in October 2020, when I was trying to get Creator Wizard off the ground, I decided to make a change.  I hired a random dude from Twitter and gave him a singular mission, “make me known as The Sponsorships Guy on social media.”So we made a plan - full court press on content about finding & negotiating brand partnerships, posting multiple times a day.And things were VERY rocky at first. Many, many times, we’d spend hours crafting Twitter threads only for them to get basically no engagement.  We’d curate pixel-perfect pics on Instagram with super long, tactical captions thinking we were building deeper connections.  And honestly? I started getting a little discouraged.  But then, slowly but surely people started responding.  They’d start DMing me asking for help with brand deal negotiations. They’d ask me how much I thought they should charge on complex deals. Then someone asked me *gasp* if I did 1-1 coaching, or if I had a course, what the heck?!And none of this would have ever happened had I not decided to use Twitter and Instagram to grow my creator business.But we all know there’s only so many hours in the day so if you had to pick one of them…which one is better?  So, that’s why I asked two experts here today to settle the debate, once and for all. Steph Taylor, is an online business strategist, host of the Imperfect Action podcast, and has grown her Instagram from ZERO to 31K by helping others build an online business that’s profitable even when you’re offline. Alex Llull, on the other hand, is a social media consultant, content creator, and writer who grew his Twitter from ZERO to 31K by teaching solopreneurs how to leverage social media content so they can grow their brand, audience, or business. Oh, and remember how I mentioned I hired a dude to help me become known as the Sponsorships Guy on social media? Ya…that was Alex.   By the end of this episode, you’ll know: 1. Whether certain types of creators are better suited to grow on Twitter or Instagram 2. Whether you should double down on one or the other to make more money3. Who’s a better Creator Debater: Steph or Alex?Follow our guests 👇Alex LlullAlex's site: https://thestealclub.comAlex's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexLlullTWSteph TaylorSteph's site: https://stephtaylor.coSteph's Podcast: https://stephtaylor.co/imperfect-action-podcast/Steph's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephtaylor.co/👇   Creator Wizard Affiliates 👇Claim your free ConvertKit account: https://convertkit.com?lmref=NjtOPgCreate a digital course using Thinkific: https://try.thinkific.com/dil41ce876v3Claim your free Restream account: https://restream.grsm.io/creatorwizardClaim your free TubeBudy account: https://www.tubebuddy.com/creatorwizardCamera: https://amzn.to/2Zc8gFGDSLR monitor: https://amzn.to/3psgt3zCamlink (to use camera as webcam): https://amzn.to/2ZcHInTLED Panel Lights: https://amzn.to/3po9Z5IMic: https://amzn.to/3G3eWqxMixer: https://amzn.to/3UFpaUOBusiness inquiries: justin@creatorwizard.com

In this podcast, Jay Clouse and Joe Casabona debate whether podcasts need video to succeed in the age of short-form content. They discuss the benefits and challenges of incorporating video, how to repurpose podcast content for platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and strategies for monetizing podcasts. The debate touches on the impact of visuals on audience perception and the potential for creativity with video. They also explore different monetization strategies and sponsorship opportunities for podcast creators.

Get $400 off your early-bird ticket to Sponsor Games, my first in-person event to help you get more brand deals: https://www.sponsorgames.comCheck out the 30-Day Grow Your Audience Challenge: https://convertk.it/GYABig thanks to ConvertKit for sponsoring this episode!Today we’re talking about Hustle Culture vs. Life Design. You’ve seen the tweet threads, you’ve seen the Gary Vee TikToks.Why are you sleeping? You don’t need sleep. You gotta grind it out, start a side-hustle, buy & sell baseball cards you find at garage sales. Start a podcast. Oh…wait. So I get the idea behind hustle culture, and honestly, I’m kind of a workaholic.My wife April and I have been full-time creators for many years so work-life balance has always been…a challenge.  And I feel the pressure to pump out content on the social platform hamster wheel. I see the amazing stuff that other creators are putting out there and I feel FOMO.But…should I? I’m a decade PLUS into this creator thing and lately I’ve kinda been thinking that maybe I need to design my life a little more intentionally. Protect my time, my calendar, be more “present” … Because if I don’t I feel like I’m gonna burn out at some point. But there’s always that itch…that tension to do more.So, I recently saw this tweet that said the following:“I am a fan of hustle culture. The truth is, most people should be doing way more. Worst case, you go too hard & have short-term burnout—but at least you found your limits. Best case, that short period of volume & intensity completely changes your life's trajectory. Win-win.”So I knew I had to get the author of said tweet on here to talk about this.Dickie Bush is an absolutely prolific creator, he’s helped over 5,600 people start writing at Ship 30 for 30, he’s a former Blackrock trader turned digital builder, and dude just knows how to get that sweet Tweet engagement.But to properly have this debate about Hustle Culture, I had to ask my friend Khe Hy to be here as well.  Khe helps people transform their relationships with time, work, & money and has been called Oprah for Millennials by CNN. He also teaches the class Supercharge your Productivity to help you design a system for doing $10,000/hr work.So by the end of this episode, you’ll know:1. Whether there are benefits to hustle culture during certain chapters of your life2. When it’s the right time to just chill the F out and design your life more intentionally3. And honestly the only thing I care about: who’s a better Creator Debater, Dickie or Khe?Follow our guests 👇Dickie BushDickie's Twitter: https://twitter.com/dickiebushDickie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dickiebush/Dickie's website: https://startwritingonline.comDickie's course: https://www.ship30for30.comKhe HyKhe's Twitter: https://twitter.com/khemaridhKhe's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColNfZXzL946wNgxPGWst1AKhe's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khehy/Khe's website: https://radreads.coKhe's course: https://10k.radreads.co/join-syp12👇   Creator Wizard Affiliates 👇Claim your free ConvertKit account: https://convertkit.com?lmref=NjtOPgCreate a digital course using Thinkific: https://try.thinkific.com/dil41ce876v3Claim your free Restream account: https://restream.grsm.io/creatorwizardClaim your free TubeBudy account: https://www.tubebuddy.com/creatorwizardCamera: https://amzn.to/2Zc8gFGDSLR monitor: https://amzn.to/3psgt3zCamlink (to use camera as webcam): https://amzn.to/2ZcHInTLED Panel Lights: https://amzn.to/3po9Z5IMic: https://amzn.to/3G3eWqxMixer: https://amzn.to/3UFpaUOBusiness inquiries: justin@creatorwizard.com

My brand new video podcast launching January 30, 2023. Stupid arguments to help creators make smart decisions.Contact: justin@creatorwizard.com