The Creator Spotlight Podcast
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 Tuesday. This podcast is part of our newsletter, Creator Spotlight.
Ep. 113: How he makes $140k+ writing about video games ft. Stephen Totilo
Stephen Totilo has spent 20 years reporting in the video game industry, working at MTV, Kotaku and Axios. Francis and Stephen discuss his recent transition to independent journalism and how he's built a stable and successful newsletter product, support entirely by his readers.
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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at open.videoÂ
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Stephen Totilo
Game File
Bluesky
X
Threads
...
Ep. 112: They have 2M+ followers, but they’re starting again ft. Martinez and Mu
Rob Martinez and Julian Mu are independent food creators with a combined 2.1 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, and co-hosts of the YouTube channel 'Martinez and Mu'. They discuss how they built their channels, how they make money as full-time creators, and the creative and business decisions behind launching a new show together.
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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.videoÂ
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Mar...
Ep. 111: He only makes 5 videos a year ft. Max Z Zavidow
Max Z Zavidow is a content creator who makes narrative "really short films" for TikTok and Instagram, including the Webby-winning video "Long Time." In this episode, he discusses his evolution from investment banking to stand-up comedy and vertical video, how he funds and structures branded short films, and why he believes the phone is the next major medium for storytelling.
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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at ht...
Ep. 110: The Facebook creator with 8 revenue streams ft. Todd Anderson
Todd Anderson, the Turnip Vegan, is a food creator with over 3 million followers across platforms. In this episode we cover his journey from hobbyist to professional, how he monetizes with up to 8 revenue streams, and why Facebook is still his number one platform for reach.
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Todd Anderson
FacebookÂ
TikTokÂ
YouTubeÂ
Snapchat
Recipe Club
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Todd Anderson, the Turnip Vegan
01:20 The timeline of becoming a content creator
06:23 Learning the business of...
Ep. 109: How LinkedIn Groups and Newsletters Power an Online Education Business
Natalie Peters is the founder and CEO of Sky Society, a community and career accelerator for women breaking into marketing. In this episode, Natalie breaks down how she grew Sky Society from two students to a waitlisted accelerator with over 100 students per cohort, why she built her entire content funnel around organic growth and personal brand, and how she structures admissions, pricing, and community to consistently get graduates hired.
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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to...
Ep. 108: The creator economy doesn't exist ft. Nathan Graber-Lipperman
Nathan Graber-Lipperman is the founder of Powder Blue, a Chicago-based creative studio behind a print magazine, newsletter, and community events. We talk about building and monetising indie media, what makes brand partnerships work, and why he retired his previous publication Creator Mag to launch Offline.
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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.videoÂ
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Powder Blue
Offline MagÂ
YouT...
Ep. 107: Inside the business of ghostwriting ft. Maxie McCoy
Maxie McCoy is an author, ghostwriter, and speech writer whose clients have landed Wall Street Journal bestsellers. In this episode, Maxie breaks down the business of ghostwriting, from how to get started and price your work, to building a newsletter audience of 40,000 and why being best known matters more than being best.
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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at open.video
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Maxie McCoy
...Ep. 106: Sending a newsletter for 1,000 days straight ft. Mindstream
Matt Village and Maria Gharib are the editorial team behind Mindstream, a daily AI-focussed newsletter with over 230,000 subscribers. In this episode they break down the editorial systems, consistency habits, and audience growth tactics that helped them grow a strong, engaged audience.
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MindstreamÂ
Newsletter
LinkedInÂ
Guests
Matt Village
Maria Gharib
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Matt and Maria of Mindstream
01:31 Going all-in at 5,000 subscribers
05:56 Expanding the team
09:51 Curating the style for a...
Ep. 105: Becoming one of Morning Brew’s biggest creators ft. Macy Gilliam
Macy Gilliam is a video producer and content creator at Morning Brew and the creator of Out There, a documentary series where she spends a day learning the world's most interesting jobs. In this episode, we walk through her production process, how she went from running Morning Brew's Twitter account to having her own show, and red flags every creator should look for in their contracts.
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Macy Gilliam
Out ThereÂ
Macy's YouTube
TikTok
X
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T...
Ep. 104: Building a platform to save the internet ft. Tyler Bainbridge of Perfectly Imperfect
Tyler Bainbridge is the founder of Perfectly Imperfect, a social magazine and app with 400,000+ users built to help people discover culture outside of algorithms. In this episode, we get into how he grew the platform from a free newsletter to a business attracting guests such as Charli xcx, Francis Ford Coppola and The Rizzler.
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Perfectly Imperfect
Website
Tyler Bainbridge
X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Tyler Bainbridge
01:23 Escaping the...
Ep. 103: Building a newsletter to fight the algorithm ft. Matt Kiser
Matt Kiser is the creator and editor WTF Just Happened Today, a political news newsletter with over 200,000 subscribers built entirely on a pay-what-you-want membership model. In this episode Matt breaks down how he grew from zero to 100,000 subscribers in six months, the editorial philosophy behind curating the news every day for nine years, and the biggest mistakes he made along the way.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Matt Kiser
Newsletter
Bluesky
GitHub
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Timestamps
00:00...
Ep. 103: Building a newsletter to fight the algorithm ft. Matt Kiser
Matt Kiser is the creator and editor WTF Just Happened Today, a political news newsletter with over 200,000 subscribers built entirely on a pay-what-you-want membership model. In this episode Matt breaks down how he grew from zero to 100,000 subscribers in six months, the editorial philosophy behind curating the news every day for nine years, and the biggest mistakes he made along the way.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Matt Kiser
Newsletter
Bluesky
GitHub
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Timestamps<...
Ep. 102: The creator earning $200k+ posting on LinkedIn ft. Vin Matano
Vin Matano is a B2B influencer marketing agency owner and part-time creator who made $200K as a creator and $2.5M through his agency Creator Buzz in 2025. In this episode, we get into how he lands and keeps long-term brand deals, his LinkedIn content strategy, and how he built Creatorbuzz from zero to $2.5M in its first full year.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/vin-matanoÂ
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Get started with Taplio for free
Use code: CREATOR1X1
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Vin Matano
Y...
Ep. 102: The creator earning $200k+ posting on LinkedIn ft. Vin Matano
Vin Matano is a B2B influencer marketing agency owner and part-time creator who made $200K as a creator and $2.5M through his agency Creator Buzz in 2025. In this episode, we get into how he lands and keeps long-term brand deals, his LinkedIn content strategy, and how he built Creatorbuzz from zero to $2.5M in its first full year.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/vin-matano
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Get started with Taplio for free
Use code: CREATOR1X1
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Vin Matano
...
Ep. 101: Building a 70k+ subscriber newsletter by word of mouth ft. Rachel Meade Smith
Rachel Meade Smith is the founder of Words of Mouth, a weekly newsletter focused on finding meaningful work. In this episode, we discuss how she built and monetised a values-driven newsletter to 72,000 subscribers over 10 years without ever running a single ad.
Preorder Search Work now: https://orbooks.com/catalog/search-work/
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Rachel Meade Smith
Words of Mouth
Website
InstagramÂ
Book
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Rachel Meade Smith and Words of Mouth
01:38 10 years of v...
Ep. 101: Building a 70k+ subscriber newsletter by word of mouth ft. Rachel Meade Smith
Rachel Meade Smith is the founder of Words of Mouth, a weekly newsletter focused on finding meaningful work. In this episode, we discuss how she built and monetised a values-driven newsletter to 72,000 subscribers over 10 years without ever running a single ad.
Preorder Search Work now: https://orbooks.com/catalog/search-work/
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Rachel Meade Smith
Words of Mouth
Website
Book
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Rachel Meade Smith and Words of Mouth
01:38 10 years of values based...
Ep. 100: A $2.5M bet on quality food journalism ft. Caper
Caper is a new media company covering the people, money, ambition, power and chaos that fuels the food world. In this episode we speak to Max Tcheyan, the co-founder and CEO, as well as three of the founding journalists.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
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Caper
Newsletter
Caper
In this episode
Max
Emma
Annie
Chris
<...Ep. 100: A $2.5M bet on quality food journalism ft. Caper
Caper is a new media company covering the people, money, ambition, power and chaos that fuels the food world. In this episode we speak to Max Tcheyan, the co-founder and CEO, as well as three of the founding journalists.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
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Caper
Newsletter
Caper
In this episode
Max
Emma
Annie
Chris
<...Ep. 99: How to build and sell to audiences online ft. Daniel Berk
Daniel Berk is beehiiv’s first sales hire-turned-strategist, cofounder of a local newsletter Palmetto Parents, and cohost of the Two Dads in Tech podcast. In this episode we discuss his journey from chaotic notebooks to 25,000 LinkedIn followers, how he helps creators and enterprise media businesses grow and monetize, and how to run a profitable newsletter and podcast.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profilesÂ
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Get started with Taplio for free at https://taplio.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=nl_creatorspotlight_0126_011526
Use code: CREATOR1X1
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...Ep. 99: How to build and sell to audiences online ft. Daniel Berk
Daniel Berk is beehiiv’s first sales hire-turned-strategist, cofounder of a local newsletter Palmetto Parents, and cohost of the Two Dads in Tech podcast. In this episode we discuss his journey from chaotic notebooks to 25,000 LinkedIn followers, how he helps creators and enterprise media businesses grow and monetize, and how to run a profitable newsletter and podcast.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Get started with Taplio for free at https://taplio.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=nl_creatorspotlight_0126_011526
Use code: CREATOR1X1
...Ep. 98 How he perfected short form content ft. Grant Beene
Grant Beene is a short-form video creator known for crafting wild, story-driven skits that have generated hundreds of millions of views across TikTok and Instagram. In this episode, we break down how he writes and produces viral short films, structures brand deals without compromising creative integrity, and why he believes short-form is the training ground for becoming a world-class director.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/grant-beeneÂ
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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
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Grant Beene
TikTok
Ep. 98 How he perfected short form content ft. Grant Beene
Grant Beene is a short-form video creator known for crafting wild, story-driven skits that have generated hundreds of millions of views across TikTok and Instagram. In this episode, we break down how he writes and produces viral short films, structures brand deals without compromising creative integrity, and why he believes short-form is the training ground for becoming a world-class director.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/grant-beene
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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
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Grant Beene
TikTok
Instagram<...
Ep. 97: “I’m not an influencer. I’m an artist.” ft. Lucie Fink
Lucie Fink is a creator and entrepreneur who’s built a successful personal media company across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, and newsletters. In this episode, we break down how she actually makes money as a creator, dealing with and confronting online trolls, and pivoting from lifestyle influencer to artist.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Lucie Fink — All my Income Sources Revealed
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Lucie Fink
YouTube
TikTok
Website
Podcast
Francis Zierer
Tw...
Ep. 97: “I’m not an influencer. I’m an artist.” ft. Lucie Fink
Lucie Fink is a creator and entrepreneur who’s built a successful personal media company across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, and newsletters. In this episode, we break down how she actually makes money as a creator, dealing with and confronting online trolls, and pivoting from lifestyle influencer to artist.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Lucie Fink — All my Income Sources Revealed
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Lucie Fink
YouTube
TikTok
Website
Podcast
Francis Zierer
Ep. 96: How a local newsletter became a $100k+ business ft. Marissa Lovell
Marissa Lovell is the founder and operator of From Boise, a local newsletter business generating over $100k in annual revenue. In this episode, she breaks down how she built it, what nearly made her quit, and the decisions that finally made it work.
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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
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Marissa Lovell
Twitter/X
From Boise
Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing...
Ep. 96: How a local newsletter became a $100k+ business ft. Marissa Lovell
Marissa Lovell is the founder and operator of From Boise, a local newsletter business generating over $100k in annual revenue. In this episode, she breaks down how she built it, what nearly made her quit, and the decisions that finally made it work.
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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
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Marissa Lovell
Twitter/X
From Boise
Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Marissa from Boise
<...Ep. 95: He quit NBC to make YouTube videos ft. Fernando Hurtado
Fernando Hurtado is a former NBC Telemundo journalist who walked away from a six-figure media career to build on YouTube from scratch. In this episode, Fernando breaks down how he got monetized in days, landed (and lost) brand deals early, priced himself wrong, and rebuilt with a repeatable system for publishing high-quality videos without burning out. We talk risk, leverage, time-boxing creative work, and what journalists actually need to know before betting on themselves.
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Watch Fernando’s AAPI Latino’s video
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Fernando Hurtado
YouTube
Twitter/X
I...
Ep. 95: He quit NBC to make YouTube videos ft. Fernando Hurtado
Fernando Hurtado is a former NBC Telemundo journalist who walked away from a six-figure media career to build on YouTube from scratch. In this episode, Fernando breaks down how he got monetized in days, landed (and lost) brand deals early, priced himself wrong, and rebuilt with a repeatable system for publishing high-quality videos without burning out. We talk risk, leverage, time-boxing creative work, and what journalists actually need to know before betting on themselves.
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Watch Fernando’s AAPI Latino’s videoÂ
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Fernando Hurtado
YouTube
Twitter/X
...Ep. 94: 15 years of social media strategy advice in one hour ft. Jack Appleby
Jack Appleby is a marketing strategist and creator with over 15 years in the industry. In this episode, we break down why most brand content fails, why trends don’t matter, and how creators can build audiences people actually root for.
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Get started for free at https://taplio.com
Use code: CREATOR1X1
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Jack Appleby
Newsletter
Twitter/X
How to Hoop Forever
YouTube
TikTok
Fr...
Ep. 94: 15 years of social media strategy advice in one hour ft. Jack Appleby
Jack Appleby is a marketing strategist and creator with over 15 years in the industry. In this episode, we break down why most brand content fails, why trends don’t matter, and how creators can build audiences people actually root for.
__
Get started for free at https://taplio.com
Use code: CREATOR1X1
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Jack Appleby
Newsletter
Twitter/X
How to Hoop Forever
YouTube
TikTok
Francis Zi...
Ep. 93: He’s building a $10M+ creator business ft. Kallaway
This week we’re joined by Kallaway, a creator and operator building a profitable media business by treating content like a system. In this episode, we break down how he thinks about distribution, YouTube packaging, short-form frameworks, and turning attention into a scalable, $1M-per-month business.
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Kallaway
Sandcastles
YouTube
TikTok
Website
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Kallaway
01:05 The $1M/month content machine
10:01 Bringing a consultant mindset to content creation
15:09 Treating content like a sc...
Ep. 93: He’s building a $10M+ creator business ft. Kallaway
This week we’re joined by Kallaway, a creator and operator building a profitable media business by treating content like a system. In this episode, we break down how he thinks about distribution, YouTube packaging, short-form frameworks, and turning attention into a scalable, $1M-per-month business.
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Kallaway
Sandcastles
YouTube
TikTok
Website
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Kallaway
01:05 The $1M/month content machine
10:01 Bringing a consultant mindset to content creation
15:09 Tr...
Ep. 92: Creator economy lawyer reveals every creators’ biggest mistakes ft. Brittany Ratelle
This week on Creator Spotlight we’re joined by Brittany Ratelle, a lawyer specializing in helping creators, creatives and online entrepreneurs cut through the overwhelm of getting their business legally legit. In this episode she breaks down the most common legal mistakes creators make, from brand deals and contracts, to hiring and platform risk.
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Brittany Ratelle
Website
YouTube
Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Brittany Ratelle
...Ep. 92: Creator economy lawyer reveals every creators’ biggest mistakes ft. Brittany Ratelle
This week on Creator Spotlight we’re joined by Brittany Ratelle, a lawyer specializing in helping creators, creatives and online entrepreneurs cut through the overwhelm of getting their business legally legit. In this episode she breaks down the most common legal mistakes creators make, from brand deals and contracts, to hiring and platform risk.
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Brittany Ratelle
Website
YouTube
Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Brittany Ratelle
01:26 Biggest red fl...
Ep. 91: Three predictions for the creator economy in 2026 ft. Creator Spotlight Team
This week, Francis is joined by the rest of the Creator Spotlight team — Assistant Editor Natalia and Podcast Producer Tom — to reflect on the biggest creator economy themes from a year of interviews and share their predictions for 2026
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Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
Natalia PĂ©rez-Gonzalez
Tom McCloud
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Tom and Natalia
01:30 How to use s...
Ep. 91: Three predictions for the creator economy in 2026 ft. Creator Spotlight Team
This week, Francis is joined by the rest of the Creator Spotlight team — Assistant Editor Natalia and Podcast Producer Tom — to reflect on the biggest creator economy themes from a year of interviews and share their predictions for 2026
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Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
Natalia PĂ©rez-Gonzalez
Tom McCloud
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Tom and Natalia
01:30 How to use serialized content in 2026
10:10 Changing our persp...
Fixing the Biggest Problem in the Creator Economy… Trust ft. News Creator Corps
This week on Creator Spotlight we’re joined by the team from News Creator Corps. We break down what creators can learn from journalism — from fact-checking and sourcing to handling mistakes publicly. A conversation about fixing trust, misinformation, and credibility in the creator economy.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Earn with Google AdSense: https://goo.gle/earnwithadsense
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News Creator Corps
Apply for the Spring 2026 Fellowship: https://newscreatorcorps.org/apply/
Rachel Lobdell
Katie Grossbard
Danielle Desir Corbett
...Fixing the Biggest Problem in the Creator Economy… Trust ft. News Creator Corps
This week on Creator Spotlight we’re joined by the team from News Creator Corps. We break down what creators can learn from journalism — from fact-checking and sourcing to handling mistakes publicly. A conversation about fixing trust, misinformation, and credibility in the creator economy.
Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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Earn with Google AdSense: https://goo.gle/earnwithadsense
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News Creator Corps
Apply for the Spring 2026 Fellowship: https://newscreatorcorps.org/apply/
Rachel Lobdell
Katie Grossbard
Danielle Desi...
Newsletters + Events = 6-figure creator business ft. Brett Dashevsky
Brett Dashevsky is the founder of Creator Economy NYC, where he’s built a six-figure business by consistently creating content, growing a newsletter, and hosting events for creators. In this episode, Brett breaks down how newsletters and in-person events compound together to build audience, trust, and a sustainable creator business.
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Brett Dashevsky
Newsletter
Creator Economy NYC
Twitter/X
Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Br...
Newsletters + Events = 6-figure creator business ft. Brett Dashevsky
Brett Dashevsky is the founder of Creator Economy NYC, where he’s built a six-figure business by consistently creating content, growing a newsletter, and hosting events for creators. In this episode, Brett breaks down how newsletters and in-person events compound together to build audience, trust, and a sustainable creator business.
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Brett Dashevsky
Newsletter
Creator Economy NYC
Twitter/X
Francis Zierer
Twitter/X
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Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Brett Dashevsky
01:16 Bi...
