The Future Belongs to Creators

How to Use Convertkit to Manage Your $40K/Month Course Business with Marie Poulin Sep 14, 2022

Building a business from the ground up as a creator is no easy feat. Your success depends on a number of different things including your leadership, your team, and your strategy. Often, creators start without a blueprint and fail before they soar.

Consultant and Creator of the online course, Notion Mastery, Marie Poulin, always considered her work style to be chaotic. But whatever she thought she lacked, she looked for those capabilities in her team. Marie was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which gave her a newfound appreciation for her small team’s ability to take initiative and stay organized.

Like many creators, Marie has a stream of ideas and is always tempted to reinvent herself. It took a few awkward hires before building a stellar team and she freestyled her marketing efforts before committing to a strategy. She eventually found her flow and more importantly a funnel that helped her stay consistent in her outreach, grow her business, and diversify her content to unlock new possibilities.

In this episode, Charli and Miguel talk with Marie about cultivating a supportive team as a creator with ADHD and optimizing her business strategy with ConvertKit.

Key Takeaways

[00:44] - Have you heard?
- [00:55] - Instagram scaling back its underperforming shop feature.
- [02:24] - Notion added a new feature called team spaces.
- [02:44] - Circle announced they are adding a course platform.
[03:53] - Today’s main topic: Cultivating a creative environment with Marie Poulin.
- [04:01] - Marie speaks about her course Notion Mastery.
- [04:37] - Roles that Marie decided to hire for in her business.
- [06:37] - How Marie cultivated her team that represents her vision.
- [13:39] - How the funnel worked for Marie.
- [18:14] - Marie’s strategy to get people interested in her templates.
- [23:33] - How the audience responded when Marie diversified her content.
- [27:05] - Why leaning too hard on one service can be dangerous for business.
- [30:54] - Improvements Marie has in mind for her funnel.

Quotes

[09:50] - “Part of it is just recognizing talent in other people and noticing those gaps, and asking myself, can we work together? What are the things that matter to be similar and what are the things where I need to hire for the gap?” ~ @mariepoulin

[12:45] - “I want people to feel like they can’t believe that they get paid to do this work.” ~ @mariepoulin

[23:22] - “I do encourage creators, don’t be afraid to experiment with your wording, the phrasing, how you talk about what you do and see what forms actually convert better.” ~ @mariepoulin

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How to Get (And Keep!) Your Email Open Rate Above 50% with Khe Hy Sep 07, 2022

The greatest form of flattery you can get as a content creator is when your audience consistently engages with your content. The 2022 ConvertKit study showed that the average email open rate is only 33%, so how do you break through the noise to get people begging for more?

Blogger, content creator, and educator Khe Hy, blows that statistic out of the water with a 50% open rate on his newsletter. Khe quit a cushy desk job on Wall Street to dive into the uncertainty of being a creator and entrepreneur. As many creators know, keeping people engaged is not easy when inspiration and passion wane. But Khe uses a formula that he thinks is foolproof. He spends time creating a solid subject line and consistently puts out great content by harnessing the power of social proofing on Twitter and newsjacking trending pop culture topics instead of reinventing the wheel.

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and Haley talk to Khe about quitting his Wall Street desk job to become a creator and his strategies for writing a great email subject line.

Key Takeaways

[02:03] - Have you heard?
- [02:12] - School is back in!
- [02:53] - Haley and the team will be in Orlando for FinCon.
- [03:49] - Snapchat is laying off 20% of its workforce.
- [05:44] - Twitter piloted Twitter Circles.
- [06:46] - Jay Clouse sells complete tear-downs of brands and websites.
[09:02] - Today’s Main Topic: How to create engaging headlines and subject lines.
- [09:15] - An intro to Khe and Rad Reads.
- [11:25] - Market rate for newsletter open rates.
- [14:15] - Factors that contribute to Khe’s high open rate.
- [16:27] - How Khe proofs his headlines.
- [18:32] - How to use Twitter to test the idea for a headline.
- [31:46] - How Khe tailors his content.
- [36:43] - Increase the open rate for creators.
- [43:15] - Khe shouts out the book, “Getting Things Done”.

Quotes

[09:25] - “I basically had a midlife crisis at 35 years old and I'm like, I'm not going to do this desk job forever. It all started and still continues with email. Our mission is to help professionals lead a more productive, examined, and joyful life. And we do that through writing, through storytelling, and our main business is online courses.” ~ @khemaridh

[15:00] - “You just become a part of people’s behavior. And habit. And that’s by consistency and delivering value.” ~ @khemaridh

[34:45] - “Stop trying to put [thought leadership and SEO] all into one. You’ll be a jack of all trades, master of none. You’re going to not be great at SEO. Your readers are going to find it boring. And you’re not going to have fun writing it.” ~ @khemaridh

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone, or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

How Speaking English as a Second Language (& Living Outside the US) Impacts Creators with Sara Brunettini Aug 24, 2022

Creators strive to be authentic, but it’s not easy navigating the nuances of your second language while being yourself. Content creator, mentor, and Meta product designer Sara Brunettini realized that if she wanted to grow her audience she had to shake off the fear of looking “silly”.

Sara is from Italy and she put off learning English until she moved to the UK. She quickly learned that if she wanted to tap into the opportunities in the English-speaking creator economy she needed to take the leap and make content in English. It felt uncomfortable at first but she learned to embrace her accent as a strength and differentiator rather than a weakness.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk with Sara about the impacts of being a multilingual or bilingual creator who makes content for an English-speaking audience.

Key Takeaways

[00:55] - Have you heard?
- [01:10] - Snapchat has hit 1,000,000 paid subscribers.
- [04:30] - Instagram is now a video tool and apps like LinkedIn are following suit.
- [07:13] - Jay Clouse hit his annual goal of members for his creator community, The Lab.
[07:51] - Today’s main topic: How speaking English as a second language impacts creators.
- [07:58] - An intro to Sara’s content creation and her main streams of income.
- [11:31] - How Sara decided to create content in English instead of Italian with help from her boyfriend.
- [16:18] - The impact of creating content in a second language.
- [23:24] - Choosing a dominant language for the content you create.
- [25:33] - The creator economy in Italy.
- [27:24] - Accents overshadowing the content created.
- [29:53] - Building an audience in the U.S. vs. Europe.
- [32:55] - The benefit of being based outside the U.S. as a content creator.
- [36:41] - Changing the mindset of supporting creators from different countries that speak different languages.
- [41:56] - The importance of sabbaticals.
- [45:56] - A sneak peek at the next episode.

Quotes

[04:48] - “LinkedIn has done a pretty good job of catering to the creator community because the creator economy is where the future is.” - @HaleyJanicek

[19:03] - “I think it also gave me strength because just moving to a new country where you don't speak the language and everything is really difficult. You want to even be on YouTube, that's like a lot harder for you. And I don’t know Charlie if it’s the same for you, but living in a country where it's not your first language is very challenging.” - @sara_brunettini

[34:10] - “People always admire when I talk about my story and the fact that I changed countries looking for new opportunities. I’m sort of like a hero for my other Italian fellas. You can show them that you don't need to live in a cool big city in the U.S. to succeed.” - @sara_brunettini

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Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

The Importance of Taking a Break as a Creator Aug 17, 2022

As creators, an entrepreneurial spirit often lends itself to fantastic work. Unfortunately, that entrepreneurial energy also makes it difficult for us to justify taking time off. And regardless of your job title, profession, or proclivity for side hustles, it’s no secret that the hustle culture instilled in us by today’s world means taking time off can feel like a step backward rather than a productive step forward.

Both back from month-long sabbaticals, Charli and Haley can speak to the “productivity” they experienced by shutting their eyes, shutting their screens, and silencing their slack notifications for an extended period of time. Not just a luxurious perk of working for ConvertKit, Charli and Haley’s break became a necessary escape from the day-to-day pressures of work and an essential reset before embarking on new ventures.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the challenges of finally taking a moment to unwind, how to ensure time off is actually time off, why vacations don’t have to be luxurious to be restful, and why taking breaks is the best thing you can do for yourself, your business, and an audience hungry for more.

Key Takeaways

[01:33] - Have you heard?
- [01:37] - TikTok is launching a new e-commerce hub.
- [02:57] - YouTube just launched an updated editing UI to help creators quickly pivot to Shorts.
- [04:38] - Despite seeming like a one-man operation, MrBeast has a massive team, something we don’t often realize of our favorite creators.
[06:20] - Today’s main topic: The importance of taking a break as a creator.
- [07:33] - Sometimes it takes a while to unwind when you finally close your laptop and decide to relax.
- [09:19] - Breaks and sabbaticals are great ways to prepare yourself for a career transition.
- [10:23] - Staycations can be just as restful as fantasy, luxury vacations.
- [12:24] - Use tech tools to your advantage. For instance, program Slack to send automated reminders to colleagues while you’re away so you can fully check out without worrying about someone else’s to-do list.
- [13:30] - In other words, checking out of work fully takes proper planning.
- [16:50] - Breaks allow you to create new habits that you maybe didn’t realize were missing from your typical routine.
- [20:26] - Breaks also remind you how important your time is. Find ways to increase efficiencies when you’re back up and running.
- [22:13] - Taking a break can help you spot inefficiencies or anything that isn’t serving you because it forces you out of the routine you’ve built.
- [22:31] - Rest is just as productive as busyness.
- [24:45] - The time and freedom of sabbatical gives many the freedom to launch a new venture. Having space to prioritize what’s important is essential to taking the next step in your life and your career.
- [26:32] - You may even discover new hobbies on a break.
- [29:29] - As a creator, don’t feel guilty for taking proper breaks. Pushing through burnout is notthe best way to recover from burnout.
- [30:21] - Figure out what periods in your business are slower and use that time to take a full, extended break.
- [31:33] - Give your audience a heads up that you’ll be on a complete break. Expectation setting gives you the freedom to enjoy time off without anyone nagging you for updates.
- [33:51] - We all try and accomplish a lot before taking time off. Be OK with not crossing everything off your to-do list. Prioritize the work that will impact your business if it’s left undone and don’t stress about the rest.
[35:07] - Remember to submit a listener shoutout! ConvertKit Sponsor Network is an amazing new feature that even Charli’s taken advantage of.

Quotes

[09:00] - “I think another thing I learned was that I needed more rest than I realized and that it wasn’t until I did slow down that I noticed how tired I was and how burnt out I was. And that the break was not just a fun option for me but that it actually felt necessary.” ~ @charliprangley

[15:04] - “Even though creating is something that I feel inspired to do and that gives me energy, it still takes a lot of energy to put into creating. And just because something’s fun, doesn’t mean it’s not draining you and that you don’t need a break from it.” ~ @charliprangley

[21:10] - “I feel like in a weird way, sabbatical helped me prioritize my time again. It helped me recognize the importance of my time.” ~ @haleyjani

[22:32] - “There’s this fallacy that we feel like the only way that we can be productive is if we’re actually actively doing something. And we forget that not doing something can be just as helpful to a process.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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5 Simple SEO Things That Are Stunting Your Business Growth with Collin Tate Aug 03, 2022

When you’re launching a business, it’s easy to leave SEO on the backburner. But if you ever want your audience to actually find the content you’re working so hard to create, mastering SEO (or at least understanding the basics) is a must.

If you’re confused about SEO, think about the first page of a Google search results page as Main Street: the block shoppers frequently find themselves on every time they’re looking for a new product, service, or solution. The lower your website ranks, the more likely you are to end up in a back alley, or the results that emerge only after page one. Now think about how often shoppers trek to hidden alleyways on the hunt for a new pair of boots.

The moral of the story is the last place you want your site to end up is the back alley. Or page two of a Google search results page. If your SEO tanks and your content is impossible to find online, the hard work you’ve put in to create stellar content goes straight out the window.

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and ConvertKit’s SEO Manager Collin Tate discuss why SEO is essential, how to translate the inner workings of the world wide web, simple ways to drastically improve your SEO, and why a stellar web presence doesn’t always break your budget.

Key Takeaways

[0:55] - Have you heard?
- [01:06] - Squarespace launched a new drag-and-drop website editor which makes website building and customization easier.
- [03:09] - Instagram has defended its decision to prioritize video content.
- [07:10] - TikTok search is now driving Google search as Gen Z prioritizes social platforms over traditional search engines.
[09:42] - Today’s main topic: Using SEO to boost your business.
- [09:47] - SEO or search engine optimization helps people find the content you create online.
- [15:31] - When a site gets “indexed, " the web has found it and added the new content to its index. Once a site is added to the index, users can discover that site on a search results page.
- [16:46] - For the internet to index your site in the first place, make sure Google has permission to crawl your website and focus on optimizing your site’s content.
- [18:21] - There’s a big difference between ranking somewhere on a search results page and ranking highly. To rank highly, research the terms people use to search for your niche and incorporate those into your site’s content.
- [20:58] - Understanding web trends helps you understand your audience, your market, and what terms to embrace versus avoid depending on what’s popular and what’s declining in relevance.
- [22:38] - If you’re in a saturated market, use modifiers to increase the likelihood that you’ll rank highly. For example, “web design” is a broad term that can be modified to something more specific like “web design Bristol, UK.”
- [25:17] - Remember that people searching for your content aren’t robots, they’re people. Don’t just stuff keywords into your blog posts. The writing should still be enticing and relevant.
- [26:23] - Beyond the main keywords or questions consumers ask, think about secondary questions relevant to your product or service.
- [28:00] - Titles and subject lines should be enticing but avoid clickbait. Create believable titles without being sensational.
- [35:05] - Creating consistent content isn’t just helpful when you’re trying to grow your business, consistency improves your SEO. Google factors the “freshness” of content into its algorithm.
- [35:59] - Collaborating with other creators is a great way to boost your search rank.
- [36:46] - Understanding the analytics of your website helps you track and optimize your site’s ranking.
- [38:52] - Google Search Console is a great tool to help gauge how your site's actually ranking across search terms.

Quotes

[12:54] - “That’s what SEO is, making sure that when people search for terms or they’re looking for products, you show up and you’re the top. Those are the basics of SEO and it’s important to get them right. You don’t have to do them perfectly, but you want to do them as well as you can.” ~ @CollinTate

[26:23] - “If you would like to [rank highly on a search results page], you have to dive into the mind of your prospective visitor. What are they looking for? In the piece of content you’re getting ready to create, does it answer the questions, or will it answer the questions that they may have?” ~ @CollinTate

[31:40] - “Write for humans, and when you write for humans, you’re actually writing for the robots. Because if humans love your content, Google will love your content.” ~ @CollinTate

[32:10] - “Everybody is writing content these days. Everybody’s creating content. And if you’re not doing that consistently, somebody’s going to take your spot.” ~ @CollinTate

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Establishing Your Brand Identity Through Design with David Preston and Morgan Kitzmiller Jul 27, 2022

For those of us without a natural artistic gene, designing our brand from scratch can feel incredibly daunting. Even professional designers work tirelessly to perfect a brand’s launch or relaunch. Luckily, designers say it’s not worth overthinking the details, especially at the start. Taking small steps forward while continuing to focus on what’s most important, creating content, will get you to your destination in one well-designed piece.

Take it from David Preston, a Senior Marketing Designer at ConvertKit responsible for ConvertKit’s stellar brand design, and Morgan Kitzmiller, an account manager at ConvertKit and aspiring designer who’s designing a brand of her own on the side.

In this episode, David, Morgan, and Miguel discuss how to start designing when the task feels overwhelming, when it’s acceptable to settle for an imperfect look, practical tips and promising tools for developing your aesthetic, the right time to change your style, and the wrong time to hit refresh on a rebrand.

Key Takeaways

[00:53] - An intro to David and Morgan.
[03:39] - Have you heard?
- [03:44] - Meta is adding exclusive content options for paying subscribers to help creators build their audience.
- [06:32] - A newsletter from Justin Welsh reminds us that doing what we’re passionate about makes goal-setting and discipline far easier.
- [08:47] - Shopify has launched a Sell On YouTube feature and is moving toward live shopping experiences.
[10:37] - Today’s main topic: Establishing your brand identity through design.
- [11:14] - Design begins with an idea. Ask yourself, what is the thing you’re designing about? What is the goal of it?
- [12:35] - Sometimes design is approached through a problem-solving lens, other times it’s purely creative. Regardless, each project lends itself to creative constraints that designers have to consider before diving in.
- [14:08] - Creating a brand and brand identity is daunting because there’s no single output, you’re creating several assets that complement a larger theme. Start by brainstorming a few words that you feel describe your brand and go from there.
- [15:07] - Don’t let design perfectionism stop you from releasing a brand and creating content.
- [19:55] - In a practical sense, you don’t have to pick an entire color rainbow all at once. Focus on just one primary color and one accent color to start.
- [21:41] - Unless you’re a design content creator, you can get away with having imperfect branding on day one.
- [23:25] - In the early days of design, be on the lookout for things you like that you see out in the world. A folder of design inspiration goes a long way.
- [25:22] - If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to rebrand. Just be mindful of timing. Rebranding during your busiest sales month isn’t great.
- [26:52] - On the flip side, a fresh rebrand can win back former and new followers, subscribers, and clientele.
- [28:55] - If you are making big brand changes, have a clear path forward in mind and communicate that brand change to your audience ahead of time.
- [29:16] - Avoid multiple back-to-back rebrands.
- [29:27] - Repeating brand ideas, whether that be visual or otherwise, is a great way to help users remember you.
[32:30] - Today’s listener shoutout: Morgan’s side hustle, root and rise, helps women stop binging and restricting and start building strength and confidence through health and fitness.
[37:41] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[12:14] - “Really getting clear on what is the goal of the thing you’re creating first can help inform some of the other decisions that you make like the design itself, what is on that page or image, what does the writing look like, what do the colors look like.” ~ @morgankitzmiller

[17:14] - “When you get so focused on the big picture of a website, a logo, colors, images, everything and you're so focused on perfecting it, it can be a really good excuse to not actually do the work itself which is where you’ll actually learn the most about yourself, your brand, and what you want that brand to be to people that are finding it and consuming it, and interacting with you.” ~ @morgankitzmiller

[35:29] - “I am a designer for a living and even I will advocate for, choose the thing that is as simple as possible that can get the job done.” ~ David Preston

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How To Make a Living From Sponsorships with Armando Roggio and Jay Clouse Jul 20, 2022

Income from Adsense and digital products may pay a bill or two. But most creators take their dreams full-time with the help of paid sponsorships.

Thankfully, brands are finally seeing the value in creator services and they’re paying accordingly. As a creator, ignoring sponsored opportunities now means ignoring major revenue. But spending hours searching for brand partners, negotiating rates, and cutting deals aren’t the things you dreamed of doing as a full-time creator.

Eager to help creators earn what they’re worth without sacrificing time spent doing what they love, ConvertKit’s Armando Roggio developed the Sponsorship Network. ConvertKit’s Sponsorship Network acts as an agent for large and emerging creators, connecting brands with the best creator fit and negotiating on a creator’s behalf.

In this episode, Creator Jay Clouse, Armando, and Miguel discuss why today’s content creators are uniquely valuable to brands, how the Sponsorship Network adds value to brands and creators, and why sponsorships are the key to unlocking a life you love.

Key Takeaways

[00:47] - Today’s listener shoutout: Jay Clouse’s podcast, Creative Elements, just launched a video show.
[01:49] - Have you heard?
- [02:02] - Elon Musk is backing out of his deal to buy Twitter and Twitter is not pleased, especially as Musk defames the company on his way out.
- [03:54] - An old video from Paul Saffo has resurfaced in which he claims the creator economy’s primary value is high engagement.
[09:06] - Today’s main topic: Making a living with sponsorships.
- [10:36] - ConvertKit’s new Sponsorship Network initiative is a way for ConvertKit to act as an agent for creators and sell sponsorships to brands on their behalf.
- [12:34] - ConvertKit’s Sponsorship Network not only adds value to creators but also speeds up the process for brands who typically have to go through an extensive search process to find the right creative partner.
- [15:34] - Creators should spend time doing what they do best. Having someone handle the backend of sponsorship administration and negotiation allows creators to focus on providing value to brands.
- [19:23] - To qualify for the ConvertKit Sponsorship Network, you have to have 10,000 or more subscribers, send an editorial newsletter at least weekly, and have an audience that’s solidly engaged.
- [22:16] - Once you’ve generated a large following, it makes economic sense to offload sales and sponsorship negotiations.
- [22:47] - Emerging creators are still valuable to brands because mid-size creators still have highly engaged audiences.
- [25:18] - Especially given the new iOS update, open rates are less compelling than ever. Focus on the quality of your list over the quantity by removing unengaged subscribers.
- [30:11] - The influencer market in the United States is worth about $16 billion.
- [33:15] - Even if it’s not through ConvertKit, and even if you don't have 10,000 subscribers yet, pursue sponsorships however you can.
[36:52] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[13:05] - “If you think about these companies, they could choose to buy ads on the Meta platform or on Google, and frankly they do. But they know that the creators have a special relationship with their audiences that is not replicated on Facebook or anywhere. And by advertising with the creator, the brands believe, and I think this is true, that a little bit of trust is passed from the creator to the audience regarding that brand.” ~ @armandoroggio

[17:36] - “A lot of us got here because our ‘customer’ is our audience and we want to serve them and do right by them. The more time you spend focusing on sponsor negotiation and administration, you start to get confused as to who you’re serving. And it can get the flywheel in the wrong direction. So it’s helpful to work with somebody to make all that streamlined to make sure everybody’s winning and allow us to have as much time as possible to foster the audience and continue to develop that relationship.” ~ @jayclouse

[34:05] - “As a creator, don’t leave sponsorship money on the table. There’s an opportunity here. The content that you create has value. And working with sponsors that have products you love who are also willing to help you make a living and continue to create is something you should pursue.” ~ @armandoroggio

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add...

Balancing Mental Health and Goal Achievement with Ben Schoeffler and Caitlin Zarrella Jul 13, 2022

Every action changes the biochemistry of your brain. Not many of us think about that when running errands, slogging through a 9-5, or scrolling mindlessly on social media. But as creators, the way we work and manage our mental health can mean the difference between a thriving side hustle and another creative project left by the wayside.

ConvertKit team members Ben Schoeffler and Caitlin Zarrella are both passionate about mental health and pursuing creative endeavors. As they can attest, without a boss to hold you accountable, give you praise, or help out when your workload gets tough, finding ways to stay motivated, passionate, and happy about your creative pursuits is tough.

In this episode, Miguel, Ben, and Caitlin discuss the ways in which creators can pursue goals without succumbing to burnout and discouragement, the simple art of successful goal-setting, and how creators can transform stress into fuel and dread into dopamine.

Key Takeaways

[00:52] - Have you heard?
- [01:00] - Creators can now buy insurance for their Instagram accounts.
- [02:45] - Creators.Google is a community blog with advice for creators.
[04:14] - Balancing mental health and goal achievement.
- [04:47] - Learn to manage stress before your side hustle becomes a full-time gig that’s twice as stressful.
- [10:28] - The pressure to always be creating or iterating on your craft can cause resistance to the hobby you originally loved.
- [11:28] - When it comes to battling depression, continuing to move and stay active with hobbies can improve your mental health significantly.
- [15:47] - The pandemic led many creators to burn out because the endless time had no structure and therefore no boundaries.
- [18:01] - Struggling to push through a learning curve prevents many of us from acquiring new skills.
- [20:03] - Reframe the learning curve as teaching yourself how not to do something versus telling yourself you’re unskilled.
- [21:01] - To prevent immediate discouragement, pick a date or milestone and don’t evaluate your progress until you’ve hit that milestone.
- [22:18] - Train yourself to fall in love with practicing because that’s how most of your time will be spent until you’re an absolute expert.
- [26:03] - Your perspective on the activity that’s difficult impacts the amount of dopamine your body releases while striving to accomplish it.
- [30:00] - Spiking your dopamine to the max will ultimately leave you feeling depleted. Focus on activities that push your dopamine without raising it through the roof.
- [31:08] - What you consume online impacts your brain chemistry just like the food you consume impacts your mood and biochemistry.
- [36:43] - Break big goals into smaller pieces so you can celebrate small wins and keep moving forward without frequent discouragement.
[38:37] - Angel at ConvertKit does great live workshops. The next workshop is Thursday, July 14th.

Quotes

[05:27] - “Not everyone has a side hustle, maybe they're just in the incubation phase. Being able to manage your mental health with your hobby right now is kind of like the training grounds, so that when you do make that leap, if you decide to, and start maybe charging for services or products, that steps things up a little bit and makes it so you’ve got more skin in the game so there’s more stress involved. If you can really manage that stress in the beginning, it makes things a lot easier.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

[34:33] - “I still have my Instagram account, it’s active, but I don’t have it on my phone because it consumes too much all the time. And if I do want to pursue these goals of learning the piano or lifting or whatever, there’s just not a lot of room for social media in my mental space.” ~ Caitlin Zarrella

[38:21] - “We think there’s always an end goal like, ‘we have achieved happiness now we can just remain here for 30 years.’ Happiness is not a destination, it's just a process that we can find ways to fall in love with.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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Budgeting Time and Money as a Creator Jun 29, 2022

For many people, budgeting is simple. You take your income, subtract your expenses, and figure out what to do with the rest. Do you save? Invest? Splurge?

As a creator, your life is your business. And that makes budgeting, investing, and managing your money more complicated. The questions you ask yourself aren’t simply, “can I pay my bills and save for retirement this month?” But also, “how much will I owe in taxes?”, “how do I scale my operation?” and “is this a smart business investment?”

While everyone’s business, financial situation, and money mindset are different, there are guiding principles to help answer the tough money questions as a creator, and even help determine if you should be putting a penny down in the first place.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss how to get comfortable investing as an entrepreneur, which side hustles to consider if you’re worried about an upfront cost, and the three important questions every creator should ask themselves before spending a dollar.

Key Takeaways

[00:42] - Have you heard?
- [01:56] - Instagram will be prioritizing NFTs as an additional place for creators to share their work.
- [04:13] - In the U.K., it is now illegal for clients to have payment terms longer than 30 days.
- [07:50] - Meta will continue not to take a financial cut from creators.
[09:10] - Today’s main topic: Budgeting your time and money as a creator.
- [10:53] - As a creator, you have to determine what will happen if you don’t see a return on your investment.
- [12:54] - It can take time to get comfortable spending money on your business. Some wait to invest in their business until they know they’ll see a return or until they’re financially stable.
- [15:44] - Losing money is a part of entrepreneurship. You have to be comfortable with a little risk or your business will never grow.
- [18:56] - Just like your retirement investments, you’re in entrepreneurship for the long game. Don’t stop just because you had a down month.
- [20:03] - On the flip side, you shouldn’t invest in your business irresponsibly. There has to be a business justification behind every investment decision.
- [24:56] - A business that relies on physical products is financially riskier.
- [28:24] - Psychologically, people tend to justify escalating their commitment to something based on how much they’ve already invested. To avoid that trap, don’t spend money on your business that you’re not willing to lose.
- [31:12] - Remind yourself of milestones that your investments have helped you reach. Those milestones help you rationalize future investments.
- [33:20] - Don’t let perfectionism stop you from launching a business or side hustle. Your business is something you can grow into.
- [36:02] - Ask yourself what type of business model works for you financially and emotionally. Not all businesses require massive upfront investments.
- [40:18] - A creator’s money strategy depends on the creator.
[41:29] - Today’s listener shoutout: ConvertKit writer Isa Adney recently published a wonderful story.
[42:49] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[19:28] - “That’s something that entrepreneurs have to get comfortable with, they just have to get comfortable with being able to zoom out and say, ‘ok I might have a down month this month but it doesn’t mean I should panic and throw in the towel.’ If you can’t do that, then you should not be an entrepreneur.” ~ @haleyjani

[32:58] - “That’s exactly what a psychologist would tell you to do is say, ok, you’re going to spend this amount of money and you’re going to try at it for a year. And if in a year you haven’t passed this threshold, then you need to reassess and not keep escalating your commitment to it. Because at some point it’s just a money pit.” ~ @miguelp.img

[36:37] - “That’s the beauty of being a digital content creator or doing any sort of thing digital online is you really can do it all yourself to get started with. There’s not anything that you have to spend money on in order to get started.” ~ @charliprangley

[40:18] - “Don’t let anyone tell you there’s one right way to budget or one right amount you should be spending on your business as a creator.” ~ @charliprangley

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

Succeeding as a Creator Outside of a Creative Hub with Whitney Manney Jun 22, 2022

It’s not where you are or who you’re with, but what you create. If you’ve ever felt like success as a creator is limited to the humdrum town you’re in, miles from a traditionally “creative” city, meet Fashion Designer Whitney Manney.

Kansas City, Missouri may not be the fashion capital of the world, but it’s a place where Whitney has taken root. And if you ask Whitney, the humble surroundings of her hometown have led to more opportunities than obstacles.

She’s built a community in Kansas City, has grown her business alongside lifelong peers, and affords a space that’s unattainable in cities like New York or Los Angeles. Finding creative communities may be harder, but it’s far from impossible. And the pressures of surviving in a cut-throat creative hub disappear.

However, while creating without pressure is helpful for some, for others, distance from a dream takes a toll.

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and Whitney discuss how to thrive creatively regardless of where you create, how Whitney learned to embrace her hometown, how she lands incredible design gigs despite the distance, and how Whitney stays true to a style much different than the aesthetic around her.

Key Takeaways

[01:14] - Have you heard?
- [01:22] - Due to a recent court ruling in the U.K, Meta’s acquisition of Giphy is now in limbo.
- [03:59] - Japan expects PewDiePie’s move to increase tourism.
[06:25] - Today’s main topic: Succeeding as a creator when you don’t live in a main creative hub.
- [06:44] - Before the internet, living in a place like Missouri was significantly harder and Whitney’s instinct was to get out, especially with fashion aspirations. Now, that desire to leave has decreased dramatically.
- [08:28] - Whitney has embraced creativity in Kansas City rather than tolerated it. Because she’s always lived there, she has a built-in community and has grown professionally alongside peers.
- [11:54] - Whitney was able to develop and sustain her own unique style without feeling limited by her city’s aesthetic.
- [14:55] - Part of embracing where you live is embracing what makes you different from that place.
- [17:27] - The beauty of staying in one place is the ability to build your business from the ground up and watch it flourish locally.
- [18:05] - Especially in your early career, there are advantages to being uniquely creative in a small city. You can experiment with your work and content without the daily stress of survival.
- [19:54] - Living outside of a “creative” city also takes the pressure off having to constantly create and keep up with those around you. You have the freedom to move at a pace that’s sustainable for you.
- [21:01] - Whitney landed a major fashion gig despite living outside of a typical fashion city.
- [27:24] - When you have the opportunity to, it’s important to pull in other creators from the “non-creative” city you’re from.
- [29:21] - You can find a creative community anywhere, it just takes a little extra digging in some places. Don’t discount local creatives near you.
[32:48] - Today’s listener shoutout: Whitney herself recently started a partnership with Velcro brand, has hired staff, and relaunched her website.
[35:07] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[08:02] - “I really feel like I’m supposed to be here. And what I’m doing here is important and hopefully, the people after me that decide to be creatives here, hopefully I have helped make it a little easier.” ~ @whitneymanney

[17:26] - “The thing that I love about being based in KC is that I have genuinely built this thing from the ground up. I can have complete ownership of what this business, what my studio practice, has looked like.” ~ @whitneymanney

[19:14] - “If I move to LA or New York, I’m going to be so worried about just surviving, that I feel like I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time and brain power that I need to be a creative.” ~ @whitneymanney

[32:16] - “You really do have to think about, what opportunities exist in my community that I can take advantage of, but [also] what is that one opportunity that I can create for myself this year? And I can do it so well that people are like, ‘ok, we’re paying attention to this person.’” ~ @whitneymanney

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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When Did Everybody Become a Content Creator? [Let’s Discuss] Jun 15, 2022

Do you consider yourself a creator? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. According to a recent Vox article, more people than ever are referring to themselves as “content creators.” From social media influencers to fashion designers, that term encompasses a wide breadth of professions.

Regardless of their specialty, the most successful content creators of our generation can teach job-seekers and corporations a thing or two about digital marketing. But what does it actually mean to be a content creator? Who’s using that term and is it a fair description for the work creators produce and the grind behind turning your life into a cycle of self-promotion?

In this episode, Charli and Haley discuss the merits of the term “content creator”, why so many people are referring to themselves as one, the expectations versus the reality of becoming an online personality, and the invaluable skills we can all learn from content creators, regardless of what we call them and who they are.

Key Takeaways

[00:55] - Have you heard?
- [01:03] - Instagram is now releasing Amber Alerts.
- [03:23] - Apple announced updates to their new operating system. One new feature is the ability to copy and paste items out of Apple photos.
[07:03] - Today’s main topic: When did everybody become a content creator?
- [08:39] - Content creator is such a vague term it’s unclear what work aspiring content creators are actually producing.
- [09:17] - Because content creator is a catch-all term, is it the creators referring to themselves as such or are there certain types of creators that more commonly call themselves content creators?
- [12:18] - It seems like everyone has become a content creator these days, whether they signed up for it or not. And regardless if you chose to become one, every person with an audience on social media is responsible for the content they share.
- [13:47] - The boundaries of who and who isn’t a creator have become increasingly irrelevant.
- [14:11] - While working as a content creator is an exciting and stimulating option, many don’t realize the 24-7 workload that comes along with it. Boundaries as a creator aren’t just important, they’re essential.
- [17:56] - Because the term content creator is so vague, many startups label themselves as a “creator-first” platform. However, not every “creator-first” company serves creators properly.
- [20:29] - Creators, particularly social media influencers, are in the unique position of relying on their personality for financial success.
- [21:59] - Content creator skills are in-demand across all industries and all platforms.
[30:58] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[16:22] - “There’s a lot of FOMO around content creation because it seems so easy to do – and it is so easy, really, to be a creator. We have the tools on us right now, you probably have it in your pocket. But, it’s also really difficult to make money from.” ~ @charliprangley

[20:10] - “That is where I think the creator economy right now is. There are so many people that are jumping in to take advantage of it and not truly understanding the problems that creators have.” ~ @haleyjani

[28:53] - “Those are the skills that content creators are really, really, really exceptional at. They’re really exceptional at showing their business and the marketing component and being themselves.” ~ @haleyjani

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone, or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

State of the Creator Economy Report Jun 01, 2022

Life moves quickly. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a breath and reflect. After more than two years of unprecedented times and a creator economy that feels stronger than ever, ConvertKit has decided it’s time for a temperature check on the creator economy. The State of the Creator Economy Report for 2022 has officially been released and what better time than now to break down the most interesting, discouraging, and surprising takeaways from this year’s report.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel dive into their favorite aspects of the report, theorizing on data points that shocked them, drawing conclusions from results that encouraged them, and offering advice for creators struggling with growth, monetization, and morale. From the ways creators are earning, the content creators are producing, and the mediums creators are consistently using, here’s everything you need to know about the State of the Creator Economy in 2022.

Key Takeaways

[01:00] - Have you heard?
- [01:05] - Instagram is working on a video reaction option for reels, drawing inspiration from TikTok’s current video reaction feature.
- [02:56] - Halsey claims her record company won’t release her album unless she comes up with a way to create a viral moment on TikTok.
- [04:15] - ConvertKit is hosting Craft + Commerce next month – the first conference in two years!
[07:46] - Today’s main topic: The State of the Creator Economy Report
- [10:14] - Data suggests a gender pay gap within the creator economy.
- [14:00] - Why traditional gender roles may play a part in the gender pay gap.
- [15:31] - Creators tend to sell services and digital products more than subscriptions and memberships. In other words, creators are focusing on creating one-off products rather than recurring sources of income.
- [17:16] - The place where creators are launching their businesses has shifted from blogs to Instagram.
- [19:31] - Instagram can be a portfolio for creators, more so than traditional blogs and websites. However, Instagram is one of the hardest places to build an audience.
- [20:32] - Surprisingly, TikTok was underutilized among creators in comparison to email and Instagram. However, it’s possible the ConvertKit sphere of influence skewed that data.
- [22:49] - Creators in higher income brackets are sending emails more consistently. They’re also likely to value email above paid ads and social.
- [25:15] - In 2021, creators’ main goal was to grow their audience. In 2022, creators’ main goal is income growth.
- [26:59] - You don’t need a huge email list to earn a living. True fans matter.
- [28:25] - Creators in the highest income bracket did report a higher level of happiness than creators in lower-income brackets.
- [31:09] - This report proved that there’s a market for every specialty.
- [33:31] - Full-time creators tend to focus more on business strategy.
[38:30] - Today’s listener shoutout! There were no listener shoutouts so let’s talk about Haley. Haley has been feeling very creative and recently did a branding photoshoot for a friend. She’s also diving into a brand new creative project – details to come.
[40:07] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[28:13] - “It’s really about true fans. And if you can get those true fans on your email list, that’s what you need. So start sooner, start now. There’s no better time than now.” ~ @haleyjani

[34:30] - “It’s just interesting that most people were full-on entrepreneurs but there were very few full-on DIYers or full-on artists.” ~ @miguelp.img

[37:20] - “I think it’s honestly about showing the creative artist types the monetization options available to them. You don’t have to teach people marketing to be able to earn a living as a creator and be a full-time creator. There are options out there and I think that we just need to do a better job of educating creators on what they could be and opening their eyes to it.” ~ @charliprangley

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

Creativity Feedback Loops (And Their Impact on Mental Health for Creators) May 25, 2022

Creator or not, we’ve all experienced burnout to some degree. You throw yourself into a side passion or new business and before you know it, you’re struggling to stay motivated and downright exhausted. While the feeling is familiar, many of us are less familiar with what leads to burnout besides simply “overworking”, how long it takes to bounce back from burnout, and the best ways to rest and recover.

As creators, burnout is often exacerbated by the constant feedback we receive, positive or otherwise. Listening to a never-ending loop of opinions about everything you create is enough to exhaust the toughest among us. But are there ways to combat the inevitable commentary that comes with being a public creator? And how can you recharge without falling back into burnout the moment you start working again?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the recent ConvertKit article, Creativity Feedback Loops, outlining why creators face an uphill battle with burnout, how some creators are addressing feedback burnout head-on, the plus side to frequent feedback, the right way to rest, and what creators should consider before monetizing their passion.

Key Takeaways

[00:27] - Have you heard?
- [00:37] - ConvertKit just released a report entitled State Of The Creator Economy 2022 that covers a holistic overview of the creator economy, including data and statistics on creator types, status, gender distribution, monetization, and more.
- [02:32] - Twitter has created a space for “super followers” only.
- [04:14] - The co-hosts of the podcast Reply All are leaving Gimlet, a podcast network that was recently acquired by Spotify. They’re not the first podcast hosts to leave post-acquisition.
[08:26] - Today’s main topic: Creativity Feedback Loops.
- [09:29] - Online feedback is ruthlessly honest. While difficult to swallow, it can be incredibly constructive.
- [10:51] - Data shows that Gen Z creators in particular are expecting kindness from their followers more than ever before. In fact, Gen Z creators are choosing their platform based on said platform’s enforcement of respectful comments.
- [12:26] - While negative feedback can be helpful, it can also be the thing that tips you over the edge and propels you into burnout.
- [13:55] - Burnout isn’t something you recover from quickly – so it’s important to be mindful of how you’re working and how often you’re giving yourself a break.
- [15:31] - As a creator, ideas are your currency. To keep the ideas flowing, you have to prioritize rest. In other words, resting is investing in your business.
- [17:24] - Having a full-time job takes the pressure off living and breathing your craft 24-7 just to survive.
- [18:58] - Balance means something different to everybody. You have to figure out what works for you.
- [21:01] - Learning to say no can save you from burnout.
- [24:03] - Intellectual burnout can be just as challenging for creators as physical burnout.
- [24:38] - The idea of monetizing creativity in itself induces burnout.
- [25:56] - You have to go into life as a creator with the clear understanding that creativity is a business. The business side of monetization is incredibly draining for some. To avoid burnout, consider outsourcing those aspects of your life.
- [28:10] - Sometimes you have to walk away from something good to avoid burnout.
[30:37] - Today’s listener shoutout: Melanie is a video creator currently working on a documentary series on her YouTube channel. She recently posted her 11th episode.
[31:47] - Craft & Commerce 2022 is coming up! The first live conference since Covid began.
[34:11] - A quick sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[14:28] - “It can take weeks, months, or even years to really recover from burnout depending on how burnt out you are and what sort of situation is waiting for you after whatever break that you take. So you have to be really mindful about setting yourself up for success when you take those breaks.” ~ @miguelp.img

[16:38] - “Having rest when you're burnt out versus having rest as margin for yourself to give space to relax and have ideas are two very different stages of being. You’re not going to get the ideas when you’re burnt out – that’s your recovery time.” ~ @charliprangley

[26:02] - “You have to go into the creator world, if you’re looking to monetize your creativity, with the understanding and realization that being a creator is a business. So if you don’t have all of those business inputs figured out, then you’re really going to struggle [with burnout].” ~ @haleyjani

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Useful Apps for Creators That You’ve Never Heard Of May 11, 2022

Whether you’re an emerging creator, established TikToker, or you’re just hoping to scale an expanding side hustle, we could all use a little support. Thankfully, as the creator economy expands, so do businesses looking to elevate creators through focusing tools, monetization apps, and even hubs for influencer pay transparency. While they’re moving mountains for today’s creators, these incredible apps may not be tools you’ve ever heard of. So let’s change that.

In this episode, Charli and Miguel break down their favorite apps for creators that have largely gone unnoticed. From website hacks to social platforms for female and non-binary entrepreneurs, here’s everything you can utilize as a creator on the rise.

Key Takeaways

[00:49] - Have you heard?
- [01:00] - The term “creator economy” has become commonly used only over the past year-and-a-half.
- [02:40] - Twitter Circle is a feature similar to Instagram’s “close friends” feature. It allows you to add up to 150 people who can see your “private” tweets.
[07:04] - Today’s main topic: Apps for creators you’ve probably never heard of.
- [07:22] - Coolors is a color palette generator perfect for creators looking to redesign their content without paying top dollar for a professional designer.
- [09:17] - Sunroom is a safe and secure app designed to amplify women and non-binary people looking to monetize their businesses.
- [11:56] - Ulysses is a fantastic app for long-form writing. The app helps you focus and arrange your thoughts.
- [14:51] - FYPM shows you what other influencers are getting paid for similar campaigns with similar brands.
- [19:22] - Ambients generates different “environment” noises to help creators focus.
- [22:17] - Clashapp helps short-form video creators earn revenue directly from fans.
- [27:51] - Forrest App incentivizes you to focus without distraction.
- [30:42] - TinyPNG is a great app for anyone with a blog or website. It shrinks your website loading time by compressing images you add without affecting the image’s quality.
[32:29] - Today’s listener shoutout! Alejandro Castanon is an artist and advisor who recently filed his LLC and two separate DBAs for his art business.
[33:41] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[11:40] - “At one stage, TikTok was the little unknown thing that a few people were starting to use, right? And we never know what is going to be the next TikTok. Maybe it could be Sunroom, who knows. Check it out, be an early adopter.” ~ @charliprangley

[14:30] - “When you’re doing something creative, how you feel when you’re doing it is so important.” ~ @miguelp.img

[17:46] - “You have this temptation to price yourself in a competitive way so then you’ll undersell what you do because of the fear of losing out on it and you figure, ‘hey at least getting paid for something is better than not getting paid at all’, and then you sort of talk yourself down on your asking price.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

Making Videos for YouTube with Henry Thong May 04, 2022

In 10th grade, Henry Thong took media studies, thinking it’d be a chance for him to slack off. Instead, he discovered a passion for videography that transformed his career aspirations and redefined his future. Henry pursued film seriously from that point on, entering festivals at every chance he got and following the Casey Neistat philosophy of constantly creating content and sharing as much of it with the world as possible.

That content push paid off once professionals started spotting Henry’s docuseries on YouTube. Always fascinated by the lives of fellow creators, his passion for telling artists' stories landed him a job producing video content at ConvertKit. But ConvertKit was far from his first career opportunity. Henry knew he couldn’t abandon his side projects, and only pursued jobs that allowed him to balance both.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Henry discuss Henry’s advice for filmmakers looking to share their work and gain a following on YouTube, tips beyond beating the notoriously tricky algorithm, how to network with artists that feel out of reach, and how Henry balances a full-time job with the passion projects that fuel him.

Key Takeaways

[00:37] - Have you heard?
- [00:42] - An I Am A Creator film that Henry created was nominated for a Telly Award. ConvertKit’s I Am A Creator website is also nominated for a Webby Award.
- [02:06] - Elon Musk is officially the new owner of Twitter.
- [03:17] - A creator is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
- [04:02] - CNN+ was canceled a month after its launch due to the WarnerMedia Discovery merger.
[05:06] - Today’s main topic: Making videos for YouTube.
- [05:42] - How Henry built his career as a filmmaker.
- [12:16] - The best way to build momentum on YouTube and the debate on short-form vs long-form content.
- [15:26] - Henry’s tips and tricks for generating organic traffic on YouTube and beating the algorithm.
- [21:19] - How Henry maintains healthy boundaries between his personal work and his ConvertKit projects and how he manages to sustain his side hustle while working a full-time job.
- [25:09] - What Henry learned pursuing a major passion project in addition to full-time work and why he eventually decided to put that passion project on pause.
- [29:42] - Charli’s perspective on short-form vs long-term content.
- [34:47] - How Henry networks with artists and creators, including those with mass followers that may feel “unreachable.”
- [38:38] - Charli’s and Haley’s closing thoughts on Henry’s advice.
- [40:22] - One thing Henry is incredibly proud of.
[42:05] - Today’s listener shoutout! Kurt Libby recently launched a new app called HuntMob where anyone can create photo scavenger hunts. You can plug in your ConvertKit API key to directly grow your email list through the scavenger hunt.
[43:14] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[13:18] - “When it comes to the algorithm, it’s so dangerous to play to the algorithm because it’s always changing. It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve. The longer-form content always ends up being better for audience experience. So there’s a lot of factors that influence your decision-making: It’s what you want to achieve with it and who do you want to reach?” ~ @henryzw

[20:01] - “As with every social media platform, you’ve gotta think about it as more of a partnership with that company. What can you do with your content to keep people on their site for longer? Because in the end, YouTube just wants people to stay on there forever.” ~ @henryzw

[32:57] - “Choose whichever format or run time that best fits your creative vision and then find ways to make that work.” ~ @henryzw

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Every week we celebrate a win from a listener.

Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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How Creators Can Grow On Twitter Through Threads Apr 20, 2022

What’s your platform of choice? TikTok? YouTube? Twitter? After setting a simple goal to grow, ConvertKit CEO Nathan Barry decided to shift his efforts to one medium rather than spreading himself thin everywhere. The result was a dramatic increase in Twitter followers and high levels of engagement across his posts. So what was the secret to Nathan’s retweet increase?

The truth is, you don’t have to get lucky with a viral tweet or achieve that coveted blue checkmark to grow on Twitter. Tweets that educate and tell a story garner great engagement all the same. Luckily, Twitter threads accomplish those goals in a way that’s shareable and digestible. And accumulating solid Twitter friends quick to engage with those posts makes threads even more attractive to the algorithmic powers that be.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk with Nathan about why threads can help creators grow their audience on Twitter, how to distinguish your thread content from other tweeters, and why you don’t need comedic genius and expert copywriting skills to rack up the favorites and grow a solid following.

Key Takeaways

[01:04] - Have you heard?
- [01:10] - Meta is discussing charging content creators an almost 50% cut to create VR content.
- [03:20] - TikTok released a private beta for Effect House – an AR tool for TikTok.
- [03:51] - A large majority of Etsy sellers are going on strike because Etsy increased their seller’s fee from 5 to 6.5 percent.
- [06:30] - Sam Altman sourced image ideas for DALL-E on Twitter. DALL-E is an AI program that creates images from text descriptions.
- [08:41] - Elon Musk ultimately declined a position on Twitter’s board.
[10:48] - Today’s main topic: How to grow as a creator using Twitter threads.
- [11:43] - Why Twitter? Nathan understands Twitter more than other growth platforms. He ultimately chose to focus on Twitter versus diluting his efforts across multiple platforms.
- [14:53] - Find a group of Twitter users with strong followings that have similar goals. Twitter’s algorithm favors quote tweets and engagements that happen within the first 10 minutes of a post. Having friends to consistently interact with your posts expedites your growth.
- [20:28] - You can ask for support without being a nuisance. Frame outreach as a desire for education versus a desire for favorites. Share your posts with creators and ask for advice.
- [24:14] - Threads have been a huge part of Nathan’s growth on Twitter because thread virality doesn’t require a perfectly written line of copy. He recommends repurposing blogs, telling stories, and using visuals.
- [35:56] - Adapt your threads to follow the format. In other words, each tweet should be a standalone tweet.
- [39:06] - Twitter and Twitter threads garner the most success when creators dedicate their time to Twitter or have spent time creating on other platforms and carry that content over to Twitter.
[40:12] - Today’s listener shoutout! Rachel Brown is growing a bookstagram account and recently started receiving advance reader copies from publishers.
[41:26] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[25:46] - “Threads are interesting because you can really teach something. Which, that’s my format. If you look at all my content it’s not entertainment content it’s all education content. The thread lends itself really well to that.” ~ Nathan Barry

[28:16] - “Something that I try to do is write threads that only I can write. It’s from my own experience, it’s from something that we’ve learned growing ConvertKit, or it’s from data that we have from the platform.” ~ Nathan Barry

[39:06] - “I think where [Twitter] works the best is, either two things: a creator who can dedicate a ton of time to it and say, this is my primary channel, this is what I’m really gonna emphasize. Or the creator who has spent a lot of time, the past 10 years, creating content on other platforms and has a strong point of view and life experience and all of that and wants to bring that over.” ~ Nathan Barry

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Your Attention Didn’t Collapse. It Was Stolen. Apr 13, 2022

If you’ve noticed that your attention span feels nonexistent, you’re certainly not alone. A recent Guardian piece, Your Attention Didn’t Collapse. It Was Stolen., paints a grim picture of society’s frightening struggle to focus. In a world where technology and social media continue to invade our lives, there’s always an algorithm ready to suck us in. The attention suck is especially hard to escape when not having an iPhone can sometimes mean not having a social life.

But what role do creators have in the attention crisis taking over our lives? After all, creators produce some of the content that’s keeping us glued to our phones. And has the collective attention span decline impacted creators' ability to be productive themselves?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss how creators can create without sucking their audience into an attention-stealing trap, how consumers and creators alike can actively combat the attention span decline, and the link between stress, happiness, and your ability to focus on the work you love.

Key Takeaways

[01:02] - Have you heard?
- [01:21] - Elon Musk bought a lot of Twitter shares and will be getting a seat on Twitter’s board.
- [02:17] - Twitter is working on an edit button.
- [06:42] - BeReal is an app that encourages users to share their real life on social media versus a staged highlight reel.
[08:43] - Today’s main topic: Your Attention Didn’t Collapse. It Was Stolen.
- [10:50] - The forces consuming our attention are so powerful that sometimes the only solution is to physically remove the temptation.
- [14:38] - Creators should focus on serving valuable content that someone briefly focuses on versus stealing their attention away with no underlying purpose other than capital gain.
- [17:15] - There’s also a social expectation to be constantly available and engaged via our phones.
- [20:28] - Fight against the attention deficit by focusing on finding your flow state. To find your flow, focus on achieving a meaningful goal.
- [22:28] - Unfortunately, individuals swearing off distracting apps won’t address the systemic issue. Creators have a larger impact in making distraction meaningful.
- [24:36] - To achieve that flow state, you also have to be intentional with the content you’re surrounding yourself with when you’re creating.
- [26:03] - Find a hobby that forces you to disconnect.
- [27:01] - We as a society need to be intentional with how we disconnect.
- [28:31] - Reducing stress also improves your attention.
- [30:02] - As individuals, we have to set anti-distraction boundaries and windows of focus for ourselves that hold us accountable.
[31:40] - Submit a listener shoutout!
[34:54] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[14:21] - “We as creators need to have downtime in order to produce our greatest work. And we as creators also need to steal the attention of people in order to build and make our business grow and grow our audience. But we also can’t be a product of it as well.” @haleyjani

[14:55] - “There’s a difference between stealing and borrowing. And I would hope that what I at least am aiming to do with my content is borrowing people’s attention. Where it’s kind of like, ‘watch me now, watch how I’m doing this design thing and how I’m handling this process’, and then you’re going to be better equipped to go and do it yourself when you’re giving that your full focus.” ~ @charliprangley

[25:35] - “You have to be deliberate about what you surround yourself with when you’re engaging in something. So when you’re going to create a new piece of content or when you are going to do something that’s like a hobby for you or that you really enjoy, try to set yourself up to have as few distractions as possible.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Managing an Online Publication with Dani Stewart Mar 30, 2022

With practice, anyone can write. But can anyone transform a blog into a full-blown online publication? There’s a big difference between the two, and how you navigate the transition from blog to publication can determine whether your brand develops or your blog stays stagnant.

Dani Stewart, helmer of ConvertKit's blog Tradecraft, knows what it’s like to write, edit, and make that tricky transition. She began her career writing articles but successfully transformed that traffic-generating blog into a legitimate hub for compelling ConvertKit content. Dani’s expanded the operation, brought on new writers and even a blog manager. While she no longer spends her days writing, she is responsible for Tradecraft’s entire operation — a creative endeavor and an enormous challenge in itself.

So what steps can creators take if they’re looking to start a blog or take their existing online presence to the next level? What’s it like to hire writers you trust and learn to delegate, project-manage, and make tough editorial decisions?

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and Dani discuss Dani’s advice for expanding an existing blog, the difference between a blog being your business and your business having a blog, tips for hiring strong writers, what posts to stop writing once your brand becomes big, and why the best blogs are more than just content hubs that drive traffic and boost SEO.

Key Takeaways

[01:21] - Have you heard?
- [01:35] - Instagram is introducing special tags to help elevate black creators and ensure creators receive credit for their original content.
- [02:49] - Apple Podcasts is improving access to listenership metrics for podcast creators.
[04:18] - Today’s main topic: Managing an online publication.
- [04:26] - The difference between a blog and an online publication.
- [06:11] - Dani’s process for managing content on ConvertKit’s blog.
- [09:22] - Why would a business whose “main attraction” isn’t a blog choose to create and sustain a blog?
- [11:07] - The benefits of outsourcing blog management.
- [13:58] - How Dani’s position and type of creativity at work has evolved.
- [15:44] - The most difficult part of transitioning a blog to an online publication.
- [18:06] - How to handle hectic internal staff transitions and why having that buffer between an article’s completion and its publication is so important.
- [21:04] - The tools Dani uses to manage the extensive project management behind ConvertKit’s blog.
- [21:54] - How Dani strategizes content creation.
- [23:42] - How to grow your blog when it’s not in service of a larger entity and is instead trying to grow on its own.
[32:05] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.
[32:27] - Submit a listener shoutout!

Quotes

[16:08] - “An underlying fear I always have is that the people that I always trust that are doing such a great job are gonna move on and do something else. So the hardest part is finding people that you trust.” ~ @danileighstew

[30:52] - “If you are planning on doing it, make sure to take time to set up style guides. If you’re starting to hire people and you want the same voice, you need to be able to show them what that is.” ~ @danileighstew

[31:34] - “Why is your audience coming to you? Is it because you're a straight talker? Is it because it sounds like it’s coming from a friend? Do you use Gifs? Do they comment on certain aspects of your blog posts? Make sure that your writers understand that and can flow with that.” ~ @danileighstew

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Top 7 Mistakes That New Creators Make When Selling a Product with Ben Schoeffler Mar 23, 2022

There is lots of advice out there for aspiring creators. Just remember, the best advice doesn’t always come from entrepreneurs with millions of followers and millions in the bank. In fact, the most valuable advice can sometimes stem from the products, platforms, and ideas that never reached the masses.

No stranger to The Future Belongs to Creators podcast, Support Operations Lead at ConvertKit and former full-time creator Ben Schoeffler wouldn’t exactly consider himself a “success story”. Selling courses, memberships, and everything in between, Ben never quite cracked the product code. But if you’re still toying with the idea of selling online, take Ben’s experience and learn from what worked, what didn’t, and what slipped through the digital cracks.

In this episode, Miguel and Ben discuss the options creators have when it comes to selling online, the failed products that surprised Ben, the product success stories Ben learned from, and why the content creator business model isn’t the only path (or the best path) toward building a livelihood online.

Key Takeaways

[00:45] - Have you heard?
- [00:57] - Vimeo is telling creators they need to pay up or leave the platform.
[03:55] - Today’s main topic: Selling products online 101.
- [04:02] - What we mean by “selling products” online. You can sell a lot of things online including both physical goods and digital products. Digital products are great options for mass-producing while avoiding the mess and stress of the supply chain.
- [04:33] - Ben has sold courses, a membership website offering exclusive podcast episodes, and his time coaching clients individually.
- [06:55] - The mistakes Ben made selling products online.
  - [07:09] - The risks and upside to pre-selling products.
  - [11:46] - Why you’re (probably) not charging enough.
  - [17:18] - How to build the right product.
  - [21:20] - If you’re a new creator, selling products without having an audience that knows, likes, and trusts you is incredibly hard.
  - [25:20] - On the flip side, having an audience doesn’t always translate to sales.
  - [27:32] - Don’t quit your day job too early.
  - [31:39] - Be aware that there are other business models outside of the creator business model. While it’s trending, it may not be right for you.
- [36:28] - Submit yourself for a listener shoutout!
- [36:55] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[17:04] - “Price is a signal to certain things and higher prices oftentimes signal quality. So if you’re confident in your product you should not be scared about charging that higher price.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

[18:08] - “You should build what individuals are asking for. Because you might be saying, ‘Ok, how do I know which product to build?’ Build what a specific individual is asking for, not what everyone or the people are asking for. That’s where I’ve had my most success.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

[23:18] - “If you have someone that knows you, likes you, and trusts you, they’re going to be much more willing to spend money with you.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

[33:27] - “There are lots of other business models out there and some of them are a lot more beneficial than just being on the content creation treadmill. So I highly, highly encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to what products you might be wanting to make or how you want to make income because there are things that require a lot less work or a lot more enjoyable work than just creating content.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

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Tell us about a recent launch, milestone or success (big or small!) right here and we might just shout you out in the next episode: https://convertk.it/listenershoutout.

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Building a Dream Career in the Music Industry with Producer + Engineer Thomas Dulin Mar 16, 2022

Not all of us have the guts to chase our dreams. Despite family disapproval and peers all around him taking the safe route, Thomas Dulin knew he could make music for a living. Fortunately, he was correct, and today, Thomas is a music producer and sound engineer in Nashville, Tennessee living his dream. He splits his time touring with popular and emerging artists and making records of his own.

While earning a living as a music producer sounds glamorous, an email list is what tipped Thomas off to a gig that would jumpstart his career. Even with a short resume, all it took was the promise of work ethic, an obvious passion for the craft, and one person to take a chance on him. Luckily, that one person was Drew Holcomb.

So how does someone go from a college classroom to center (or back) stage? And what are the real barriers to entry besides doubtful onlookers? Over the last decade, Thomas has learned a lot about making waves in the business and he’s here to share tips for making it in an industry as competitive as they come.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, Miguel, and Thomas discuss knowing when a creative career is right for you, what sound engineers really do, the importance of representation, and the early advice that shaped Thomas’ outlook on the industry.

Key Takeaways

[01:50] - Have you heard?
- [02:02] - Taylor Lorenz, a notable reporter in the creator space, has moved away from The New York Times, partly because the NYT is taking issue with its reporters building out personal brands.
- [03:30] - Apple unveiled new products yesterday including a display and a new desktop mac mini.
- [06:10] - Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, recently acquired Bandcamp to develop an e-commerce-powered marketplace for creators.
[07:52] - Main topic: Building a dream career in the music industry.
- [08:18] - An intro to Thomas Dulin.
- [10:30] - How Thomas landed a gig with Drew Holcomb despite a short resume.
- [14:49] - How Thomas realized that a career in the music industry was his ultimate dream and the steps he took to achieve that dream.
- [18:27] - How Thomas envisioned his career in music and how he feels about the role he ended up in.
- [23:31] - Why sound engineering requires creativity and coaching skills.
- [25:26] - Thomas’ advice for aspiring music professionals.
- [27:37] - Does Thomas have a future as a course creator?
- [28:53] - The invaluable early advice Thomas received at his first job in the music business.
[31:27] - Submit yourself for a creator shoutout! Plus, Thomas shares a recent success.
[32:38] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[17:38] - “It wasn’t like a conscious decision, it was just like, this career exists, someone’s making money doing this, why can’t that be me?” ~ @thomasdulin

[25:58] - “Somebody who wants to do what I do needs to love music in a way that is outside of ego or the need to make a living, honestly. If you go into it thinking you’re going to make a lot of money and this is an opportunity for that, you’re going to fall on your face guaranteed.” ~ @thomasdulin

[27:00] - “The number one thing is to do it. Just know that you’re gonna fail and it’s not gonna be good for a long time, but figure out a way to do it, get a mic, get a converter, and one pair of headphones and just go after it.” ~ @thomasdulin

[30:09] - “It’s not the producer’s job to take over and sort of steamroll whatever vision the artist has, but rather to come alongside them and guide them into what they want to make. And sure it is a creative process to guide the artist, but at the end of the day, it’s not our song, it’s not our art, we’re just there to facilitate that and be sort of the mountain guide for the artist.” ~ @thomasdulin

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Content vs. Physical Goods vs. Both with Mandi Gubler Mar 09, 2022

There’s truly no such thing as an overnight success. Mandi Gubler spent years working on her first blog, Vintage Revivals. Her site launched when blogging was still an emerging industry and unlike her competitors, Mandi refused to accept every sponsorship offer that came her way, holding out for a few brands on her dream list. Eventually, as the success of her blog grew, those dream brands came knocking. And her fan base, impressed with Mandi’s commitment to authenticity, expanded.

But every good thing comes to an end. While her love for learning new skills fended off the natural burnout most creators experience, a TV show with the Magnolia Network expedited her exhaustion. Tight deadlines and grueling renovation work led Mandi to look elsewhere for a creative income. Luckily, she’d been working on a new blog for the past year: Happy Happy Houseplant.

Moving an audience from one familiar brand to another is no easy feat, but Mandi pulled it off. As her business transitioned, so did her business model, and at the advice of a fellow creator, Mandi began selling physical products rather than relying on sponsorships. As a result, Mandi finally got off the neverending hamster wheel that is creating content, scouting brands, and doing it all over again.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel chat with Mandi about the difference between sponsorships and selling physical products, how to create a product that your audience actually wants, and her perspective on fending off creator burnout.

Key Takeaways

[03:11] - Have you heard?
- [03:27] - Sharon McMann (or Sharon Says So) is a news and education content creator. Her content is extremely helpful, especially now as we try to make sense of the complex Ukraine-Russia conflict.
- [05:01] - TikTok is expanding into long-form videos.
- [06:05] - Instagram is discontinuing IGTV.
[08:38] - Main Topic: Mandi Gubler on Content vs. Physical Goods.
- [08:52] - Mandi started a blog in 2010 called Vintage Revivals. In the past decade, it’s experienced tremendous growth.
- [10:05] - Five years ago Mandi bought a building and turned it into a home. She was even featured on the Magnolia Show, In With The Old.
- [12:50] - Vintage Revivals’ main source of income is sponsorships. Mandi held out for the brands she truly loves. That authenticity has ultimately been reflected in her success and her sponsorship rates.
- [17:08] - Mandi’s love for learning helped her avoid the burnout that living on the creator hamster wheel so often creates. However, when she landed a TV show, the tight deadlines and exhausting work led her to pivot and dive headfirst into a new business.
- [31:20] - Mandi knew her audience well which allowed her to create a product that resonated with them.
- [32:47] - Different from the sponsorship model, selling a physical product allowed Mandi more time to focus on new product development and providing value to her audience.
- [39:39] - Mandi had to choose between her two businesses and it was difficult given that her identity was so entwined with Vintage Revivals.
- [44:40] - When you care about the content you’re creating and the people you’re creating it for, that's a marker of success. And when you’re building a brand and you’re building it around serving people, you’re always more successful.
[45:39] - Submit your listener shoutout!
[46:17] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[13:46] - “That was something that was really important to me when everyone was talking about all these different paint lines and different posts and for me that just felt really inauthentic and like, you’re clearly just doing this because you’re getting paid, what do you actually like? So it was really important for me to have stuff that I really stood behind. And so that works out really well with sponsors.” ~ Mandi Gubler

[17:58] - “Truthfully, I really love the creative process. For me, I’m not driven by money or status or really anything other than experience. I love learning new things. And so to take on a project like figuring out how to make tile, that is when I am my best self, is when I’m trying to do things and failing and reworking things.” ~ Mandi Gubler

[26:30] - “You have to have a physical product. It’s so much better than just doing sponsorships and being on this kind of content creation hamster wheel.” ~ Mandi Gubler

[30:28] - “We’re sharing the best information that actually helps people, we have the most amazing products, and we’re coming out with some really, really exciting ones, and it’s working because it’s what people want.” ~ Mandi Gubler

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Isa Adney on Deciding if Pursuing Education Is Right for You Mar 02, 2022

ConvertKit Storyteller Isa Adney has always loved to learn. Although she aced high school, Isa’s family couldn’t afford a traditional four-year university, so Isa dove into community college and later snagged a scholarship to complete her Bachelor’s and earn a Master’s in Education. With a higher degree in learning, Isa’s passion for education is obvious.

But now that she’s an established writer, telling stories at ConvertKit full-time with a few published books under her belt, why pursue any further education? Why spend the money for a degree if you’ve already reached so many professional goals? For Isa, pursuing an MFA is about continuing to develop as a writer, building a community of like-minded creators, and following in the footsteps of writers she admires. While this decision has worked well for Isa, returning to school isn’t right for every creator, especially considering the skyrocketing costs of a degree.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, Miguel, and Isa discuss why a formal education can be incredibly valuable for creators across disciplines, knowing when higher education is the right choice for you, and why there’s more to school than textbooks, teachers, and a shiny diploma.

Key Takeaways

[02:06] - Have you heard?
- [02:20] - YouTube is adding live rings to their avatars for live streams.
- [04:16] - LinkedIn is launching its own podcast network.
- [05:45] - Creators’ earnings, rates, and audiences are continuing to grow.
[09:02] - Today’s main topic: How can creators decide if education is right for them?
- [09:27] - Isa’s experience at a community college shaped her views on higher education and her belief that unpopular options are sometimes the best options.
- [13:25] - Although Isa’s an established writer, she still sees value in continuing her education. She’s hungry to grow and develop as a writer and is seeking a community of fellow writers to connect with.
- [20:27] - Community college is a great option for avoiding debt, especially if you’re unsure which career path to take.
- [24:22] - Different from many online courses, formal education holds you accountable and allows you to foster that community more easily.
- [29:06] - Online course creators can learn from the formal education system. For example, more courses should incorporate community within the curriculum itself.
- [31:38] - For so long Isa hesitated with pursuing her MFA because she never saw herself represented in programs. Doing your research and finding a good program fit is incredibly important.
- [33:01] - If you’re a creator toying with the idea of higher education, research creators you admire and see where they learned what they learned.
[36:06] - Listener shoutout! Elizabeth Sloane of ConvertKit and Remotely Well now has 7 subscribers that she doesn’t know personally.

Quotes

[15:07] - “There’s quite a few creators – and there’s a longer list that I could share –who are making a living full-time as a creator, and doing courses, and higher education is actually where they got their ideas, where they learned what they now teach.” ~ @IsaAdney

[17:25] - “I felt comfortable. I felt comfortable as a writer, I felt like it was getting easier and easier, and if you’re a real artist, real creator, you don’t actually like to stay there too long. You’re like, I want to grow, I want to get better. I’ve taken every course that I can find, I’ve read every book, and I still know there’s more that I could learn.” ~ @IsaAdney

[18:40] - “The world of writing is changing, the world of the creator economy is changing and writing is a huge part of it and I wanted to see what I could learn, and then bring it over into this new world.” ~ @IsaAdney

[28:49] - “I’m already seeing a difference and it’s so fun because it puts a different lens when you’re learning. You have this other filter where you're also immediately translating it to your life, to your workplace, to things that could make you money. So I think that’s been hugely helpful.” ~ @IsaAdney

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How to Be Successful With Brand Sponsorships as a Creator with Justin Moore Feb 23, 2022

Creators come to ConvertKit with dreams of doing what they love for a living. That usually means sacrificing 9-5s for passion and creativity. But often creators forget that a lifestyle doing what you love only comes when you learn to monetize that passion and think like a businessperson. While skills like negotiation rarely come naturally, all it takes is a little education to increase your income and experience real creative freedom.

Sponsorship Coach and Founder of Creator Wizard Justin Moore is an expert at helping creators navigate sponsorships and earn a living doing what they love, in the most literal sense. From living without a paycheck gap, navigating paid sponsorships, and negotiating rates, to simply having the confidence to initiate a brand deal, Justin helps people take the leap from aspiring creator to full-time, successful entrepreneur.

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and Justin discuss the biggest mistakes creators make when it comes to brand sponsorships, what an ideal sponsorship looks like, how to win brands over with confidence, and why you’re never too small to add value and earn money working with the brands you love.

Key Takeaways

[00:58] - Have you heard?
- [01:05] - Snapchat is introducing revenue sharing on ads in creator stories.
- [04:47] - IZEA released their State of 2022 Influencer Earnings. YouTube and TikTok were the top-earning platforms.
- [06:51] - ConvertKit is conducting a survey about the creator economy. Here’s a sneak peek at early survey results!
[07:55] - Today’s main topic: How can creators run successful sponsorships?
- [08:08] - Always ask the brand what the goal of the campaign is. Your pricing should change based on the brand’s goal.
- [08:55] - Brands have three main campaign goals: conversion focused, content repurposing focused, and brand awareness focused. You can charge the most for brand awareness campaigns.
- [14:11] - Creators often negotiate against themselves. Rather than overexplaining your rate, lean into the silence and let brands respond.
- [16:38] - Don’t be reactive with your negotiations. You’re not beholden to the brand’s proposal. You can create your own “packages” with different content and pricing options.
- [21:54] - Be honest with yourself about which sponsorships are a good fit for your audience, be responsive with brands from the beginning, and be flexible if brands occasionally request things outside your contract.
- [28:51] - You have to engage brands at every stage of the creator pipeline. Otherwise, you may go months and months without receiving a paycheck.
- [30:51] - Don’t wait to initiate sponsorships! You have incredibly unique value regardless of your follower count.
- [34:41] - When it comes to working with brands, confidence is key.
[36:59] - Listener shoutout! Krystal Proffitt recently hit 4,000 subscribers on YouTube and got to speak at Podcast Movement University.
[37:40] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[13:56] - “There is so much value in the content that you’re creating for brands and you should not just be giving the kitchen sink away for free.” ~ @justinmoorefam

[22:23] - “It’s very very critical that you are honest with yourself that this is going to be a good fit for your audience. If you have a fast money mindset when it comes to working with brands and sponsors and things like that, it’s going to be very difficult for you to maintain an intimate connection with your audience as well as one with brands.” ~ @justinmoorefam

[31:48] - “What I’m here to say to you is that it does not matter how many followers you have for you to actually start working with brands. Because there are so many different ways that you can bring value to those brands.” ~ @justinmoorefam

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Why Deliverability Matters with Alyssa Dulin and Melissa Lambert Feb 16, 2022

There’s no better feeling than building a livelihood doing the work you love. For many creators, that means a life of painting, pottery, design, and left-brain thinking. But to succeed as a full-time creator, you have to get technical every once in a while. If you’re not a numbers person and shy away from the analytical aspects of email and business marketing, ConvertKit has a built-in set of technical experts ready to explain.

Enter Alyssa Dulin and Melissa Lambert, ConvertKit deliverability experts and hosts of the podcast Deliverability Defined.

So what is deliverability? In simple terms, deliverability refers to the number of messages reaching your inbox versus the spam folder. Just like the post office, even though a letter or package is marked as “delivered”, that doesn’t always mean it’s sitting in your mailbox ready to be opened. Luckily, there are ways to resolve email deliverability issues and here at ConvertKit, Alyssa and Melissa are pros at helping creators solve those issues and reach the inboxes of their subscribers.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk with Alyssa and Melissa about why deliverability matters, how to improve your sender reputation, why removing subscribers from your list is actually a great strategy, and how to embrace life’s (and email’s) technicalities.

Key Takeaways

[01:06] - Have you heard?
- [01:46] - Wordle was acquired by the New York Times.
- [04:19] - An upcoming Apple update will turn every iPhone into a form of contactless payment.
- [05:28] - ConvertKit is conducting a survey about the creator economy.
[06:24] - Today’s main topic: Why Deliverability Matters.
- [10:28] - Deliverability means the number of messages that go to the inbox versus the spam folder. Mailbox providers won’t tell you where they place a message so you have to use other metrics to determine your deliverability such as delivery rates and open rate trends.
- [12:49] - ConvertKit doesn’t accept spammers or those with incredibly poor list health to protect the deliverability of other ConvertKit customers.
- [18:39] - Where your emails are placed is often based on your sender reputation. A “sender reputation” is determined by the “positive” and “negative” reactions of the people receiving your emails.
- [20:46] - When recipients engage with your emails (reply, click links, etc.), that’s a positive signal that boosts your sender reputation. Try to be creative with the strategies you employ to encourage engagement.
- [23:26] - Your sender reputation is tied to yourself as the sender as well as your ESP. However, your sending domain as the creator carries the most reputational weight.
- [27:20] - A DMARC record prevents spammers from using your sender domain or “spoofing.”
- [28:49] - Sometimes creators use a verified sending domain to help bolster and authenticate their sender status. To have an account with ConvertKit, you have to use a verified sending domain.
- [32:25] - Remove unengaged subscribers from your list every six months. It’s better to have a small list of highly engaged subscribers than a lengthy list of cold subscribers, for the sake of your deliverability and your bottom line.
[36:11] - Creator callout! Laura Vanagaite is an amazing illustrator and branding expert who recently had some of her illustrations shared by great influencers.
[37:12] - A sneak peek at our next episode.

Quotes

[18:54] - “Your sender reputation is very similar to a credit score. It’s very easy to damage and not as easy to build back up again.” ~ @mel_lambert_

[20:46] - “One thing we’ve been talking about a lot on this season of Deliverability Defined is those creative strategies to increase engagement. There are a lot of different ways you can encourage people to engage with your messages.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[32:38] - “Keep a clean list. If you have never run any kind of cold subscriber re-engagement, if you’ve never cleaned your list before, that’s a really good place to start. You just want to make sure that you’re sending to the people on your list who are most engaged. And if you aren’t, that can sometimes negatively impact your sender reputation.” ~ @mel_lambert_

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How Wordle Went Viral (And What We Can Learn From It) Feb 03, 2022

You know it, you love it…maybe you’ve never heard of it. Regardless, it’s the first viral trend of 2022 and after a rough few years, embracing something as wholesome as a free word puzzle has felt uniquely refreshing. But what made Wordle the viral sensation that it is? And what’s the best way creators can capitalize on a free service without destroying what made it special to begin with?

Like every success story and every creator misstep, there are lessons creators can learn from the absurd virality of Wordle. From its simplicity and innocence to the big scary question of monetization, this app-less internet game is both fun and a rich topic for discussion amongst creators of every niche.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the wonder of Wordle, why it went viral, how the creator of Wordle can sustain its virality, and what every creator can learn from the success of a free word game taking the internet by storm.

Key Takeaways

[01:07] - Have you heard?
- [01:30] - TikTok is testing a paid subscriber model for creators.
- [02:22] - Instagram is launching subscriptions.
- [06:29] - YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote a letter to the YouTube community with a breakdown of YouTube’s priorities for 2022 and a recap of impressive creator stats from 2021.
[08:33] - Today’s main topic: what can we learn from the virality of Wordle?
- [10:59] - Wordle is an addictive game with no barriers to entry.
- [14:37] - Wordle has given people a lighthearted excuse to check in with one another.
- [15:26] - The sharing function and scarcity of a one-game per day limit also contributed to its virality.
- [18:05] - There’s a compounding effect on the relevancy of something by the size of its adoption. In other words, something can be very fun, but if it doesn’t become embedded within a cultural wave, it won’t take off.
- [18:57] - There’s value in something that doesn’t immediately concern itself with monetization.
- [19:41] - Wordle has a universality to it that creators can apply to their own services.
- [23:54] - Starting a consultancy, including a TiPJAR, and capturing email addresses are great ways to monetize a free service without sacrificing integrity.
[34:31] - Creator callout! Noah from ProvocaTeach is launching a new site and has learned to code.
[35:58] - A sneak peek at our next episode.

Quotes

[17:11] - “There’s something very interesting and special about the fact that this is a thing that’s going viral when the sharing link doesn’t include a link to the project itself. You have to be invested to figure out how to play it yourself.” ~ @charliprangley

[19:49] - “A lot of times we’re talking to creators and we’re asking them to niche down, get really specific to their audience and don’t worry about the size of your niche, and niche down, niche down, niche down. Wordle’s really interesting because it’s totally universal. Everybody talks, everybody uses words, everyone writes. So I guess my lesson for creators is: what’s universal inside your niche? What’s universal inside your small little audience?” ~ @haleyjani

[18:57] - “There’s value in the success of the thing itself and not thinking about the full monetized pipeline. If the creator had thought, ‘Before I release this to the public, what sort of thing can I build around it to make something that makes money?”; that would have made it less interesting to people, it would have created barriers for people, which then would have made it not as viral which then maybe would have made it never take off.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Lots of Attention for the Creator Economy Jan 26, 2022

When someone stumbles upon something different, it usually takes mainstream society a while to catch up. Understanding and validating the power of creators and the creator economy is no different. After years of creators forging their own careers despite judgment and confusion, the universe is finally catching on. And everyone wants in on the lucrative new economy that’s disrupting a $2 trillion industry.

But when did the power players of society finally take notice of the creator economy? How can creators best leverage this newfound validation? And will this normalization cause creators to lose sight of their original purpose? Good or bad, eyes on the creator economy will only expand.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel dive into the recent Forbes article, To Succeed in the Creator Economy, Startups Should Address Creators’ Needs. The three discuss how creators should respond to the attention, why startups and businesses need a mindset shift when it comes to their relationship with creators, and what’s next for the creator economy all around us.

Key Takeaways

[00:54] - Have you heard?
- [01:40] - A TikToker is now the face of a Gucci-NorthFace collaboration.
- [02:28] - Instagram is testing allowing users to reorganize their profile grid.
- [03:23] - James Clear’s Atomic Habits was the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in 2021.
- [05:31] - Instagram is now allowing users to choose how their feed is sorted.
[08:20] - A recent Forbes article argues that startups must address creators’ needs in order to survive in the modern creator economy.
- [11:23] - Creating as a profession has become normalized and because of that, creators have the power to disrupt the mainstream media.
- [15:26] - When did society start validating the creator economy? When creators learned to monetize their business? Or when venture capitalists finally started paying attention?
- [20:23] - There are three things startups can do to solve challenges in the creator economy: mitigating creator burnout, tailoring solutions to creators, and viewing creators as design partners rather than just employees.
- [26:06] - Startups must also tailor solutions to a creator’s audience.
- [26:55] - Creators have to establish the precedent of demanding proper payment for their labor, regardless of how exciting a partnership may seem.
[31:05] - Introducing creator callout!
[32:56] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[10:33] - “The creator economy is just the economy now, and we are all living within the creator economy whether we are a creator or not. This is happening, this is the way the world is going. And so if businesses want to succeed in this new way of doing business in this new economy, then creators need to be considered as a key audience.” ~ @charliprangley

[14:27] - “Whenever the business itself is surrounded around someone’s creativity or someone doing something themselves, I feel like people’s minds tend to go to this place of illegitimacy. And it’s important to remember that it’s very legitimate because there are entire markets out there that are built around creativity.” ~ @miguelp.img

[21:24] - “That is actually really what I think doesn’t happen often enough is that creators don’t position themselves as partners, they position themselves as employees of this company where they bring so much value.” ~ @haleyjani

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What We’ve Learned as Creators in 2021 Dec 15, 2021

The time has come for annual reflection. When you’re passionate about growing a side hustle, it’s important to reflect mindfully on the year you’ve had rather than forging ahead carelessly and going through the motions of yet another 12 months. So what have you learned this year as a creator? And what changes are you planning in the year ahead?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel reflect on their own 2021 while asking listeners the same question. From setting boundaries, finding hobbies, stepping away from good things, diversifying income streams, and overcoming the fear of creating in public, here’s a look at lessons learned in 2021.

Questions

[02:52] - What are some of your favorite things that you’ve learned as creators in 2021?
[10:20] - How have you learned things the hard way in 2021?
[30:02] - What energy are you taking into 2022?

Quotes

[04:26] - “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned this year is that being prepared allows my brain way more room for creativity.” ~ @haleyjani

[20:05] - “I’m at that point where the reason I make a video is not because I genuinely want to make a video, it’s because I want to connect with the people on the other end. That’s the important part to me. So I want to make sure that what I’m making is connecting.” ~ @charliprangley

[33:41] - “I think my word is going to be purposeful. I’m always really eager to produce results and get stuff done and the downside of that is I’m always heads down looking at one thing very myopically. And I really want to stop doing that so much and stop trying to get those quick wins. Because ultimately I think I could make more impactful choices if I were to stop for a second, zoom out, and sort of map my road a little bit better.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Email’s Place in the Creator Economy Dec 08, 2021

As this year wraps up, consider the place email has in your creator strategy. Does it have a place at all? Or was it overshadowed by the latest social trend?

Email may be older than the internet, but if you think it’s a medium of the past, think again. While easy to overlook if you’re like all of us reaching for TikTok before breakfast, email stands alone in a few key categories you’ve probably never considered. So if you’re scared of being sent to the spam folder, this one’s for you.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the relationship between email and social strategy, the right way to send to your subscribers, and the invaluable benefits of capitalizing on email. As ConvertKit CEO Nathan Barry says, email never dies. Let’s talk about why before you hit “send” on your marketing plans for 2022.

Key Takeaways

[04:44] - Rather than picking one medium over the other, leverage email in concert with social media.
[09:12] - Email is where your true fans are and it’s where your fans are when they’re ready to purchase.
[13:27] - The only downfall of email is that you can’t go viral. But you can use virality on social media to funnel subscribers to your email list where they can make a purchase.
[15:17] - As long as every email you send is rewarding your subscribers, you don’t need to worry too much about spamming them.
[21:54] - Segmentation is exclusive to email and it’s incredibly important for personalizing your communication with subscribers and building that relationship.
[33:01] - Clean your list regularly to make sure it includes only the most engaged subscribers.

Quotes

[06:20 - “The way you organize your life happens in your email for the most part. And that’s why it’s a very valuable space for creators to be reaching an audience. It’s not a place that you have to remember to go to check. It’s a natural part of people’s day.” ~ @charliprangley

[13:39] - “Social posts, they go viral, they give you access to an entirely new audience, or hundreds of thousands of people when your email list maybe only has five thousand or so, and then you're able to push them into your email funnel and then you can sell to them there. So that’s one way that I see a lot of creators using social media to fuel their email growth.” ~ @haleyjani

[22:27] - “With social media, your only option is, mute the posts or unsubscribe. There’s no, ‘send me fewer of their posts’ or ‘send me more of their posts’. You can’t get that granular. So that’s one of the other benefits of email is you can really segment your audience based on their wants and their behavior.” ~ @miguelp.img

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Creator Economy Q&A: The Role of Social Media, the Future of Podcasting, and the Benefits of a Business Plan Dec 01, 2021

In today’s Q&A episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the importance of social media, the future of podcasting, and the benefits of planning a business before diving in headfirst. From social strategy to a SWOT analysis, here are a few hot takes on the creator economy.

Today’s Questions

[06:32] - Will creators always need social media to reach their audience or is there some kind of future where we can transition away from it and have a direct relationship with our audience?
[21:03] - How important or beneficial is it for a podcast to also be on YouTube? Do you think podcasts without a video component will be in the minority at some point in the near future?
[25:26] - Should creators consider having a business plan?

Quotes

[12:07] - “I think that that’s a question that every creator needs to ask, which is, ‘What does my audience want? And how do they want it the best? And what’s the majority saying?’ And then you focus on that.” ~ @haleyjani

[18:16] - “The important thing is that there are all these different avenues of ways that you can sell or grow your audience. But the most important thing is that you know what that is and you create your funnel through that and then you also own your audience.” ~ @haleyjani

[18:37] - “Become a data scientist. The data is always going to point you in the right direction. And maybe Instagram isn’t the answer. Maybe Discord is the answer. Maybe YouTube is the answer. Insert whatever different creator platform is the answer for your type of business and do the thing that is right for your audience.” ~ @haleyjani

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What Creators Need to Know About NFTs with Waldo Broodrÿk Nov 17, 2021

Do you know much about NFTs? Or does the blockchain space make you think of Elon Musk and an exclusive tech community that feels far out of reach?

Regardless of your personal affinity, NFTs will only become more relevant to our modern economy. And they’ll only become more relevant for creators looking to build community and earn a living. But the types of people you meet in the NFT space and the organizations that grow out of these platforms may surprise you.

More than just a Twitter trend or an elusive tech fraternity, NFTs can expand your creative horizons beyond what’s been possible over the last few decades. In this episode, Charli and NFT enthusiast Waldo Broodrÿk discuss doing NFTs right as a creator and the surprising opportunities that lay ahead for creators who succeed.

“The beauty of NFTs is that we’re building communities. As we build communities we’re building connections with other people that have different affinities, different skills, different connections that they can then say, ‘oh what if we did this?’ The space to dream that big hasn’t really been around.” ~ @waldobroodryk

Main takeaways

[11:47] When it comes to NFTs, invest in companies, people, and movements that you believe in and always do your research.
[12:36] NFTs aren’t just a project you produce once and forget about. It’s more valuable when you’re iterating because a community of people will want to stick around and watch your platform evolve.
[23:00] While the energy it takes to produce NFT systems isn’t great for the environment, the space is evolving to be more eco-friendly.
[26:28] NFTs have led to a resurgence in the value of art. Artists are finally getting paid for their work rather than just living off of ‘exposure.’
[28:30] To be successful as a creator in the NFT space, build your community and get to know others in the space. See what others are creating, create utility around your NFT, and build an experience.

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The Importance of Iteration Nov 10, 2021

Change is hard, especially when it comes to a business or project you’ve built from the ground up. So how do you know when it’s time to iterate on a side hustle? How do you iterate without losing your existing audience? And is it ok to reverse those plans when you suddenly realize that change isn’t always for the best?

When you’re solving a problem, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and doubt the gut feeling that’s encouraging you. But making those tough decisions and moving away from what’s familiar doesn’t have to feel impossible.

In this episode, Charli and Haley share their experience with iteration as both professionals at ConvertKit and independent creators. They dive into real-life examples and discuss overcoming the dreaded decision fatigue. Here’s everything you need to know about making a change without losing yourself along the way.

“The beauty of iterating as a creator is that you can start anywhere. Start with what your gut says is the best direction and as you learn more information, as you get more experience, you can make changes from there and iterate as you go. And it means that you didn’t hold yourself back from starting.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[07:59] When you’re thinking about an iteration, ask yourself what’s not working about your current process or project and make sure the change you’re about to make actually solves that problem.
[10:52] When you’re deciding what to iterate on, focus on the aspects of your business that are the most important to achieving your goal. Sometimes, that just means focusing on what’s most important to you as a creator.
[13:13] Always think future-forward. Don’t hold on to what’s worked in the past because it’s familiar. Fear of change should never limit what you can become.
[15:30] You can also iterate on process. An iteration doesn’t necessarily have to be visible to your audience. If it’s visible to you and it impacts how you feel about what you’re creating, then that is important, too.

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Bye Bye Influencers, Hello Independent Creators Nov 03, 2021

In a world where numbers matter, it can feel discouraging comparing yourself to influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. When you’re just starting out, the path to online influence can feel like an uphill climb with a destination that’s far out of reach. But to become a successful creator, is it necessary to amass a giant following?

There's a difference between being an influencer and an independent creator. One caters to a mass crowd while the other cultivates community. One relies on an app while the other builds something bigger. While there are pros and cons to each category, understanding the differences can help you shift priorities and reconsider your long-term creator goals.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss a recent article outlining the difference between influencers and independent creators and why the latter may have a surprising advantage.

“The idea is not just to feed the social media sites, but to be building an online hub, a primary place for yourself. And you use the social media sites to get people to that hub.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[04:30] The first pillar of becoming an independent creator is owning your audience. This means you can reach them regardless of which platform they prefer.
[05:57] Owning your audience is critical because your email list subscribers are more likely to be true fans and convert than your casual Instagram followers.
[14:34] The second pillar is going niche. When you have fewer followers that are hyper-engaged, it allows you to explore a niche. You lose the pressure of grabbing the attention of a mass crowd and watering down your creativity.
[21:20] The third pillar is cultivating communities over audiences. Communities interact amongst each other versus focusing all of their attention on the creator. When followers feel like they’re part of a community, they’re more likely to be true fans.
[30:01] The fourth and final pillar is creating a self-sustaining community. Influencers are only as relevant as their last post.

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The Realities of Starting a Second YouTube Channel from Scratch Oct 27, 2021

In the early days of YouTube, popular creators often started second channels: one channel for main content and the other for vlogs. While that trend has since faded away, second channels are still an important content stream for major influencers and niche creators alike. But how do you know when to establish a second channel? Could you create a playlist that achieves the same thing? How do you cross-promote with two YouTube channels fighting for the same attention?

As a veteran YouTuber, Charli launched a second channel earlier this year for podcast-related content. She made the move after realizing that podcast episodes and clips on her main channel drew fewer views and less engagement than her regular videos. Additionally, her podcast audience felt different from her main channel followers, so it seemed like the right path to take.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss best practices for launching a second channel, the risk and reward of decentralizing your content, and when channel No. 2 should stay a pipe dream.

“I wouldn’t recommend people even start thinking about this unless their content is very different, like a completely different niche, or they have over 100,000 subscribers already. I think under that, you’re better to put all your fuel into one place to fan the flames and keep the fire going.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[03:53] When you post videos that are different from your normal content, the algorithm works against you. Rather than simply creating playlists for viewers and segmenting your content that way, creating a new YouTube channel can solve an algorithm headache.
[09:42] When it comes to cross-promotion, don’t be afraid to explicitly ask your audience to support your second channel and be transparent about what their support means to you.
[10:16] While your second channel may have fewer subscribers, the people that do subscribe will be the people most interested in that type of content, so you’ll likely see increased engagement and promising viewership analytics.
[27:03] Sometimes it works to decentralize your content and let your audience find you in whichever medium they prefer.

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How the Creator Economy Spreads (and Doesn’t Spread) the Wealth with Ben Schoeffler Oct 20, 2021

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the top one percent of streamers on Twitch earn more than half of all revenue generated on the site. Does this surprise you? Discourage you as an emerging creator? Or does it inspire you to stay the course and keep hustling until you find yourself in that top one percent?

In this episode, Haley, Miguel, and guest Ben Schoeffler, a content creator and Support Operations Lead at ConvertKit, discuss their viewpoints on the creator economy and the opportunities and restrictions all creators face when it comes to earning money and truly owning an audience.

Whether you’re an all-in creator or stay true to the side hustle, you can flourish in the creator economy, or at least boost your chances of reaping the financial benefits.

“Whatever side hustle you feel like doing, make sure it’s something that you enjoy, because there’s a good chance, a very good chance, you won’t make very much money at all.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

Main takeaways

[06:59] It’s important to own your audience outside of the various platforms so that you aren’t relying on a handful of apps for financial support.
[08:27] Aside from owning your audience, it’s also important to diversify your income streams. If one platform dies, that shouldn’t derail your entire business model.
[12:19] Although many creators aren’t making a full-time income, it’s important not to discount the significance of earning cash on the side every month, even in small amounts.
[18:52] Making money and becoming business savvy are skill sets many creators lack, but you must learn how to sell your creativity while continuing to create if you plan to grow your side hustle.
[21:29] No matter where you are in your creator career, it’s important to stay the course. Avoid the urge to constantly bounce from one specialty to another, and stay consistent in producing the work you do best. The highest earning creators on Twitch are the ones who stayed the course.

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Jack of All Trades vs. Specialist...as a Creator? Oct 13, 2021

America was built on specialists. People that were so exceptionally good at one thing that other countries depended on that unique skill set. Entire industries were born overnight from a singular focus. But as creators, we often feel like jacks of all trades. And if we’re constantly juggling multiple hats, can we ever become great at our craft?

As new creators, learning to edit your own videos, market yourself on social media, and balance the checkbook all while maintaining a 9-5 is crucial for long-term success. When you can’t afford to outsource, staying skilled in every area is often the only way up. So what’s the happy medium?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the pros and cons of both routes, balancing your niche with building a business, and the most important skill every emerging creator should cultivate.

“An expert in something is someone who repeats. They do the thing. They do it again, better the next time. They do it again, better the next time. And they learn each time as they go. I think that being a creator (how we can apply our maybe more scattered passions and energy when it comes to this sort of stuff) is to just do one thing at a time.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[01:01] Be a V-shaped person. Have one specialty but allow yourself the room to build on other skills that support your core skills. Stay open to learning!
[06:07] As creators, it’s tough to balance being an expert with being a generalist. Creators often feel pressure to carve out their niche but to succeed as a new creator, you have to be a jack of all trades.
[07:30] Creators are often afraid to niche down for fear of losing parts of their audience, but ultimately you have to figure out what it is you’re truly passionate about. Once you choose, your best, most engaged audience will stick with you.
[18:19] Communication is the best skill you can develop as a creator. You need to express your thoughts in a way that grabs an audience.
[32:37] There’s value to being an expert and value to being a generalist. But avoid going in only one direction because you’ll inevitably lose value along the way.

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Making the Most of Twitter as a Creator with Jay Clouse Oct 06, 2021

Is there an app you always click on? A channel you gravitate to? A community that never fails to inspire you or make you laugh? For creators like Charli and Jay Clouse, that app is Twitter.

After watching a friend create ceramics for 100 days straight with incredible success, Jay was inspired to explore fostering that consistency on Twitter. Jay developed a hashtag that auto-populated an online dashboard to help participants share their results publicly. This feature allowed participants and followers to show engagement in real-time.

In this episode, Charli and Miguel talk with Jay about what happens when you commit yourself to consistency, the power of public accountability, and why asking your audience for support is always acceptable.

“Twitter I think is an underestimated and misunderstood platform for lead generation too and meeting new people and getting your ideas in front of new people. And every time that I did put some effort into sharing my ideas on Twitter, it went well.” ~ @jayclouse

Main takeaways

[02:14] Twitter is one of the shortest paths to meeting people you’re actually interested in getting to know. Users are very responsive in their replies, so you’re also more likely to have a conversation in a low-risk environment.
[16:15] Public accountability is a great motivator. Adding a challenge or goal to your Twitter bio increases your likelihood of success.
[31:11] Asking people for support can feel awkward, but it’s fair to ask for compensation from people if you’re providing consistent value. If you ask for support with low pressure and show visibility for where you’ll use the money, there’s nothing to feel awkward about.

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Q&A: The “Great Resignation”, Short-Form Strategy, Creator Platforms, and More! Sep 29, 2021

In today's Q&A episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss how the pandemic and the “Great Resignation” have impacted the creator economy. They also answer questions about the benefits and pitfalls of short-form content creation and which platforms will give you the greatest chances of success.

“We’ve all been forced to take stock of what is important to us in our lives and how we want to be spending our time, and I don’t think we’ve really seen the impact of that yet on the creator economy. Because it takes a while to get things spun up and I think we’ll see, in six months time to a year from now, there is just gonna be so many more full-time creators killing it, doing what they love, because they took this bet at this time .” ~ @charliprangley

Today’s Questions

[03:07] What do you think about the “Great Resignation” and how that will affect the greater economy?
[07:57] How has the pandemic changed how you think of yourself as a creator?
[17:29] What are your thoughts on short-form video content strategy?
[22:02] Are the shorts that Charli is creating viewed mostly from new people not already in her audience? Does that differ from a traditional YouTube video?
[24:28] What is the easiest way to get started producing content? Which channel is easiest to get started with?
[30:25] Have you ever bought a product or signed up for a course and then shortly after seen a big discount for it or a new version? How should creators handle this to make sure their audience feels like they didn’t miss out?
[34:27] What’s in your pantry?

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Crafting Your Dream Career with Alexis Teichmiller Sep 22, 2021

Quitting your 9-5 and launching a business is both worshipped and glamorized. Building a lifestyle business is the new American Dream. But as those who’ve taken the plunge will tell you, it’s never an easy or seamless journey upward. This is especially true if your goal isn’t just to escape the corporate grind, but to build a life doing what you love.

Nine months ago, Alexis Teichmiller was losing money. She’d just quit her full-time job and was beginning to question whether she was cut out for entrepreneurship. And though she eventually found a sweet spot and consistent revenue, it wasn’t without its challenges.

In this episode, our hosts talk with Alexis about the ups and downs of building a dream job, experimenting as an entrepreneur, and learning to fill your calendar with work that matters.

“The biggest piece of advice in your career, whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, is to do an evaluation every six months of where you’re at. ” ~ @alexisteichmiller

Main takeaways

[06:39] Everything you do as an entrepreneur is an experiment. You’re constantly gathering information that either affirms you’re moving in the right direction or hints that you need to pivot.
[09:19] Are you spending your time on things that align with what you claim to want and what life you’re looking to build? If not, it may be time to reassess.
[10:46] Because there are endless opportunities to pursue, narrow your focus to work that aligns with your long-term goals. This helps you avoid decision paralysis.
[26:22] Taking a side hustle full-time is a privilege. Quitting a full-time job is often romanticized but it’s important to be realistic about what works for you.
[33:57] Invest in external feedback. Sometimes you need other people in your corner to remind you of your power.

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Getting Off the Content Hamster Wheel Sep 15, 2021

Constantly feeling overwhelmed, rushing up against deadlines, and scrambling until the last minute is the perfect recipe for burnout. For creators, this often manifests while they’re trying to generate content to keep up with their audiences.

Regardless of the cause, every creator finds themself racing the hamster wheel at one time or another. While it may work once in a while, it’s not a good place to land permanently. Getting off of the hamster wheel is important for the sake of your creativity and the sake of your mental health.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss secrets for getting out of a vicious cycle and finding your creative footing.

“I think it’s really important that we point out that it’s the motivation behind what you’re doing that puts the heart behind what you’re doing. If my motivation is, ‘I said I was going to do this every week so I’m doing this every week’ that probably is not going to produce the kind of results that you’d hope for. But if the motivation is, ‘I feel recharged, excited to get back into it, I have a lot of great ideas,’ what’s going to come out of that is going to be so much better.” ~ @miguelp.img

Main takeaways

[07:15] Staying purposeful with your work can prevent the hamster wheel cycle. Create a side hustle that you’re passionate about because constant creation is the reality for full-time creators.
[10:03] Allow yourself time to iterate on your projects so you’re not releasing content up to the last minute. When you’re constantly racing against a deadline, you’ll always feel overwhelmed and you’ll never have time to achieve larger goals. Create in batches to help give space between finishing the work and launching it.
[23:30] There’s a difference between creating consistently and being on a hamster wheel. You can create content consistently without feeling like the second you stop your world will fall apart.
[26:42] Outsourcing, finding helpful workflow tools, simplifying production, and being intentional with your focus also prevents burnout.

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Think Like a Scientist Sep 08, 2021

The scientific method is straightforward. Identify a problem, draw a hypothesis, run an experiment, collect the data, and find a conclusion. What if we approached our creative side hustles with the same data-driven mindset?

Creators of all types procrastinate, get stuck, burn out, or simply lose momentum. When work is personal or we live like perfectionists, it’s especially hard to break out of a rut and keep creating. Sometimes the best method for creative success is to hit refresh with a brand new perspective. It’s time to think like a scientist.

In this episode, Charli and Miguel discuss why experimentation and analysis often lend themselves to something unexpected: creativity.

“There is something to be said for launching something that might be half-baked or three-quarter baked, and then be very prepared to iterate on it as things happen. So if you’re holding yourself back because it’s not quite perfect, at least entertain the idea that maybe it doesn’t have to be.” ~ @miguelp.img

Main takeaways

[03:56] Stop viewing missteps as failures and start viewing them as valuable learnings for future work. Just because you didn’t do something perfectly doesn't mean it was a wasted effort.
[08:19] Before embarking on a creative experiment, determine what success will look like.
[10:36] When you’re trying to figure out which creative experiment to run, consider whether or not you’re passionate about the project, whether the experiment will be useful to other people, and whether the outcome has something unique to offer others in the same space.
[22:47] It matters less how much time you’re spending on something and more how much attention you’re giving it. Focused work is better than finishing with lackluster effort.

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Oversupply and Competition Between Creators Sep 01, 2021

In today’s economy, it seems like everyone’s a creator. And in a bustling creator economy, making your voice heard can feel impossible. But is it actually impossible? And does success mean viewing fellow creators as competition?

In today’s episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss a recent article titled, The Creator Economy Is In Crisis, Now Let’s Fix It. Some say over-supply and unfriendly algorithms make the modern creator economy a challenging industry. With so many creators working for less (or nothing), many wonder if creators are undervalued.

Nonetheless, if you’re itching to go full-time with a side-hustle, there are always ways to break through the noise and create for a living.

“I think what we have to do as creators is not let the platforms and the brands put us in competition with each other. We can’t let that happen. I don’t think creators realize the power that they hold. If every creator decided to stop uploading to YouTube, YouTube wouldn’t make any money. Right? We do hold that power.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[08:54] Oversupply makes it possible for niche content to exist instead of content that appeals only to the masses. Tools like filters and search buttons make it possible for smaller niche creators to be found.
[09:11] Because the market is filled with tons of creators doing similar content, creators must differentiate themselves or find their niche.
[11:02] Platforms add to the problem of oversaturation because algorithms reward creators who post frequently.
[15:14] Oversupply isn’t a death sentence for small creators. If people are interested in your niche, chances are they’ll find you. You can beat the algorithm by being hyper-specific or hyper-broad.
[25:18] Making money is a skill set. To solve the problem of underpaid creators, creators must make monetization their goal before anything else.

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Changing Your Creator Business Name (And How to Do It the Right Way) with Hollie Arnett Aug 18, 2021

As a constantly evolving creator, nothing is ever written in stone. Just ask Hollie Arnett, brand strategy coach for creators and founder of Maker & Moxie. A master of branding, Hollie passed the ultimate test by successfully rebranding a difficult client: herself.

Beginning her business as a designer and typographer, Hollie picked her original name quickly. But as she evolved from designer to brand strategist, it was clear the name no longer served her purpose.

The name was beginning to impact her SEO, her ability to stand out in a crowded marketplace, and her ability to share her story. So she took the plunge and started fresh.

If you’re a creator who's scared to start over, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk with Hollie about navigating those fears, rebranding the right way, and picking the perfect name for your business.

“When you’re deciding between your personal name or a business name, it’s about what your goals are and how your name is going to fit in with those goals.” ~ @holliesgotmoxie

Main takeaways

[07:12] Your business name should speak to your audience. Your audience should be able to identify themselves in your name.
[21:36] Rather than shifting your brand one incremental change at a time, rebrand in one swoop. It’s exciting, quickly gets everyone on board, and makes everything easier for you and your audience.
[27:00] You have to find a way to future-proof your business while also making sure your business reflects who you are in the present moment.
[30:08] If you’re sharing your new name with a small community before making the rebrand official, share it with people who know you and your vision and who live in the audience of people you hope to work with.

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Q&A: When to Monetize, When to Quit, Reaching Long-Term Goals, and More! Aug 11, 2021

In today's Q&A episode, Charli and Miguel talk with ConvertKit product specialist, Ben Schoeffler, about thoughts and experiences turning hobbies into side hustles. They also answer questions about when to push through burn-out and when to quit, creating with a goal in mind, and why it’s OK to produce work without knowing where it’s going.

“I noticed over the past few months when I’ve been doing things for my own mental health, I’ve thought, ‘oh, I should share this on my podcast’ or ‘I had this interesting experience I want to share this with people’ and then going, ‘wait, no this is just for me, no one else has to know this, I can just do this for me.’ It’s been interesting to realize how I’ve programmed my brain for content production.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

Today’s Questions

[04:26] How do you decide when and how to monetize a side hustle?
[07:54] How do you push through creative burnout?
[14:34] How do you know when to push through that creative burnout or leave your side hustle by the wayside?
[20:04] How important are long-term goals and how often do you think about them?

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Navigating Procrastination and ADHD as a Creator with Noah from ProvocaTeach Aug 04, 2021

With ADHD, it’s incredibly difficult to focus on one task at a time. For creators with a lot to do, an ADHD diagnosis can make an already uphill climb feel like Mt. Everest. But, as Noah from ProvocaTeach tells us, there are ways creators can overcome their diagnosis and turn ADHD into a creative advantage.

Growing up, Noah always felt like he was better at explaining lessons than his teachers. When he eventually started college for education, he noticed that his curriculum glossed over concepts that he felt were the most important issues for teachers to understand and solve. And when March 2020 hit, Noah decided it was finally time to share his education opinions with an online audience and he began his creator journey.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk with Noah about managing ADHD as a creator, why systems and support are the secret sauce, and how ADHD can be your greatest creative asset.

“There was so much that I could potentially do for this project at any given time. I could be writing, I could be learning about marketing, I could be fixing some bug on my website. There was so much that could potentially be happening at any one time, and in some sense I think part of the journey was learning how to compartmentalize.” ~ @ProvocaTeach

Main takeaways

[11:49] When there are too many tasks on your list, compartmentalize your to-dos and build systems that hold you accountable.
[13:27] Lean on external resources to help you figure out what your regulated creator process should look like. Learn from podcasts, research, and creators who came before you.
[14:15] Surround yourself with supporters with whom you can talk things through when problems arise.
[22:34] With ADHD, it’s tempting to give up when you don’t see an immediate payoff. But you have to give something a couple of tries before you can abandon the idea. It takes consistency to gain traction and results.
[32:22] Presenting an audience with immediate value is essential. Everyone needs a reason to stop their scroll. Otherwise, your content gets lost in the mix.

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Overcoming the Overwhelm of Getting Started With a New Side Hustle with Romane Dagain Jul 28, 2021

The hardest part of accomplishing anything is taking the first step. Whether you’re nervous about sharing work for the first time or fear you’ll never find success, most big-time creators have felt the same.

How do you push through those tough early stages when there’s no guarantee of success or profit? ConvertKit Product Manager, Romane Dagain, knows what it’s like to navigate the early days of being a creator while balancing a 9-5 and resisting burnout and self-criticism.

In this episode, Charli and Miguel talk with Romane about the hardest obstacles to overcome when you’re starting, reframing your mindset on monetization, and avoiding the pressure of outside perspectives.

“Even if I can show something that’s imperfect, maybe I can show something that is approachable as well, and then more people will want to try it. Maybe more people will see it. And then if I can just get more people just picking up a pen and just writing a few words and just enjoying this activity once in their lives, then I’m happy. That’s what I was meant to achieve.” ~ @romanedgn

Main takeaways

[04:38] Sometimes, the hardest part of starting a side hustle is accepting that you’ll have to share your work and that it’s good enough to share.
[09:50] Creating in public is a great way to hold yourself accountable, stay motivated, and connect with other passionate creators.
[12:28] You are always your toughest critic. Don’t be too hard on yourself or let perfectionism stop you from sharing.
[20:37] Before jumping into a monetization strategy, you have to build up the habit of creating as well as an audience. Take advantage of that time before monetization and the freedom in creating just to create.
[24:31] Part of the fun of becoming a creator is building something you love. Don’t let other people’s pressure and advice distort your passion project into something you dislike.

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Measuring Growth as a Creator Jul 21, 2021

Many companies have regular performance reviews for their employees. If done well, reflecting on your work is a great way to improve and refresh your professional momentum. Even though it’s not mandated by a higher-up, we should still take similar time as creators to reflect on our work and performance.

When there’s no boss behind your shoulder or fear of firing, we as creators and solopreneurs need systems in place to hold us accountable and keep our aspirations on track.

In this episode, Haley and Miguel break down the beats of purposeful and intentional reflection. It’s a system embraced at ConvertKit, and a system we encourage everyone to implement as their creator journeys evolve.

“Honesty is a really big part of measuring your growth as a creator, or professional, or anything else. Because you’re not going to grow from something that you’re not even acknowledging is a problem.” ~ Miguel Pou

Main takeaways

[07:28] Purposeful and regimented reflection holds you accountable. Because as creators, no one else is there to do it for you. Start by breaking up lofty goals into small pieces.
[11:17] If you approach tasks with the mindset that you’re a learner rather than the expert, then nothing you do is wrong and everything you do is teaching you something valuable.
[17:27] Learning from your mistakes is great, but don’t forget to celebrate the wins too.
[18:00] To improve your areas of weakness, you have to be honest about them and aware of what they are.
[28:21] You can’t succeed as a creator if you’re not growing personally. Don’t just track professional milestones and metrics like subscribers, clicks, and revenue. If you’re learning a lot, that’s just as much of an accomplishment as gaining 1,000 subscribers or earning $1,000.

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Launching Your First Newsletter with Daniel Beasley Jul 14, 2021

Taking a leap of faith is never easy. If you’ve ever thought about starting a newsletter, what’s holding you back? Whether it’s your grueling 9-5, the daunting task of building a website, or starting with zero followers, there always seems to be something standing in the way.

But, as Daniel Beasley says, take it one small step at a time. Director of Customer Experience at ConvertKit and former business owner, Daniel has always juggled lots of ideas. When he came up with the idea to create content about remote work and traveling post-pandemic, he knew that starting small and focusing on adding value would allow his side hustle to grow without becoming overwhelming.

In this episode, Charli, Miguel, and Daniel discuss steps for starting a newsletter, overcoming the hurdles of a side hustle, and the features that make newsletters fun and valuable resources for your subscribers.

“Most people have a thousand ideas, and all the ideas equal, ‘how do I make money from it?’ And so what I want to do with this is actually switch that mindset and say, ‘how do I create value?’” ~ @danielbeasley

Main takeaways

[10:32] If you’re thinking of starting a newsletter, curating content is a great place to start. Newsletters with curated lists are invaluable because they cut through the information-saturated web.
[16:28] Make your newsletter something you would click on and something you would be excited to engage with, not just what you think people want.
[23:01] You don’t need lofty goals when you’re first starting a newsletter. Your initial goals should be to stay consistent and to slowly try new things with a growing audience.
[27:01] All you need to get started with a newsletter is a landing page. Don’t worry about creating an entire site right out of the gate.

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Building Your Network by Sharing Your Process with Teddy Williams Jul 07, 2021

How do you go from casual listener of a show to colleague of a creator all in the comment section of a live stream? Ask Teddy. A staple of The Future Belongs To Creators podcast, Teddy’s here (almost) every week to ask questions and keep the conversation fun.

In today’s episode, Teddy chats with Charli, Haley, and Miguel about his success working from the comment section and finding his audience as an emerging creator. They discuss everything from overcoming the fear of asking that first question to a creator and if building in public is really worth potential scrutiny. They also discuss the acceptability of shameless networking.

Stepping into the spotlight can be nerve-wracking. But for people like Teddy, the professional benefits have outweighed the potential downside.

“If your favorite YouTuber for fashion is like, ‘Hey I’m doing a live stream,” don’t just show up and watch it. Show up and ask a question. Participate in the chat and get that started.” ~ @TeddyWilliamsW

Main takeaways

[09:28] When it comes to perfectionism, sometimes you have to get out of your own way. Finishing something and creating it in public will lead to more opportunities. Don’t wait around for the work to be perfect.
[19:33] Even a small interaction can mean a lot to a fan or follower. Networking doesn’t have to be a huge gesture to be successful. A series of small connections is a fantastic way to build relationships.
[23:45] There’s no shame in intentional networking. Plan for who you’re going to connect with at a networking event or elsewhere to make the most of your time.
[28:46] When you engage with creators, you’re actually serving them. Interacting with and applying their content helps show that they are accomplishing the mission they set out to.
[37:11] As a creator with an audience, remember to recognize the fans or followers that show up repeatedly.

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The Impact of Twitch on the Creator Economy Jun 30, 2021

While an app filled with live streaming gamers may be the last thing you associate with 2021’s highest-paid influencers, much of what makes up our modern creator economy originated on Twitch.

At least according to a recent article, Twitch Turns 10, and the Creator Economy Is in Its Debt. In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel dig into live streams, the game craze, opportunities from the app, challenges Twitch perpetuates, and why creators today should take a page from the gaming space for a healthy career doing what they love.

“Streamers have huge, very very passionate audiences because of the live component of the content that they create, more so than perhaps an influencer on Instagram who is posting very curated photos of their space or their outfit or whatever. I think people really like the reality of seeing someone live and their live reactions.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[10:54] Are gamers considered creators? They create content for an audience, which is exactly what artists and YouTubers do.
[23:11] Don’t rely on third-party tools to build a relationship with your audience, whether that be YouTube, Instagram, or Twitch. You should always be steering your audience to a platform that you own.
[25:59] Given its emphasis on unedited live streams, some may argue that Twitch has contributed to the rise in “relatability” and authenticity.
[28:33] At the very least, Twitch is another opportunity for your audience to find and interact with your content. In that sense, platforms like Twitch add to the accessibility of becoming a full-time creator.
[34:01] If you’re a creator, try out live. Live streaming can strengthen the bond you have with your audience and add authenticity and humanity to your online persona.

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Q&A: Income Transparency, Podcasting Lessons, Creative Inspiration, and More! Jun 23, 2021

In today's Q&A episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel share secrets and insights from their experience balancing work, life, side passions, and, of course, hosting a creator podcast. Stay tuned for answers on charging for sponsorships, knowing your limits as a freelancer, recovering from creative ruts, and more.

“You have to know your audience so well to understand your value. Because if you have an unengaged audience, then your value is not going to be there.” ~ @HaleyJanicek

Today’s Questions

[03:45] Why is Charli so transparent about her income?
[12:05] What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from doing this podcast?
[20:06] What do you do when you’re feeling creatively uninspired or unmotivated?
[26:37] How do you handle growth and momentum on your side gig when you can’t give it the attention it needs?

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Working With a Virtual Assistant as a Creator with Chloe Anna Jun 16, 2021

When you build a side hustle from the ground up, you do everything by yourself, nurturing each aspect of your passion project as it grows. When it’s finally time to hire your first employee and start delegating, it can feel daunting and difficult. Especially if it’s someone you’re meeting for the first time who lives thousands of miles away. While challenging, it’s better not to wait until you’re completely overwhelmed to hire a helping hand.

As a virtual assistant specializing in creative work, Chloe Anna is an expert at organization and time management, two skills creative people often need help with. While your creativity may have gotten you this far, your business needs people like Chloe if it’s ever going to survive and thrive.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk with Chloe about everything VA-related — when it’s time to hire, what to look for, how to delegate, and why VAs can save your side hustle.

“You need to make two lists. The first list is your skillset that you can’t hand over. So that’s the thing you sell, the thing that makes you talented and creative. And then the other list is for everything else. Even in those tasks you do and are your skillset, there are likely still tasks around them that you can offload.” ~ @chloeannava

Main takeaways

[08:04] Find a VA you can relate to on a personal level. This is someone you’ll be entrusting with your business, and having a personal relationship can make it a better experience.
[09:55] When interviewing VAs, it’s important to nail down their availability, and be honest with the time commitment you’re expecting.
[17:53] Great VAs need exceptional time and project management skills, organizational skills. And if you’re doing creative work, they need an eye for art as well.
[20:56] A great benefit of VAs is their ad-hoc status. You can bring them into special projects or quick tasks — it’s not the same level of responsibility as hiring a full-time employee.
[25:37] Instagram is a great place to find VAs.
[29:27] Virtual assistants and personal assistants are two different things. There is some crossover, but you should not be hiring a VA to do personal tasks and remain on-call 24-7.

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Balancing Remote Work, Travel, and Side Hustles as a Creator with Angel Marie Jun 09, 2021

As creators and entrepreneurs, our instinct is almost always to do everything, all at once, all by ourselves. We aspire toward a dream life and are willing to put in the work to live it. In this episode, Charli and Haley talk with Angel Marie, Creator Educator at ConvertKit, and a creator in her own right.

Over the past year, Angel has learned a thing or two about balance, hustle, and doing it all. She worked full-time, traveling constantly, and managed to expand her side hustle along the way. In addition to her personal and professional aspirations, Angel wanted to give back whenever she could, volunteering on the weekends and investing in the communities she visited.

If you’re a creator who wants to do it all but still keep your day job (plus a few side gigs), Angel breaks down the lessons she's learned about service, priorities, and developing as a creator, while paving the way for traveling entrepreneurs.

“One of those things that I realized was, at the end of the day, we can be our worst critic. I am my worst critic. And I realized that even though I wasn’t doing coaching programs while I was traveling, I was still building my side hustle by prioritizing my own growth as a coach and a leader.” ~ @angelmarieofficial

Main takeaways

[13:11] When balancing travel with work, it’s important to stay organized and always have a backup plan for WiFi and a workspace.
[18:39] Though we can try, it’s impossible to balance everything. Be aware of and intentional with your priorities.
[22:48] You don’t have to give up your side hustle to travel and work full-time. Simply pick and choose the parts of your side hustle that you plan to prioritize in this season of your life.
[23:57] Stay in a place for at least one month if you’re balancing work and traveling. Give yourself enough time to enjoy and explore each new location. Otherwise, you’ll feel rushed and the experience won’t be worth it.
[26:20] Do not allow yourself to fall into a vacation mindset. You won’t stay productive if you relax into the newness of each spot.
[28:09] Give yourself grace while balancing traveling and work. You won’t see everything and that’s ok. Whatever the location, it’s not going anywhere.

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What It’s Like To Run a Podcast Jun 02, 2021

Nowadays, it seems like every creator has a podcast. So what’s stopping you from buying a mic, sitting down, and starting a podcast of your own? If you’re afraid to take the leap for fear of failure, stage fright, or those dreaded awkward silences on a live podcast, hopefully, this episode quells those worries and inspires you to hit record.

In this episode, Miguel and guest Ben Schoeffler chat about all things podcast creation. A product specialist at ConvertKit, Ben also knows a thing or two about hosting a podcast. With three different podcasts under his belt and years of experience on YouTube, he’s here to share insider tips for success and some of the mistakes he’s made along the way.

As a creator, it’s important to share your voice. It may be the medium of the moment, but it’s undeniable that podcasting is one of the easiest (and most cost-effective) ways to speak up.

“It’s a really good way to build a connection with your audience and get people to know, like, and trust you. So if you are selling something, podcasts are one of the best ways to go. ” ~ @BenSchoeffler

Main takeaways

[08:36] Don’t be afraid to break the “best practices” in podcasting. There are really no rules when it comes to podcasting. What makes you different might make you successful so don’t focus on being perfect.
[24:45] If you don’t want to commit to show notes, create a landing page for a specific episode to collect your followers’ information and market to those people.
[26:48] Don’t tell yourself podcasting is hard. The barrier to entry is low for podcasting and repetition will make anything easier.
[27:58] Consider a live podcast. It allows you to interact with an audience and feel like you’re speaking to an audience rather than pressing record and talking into an empty void.
[28:40] Don’t be afraid of talking to an empty room. View those first few episodes as an opportunity to practice.
[33:04] If you want to be better at coming up with ideas for your podcast, read about copywriting.

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How Platforms Are Changing in Response to the Creator Economy May 26, 2021

Times are changing. As our culture slowly begins to normalize full-time creatorship, the economy is responding. Some shifts feel unexpected while others feel more predictable. Regardless, one thing is for certain: as creators, paying attention to these shifts is important to maintaining our creative freedom and loving the lifestyle we’ve built.

In this episode, Charli and Haley examine the sometimes puzzling moves made by companies capitalizing on creators, the parts of creatorhood finally valued by our modern economy, and the powers that fuel it.

“What this shows really though — this fight to get creators to be exclusive on a platform — it shows how valuable creators are, right? And it shows how much these companies need creators in order to be successful.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[04:05] Companies are trying to figure out the best way to incentivize creators to create exclusively on their platforms — but what’s the end game? Why is it important for creators to be exclusive on a platform?
[07:46] When a company pays a creator to be exclusive, it almost forces that creator to work for the company rather than for themselves. That creator is suddenly held more accountable and may ultimately lose creative freedom.
[10:46] Companies continuously focusing on exclusivity dilutes the ability for creators to easily diversify their streams of income.
[13:52] There’s been a snowball effect of one company after another recognizing the creator economy as something that’s collectively driving us forward.
[15:25] Companies are also recognizing the value of owning your audience. It will be interesting to see how companies outside of ESPs support that end goal.
[17:53] Platforms aren’t helping the creator middle-class succeed. Instead, they’re perpetuating the handful of highly successful creators.

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The Realities of Trying to Make It in Music with Josh Logan May 19, 2021

In a world obsessed with fame, fortune, and “making it,” the path to becoming a successful musician can feel daunting. But there are ways to realistically forge a career as a musical creator, and no one knows that journey better than Josh Logan.

Josh always knew music was his destiny. But he wasn’t ready to jump head-first into life as a full-time performer. So he went to business school and landed a job in music management. As his career grew, he expanded into other areas, writing for professional musicians and even writing his own work. Eventually, Josh left life as a manager behind and began his career as a full-time musician.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, Miguel, talk with Josh about the steps you can take to monetize your passion, how to handle the inevitable hardships, and why connecting with fans is the ultimate end goal.

“I think art is the hardest when you have all these pressures. If I didn’t have another job and I had to go to a writing session every week, knowing in the back of my head that if I didn’t write something special enough to make money, that I would have to quit this — one, that would be horrible, and two, I don’t think the art would be as good because you have some insane pressure on you all the time. And when you can create an environment for your art to grow under a little less pressure, that’s when you’re going to find the most success.” ~ @Josh_Logan

Main takeaways

[05:44] Try having multiple things going at once in a way that’s manageable. Generating multiple streams of income or multiple outlets for creativity gives certain aspects of your career the financial means (and time) to grow.
[12:30] Our culture is terrible at celebrating the small wins. If you’re ever going to feel satisfaction as a musician (or creator of any kind) you have to learn to celebrate the successes rather than always looking for the next big thing. Sometimes that means detaching the sentimental wins from the financial.
[17:46] Diversifying your income takes away this pressure to become a perfect and successful creator as fast as possible.
[24:26] Having a side hustle is nothing to be ashamed of. Letting your career fund your creativity is what allows you to take that side hustle to the next level.
[26:22] Patreon is one of the best revenue generators for upcoming musicians.
[32:58] Having 1,000 true fans is difficult but possible if you put in the time.

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1,000 True Fans May 12, 2021

What do you need to earn a living as a creator? What milestone must you hit before your life can revolve around your passions rather than a 9-5? While that milestone often feels obscure, an essay by Kevin Kelly outlines one straightforward rule for success: 1,000 true fans.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss what it means to have 1,000 true fans, what defines a true fan, the benefit of quality over quantity, and why relationships always matter when it comes to fans.

While you may have hundreds of thousands of subscribers on Youtube or one million followers on Instagram, do you really have 1,000 true fans? And is that number really what determines creator success?

“It makes this concept of being a creator really attainable to people that don’t understand how you actually earn a living as a creator. And I think that’s the big question mark. How do people earn a living as a creator?” ~ @HaleyJanicek

Main takeaways

[07:38] Be intentional when building your subscriber list by focusing on your niche and giving the most value possible to people interested in that niche. So often we focus on quantity over quality, and the 1,000 true fans concept proves the value of quality.
[10:20] Having quality subscribers is beneficial for brands as well because they want influencers to have more engaged followers who are more likely to buy an endorsed product.
[19:26] The creators of which most people consider themselves true fans, are creators they feel a personal connection to, and relationship with. So building that relationship is essential for developing true fans. Most of the time, that aspect of your job as a creator can’t be outsourced.
[26:57] True fans are the source for generating more fans. They introduce new people to your work, so even if they’re not directly paying you for your products or services, they’re helping you generate revenue indirectly.
[28:40] There’s more to success than reaching a certain number. There’s a nuance to your income source as a creator, such as the products you develop, the price you sell it for, and the content you continue to create.
[35:27] People’s tastes and interests naturally change over time. Your true fans from five years ago may not be the same true fans you have today. In sum, never stop trying to generate new fans, no matter where you are in your journey.

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Networking for Creators May 05, 2021

Do you cringe at the thought of networking? If you’re a creator who values authentic connections, maybe you do. But networking doesn’t have to be a sales-first interaction. In fact, networking effectively usually means focusing on the connection before the capital gain.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the best ways to network as a creator, how to shift your mindset for success, and helpful tools for creators looking to connect. If you approach it the right way, networking can be something to look forward to rather than something you actively avoid. And while it may take some practice, networking is an important skill to master. Because the right conversation can transform your career.

“The wrong time to make a connection with someone is when you need something from them. You should be building up a network with like-minded people, people who are doing the same things as you, people who are doing interesting things. Before you know what you need from them is the best time to be doing it. Because then when something arises, you’re going to have a group of people who you can lean on for support and for advice.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[07:25] Set success metrics for your networking and focus on quality over quantity when you create them. For example, set a goal to connect with one person before an event.
[08:27] Setting success metrics before networking events is crucial because you’re less likely to be disappointed or feel discouraged.
[13:03] It’s never a good idea to approach a potential collaborator with a sales pitch or other business-related venture. You have to build real relationships with people for your network to pay off.
[16:34] You also don’t have to connect or look for the end outcome. You can (and should) chat with people about things completely unrelated to business.
[18:59] Twitter is a fantastic and underutilized place for creators to network.
[28:15] Prepare for networking events before you go. Look up who you may be talking to. This will help calm your nerves.
[29:43] If you want to get to know people but feel awkward, remind yourself that everyone wants to get to know people. Especially at an event, it’s not weird to walk up to someone and introduce yourself. Just be yourself and focus on building a connection.

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The Ins and Outs of Running a Newsletter Apr 28, 2021

Launching a newsletter sounds simple enough — until it’s week three and you’ve run out of content ideas. Or until your subscribers start falling away and you can’t figure out why.

In today’s episode, Charli and Miguel discuss tips and tricks for building a successful newsletter that keeps loyal subscribers scrolling and attracts new fans outside your niche. From launching a product, to picking a theme, to figuring out the technical parts in the middle, Charli and Miguel walk through the basics of running a newsletter that actually moves the needle.

“Part of the reason for starting this newsletter is so that I’m not just emailing my list when I have some action I want them to take. I’m giving them value weekly so that hopefully when I do have the thing to pitch, they’re more interested in it and they don’t feel like they’re just being sold to.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

[08:15] The best newsletters typically have a theme.
[11:06] The hardest part of running a newsletter is pumping out content each week. Consistency is critical to success, but if you’re feeling burned out, consider bringing on a guest editor from time to time.
[15:54] Deciding on intervals for your newsletter can be tricky. Maintaining a weekly newsletter can feel overwhelming. But on the other hand, if you only send once per month, there’s added pressure for that one monthly newsletter to be fantastic.
[18:09] Sending a newsletter weekly is just as valuable for you as it is for your audience because the habitual act of creating and shipping helps you build up that skill set.
[22:30] Newsletters aren’t right for every creator. To figure out if it’s right for you, consider your audience. What do they want to see? Who are you trying to help? And think of creators similar to you. What type of content would you want to see from them?
[27:49] Newsletters are a great way to keep your email list clean because they sometimes weed out the unengaged or uninterested.

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The Future of Email Marketing For Musicians with Nathan Barry Apr 21, 2021

ConvertKit’s mission is to help creators reach their audience and make a living doing what they love. That includes musicians – possibly the most mainstream of creators. If you’ve been following along, you may have caught wind that ConvertKit recently acquired FanBridge, an email marketing company geared toward musicians.

In today’s episode, Charli, Haley, Miguel, and ConvertKit CEO Nathan Barry discuss the why behind ConvertKit’s acquisition, why emerging musicians need email, and why email is much deeper than Spotify and so much more than simply another marketing tool in your musical belt.

“As an artist, you should own the relationship with your fans, just like you should own the masters to your songs, rather than the record label, Spotify, or relying on the algorithms from Instagram, and YouTube, and others. In email, there’s no algorithm. You own that directly.” ~ Nathan Barry

Our Favorite Creators

[10:01] Musicians are the creators many people admire the most. They also fuel our culture. Adding musicians to ConvertKit’s portfolio takes our message of supporting creators mainstream.
[16:35] Email is not a discovery platform, it’s a connection platform. Emerging artists simply aren’t able to connect with fans and new listeners on sites like Spotify. Not to mention, emails can help you earn a living – selling merch, selling tickets – outside of the slice of revenue you earn for every Spotify stream.
[18:21] Email is where your superfans live and the email conversion rate is so much higher than the conversion rate on social media. Casual fans follow on social media. Superfans sign up for your email list.
[19:29] Owning your audience is hugely important and you can only own your audience via email. You can’t control when Spotify or Instagram will change the algorithm and delete your fanbase.
[22:52] Musicians can use email to foster those one-on-one conversations with fans, build stronger connections, and show off their voice. Given that most musicians are strong writers, writing emails is probably an undiscovered strength for musicians.
[28:31] Every artist who is excelling or has excelled in email, has had an experience that has pushed them to start email. Don't wait for something to happen. Be proactive and start building your email list today.

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Our Favorite Creators Apr 14, 2021

As creators, we’re always fueled and inspired by other talented creators. Sometimes we’re even surprised by the ones who move us. Because it doesn’t matter what their specialty or background or audience size looks like – when someone speaks to you, it’s very hard not to listen. So who speaks to you?

In today's episode, Haley and Miguel discuss the creators they love and the reasons these creators have a special place in their hearts and their feeds. From authors to woodworkers, athletes and teachers, these are the people who inspire us online and give creators a good name.

“This particular creator is talking about sinkholes. 10 million views is a lot of views, that’s not like a niche topic. There are a lot of people that were interested in that! When you think about being a creator, you don’t think about being a geologist or whatever his technical background is, creating videos about sinkholes — you think about posting a photo on Instagram.” ~ @HaleyJanicek

Our Favorite Creators

[01:57] James Clear
[08:13] Ana White
[11:03] Alexis Teichmiller
[11:29] Victoria Garrick
[14:30] WheezyWaiter
[17:23] Dr. Michael Gervais
[23:15] Grady Hillhouse
[27:36] Sharon Says So
[30:18] Bear Rinehart
[35:04] Bourbon Moth Woodworking

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Getting Started as an Indie Musician with Cory Miller of Season Cove Apr 07, 2021

Everyone has a passion. But what happens when you take your passion public and start building an audience? Corey Miller is doing just that. Corey makes music under the name Season Cove, and he’s bringing his audience into his creative process in a unique way.

In today's episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel chat with Cory about his decision to open up that creator journey, his creative philosophy, and how he balances passion with the pressure of producing music in public.

“Stories matter more than anything. I would say the pinnacle of the human experience is found in music and in story. And when you can combine those two, you really have something magical.” ~ @corydhmiller

Main takeaways

[05:45] It’s helpful to have an internal or personal drive when it comes to creativity. Creating to sell your creativity is fine, but if you’re creating for your own personal gain, that removes some of the pressure and can give you space to just create.
[13:51] Deciding to pursue your passion as your side-gig rather than a full-time money-maker can take away the pressure to create for anyone besides yourself.
[15:26] On the flip side, pressure can be a good thing when it comes to productivity and producing consistent work.
[27:27] Sending an evergreen newsletter is a great way for new subscribers to quickly become integrated into your community.

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Q&A – Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Discovering Your Niche, and Balancing Business with Authenticity Mar 31, 2021

Starting to create can feel like a lost cause when we compare ourselves to already-successful creators. So how do we push through imposter syndrome and take the creative plunge anyway?

In today's Q&A episode, Charli and Miguel answer your questions about overcoming imposter syndrome, balancing authenticity with the desire for likes and views, and the best way to kickstart a successful newsletter.

“Part of the journey, the fun part, is discovering what my niche can be. What’s the thing that’s really specific to me that I really enjoy? And my hope would be that I would create something hyper-specific that’s super fun for me and then discovering that other people out there have that same interest or I just met that need for a bunch of people.” ~ Miguel Pou

Today’s Questions

[02:15] Why diversify platforms?
[04:42] How do you even begin with creating fun/educational content when you look at amazing creators online and feel like your work would just disappear in a sea of content?
[10:11] How do you balance staying authentic and creating content you’re passionate about with the temptation to just make content other people will like and want to see?
[20:04] What’s the best way to start an email newsletter? What are the technical things to know about starting one?
[26:42] Can you make custom HTML and CSS templates on ConvertKit?

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Making Creativity Sustainable and Avoiding Burnout Mar 24, 2021

Most of us have experienced burnout in some form. Whether it’s fatigue or overwhelm from the chaos of 2020 or just being overworked and worried this unproductive rut will keep you stranded forever, there are practical tips and mindset shifts to help you get through it. And sometimes those shifts are just admitting you’re burned out and taking a much-needed breather.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel talk about creative burnout and their strategies for overcoming the inevitable creative block. As creatives and side hustlers, it can be hard to slow down and even harder to say no. But if you’re looking for long-term success, here are a few reasons why saying no can help you say yes to the things that matter the most.

“Where are you overloaded? Where are you trying to do too much? And what do you really care the most about at the end of the day? Because if you try to keep doing everything, nothing’s going to move forward.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

The harder you struggle against burnout, the deeper you’ll fall into it. So sometimes the answer is to simply turn everything off and step away.
Going on a walk to clear your head or just unplugging for a while is a great way to reset.
To prevent burnout, seek out mentors and coaches and build positive relationships in your field so you have a support system to fall back on when burnout strikes. These relationships can offer support and advice when the going gets tough.
Automate processes and systems whenever possible. If you can backload your content and take away the pressure to create every single week or every single day, you’re carving out the space to deal with burnout.
You can’t be great at everything but you can be great at a few things. Do less better.

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The Responsibility a Creator Has to Do Right by Their Audience Mar 17, 2021

Chances are, you began creating for yourself. Your work was a labor of love and touched people as a result. But now that you’ve got an audience who tunes in daily or checks your feed every few hours, who are you creating for? And how must your mindset shift now that people are looking to you for advice and inspiration?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel dive into the responsibilities we have as creators and how taking responsibility for past slip-ups can help your audience trust you.

“As a consumer of content and also as a creator, you have to be mentally prepared for, not just what you’re receiving, but how your work is received. You need to iterate on that, learn from it when possible, and then use that to get better at what you do. You’re not always going to do the perfect thing.” ~ Miguel Pou

Main takeaways

Every creator with an audience has a responsibility to their audience. The bare minimum responsibility is to do no harm. However, the audience also has a responsibility to do their research rather than trusting the word of one online influencer.
Owning your mistakes after-the-fact will boost trust between yourself and your audience. And reminding your audience that you don’t know everything will make them more likely to listen.
When you endorse others or let others use your platform to share their voice, you’re essentially co-signing their platform and inadvertently telling your audience that you share the same message. That’s why it’s beneficial to provide a counterpoint if you don’t agree with everything someone says rather than choosing to stay silent. In this instance, it’s your responsibility to be an advocate for your audience.

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Influencers vs Creators Mar 10, 2021

At ConvertKit, we speak directly to creators, helping them build an online presence and make money doing the things they love. But what distinguishes a creator from an influencer? Can you be both? Neither? Understanding where you fall can be essential to growing your business, speaking to brands, and cultivating an intentional career.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel unpack what it means to influence versus create. Because whether or not you like the word influencer, having an online following means you influence. And with great influence comes great responsibility.

“We all, every single person who is a part of the creator economy, has a responsibility for the reputation of the creator economy. And (influencers) are a part of that and they are having an impact on the creator economy.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

Regardless of why you have an audience, if you have one, you influence people and therefore carry the responsibilities that come with being “an influencer.”
Sometimes people use “influencer” in a way that’s derogatory to undermine the work that goes into gaining an influence. Many people who aspire to be an influencer don’t understand the work that goes into the content that ultimately fuels someone’s ability to influence.
Is your motivation to create content or to make money and gain a following? Your motivation can determine your classification.
Whether we call followers an audience or a community or simply, followers, that distinction depends on how the creators speak to their followers. Communities are more of a collaborative experience.

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Making the Leap to Full-Time Creator Mar 03, 2021

If you’re a side-hustling creator, you’ve probably fantasized about taking the plunge and quitting your 9-5. But despite our fantasies, it’s always difficult to leave something good for something unknown. So what actually goes into pursuing a passion full-time? And is working for yourself really all it’s cracked up to be?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel chat with a creator who’s plunged into the unknown and lived to tell the tale — Matt Ragland. Matt’s here to discuss the rarely talked about practical aspects of financing a freelance career. He also shares his reasoning for risking it all and how to keep pressure from stifling creativity.

“I do encourage creators who are really early on in the process, that if you want to do this, then the most important thing that you can do is just start making things. And it doesn’t have to be about a specific topic, it doesn’t have to be about a specific niche. Often that will cause you to get stuck. ” ~ @mattragland

Main takeaways

Before going full-time as a creator, start setting and achieving monthly revenue goals.
Make sure you’ve saved up enough money to protect yourself if things go awry.
When you put in consistent work, you’re bound to achieve something great, even if it’s just the confidence of gaining a new skill set.
Part of being a successful creator is continuing to push yourself forward, even when it feels like you’re not making any progress.
Find the convergence between what interests you, what interests other people, and what makes money.
If you’re waiting to start creating...stop waiting and just start!

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Q&A - Turning Twitter Followers into Email Subscribers, When to Monetize, Where to Start, and More! Feb 24, 2021

Sometimes we all need advice from those who’ve paved the way and came before us. As a creator, we all struggle with building a presence, listening to our audience, and following our passion versus following a dollar sign.

In today's Q&A episode, Charli, Miguel, and Haley answer your questions about the best way to turn Twitter followers into email subscribers, when to monetize, what to do if you're camera-shy, where do I start, and more!

“(The best medium) goes with whatever you feel the most excited about creating. Because it’s hard to get started and it’s hard to keep consistent once you get started. And so if it’s something that you’re enjoying, then you’re more likely to keep going.” ~ @charliprangley

Main takeaways

Offer something unique or exclusive in your emails to incentivize followers on other mediums to subscribe.
Your audience will tell you what they want from you, but you can also listen to your audience and choose to pivot your services or your offering. Sometimes it’s better to stick with your passion rather than answering the beck and call of every follower.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to being comfortable in front of a camera. And remember, no one is judging you as harshly as you’re judging yourself.
The medium that’s best for you depends on how you want to monetize and what your product or skill set is.
There’s no perfect time to start being a creator. Don’t get ready, just get started.

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Is Clubhouse the Next Big Thing for Creators? Feb 22, 2021

The early adopters have joined Clubhouse. Relatively new to the social space, Clubhouse is an app for real-time audio conversations focused on a specific topic. Far from a conference call, Clubhouse is an innovative way for people to connect at a time where connection feels tougher than ever. And it’s a great space for creators to grow. But is Clubhouse the right place for you to grow your audience?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel are joined by former host and COO of Convertkit Barrett Brooks, to discuss opportunities on the app, potential limitations, tricks for quick growth, and whether or not you can win at Clubhouse while owning your relationship with that new audience.

“If you can do a good topic with a structured outline, a representative panel that isn’t all white dudes, and a focused moderation where you’re facilitating the conversation (not just letting it happen to you) — if that’s a skill set that you have, I think you must be on Clubhouse right now.” ~@BarrettABrooks

Main takeaways

You have the opportunity to grow your audience faster on Clubhouse than any other platform because the platform notifies everyone about everything.
To succeed on Clubhouse, you have to be a good speaker, quick on your feet, and a decent moderator.
Schedule your events to meet your audience when it’s convenient for them.
Take advantage of the app’s seemingly endless character limit and write compelling bios.
While challenging, the spontaneity of this app also lends itself to growth. There are various audience waves throughout the day meaning you have the potential to reach followers you wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
Users search by topic rather than by creator, so you don’t need a large following elsewhere to gain a following on Clubhouse.

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Choosing the Right Medium for Creating with Ben Schoeffler Feb 10, 2021

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got a creative side hustle. Or at least have the desire to dive into one. But with so much content on the internet and a seemingly endless array of channels, it can feel overwhelming thinking about which one(s) to choose and when. If you’re a blogger, should you spend time and money expanding into podcasting, YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest? All four?

Sometimes the medium lends itself to your artform. As a musician, SoundCloud or YouTube feels like an obvious choice. But often, it’s about figuring out who your true fans are and going where they’ll meet you.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel chat with Ben Schoeffler, a creator who knows first hand the challenges of finding your medium. Ben is also a lead product specialist at ConvertKit. They explore the importance of expectation-setting and building an audience on a platform you own.

“If you have a message you want to share, you need to somehow make it sustainable for you...I was doing a disservice to my fans by not monetizing a lot earlier on to make it sustainable for me and them.” ~ @BenSchoeffler

Main takeaways

To maintain your passion, start by focusing on the platforms you love.
If you’re struggling to grow on one platform, look for opportunities to repurpose your existing content elsewhere.
Expand into as many mediums as possible so you have a greater chance of finding the initial momentum that’s so important for long-term success.
Your primary medium has to be financially sustainable for it to help you grow and maintain your audience.
Set expectations for content milestones appropriately, otherwise failure will happen consistently.
Transparency will move the creator community forward faster than anything else.

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Creating Art for What Others Want vs. What You Want Jan 27, 2021

How do you find the balance between artistic creation and vision? Between serving your audience and serving your art? The good news is that it doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can serve your audience in a way that builds the trust necessary for you to serve your art more fully.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss how to persevere with your art even when others don’t understand, sticking to your artistic vision, and putting in the work to establish your artistic point of view.

“I feel like, as educators, we are always telling people to ask their audience what they want. We are trying to teach people how to serve their audience. As a creator, if you focus on serving first, then you can ask. That’s really the best kind of sales pitch.” ~ @HaleyJanichek

Main takeaways

It’s hard to stick with something when people are doubting it. But if you’re confident in it, don’t give up.
Sometimes your audience doesn’t know what their needs are. You have to figure out what they need to hear, even if they’re not asking for it specifically.
If you try and make something that everyone is going to like, you will end up making something that no one likes. Stick to your vision.
If you know in your gut that an idea needs to exist, you have to put your full effort behind it, no matter what others say. Persistence is essential.

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Is Entertainment as Valuable as Educational Content? Jan 20, 2021

As content creators, it’s our job to deliver value to our audience. And sometimes it's easy to dismiss entertainment as valuable. But one of the shifts we saw in 2020 was a focus on more entertaining content across all types of media.

And this raises the question, what is the place (and value) of entertainment in our lives and in the content we create? Is there a metric by which we can judge its value?

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss these questions, how the role of entertainment has changed in the past year, and what we, as content creators, should do about it.

“It’s really important to remember that one of the valuable benefits of turning your brain off is that it often sparks more creativity. If you’re constantly consuming educational content, you can’t actually absorb it and apply it to your creative outlets.” ~ @HaleyJanicek

Main takeaways

The value of content (education, relaxation, fun, motivation) is different for everyone. As creators, it’s important to let our audience decide what they want to get out of our content. Give them credit for how they choose to spend their time.
It’s reasonable to expect that you should get paid for what you know. Charging for content can feel uncomfortable, but if you are creating something that people want to consume, they will support you.
An important piece of measuring the value of entertainment is understanding how the audience is connecting with that content at a particular place and time.

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Introducing the New Hosts of The Future Belongs to Creators Jan 18, 2021

Welcome to 2021! The new year brings with it a lot of changes and excitement for many of us, and The Future Belongs to Creators is no different. As we announced near the end of last year, Barrett and Nathan are retiring as full-time hosts of the show and the rest of the team at ConvertKit will be steering the ship into the new year.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel, the new hosts of The Future Belongs to Creators, discuss taking on the show and a new format, their insights for how to “make it” as a creator, and some exciting plans for the show moving forward.

Our Hosts

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Q&A Friday - Year-End Reviews, Business Ethics, Audience Building, and More! Dec 25, 2020

It’s the last Q&A Friday of the year. It’s also the last episode with Nathan and Barrett as regular hosts.

After 97 episodes. Nathan and Barrett are handing over The Future Belongs To Creators to Charli Prangley, Haley Janicek, and Miguel Pou. Find out more about what’s coming to the show in Episode 96 — 2020 Recap.

In today’s episode, Nathan and Barrett discuss how and why to do year-end reviews, what it means to run a business ethically, how to build an audience from scratch, and more!

Today’s Questions

How and why do you do your year-end reviews?
What struggles do you face trying to do business ethically?
Let’s say you’re starting from scratch in 2021. What are three things you would do to build an audience and stay motivated if audience growth is slow?
What is the best way to advertise my tutoring business on Facebook — ask people to message me or send them to a landing page?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

On Wings of Eagles: The Inspiring True Story of One Man's Patriotic Spirit--and His Heroic Mission to Save His Countrymen by Ken Follett
I Am A Creator coffee table book from ConvertKit (forthcoming) — check the shop for availability

Thought of the Day

“Looking forward, things are going to be hard, but know that as creators, we’ve chosen a hard path. Look to friends and family who can support you. Ask for help when you need it and know that we’re in your corner.” ~ @Nathan Barry

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2020 Recap Dec 21, 2020

Though 2020 threw curveballs for everyone, there was still much to celebrate. From launching this podcast to finding ways to support creators through the pandemic, 2020 was a year of growth, change, and lessons learned.

Retrospectives are an important part of growth, and in this episode, Nathan and Barrett reflect on 2020, and its impact on them personally and for ConvertKit.

2020 Accomplishments

Launched The Future Belongs to Creators podcast.
Created a free ConvertKit plan.
Started the Creator Fund to help creators struggling from the impact of the pandemic.
Hired a VP of Product for ConvertKit.
Started the Creator Sessions as a way to replace events during the pandemic.
Launched ConvertKit Commerce to help creators monetize their work.
Pushed ConvertKit closer to becoming the leading marketing platform for creators.

Links

Resource of the Day

Art of Newsletters Podcast by Nathan Barry

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Q&A Friday - Lesson Learned, Email Sequences, Producing Original Work, and More! Dec 18, 2020

It’s Q&A Friday. Today, Haley Janicek and Barrett Brooks talk about the lessons learned while growing ConvertKit, email sequences to nurture potential customers, when you should start thinking about producing original work, and more!

Today’s Questions

What surprising lessons have you learned growing a software company?
What kind of email sequence do you recommend after the three-email launch series — info email, email to destroy objections, or something else entirely?
Is producing original work a worthwhile goal, either aesthetically or for business metrics? When/how does a creator move from derivative work to original work?
What do you think most people fundamentally misunderstand?

Links

Creators of the Day

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Skills Are the Foundation for Any Successful Creative Endeavor Dec 14, 2020

Skill or talent? Which one do you have, and more importantly, which one do you need to start a great creative business?

By working through several scenarios, we’ll help you begin to assess whether something is a skill or a talent. This is a great exercise to gauge how you think about the difference between the two and the importance of those differences.

In this episode, Nathan and Barrett discuss the mental mindsets that push people to view things as skills and talents, how you can develop your skills, and what role passion plays in all of them.

Also, a special announcement about the future of the show!

Main Takeaways

Many people chalk up their ability to execute as a skill or talent because of past experience.
If you shift your mindset, you’ll shift your ability to do things.
Attributes aren’t the same as skills. They simply make learning a skill easier (or harder).
Passion follows effort, not the other way around. True passion comes from being dedicated to something long enough to get good at it.
Parents can model for their children how to be exposed to different things and cultivate their child’s interests.

Links

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Q&A Friday - Changing Careers, Learning from Doing, Creator Sessions, and More! Dec 11, 2020

It’s Friday, which means that the ConvertKit team is answering your questions about life, business, and everything in between.

Today, Haley Janicek and Miguel Pou talk about what it’s like to change careers, what can be learned from producing Creator Sessions, the future of Creator Sessions, and more!

Today’s Questions

Why is it important to take risks and follow what you know to be the right thing as a creator?
Can you talk more about going from being a teacher to working with ConvertKit?
How do you get started as a creator when it goes beyond just honing your craft?
What are your top three lessons from producing Creator Sessions?

Links

Creators of the Day

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How to Spend Your Time for the Highest Leverage Dec 07, 2020

When you sit down on a given day, how do you decide what to work on? There are all kinds of activities you can do in your business, but they are not all created equal.

This is especially important as a creator, because there are so many different hats to wear, and it’s so easy to get lost in busy work, or “$10/hr work”. There are many activities that trick you into thinking they are valuable, when in fact, they are not.

In this episode, Nathan and Barrett discuss how to get the most leverage out of your time, how to accomplish a lot with limited resources, what are the highest-leverage for creators, and more.

Main Takeaways

Leverage is anytime the output is greater than the input. This is what you should be looking for everywhere in your creative business.
Leverage isn’t always about monetary outcomes. You could be pursuing the mission of your creative business.
High skill, high leverage work can take a long time to pay off because there’s so much work that needs to go into it.
Building your network can be one of the highest leverage actions you can take. It builds your reputation and what you create can turn into your resume.
Always ask what the highest leverage version of the task you are about to perform is before you dive in.

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

For All Mankind
Personalized note cards or birthday cards — a great way to maintain relationships!

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Should You Be a “Personal Brand” as Well as a Person? Nov 30, 2020

It can be difficult to walk the line between being a normal person and a brand. There’s a lot of introspection and thought that goes into how you want to present yourself to the world, and if you don’t have a plan ahead of time, it can add additional stress and frustration to your life as a creator.

In this episode, Nathan is joined by Charli Prangley to talk about the pros and cons of developing your personal brand and how to decide how much you want to share.

Main Takeaways

People become interested in who you are if you’re a personal brand. Sometimes this can lead to feeling less secure, but there are steps you can take to minimize personal risk.
It can be difficult at times to not let your very existence be part of “work” if you are your brand. Find time to turn it off.
To be successful, you have to choose how much of yourself you want to share. Ask yourself what your self-brand would look like and how much you want to share.
Don’t self-sabotage. It can be easy to doubt yourself or your own success.

Links

Creators of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Sources of Inspiration, Goal Planning, Creating Mobile Experiences, and More! Nov 20, 2020

It’s another Q&A Friday! In this episode, Nathan and Barrett answer your questions about sources of inspiration, prioritizing mental health, goal planning, native mobile experiences, and more!

Today’s Questions

What’s it like to hop back on the content treadmill with the paid newsletter? Where can we draw inspiration from?
Could you describe the process for planning out your key goals, objectives, and KPIs for 2021 at ConvertKit? How does your current process differ from the plans you made back in the "creator days"?
How do you each prioritize your mental health amidst work priorities, family needs, and outside challenges this year has thrown at us?
In the future, do you see ConvertKit offering a native mobile experience (app) for ConvertKit creators with a focused set of easily accessible productivity/analytics features?

Creators of the Day

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Running an Airbnb Side Hustle Nov 16, 2020

We acknowledge that not everyone owns property, but for those that do and want to make a little extra money, this episode can be a great starting point for getting into the rental business.

Tyler Knutson and Alyssa Dulin, two ConvertKit employees who have insight into this industry, join Nathan to discuss everything you need to know about starting your Airbnb side hustle.

Along the way, they provide tips and tricks on how to find good guests and how to manage your property if you don’t live nearby.

Alyssa even made a PowerPoint presentation, so check out the YouTube version of this episode if you want to see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQkSKvgizdA.

Main Takeaways

If you have a house, using your existing equity and refinancing while interest rates are low, can make buying an Airbnb property attainable.
Using your existing property and renting it out (if you travel frequently) is a great way to capitalize on your investment.
Deciding what kind of host you want to be (how hands-on, etc.) and what kind of guests you want to have are important prior to starting.
If you’re going to be remote, make sure you set up the necessary automation to make things efficient and allow you can stay hands-off.
Pictures are crucial in making your listing look professional and charging a higher rate.

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Election Results, Money Habits, Changing Course, and More! Nov 13, 2020

Coming off a crazy week, it’s good to get back to a sense of routine and the expected. In this week’s Q&A Friday, Nathan and Barrett talk about the election results, before diving into some wide-randing questions about money habits, why you should start thinking about your finances early, finding your ideal team size, and more!

Today’s Questions

What have you learned about transferring internet money into real-world assets?
What money habits or practices do you wish you had implemented earlier?
For ConvertKit, the desired team size was to stay around 50 employees and you keep expanding. What's the thinking on that, and when should creators push past initial thinking on team size?
How should a designer approach getting customers at scale when they have successful productized services in place and are experimenting with selling products?

Links

Unfold

Thought of the Day

“Focusing in one place or on one skill reduces the amount you need to learn and clarifies what you want to put out into the world as a creator.” ~ @nathanbarry

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5 Questions Every Creator Should Ask as You Plan 2021 Nov 09, 2020

With Halloween behind us and the rest of the holiday season here, it’s time to start planning your creative work for next year. Though it’s been a challenging year in many ways, there’s a lot to be learned that we can carry into next year.

Part of this planning process includes asking some difficult questions associated with both your creative work and your responsibilities as a business owner.

Nathan and Barrett discuss the five questions you should be asking yourself as you plan for 2021, with a few follow-ups included, that will set you on the right path for the next year.

Main Questions

What am I most proud of from 2020? You don’t have to think about this for too long, but it’s good to recognize and feel proud of things that you’ve accomplished.
What habits or thought patterns held you back in 2020? Compounding habits can sneak up on you and have detrimental effects that hold you back. Look back, recognize them, and try to change course in 2021.
What is the biggest obstacle you face right now? What advice would your future self give you to overcome it? It’s a hypothetical, but if you frame the problems as someone else's problem, the future becomes clearer.
What drove revenue for you in business this year? Take a deep dive into the difference between revenue and income and which products are making you a lot of money. Do a financial audit and break it down into specifics.
If we were to meet a year from today, with a bottle of champagne, what would we be celebrating? If you put yourself in the mindset of celebration, you can clarify which goals are worth pursuing and the things you’d be excited to celebrate.

Links

The Focus Course

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Life is going to go on even if your candidate doesn’t win. You can only control what you can control. Don’t let this election derail you.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

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Paid Newsletters: Should You Earn an Income Through a Paid Newsletter? Nov 02, 2020

It’s been a big year for paid newsletters. They promise an easier way for creators to get paid directly from their content.

While newsletters aren’t a new thing, there are some exciting things happening in this space. And for an independent creator, figuring out how to get paid for what you already do is a no-brainer.

So, what are the pros and cons of paid newsletters? How would you go about launching one? Are there any strategies and processes to help you succeed? And, most importantly, how do you ensure that it’s worthwhile for your readers?

Nathan and Barrett discuss these questions and more!

Main Takeaways

Paid newsletters fit into a larger “media” budget for consumers. Meaning that they exist alongside Hulu, Netflix, Patreon, etc.
Getting paid to make the things you want to make is a significant benefit of creating a paid newsletter.
A potential negative of having a paid newsletter is that your best stuff will likely be behind a paywall, making it hard to grow your audience.
Providing ongoing value to your customers is challenging. Consider an annual rate to lock them in for a longer period of time.
Long-term planning is key to sustaining your paid newsletter and making sure that it's ready to go every week (or period) without fail.

Links

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

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Q&A Friday - Newsletter Popularity, Skills for Creators, Preventing Burnout, and More! Oct 30, 2020

It’s Q&A Friday! In this episode, Nathan is joined by fellow ConvertKit team member Miguel Pou. They discuss newsletters, skills every creator should have, the pros and cons of building in public, and more!

Miguel also talks about his career journey and experiences as a support engineer at ConvertKit.

Today’s Questions

What are your thoughts on newsletters and their recent resurgence in popularity?
What soft skills or technical skills do you think would be most beneficial for the average creator to learn?
How should a designer approach getting customers at scale when they have successful productized services in place, and are experimenting with selling products?
How do you prevent burnout as a creator when you work full-time and create on the side?
You seem to be a big proponent of building in public. Should all creators use this strategy? What are the biggest benefits?
Why would someone pay me money at an early stage when they don’t know what I’m doing yet? Is there a rational reason someone would be an early customer?

Links

Creator of the Day

Woodworking For Mere Mortals

Resources of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Shifting Roles, Making More Money with a Side Hustle, The Future of Social Media, and More! Oct 24, 2020

It’s Q&A Friday again! You can always ask us a question in advance through email, Twitter, snail mail, passenger pigeon, or telepathy. Just get us your questions!

In today’s episode, we talk about the role of a COO, making more money with your side hustle, the future of social media, and more!

Today’s Questions

How will your job as COO of ConvertKit be different three years from now?
How can a side hustle make $500/month?
For the Craft and Commerce conference, if June of next year looks like it does present-day, will you still hold the conference?
What do you think social media will look like in 10 years? Any predictions?

Creators of the Day

Brilliant Side

Resources of the Day

Extreme Ownership

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Should Creators Join Unions to Avoid Being Taken Advantage Of? Oct 19, 2020

Unions can be a hot button issue for some, but it’s not something we often connect with creators. Guest-host Charli Prangli joins Nathan to explore the idea of creator unions, what they would look like, how they might function, and the benefits and drawbacks of them.

Main Takeaways

It can be easy for major brands to take advantage of the independent creators they work with. Creator unions would work to fix this power imbalance.
While a union could elevate the entire industry, it could also end up restricting access to certain members, and what kind of work they could do.
A union could offer shared resources, advice, and support for living and thriving as a creator.
Creators who work with brands for free, outside of a union, may be devaluing the industry because brands will look for those who work for nothing.

Links

Creator of the Day

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Q&A Friday - What We’ve Learned with Creator Sessions, How To Define a Creator, Biggest Career Leaps, and More! Oct 16, 2020

It’s another Q&A Friday! This week, we have Haley subbing in for Nathan. Haley runs our events (currently on pause) at ConvertKit, but today she’ll be helping to answer your questions.

In today’s episode, we talk about explaining what a creator is, if you should include friends and family on your email list, the scariest leaps we’ve taken in our careers, and more!

Today’s Questions

Have you ever had to explain or justify what you do or what a creator is to non-internet people? If so, what’s worked and what hasn't?
What are your learnings so far with the Creator Sessions? How are you assessing and tweaking the success and direction of these?
What are your opinions on whether creatives should put friends and family on an email list? Should you ask them to opt in?
What is the biggest leap or scariest decision you’ve made in your career?
I would love to have a Side B of Creator Sessions where they talk about connecting with their audience and see how that dovetails into how I use ConvertKit. Does that exist or could it?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

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How to Start and Grow a Sustainable Coaching Business Oct 12, 2020

Coaching has become a popular business for creators. Both Nathan and Barrett have used coaches and Barrett has coached others. It’s an appealing career track, but what should a coaching business look like in practice?

Throughout this episode, we talk about what a coaching business looks like, what you should be aiming to do as a coach, and how to grow it into a sustainable business.

Barrett has a ton of insight in this line of work, so we’re doing a deep dive to tease out the important pieces of starting a coaching business.

Main Takeaways

A coach is paid to help you get better in very specific ways, such as avoiding weaknesses, understanding and enhancing your strengths, and helping you understand where you should be spending your time.
The biggest mistake people make when starting a coaching business is thinking that a coaching certification equals coaching qualification.
When starting out, you should choose a pricing model that feels comfortable to you.
Don’t start a coaching business because you need money or because you’re trying to fulfill a need in your own life.

Links

Creator of the Day

Ian Barnard

Resource of the Day

Reboot Podcast

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Q&A Friday - Changes in the Creator Landscape, Hands-On Creative Leaders, Podcasting, and More! Oct 09, 2020

It’s another Q&A Friday! In today’s episode, we talk about the biggest changes in the creator landscape, whether or not creative leaders should do production work, podcasting, and more!

Today’s Questions

What are some of the most significant changes in the creator landscape in the last ten years?
Who has come into the creator space that has had a big impact?
Do you think it's possible for good creative leaders to still have hands-on work? And are creatives who want to stay creating doomed to stay in "lower" roles?
Can you talk about Coinbase?
As people who do a podcast, how do you think about advising people to start a podcast (or not) without jumping on this increasing “do a podcast!” bandwagon with a “me too” mentality?

Links

Charli Prangley on Twitter

Resource of the Day

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

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The Top Mistakes We’ve Made As Creators Oct 05, 2020

We’ve all made mistakes. They’re going to happen to everyone. However, it’s how you learn and adapt from those mistakes that can transform your business and creative endeavors.

In this episode, we’re discussing some of our biggest mistakes and what we learned from them. You can make this a regular part of your creative process by doing retrospectives or “retros” after each project. No matter what you call it, it’s important to look back and learn from the past.

Mistakes We’ve Made

Not knowing the audience. It’s important to know what your audience wants and what they can/will pay for.
Not growing a list. Even if you write great content that drives traffic, if you’re not capturing that audience on a list then you won’t see any long-term benefits from that traffic.
Focusing on money over content. When you get traction, it’s easy to focus on how to monetize, but that can be short-sighted. Instead, continue to create content and build your audience and let the selling come more organically.
Trying to build motivation. Consistency and having a system is more important than relying on motivation to accomplish your goals.
Not having a clear vision for money. If you’re going to raise money, it’s important to understand how you plan to leverage it before you get it.
Trying too many things at once. You will always have more success if you focus on one thing at a time and give it the attention it deserves.
Thinking there’s an end point. Having a body of work that shows your growth as a creator is valuable for your future self.

Links

Creator of the Day

Michael Sykes

Resource of the Day

I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart and Neil Strauss

Thought of the Day

“Take a step back, reflect, write down some of those mistakes and what you learned from them.” ~ @nathanbarry

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Q&A Friday - Wellness Programs, Company Values, Asking Questions, and More! Oct 02, 2020

It’s another Q&A Friday, where we answer your questions about business and what it means to be a creator.

In today’s episode, we answer questions about our employee wellness program, refining our company values, pivoting to a new niche, and more!

Today’s Questions

What is a wellness program? What does ConvertKit’s look like?
You’re refining your company values? What does that process look like?
If you're pivoting to a new niche, what would you do to refine your content strategy and define your potential products?
How is ConvertKit Commerce doing? Is it still in beta or has it been released to everyone?
What are the questions you wish creators would ask you?

Links

Creator of the Day

Dr. Montserrat Andreys DC, MS

Resource of the Day

Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires by Shomari Wills

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Independent vs Creators Under Contract Sep 28, 2020

Is it better to be under contract and get paid up front? Or to be independent and own all the long-term value you’ve accrued?

That’s the question we’re addressing today. We discuss what it means to be an independent creator and spend some time illustrating what we can learn about the future of our work from prominent creators such as Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama, and Joe Budden.

Most of us will probably never reach these levels of fame, but it’s a good conversation to have because of the important implications for creators moving forward.

Main Takeaways

Unlike many other career paths, the options are endless for independent creators.
Keeping your personal or professional brand in mind when signing a contract is critically important because that will drive how you impact the marketplace.
A key question to ask yourself when deciding which path to choose is, “Do you want money now or more money later through more work?”
It’s hard to “make it” regardless of who you are, so there’s minimal risk going independent and retaining everything that you create.

Links

Joe Rogan Got Ripped Off By Spotify

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Reviving Old Email Lists, Speaking Engagements, Industry Growth, and More! Sep 25, 2020

It’s another Q&A Friday! Make sure you join us live every Friday and/or submit your questions ahead of time so we can give the best possible answers to your questions.

In today’s episode, we answer questions about reviving your old email list, preparing for speaking engagements, becoming the face of a company, and more!

Main Takeaways

How do you reboot a stagnant email list? Is it better to re-engage somehow or blow it up and start from scratch?
Both of you do speaking engagements. How do you prepare for your talks? How have you grown because of speaking?
Do you have any examples of a creator being acquired/hired by a larger company to become the face of the company (from a social media and content marketing angle)?

Links

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How Creators Early in Their Career Should Plan for Scale Sep 21, 2020

Scaling is something everyone should consider when starting a business. It’s important to understand how and why you will grow in the future and what it might look like when you “make it.” This type of visualization and planning helps you work backward and figure out where you need to start.

Today’s episode is based on Nathan’s article, The Billion Dollar Blog. We dive a little bit deeper into the four basic principles of scaling that Nathan introduces.

Main Takeaways

Making money is a skill that you need to practice.
Your audience is a critical launching pad for your business and will continue to matter even as you grow. At some point you will need to make the switch from audience to brand, but only you will know when that time is.
The Four Principles
- Build more than a personal brand.
- Sell products, not attention.
- Drive higher customer value through recurring or repeat purchases.
- Choose a better business model.

Links

Resources of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Promoting Your Courses, Monetizing Your Brand, Building a Meaningful Business, and More! Sep 18, 2020

It’s a great Friday here at ConvertKit. It’s a little smokey in Portland, but other than that we’re all looking forward to the weekend! We’ve got another great Q&A episode for you today, in which we answer questions about promoting courses and products to a small audience, why we reject job applicants, buildings a meaningful business, and more!

Today’s Questions

I have a small 165 person email list and 850 subscribers on YouTube. I’m about to launch my first online video course, how would you go about promoting, pricing and pre-launching it?
Why don’t you promote The Future Belongs to Creators to your newsletter list?
What are the most unexpected/unusual reasons you’ve had to reject job applicants?
If I decide to monetize my personal brand via content, will that change how I use my personal brand for freelance / consulting work?
Should I keep two similar blogs or go down to one?
What one piece of literature has had a dramatic impact on how you think about commerce and/or building a meaningful business?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Finding Time to Create, Taking Vacations, Avoiding Procrastination, and More! Sep 11, 2020

It’s another Q&A Friday! This week, we answer questions about taking vacations, finding time to create, avoiding procrastination, crossing $2M in MRR, and more!

Today’s Questions

How do you take a good vacation as a creator?
Do you block off time on your calendar to create (like you do with calls) or do you just fit it in wherever you can find time?
Do you ever find yourself procrastinating? If so, when? If not, how do you avoid it?
How did it feel to cross the $2M MRR mark?
When it comes to the idea of "people like us do things like this," what does that look like for ConvertKit? Who are "people like us" for you?
How does your company use mathematics? Do you do any modelling or statistics?
In a perfect world where finding time to do this work is not an issue, how would you integrate your personal websites with this podcast?
- Would having a “podcast” menu item on your site not jive with your vision for your site / this podcast?

Links

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How Much Should You Give Away for Free as a Creator? Sep 07, 2020

With Barrett on vacation, Nathan is going solo to discuss a topic that is important to being a creator, especially in our digital-first era: What should you give away and what should you sell?

It can be scary to give things away for free, but it’s probably the best decision you can make when it comes to growing your business and fanbase. But how do you when you’re giving away too much? How do you figure out the right balance? And how can giving away your content actually help you monetize it?

In this episode, Nathan talks about those questions, and offers some tips and strategies to help you figure out what will work for you.

Main Takeaways

By giving away more for free, you can reach more people. Go all-in on free, and then grow your audience, and then move toward paid.
Giving away content can establish you as an authority in your field and make your future products more desirable based on the consumption of your free content.
Even if you give a lot of content away, there’s always more to sell in a paid version. The more content you create (free or not) the more ideas you’ll discover more.
Clarity and brevity are selling points. If you can cut through the noise and get straight to the point, you should monetize that information.
Switch media types. If you have been focusing solely on writing, do a workshop or video. In addition to being interesting and challenging, the novelty can lead to sales.

Links

Creator of the Day

ZdoggMD

Resource of the Day

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker

Thought of the Day

“Give more away and make it really high quality.” ~ @nathanbarry

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Q&A Friday - Writing Sequences, Customer Discovery, Repurposing Content, and More! Sep 04, 2020

In today’s Q&A Nathan is joined by special guest Sean McCabe. Sean is a writer, podcaster, course creator, and business owner (among many other things).

Nathan and Sean answer questions about writing email sequences, customer discovery calls, creating great brand content, how to repurpose your content for other platforms, and more!

Today’s Questions

Any tips for the first time writing a sequence or automation setup for a webinar?
I have an idea for the audience I want to serve and I want to have some customer discovery calls. How would you approach this? Cold emails? FB groups?
Out of the companies you follow, which are the types of content you like most? What frequency do you like? What information do you wish you received more of from your favorite brands?
What's the most important aspect of video repurposing? Quality of content? Length?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

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Q&A Friday - Email Tracking, Building Online Communities, Serving Your Mission, and More! Aug 28, 2020

Building and operating a business can quickly get complex. In order for your business to run smoothly, there are thousands of choices and decisions that must be made each day. And when you have questions, it’s great to seek advice from those going through the same thing with their businesses.

Today, we answer questions about open rates and statistics for broadcast channels, building online communities, intellectual property, and more.

Today’s Questions

How accurate are the open rates, click rates, and statistics for broadcast in ConvertKit?
What is your take on building an online community? Is this a strategy worth pursuing?
How do you distinguish when high standards serve your broader mission and when they don’t?
What precautions does your company have in place so that an employed software developer doesn’t steal the complete source code in ConvertKit?
Have you done customer or speaker gifts at ConvertKit? How does that work?
A couple of weeks ago, Nathan asked about feature requests for ConvertKit on Twitter. Can you talk more about this? What’s the goal? Is it documented? And how do you share updates?

Links

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

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Habits of Prolific Creators With James Clear and Ryan Delk Aug 24, 2020

Productivity and output are two of the most important areas on which creators can focus. As a show dedicated to helping creators take charge of their future, we thought it was time for a discussion about the habits that help creators become more productive and more efficient with their work and life.

Today’s episode features James Clear, author of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones and Ryan Delk, CEO & co-founder of Primer, a homeschool with a mission to build the learning experience your children deserve.

We had a great discussion about the habits and strategies that yield the most output in their creative endeavors, and we get to the heart of what it means to be productive.

Main Takeaways

Surround yourself with like-minded people you can connect with. Decide who you will say “yes” to and start building a genuine connection early. Be persistent in a friendly way; don’t take “no” personally
Take care of yourself. Focus on sleep, diet, and exercise and try not to be on your phone all of the time.
The “1% better everyday” concept applies to almost anything you’re trying to improve in your life.
Be balanced and intentional with your work and your life. Be prepared for meetings and set aside intentional family time as often as you can.

Links

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress. A handful of problems arise when you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time designing your systems.” ~ @JamesClear

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12 Product Ideas You Could Launch in 2020 Aug 17, 2020

As a creator, you should know how to identify the activities that make money. However, selling something doesn’t always mean having a physical product. In this day and age, creators like you have the power to use technology to your advantage.

Any kind of product, as long as it adds value, is something people will buy. And if your product solves a problem or makes things easier for others, consider it sold.

Today, we’re talking about high-demand product ideas you could choose to sell or implement in your own business.

Product Ideas

Ebooks
- “Fill-in-the-blanks” titles work best. Examples include: ___________ Handbook, Bootstrapping ___________, Mastering ___________, etc.
- Essays, how-tos, and stories are great ideas for this category, as well.
Design Assets (stock photos, video, music)
- Create things that give people shortcuts. If you can build an audience around your skillset, you’ll definitely get traction.
Recorded Albums
- These can be sold together with other design assets. Nostalgia and exclusivity are two things you can consider for this category.
Journalism
- A deep dive into a specific story can be a standalone product.
Printables, Workbooks, and Journals
- Planners and checklists work best.
Package Offerings
- A basic package can be a series of simple templates for people to follow. Example: A spreadsheet for cash flow or income statements that makes your accounting easier.
Giftable Items
- Take a current product and tweak it to become a giftable one.
Templates and Scripts
- Website templates, themes, and newsletters work well.
Online Courses
- Teach everything you know! The more specialized your knowledge, the more unique value it has.

Creator of the Day

Polina Marinova

Resources of the Day

Thought Of The Day

“There’s so much power in creating these resources, finding the overlap, teaching, and training in how to use them.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

High-demand eCommerce product ideas to sell in 2020

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Q&A Friday - Hiring Employees, Setting Up Your Business, and Transitioning to a Paid Product Aug 14, 2020

Setting up your own business can be tedious, especially when it’s time to hire your first employees. When you start the hiring process, there are many factors to consider. What qualities should you look for in potential candidates? How do you determine base salary? How do you handle raises and promotions?

Today, we answer those questions, and more!

Today’s Questions

What do we need to do on the tax and legal side to get our business set up? And when should we do this in our entrepreneurial journey?
Will there ever be a mobile app version of ConvertKit?
What are your thoughts on transitioning a free product (ebook/pdf/etc) to a paid one?
Do you offer your employees a raise before they need to ask for it?
Can you talk about the top qualities or experiences you look for in a prospective employee?
You mentioned the Highlands Ability Battery before. I am currently doing it and I’d like to know if you’ve done it too?
What book is on your nightstand?
Have you ever had some big injustice happen in your business like betrayal/unfair lawsuits/dealings, etc.? How did you work through it?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

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How to Become a World-Class Podcast Interviewer Aug 10, 2020

One of the easiest ways to start a podcast is to start an interview show. However, most people are not good at interviewing. The upside is, interviewing is a skill, and it can be learned.

As a podcast interviewer, it’s imperative to have a genuine interest in your guest and what they do — your listeners can sense this as you speak. And that’s just the first step.

Today, we talk about the ins and outs of interviewing, and tips for getting better at it.

Main Takeaways

Interviewing is a skill and it can be learned. However, don’t just do interviews to make the count; be sure to be mindful of how you’re doing it, and track your progress.
Having a genuine interest in your guest and being endlessly curious about them and their story is key.
Interview people who are aligned with the moral of the show and who will be interesting to your listeners.
Prepare like a professional. Great interviewers take time to prepare. Do your research, listen to your guest’s past interviews, write down the possible gaps, and use those gaps to outline your interview.
Ask about a story, and about transformation. These two things can turn a boring interview into a great one.
Introduce your guest well. A bio is very helpful, but don’t just read the bio. Great stories don’t have to start at the beginning. Touch on a driving force first and then lead the interview.

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Thought Of The Day

“Interview podcasts can still be a powerful way to grow your audience. It’s not the easiest way, but if you are really great at it and you’re dedicated to it for a long period of time, it can become a really powerful asset.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday - Self Promotion + Tough Decisions Aug 07, 2020

Sometimes the questions we get are tough and thought-provoking and we try not to shy away from them. It’s always good to push ourselves to dig deeper when the questions challenge us.

Today, we answer questions about how to promote yourself genuinely, whether or not the customer is always right, how to do a crash course in design, how we’ve changed as ConvertKit has grown, and more!

Today’s Questions

How do you promote yourself and your product in a genuine way? What are the best practices to cold call others?
They say the customer is always right. What asterisks would you put on the saying, if any?
Can you please talk about how your experience/skills/creativity complement each other with regard to how you two run ConvertKit?
A few weeks back, Barrett mentioned giving himself a 20-hour crash course in graphic design. I'd like to do the same thing. How would you design this?
From the point you started making money on your own to now having a company that makes almost $2M per month, how have your identities/characters changed?
Pat Flynn's email today was about entrepreneurs and facing returning to school decisions in the wake of COVID. What thoughts do you have for people trying to decide what to do and balancing business?

Links

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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How to Set Up the Second Half of the Year for Success Aug 03, 2020

As the second half of the year begins, it’s important to ensure that you set yourself up for success. It’s been an unconventional year so far, to say the least. But as we settle into this adjusted way of life, we need to better plan for what’s to come.

Having a process, no matter how small, will get you closer to the goals you want to achieve. However, accountability is key in achieving your goals, both to yourself and others. Today we talk about everything we’re doing to get ready for the second half of 2020, as well as some actionable items to help you in your own planning.

Main Takeaways

Take inventory of your accomplishments to date. This will help you determine if your goals for the rest of the year are attainable.
Set up your goals in the format of Objective > Key Results > Commentary. This will help you see what you were trying to accomplish and what actually happened - which is the best kind of insight into your business.
Look for a peer group or a mentor to help talk through the results, or lack thereof. This will bring good insights to the surface.
Break down your goals into their component parts and figure out where you need to pivot to achieve them.
Figure out what you need to say no to (including other goals) in order to get your most important goals back on track.

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer

Thought Of The Day

“As a creator with vision, your job is to keep bringing that vision back to center and moving forward with your values, no matter what the world has to say about it.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday - Creator Sessions + Our Dream Creator List Jul 31, 2020

Filling in for Barrett today is the wonderful Haley Janicek. Haley is the head of the Creator Sessions series here at ConvertKit. Today, we answer questions about who are our dream creators for Creator Sessions, some of our upcoming creator sessions, and more!

Today’s Questions

Are you using past creators for future installments of Creator Sessions?
Who is on your dream list and your realistic list of creators to have on Creator Sessions?
What are some upcoming Creator Sessions?

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday - Working With International Clients, High-Stakes Design Projects, Balancing Full-Time and Side-Hustles, and More! Jul 24, 2020

Nathan is taking some much-needed vacation time, so, filling in for him is one of our great designers, Charli Prangley. She leads the creative side of our marketing team and we’re excited to have her on the show.

Today, we answer questions about pricing for international clients, how to balance full-time work with a side hustle, areas of professional improvement, and more!

Today’s Questions

In terms of freelance work, how do you go about tackling pricing when working for international clients?
How did you find ConvertKit and why did you want to work there?
How has ConvertKit Commerce Beta been going? What is the initial response?
How do you balance full-time work with a thriving side hustle?
How do you start and invite people to join you on something new you’re building when you’re not sure exactly what it will look like yet?
Could you talk about any differences between redesigning the ConvertKit homepage versus more typical projects? Maybe tips for working with higher-ranking stakeholders?
How many people at ConvertKit have a specialist background and how many are generalists?
What has it been like to step back into creator mode?
What do each of you wish you were better at professionally?

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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How to Launch Your Next Digital Product (with ConvertKit Commerce) Jul 20, 2020

We’re getting close to the launch of ConvertKit Commerce, so today we’re talking about it in more detail. As a teaser, we’re going to show you some cool tricks!

Though this episode has a lot of great information about product launches in general, it’s focused on the ins and outs of ConvertKit Commerce, so be sure to check out the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XExDysTfEU.

Main Takeaways

We are a “help creators earn a living” company, not an email company. That’s why we’re so excited to bring you ConvertKit Commerce. We want to help you leverage our platform to earn a living doing what you love.
Try dropping little hints of your product launch inside of your regular content to build up to a full launch over time.
Set a deadline for your launch. Don’t spend forever tweaking. You can always iterate on your launch and improve as you go.

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton

Thought of the Day

“Everyone has something that they can teach.” ~ @barretabrooks

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday - Defining Your Mission, Vision and Values and Knowing What You Want From Life Jul 17, 2020

Both of us have products dropping in the near future and we’d love to make you aware of them. Nathan’s book Authority is getting a refresh and is available now at nathanbarry.com. Barrett will be hosting a workshop on finding meaningful work, applying for those jobs, and getting the subsequent interview. Release details forthcoming, so stay tuned!

Today, we answer questions about how to write copy that pops, how to formalize company values, knowing what you want, and more!

Today’s Questions

When you’re writing, how do you make the important parts of your content pop?
Can you recommend a framework or exercise to formalize our company’s mission and values?
Will ConvertKit Commerce offer embeddable, customizable “Buy” buttons?
How will people be selected for the beta and what’s the criteria to be a tester?
In regards to Baremetrics, why have ConvertKit's fees been at $0 since June 23, 2020? Is that a bug?
Will it be possible to buy a "Default to Generosity" t-shirt anytime soon?
Do you guys know what you truly want? If yes, how did you find out? If not, what are you doing to constantly find your path when there are so many options?

Links

Thought of the Day

“Take a little time and think about what matters to you. Spending time with yourself in silence is a very powerful way to get to know what you actually think about the world and it can have a really positive impact on your growth as a person and creator.” ~ @barretabrooks

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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What Are You Optimizing for as a Creator? Jul 13, 2020

Today, we’re asking a deeper question meant to give you a moment of reflection. What are you optimizing for, or really, what are you doing all of this for?

There are many reasons people become creators. There are even more things that people optimize for. In this episode, we’re going to give you a few suggestions on how you can approach your own optimization and purpose.

Main Takeaways

Own your answer to the question, because it could change over time. Change and growth come from being uncomfortable, so don’t try to (always) avoid it.
Without balancing forces, optimizing for a single objective can become obsessive and it’s easy to lose sight of the original goal.
It’s healthier to recognize what you’re optimizing for and go for it, rather than lying to yourself that you can do everything (family, health, career, etc.) with the limited hours in the day.
Three questions to ask yourself:
- What are you optimizing for and what do your actions say you're optimizing for?
- What are your primary and secondary optimization goals?
- What is your optimization going to cost? What will you sacrifice for it?

Links

The Mexican Fisherman Parable

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Ask yourself, what am I optimizing for? There are no wrong answers.” ~ @nathanbarry

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Your Minimum Viable Income Jul 06, 2020

A great way to create a step-by-step guide is to start with where you want to be and work backward. We’ve got advice, we’ve got spreadsheets, we’ve got answers! This episode has some visuals and math, so you may want to check out the YouTube video as well.

Also, a very special Happy Birthday to Nathan Barry, he turned the big 3-0 at the recording of this episode.

Main Takeaways

Think about your business in terms of the bottom line. Know that a lot of the money you bring in will likely have to go toward something: ads, designers, marketing, etc.
Cater your products to your different audiences: a high-end product and a low-end one. The higher-end product will almost certainly bring in more revenue.
Open rate is not a short-term metric but a long term one that you should optimize for over the next several months.
Just because someone didn’t buy the first time doesn’t mean that they won’t buy the next time.
Consistency in creating is keyin this money-making scenario.
It’s easier to earn more than to cut your expenses and save your way into income.

Links

Minimum Viable Income Spreadsheet

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Income is an output of a lot of different factors and if you start thinking of your business in the terms of the income you want, it will become much easier to focus on specific levers you can pull to make that income happen” ~ @barrettabrooks

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #14 Jul 03, 2020

In today’s Q & A Friday, we answer questions on creating creative momentum, how to share your art during periods of unrest, WordPress plugins, and more. We also talk more about ConvertKit and ConvertKit Commerce.

Today’s Questions

Any advice on sustaining creative momentum through big life changes?
When are you launching ConvertKit Commerce and how much is it going to cost?
Can you share some inside info on new email templates?
I stopped sharing my art during the Black Lives Matter protests. How do I start sharing again?
Nathan, how do you envision your newsletter working into the ConvertKit ecosystem as a whole?
Does ConvertKit provide landing pages?
I went full-time last year and I’m in a state of constant anxiety. I’m not afraid to fail, I just feel weird. Any thoughts?
What WordPress plugins work best with ConvertKit?
Should I purchase an email list?
What happens when you write an article that goes viral and you want a portion of that to stick around?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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The Big Announcement Jun 29, 2020

We have a big announcement today and are very excited to share it with you. ConvertKit is launching ConvertKit Commerce, allowing ConvertKit users to sell directly to their audience. This is a big leap forward in fulfilling our mission of helping creators earn a living.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about all things ConvertKit Commerce, what it means for the company, and hopefully what it means for you, our users. You can find it at www.convertkit.com/commerce.

Main Takeaways

You no longer have to use an integration to earn money directly from your email audience.
ConvertKit Commerce will be free, sans processing fees of 3.5%.
Checkout will be embedded into your sales or landing pages.
Commerce will focus on digital download product sales. Subscriptions are coming soon.
Launch begins for the waitlist on July 15 in the U.S. and we’ll expand from there.

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #13 Jun 26, 2020

As an organization, we’re taking off Juneteenth as a paid holiday. We’re still taking time to listen and learn and we hope you are as well. In today’s Q&A Friday, we answer questions about attracting more newsletter subscribers, how to handle current subscribers when they visit your site, and more!

I have a newsletter and I’m trying to get more subscribers. How can I get my landing page in front of more people?
How did you decide on Tuesdays for your relaunched newsletter?
Is it bad to always show my newsletter signup form to a previous subscriber (web site visitor) or should I be showing something else to them in its place (maybe a different call-to-action), if they have already signed up for my newsletter?
Some people think the Internet has become less free and open as time has gone on. Do you feel nostalgia for the beginning of the “Net” or is that misplaced?
In a perfect world, what do you guys want your First Followers (the regular live crew) to be doing to share this show with our friends?
What's your thought about the new HEY service from Basecamp? Any mid- to long-term implications for ConvertKit and email marketing in general?

Links

Creators of the Day

Celebrate Black Creators

Thought of the Day

“Always ask yourself: who benefits from this?” ~ @barretabrooks

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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What Makes Work Meaningful? Jun 22, 2020

What makes work meaningful? This is a big question on the surface, but an important one that requires deep investigation.

We’re outlining eight things that can help you find and create meaningful work. While, admittedly, this isn’t a perfect process, these are great questions to ask yourself when looking for work that is fulfilling.

Main Takeaways

You have to be solving an important problem or solving something unimportant in an interesting way.
Your work should not conflict or contradict your central beliefs about the world.
Be surrounded at work by people you care about and who care about you.
Communicate transparently and give yourself the freedom to fail.
Meaningful work pushes us to grow and creates an environment where we treat people equitably and give credit where it's due.

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Just Mercy

Thought of the Day

“When we put people on a path to meaningful work, that’s where change comes from.” ~ @barrettabrooks

Links

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #12 Jun 19, 2020

As you may have noticed, we took some time off. We wanted to make sure that there was space for those raising their voices to be heard over the past few weeks. There’s no right answer to when you should go back to regular programming when something like this is going on, but we’ve resumed because we feel this work is important as well.

In today’s Q&A Friday, we answer questions about programming languages, promoting your work, managing new ideas, taking a stance, and more!

What programming language is ConvertKit programmed in? PHP, Python, or something else?
Shocking and/or false content is engaging and Facebook doesn’t want to police it. Do similar questions arise at ConvertKit? What kind of ethical considerations should go into the design of online communications?
In episode 013 you talked about the steps and processes of promoting your work. You also mentioned that you'd publish an article or blog to follow up. Was that ever published?
Has Convert been negatively affected or positively affected by taking the stance to support the black community?
How do you manage a new idea as a project? How do you balance the continuous pivots, small or big, with keeping and delivering a project plan?

Links

Creators of the Day

Resource of the Day

Hello 7 Town Hall

Thought of the Day

“Go google any term that is relevant to the current times that will help you get more educated and understand what role you can play.” ~ @barretabrooks

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Black Lives Matter + Q&A Friday #11 Jun 19, 2020

It has been a tough week. We want to make sure that you take the time to talk to someone if you’re struggling with your mental health. We know we’re doing our best to help our employees and we’re looking forward to helping you by answering some of your questions today.

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about company growing pains, continuous learning and reading, getting out of your own way, and more!

As your company grows, should you stick with serving your original customer needs better than anyone else or should you expand to other (potentially bigger) segments with different needs?
Have you ever struggled with learning faster than you can implement? If so, what did you do to slow down and not get stuck in a learning cycle?
Imagine you have to start ConvertKit all over again. What books/courses/mentors you would be consuming for the purpose of starting the business?
When you want to start hiring a team, how do you decide which role to hire first?
How are you measuring the success of this podcast? Are you willing to share any numbers (downloads, etc.)?
You guys read a lot of books. How much time do you spend reading?

Links

Creators of the Day

Thought of the Day

“What are things that have been part of your life that helped to get you to where you are now, but you may not want to carry forward?” ~ @nathanbarry

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With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Building a Great Thank You Page Jun 15, 2020

A Thank You page is the first thing your subscribers should see after subscribing to your email list. As such, it’s an often overlooked, but important part of your site.

Rather than a simple success message, you should leverage your subscriber’s attention while you have it and make good use of your Thank You page. If someone is willing to subscribe to your list, then they’re interested in what you have to say, so it’s not only beneficial to you but it can beneficial for your subscribers as well if done right.

In today’s episode, we talk about how and why you should build a great Thank You page for your newsletter subscribers.

Main Takeaways

Right after subscribing to an email list might be the best time for someone to engage with you or your content. Don’t waste it with a generic “Success!” page.
Best practices for Thank You pages:
- Have one.
- Set expectations and reinforce those expectations.
- Further your connection. Give your Thank You page some personality.
- Figure out the immediate next action. This is a perfect opportunity to direct subscribers to take action on your site.
More people will take action on your Thank You page when there is something in it for them.
You always want to optimize for the long-term value of the relationship, but if you can make a dollar today versus a month from now, take the money today and reinvest in growth.
Give people effective and meaningful copy on the Thank You page so they stick around to read and engage with it. A good Thank You page gives a little buffer before your email hits their inbox (if that’s what’s happening).

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Highlands Ability Battery

Thought of the Day

“Sign up for your own newsletter. Go through that experience and figure out the points where you can improve.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #10 May 29, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about mission-driven design vs conversion-driven design, tips and strategies for improving email opt-ins, hiring, knowing when to quit, and more!

How is the new ConvertKit homepage converting?
What are some tips for increasing email opt-in rates?
What do you wish you had known before you started on your creative projects?
What do you look for when you’re making your first hire? What do you wish you would have known before making that hire?
In what situations would you consider using a “pay what you can” option?
What should you do if you’ve announced your project to your audience and then don’t pursue it for some reason? How should you communicate that to your audience?

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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How to Conduct an Effective Retro May 28, 2020

A “retro”, or a retrospective, is an intentional review and analysis of past events or projects. A retro consists of breaking down the event or project in question to see what you could have done better, what went wrong, and what went right.

As creators, we don’t always take time to learn from the thing we accomplished before moving on to the next one. It’s important to be forward-focused, but being intentional about your review of the past can help you know what to improve and what to avoid moving forward.

In today’s episode, we talk about how we use this process at Convertkit, and how you can too.

Main Takeaways

Pick a defined period of time. Make sure it has a start date and end date so you can focus on what fell into that specific chunk of time.
Good documentation leads to clear decision making. If you have the ability to go back and look at exactly why you did what you did, you’ll be on track to make better decisions about the future.
Keep taking decisive action. Use your processes to move things along and build consensus.
The more specific you can be in a retro, the more helpful it will be. But don’t forget to take a high-level view every once in a while to see how everything fits together.

Creator of the Day

Shannon Wild

Resource of the Day

ConvertKit’s New Homepage

Thought of the Day

“Have a regular cadence for your retros where you take a step back and lock in those learnings.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Here's What Makes a Content Curation Business Stand Out Online May 27, 2020

There’s a particular style of content production that allows you to leverage existing resources: content curation. It’s like tastemaking, but for media. This is a really powerful way to use existing resources on the web to build and establish your brand.

We have both curated email newsletters over our careers and have some insights to share on best practices when launching a content curation business.

In today’s episode, we talk about content creation, helpful tips on being a tastemaker, and transitioning from acquiring new readers to keeping the ones you already have.

Main Takeaways

We are naturally drawn to the opinions and ideas of people we respect. The best people write their own content and find tangential content to present alongside it.
There are four steps to making a content curation business a reality:
- Choose a narrow topic.
- Pick a cadence and stick with it. Do not miss it. Ever.
- Have a system to collect ideas.
- Automate reminders - set a reminder to send the email or schedule it.
To curate and collect good content, you need to consume good content. It’s just as important to set aside time for consuming content as it is for creating the feed.
Be sure to analyze and think about the content that you’ll be sharing (E.g. Why does this stand out to me and why am I sharing it?) Be confident in turning things down.

Creator of the Day

Austin Mann

Resource of the Day

Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler

Thought of the Day

“Building an audience, and showing up consistently is just like anything else—it’s going to take a long time, and the important thing is to start now.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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How to Make Connections With Your Dream Network May 26, 2020

Growing your dream network isn’t fast or easy, but it is incredibly valuable. Over time, amassing creative acquaintances can be the path forward to a new job or getting your business off the ground.

Over the years, we’ve done a lot of networking and have met tons of people, some older and more experienced, some with little or nothing to offer at the time. Figuring out how to navigate the networking landscape is something we’ve gotten better at over time and hopefully you can learn from our experiences.

In today’s episode, we talk about tips and tricks for building your network, specific tactics on which you can execute right now, and how to handle the asymmetrical nature of networking.

Main Takeaways

Be clear about why you want to connect. Don’t try to dupe anyone into thinking you have something to offer them if you genuinely don’t. People are kind and generally want to help, so don’t sour the relationship before it begins.
Meeting people is not fair. It’s an asymmetrical game, but you have to adjust to the resources that you have. If you can swing it, going to the people you want to meet, even if it means traveling, will generally net good results.
If you’re going to ask for an intro, make sure it's beneficial to everyone. If you’re the connector, make sure you give the other person the ability to opt-out of the meeting.
The single greatest thing you can do to build your network is to do great work and build a public reputation online.

Creators of the Day

Evan and Katelyn

Resource of the Day

Conscious Company

Thought of the Day

“Make a list of the people you want to meet and go for it.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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How to Price and Package Your Product May 25, 2020

Pricing is tough, there’s no denying it. Deciding what people should pay for your product is hard to gauge properly, especially if you’re new to the game.

Both of us have sold several digital products over the years and have a fair amount of experience in the pricing world so we’re excited to share our knowledge with you and help you get your product out there.

In today’s episode, we talk about how to price your products and the best strategies for deciding what that price should be. We also discuss how to best package your products with similar items and services.

Main Takeaways

Charge more. As creators, we generally underprice our work. We also tend to underestimate the number of people that will buy the work.
Think about the value you are delivering to your niche and price based on that, rather than looking at parallel products. A book for a niche is worth more to that group than a book distributed for mass consumption. Don’t compare prices on dissimilar items.
There is no universal pricing structure for an online product. Value-based pricing is about much more than just what customers get—it's about an entire experience.
Price anchoring (putting something more expensive next to your product) is a great way to position and sell your product.

Creators of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Whatever you think you should charge, do that and then double it.” ~ @emily_a_mills

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #9 May 22, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about what to expect as a creator when trying to make a living out of it, media consumption, using coaches and therapy to become better leaders, and more!

What is the biggest misconception that creators have about what it takes to make a living?
How many hours a week do you consume media?
Could you both elaborate on how going to therapy has made you a better leader?
Who in your lives have been your biggest supporters both professionally and personally?

Creators of the Day

Resource of the Day

Links

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Lessons & Inspiration for Creators from Hamilton — with special guest Isa Adney May 21, 2020

We all have things that put us in a “green” mood. No matter what’s going on, at the moment you’re experiencing that thing, you’re green. For guest host Isa Adney, that mood modifier is Hamilton.

Just like the creators involved with Hamilton, you have the same power as a creator to make things that help people see the world differently, experience something beautiful, or just put a smile on someone’s face.

In today’s episode, we talk about creative lessons and inspirations that you can take away from Hamilton (even if you didn’t like it as much as we did).

Main Takeaways

It’s ok to have urgency in whatever you’re creating. In a way, we are all running out of time. However, this doesn’t mean that taking your time means your project is going to be worse than it would be if you did it urgently. It took six years to write Hamilton.
Don’t get caught up in the details. Write the things you love and focus on the big picture, especially if you know in your heart it’s something you truly want to be making.
Giving your all in the things you're doing every day, even if you’ve done it a thousand times, is the best way to push your craft toward having a big impact on those who interact with it.
Going to meet or see the people you look up to is a great way to humanize them and make you realize they are just like you (in a good way). You have it in you to get to the same place and feel that belonging.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Hamilton: The Revolution

Thought of the Day

“Take chances, realize you can create in your own way. Your creative work can have a huge impact on the world.” ~ @Nathanbarry

Links

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Tools for Resiliency in Times of Need with Dan Putt and Andy Crissinger - Part 2 May 20, 2020

Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part episode about resiliency. Be sure to check out episode 042 for Part 1.

What is resiliency? How do we obtain it? And why is it so necessary in times of stress?

Resiliency means different things to different people, so we wanted to spend some time talking about what it means to us and how we try to cultivate it in our daily lives.

Andy Crissinger and Dan Putt are executive coaches at Reboot. They have been with us for a long time and have coached us through many difficulties and challenges and they joined us for this discussion.

In this episode, we have a roundtable discussion about resiliency, how to lead with love, introspection, and getting uncomfortable.

Main Takeaways

Definition of resiliency: The ability to survive and thrive in the presence of challenges.
It’s important to slow down, stand still, and recognize who you are and what you stand for in times of uncertainty.
For us to step into the new normal (in this case socioeconomically), we must first grieve the past that we will not be returning to.
Grief and resiliency are not opposites. Naming, feeling, and recognizing grief is critical in building a better sense of resilience and purpose moving forward.
Taking time to grieve and slow down, gives you the clarity of mind to speed up and push on.
Create a break between what you’re doing and what you want to do by getting out and noticing the world and your environment.

Thought of the Day

“You’re not alone, what we’re all experiencing is hard. Know that there’s nothing wrong with you.” ~ @andycrissinger

Resources of the Day

Links

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Tools for Resiliency in Times of Need with Dan Putt and Andy Crissinger - Part 1 May 20, 2020

Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part episode about resiliency. Be sure to check out episode 043 for Part 2.

What is resiliency? How do we obtain it? And why is it so necessary in times of stress?

Resiliency means different things to different people, so we wanted to spend some time talking about what it means to us and how we try to cultivate it in our daily lives.

Andy Crissinger and Dan Putt are executive coaches at Reboot. They have been with us for a long time and have coached us through many difficulties and challenges and they joined us for this discussion.

In this episode, we have a roundtable discussion about resiliency, how to lead with love, introspection, and getting uncomfortable.

Main Takeaways

Definition of resiliency: The ability to survive and thrive in the presence of challenges.
It’s important to slow down, stand still, and recognize who you are and what you stand for in times of uncertainty.
For us to step into the new normal (in this case socioeconomically), we must first grieve the past that we will not be returning to.
Grief and resiliency are not opposites. Naming, feeling, and recognizing grief is critical in building a better sense of resilience and purpose moving forward.
Taking time to grieve and slow down, gives you the clarity of mind to speed up and push on.
Create a break between what you’re doing and what you want to do by getting out and noticing the world and your environment.

Thought of the Day

“You’re not alone, what we’re all experiencing is hard. Know that there’s nothing wrong with you.” ~ @andycrissinger

Resources of the Day

Links

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On Ambition May 19, 2020

Where does the idea of ambition come from and how do we tackle it, especially when we’re not reaching our full potential?

Creative ambition can be even murkier. We have so many opportunities to chase it, but with that come opportunities to sell ourselves short along the way.

In this episode, we talk about all of the scary and uncertain parts about being ambitious and the personal reconciliation that needs to happen. It can be an uncomfortable topic to cover but thinking about your own relationship with ambition is an important first step.

Main Takeaways

At the foundation of your decision making needs to be love, the fact that you will be loved even if you screw up or miss a shot. This can give you the confidence to pursue your ambition even if you’re scared of failing.
Applied introspection is critical because it gives you the “why” of your ambition and gives you the motivation to go out and accomplish what you want.
If you name your goal out loud and visualize it, then two things are going to happen:
- You will have to put in the work to make it happen.
- You have to own the fact that people will think differently of you if you achieve or fail to achieve that ambition.
Know what your gifts are, recognize them, and figure out how you can best use them to serve yourself and others.
Naming a goal may make other people uncomfortable because it forces them to reconcile themselves with their own ambition.

Thought of the Day

“If you already know that you are loved and that you belong, that gives you the chance to understand the purest of your ambitions. Ambition with the hopes that it will bring you more love or belonging is a fool’s errand.” ~ @BarretABrooks

Links

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Structure Your Day for Productivity as a Full-Time Creator May 18, 2020

Today we talk about how to structure your time when you’ve gone full-time as a creator. You would think this wouldn’t be much of a problem, but the reality is it’s kind of like hitting a brick wall.

Our time and attention are finite. So respecting your own boundaries (and making sure others respect them as well) is key to staying productive.

In this episode, we talk about how to organize your life and schedule, and make sure you’re as productive as possible while working to support your newfound lifestyle.

Main Takeaways

Believing that you are available to do whatever you want at any time is a dangerous mindset. The pressure to make progress can cause a lot of stress and anxiety.
Block out your life into phases (highschool, college, work, etc…) and notice which one you thrive in. Which one did you enjoy the most? This can help you recreate a productive environment for yourself now that you’re a full-time creator.
Define the types of work that need to happen throughout your day. Here are four categories to start with:
- Maker
- Manager
- Seller or Promotion Time
- Consumer (information)
Sleep, diet, and exercise are critical in maintaining a healthy balance for your work and life and will certainly help make you more productive.

Creator of the Day

Shawn Blanc - The Focus Course

Resource of the Day

The Imagineering Story on Disney+

Thought of the Day

“Freedom is not doing whatever you want whenever you want, it’s the ability to create your own boundaries.” ~ @BarretABrooks

Links

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Q&A Friday #8 May 15, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about serving a diverse customer base, hiring a professional coach, growing multiple email lists, staying motivated, and more!

When you serve a very large range of customers, how do you decide what features to build first?
Any advice for picking a product or service that fits with your content?
When personally welcoming a new subscriber to my newsletter, is it better for me to write a personalized welcome email to them or send a personalized welcome video instead?
What are the things you should look for when hiring a professional coach?
Nathan, you mentioned how you quit your job and it took you about six months to get back to your usual pace of productive output. Can you talk more about that and motivation while working solo?
Would you put out an e-book first? Or go for a full book for a specific topic?
As a rapidly growing business, when is the right time to transition from "scratching your own itch" to "serving the current/future needs of your market/customers"?
When should creators start a new email list vs. growing a single large one? Should new but related products start with a new list?

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How to Write a Great “About” Page May 14, 2020

Maybe you don’t need a website. It sounds counterintuitive at first, but more and more creators are using mediums like Spotify or Instagram to sell their products.

What you do need, however, is a hub to own the relationship you have with your clients, your email list, or whoever you’re talking to. The “about” page is a great place to start with that relationship.

In today’s episode, we talk about what makes a great “about” page. Whether it’s a website, landing page, or something else, we want to help you understand what your audience needs to know to decide if they want to stay in touch.

Main Takeaways

The basics of an “about” page (your personal life story) is good information, but you should give it to your audience from the perspective of how your story can serve them.
There are three angles to take when writing an effective “about” page:
- Identity: Identity works very well in engaging an audience. For example, “If you're a person like this” helps people engage instantly (if they are that type of person).
- Shared experience: This allows you to show people that you understand what they are going through.
- Credibility: Finding a way to show the reader that you’re an expert, and you know what you’re talking about.
Make sure you have a call to action or next step so readers know what they are supposed to do after learning about who you are.

Creators of the Day

Resource of the Day

I Am A Creator Podcast

Thought of the Day

“An about page or landing page is a really great opportunity to tell your story in an effective way to reel people in and gain them as a member of your audience over a long period of time; put some effort into it. ” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

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When Should You Quit Your Job and Go Full-Time as a Creator? May 13, 2020

Quitting your job and being your own boss is something many creators dream about. However, it’s not always clear when you should make that leap.

Being self-employed is a big commitment and not something that should be taken lightly. There are a lot of factors in determining when and how you should quit your day job to pursue your own interests.

In today’s episode, we tackle that question and talk about our own experiences with quitting our jobs and becoming self-employed.

Main Takeaways

Ask yourself why you’re quitting your job. You’re (likely) either running away from your job or running toward an idea. If you’re running away, you’re likely to end up in a similar situation.
Knowing what you are running toward is the best way to ensure you will have a shot at replacing your income and becoming independent.
There are four quitting scenarios, each with their own pros and cons. It’s important to analyze which one you’re pursuing and figure out how it fits into your life.
- Quit now, figure it out later.
- Quit when you have a minimum viable income.
- Delay quitting to some future date.
- Don’t quit at all.
Know your “why”. It should drive every other decision you make regarding your career path. If your “why” is unclear, it will be difficult to make any decisions.

Creators of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Know your why. Are you running away from something? Toward something? Take time to think about it, dive into it, journal about it. Define your goals.” ~ @NathanBarry

Links

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Coming up With a Business Model May 12, 2020

In preparing for our board meetings this month, we started thinking about our business model and the role it’s played in our business development and growth.

Developing a business model starts by getting into the mindset that you can and should charge people for the work you’re doing. Once you’re able to shift the way you think about charging for your work, the next step is to select the right business model.

And it’s not just about choosing a business model, it’s about validating it as well. Testing your hypotheses and finding out if people will actually pay you for the thing you’re creating is even more important than the model itself.

In today’s episode, we talk about building a business to serve your customers, picking one business model to start, testing your hypotheses, and more.

Main Takeaways

When you build a business that exists to serve the needs of your customers, you can and should charge for the work you do.
Possible business models include:
- Services
- Events and workshops
- Digital products
- Physical products
- Advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing
- Software
The business model you choose will greatly depend on the size of your audience—either the one you currently have or the one you want to build. Some businesses, such as coaching, only require a handful of customers, whereas something like software needs a larger number of customers to be successful.
Creating a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) is the only way to test your hypothesis properly and determine if people will pay for what you’ve created.

Creators of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Good feedback is often really painful at first. You may physically feel it in your body or in your mind, even. But it’s actually a good sign that someone has gone through the time to give you the gift of good feedback. If the person really cares about you, the feedback is something to be considered even if it’s uncomfortable. ” ~ @BarrettABrooks

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Never Stop Being a Student May 11, 2020

Being a student isn’t just for the years you’re in school. There is always something to learn and new people to learn from, whether they are your junior, senior, or right on track with you.

Mentors play a huge role in learning throughout life and provide immense opportunity for personal and professional growth. However, there are many other ways you can continue your education even if you don’t have access to a mentor.

In today’s episode, special guest hosts Haley Janicek and Alexis Teichmiller talk about mentors, teachable moments, being intentional with your education, and why it's important to never stop being a student.

Main Takeaways

Mentorships are valuable, but most people think about mentors being someone older or more experienced. However, to be teachable, you should be open to learning from anyone, even if they are younger or different from you.
If you’re going to instigate a teachable moment, make sure the recipient is in a state of mind to properly receive said feedback and put it to use.
Having a conversation with someone who could offer you feedback in the future is a valuable way to find ways to improve. It’s important to find a mentor who has the experience to offer you but is not too busy or unattainable for conversations.
Being intentional about what you’re hoping to learn and incorporating it into your day-to-day is an excellent way to make sure your newfound knowledge or skills stick.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Links

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Q&A Friday #7 May 08, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about the pros and cons of a generous affiliate program, marturing marketing channels, staying in your wheelhouse, managing your attention, and more!

What are the pros and cons of running a 30 percent lifetime value affiliate program? If you could go back, would you recommend waiting until a particular MMR or do it no matter what?
When are you going to buy Podia or create your own, integrated course platform?
How do you manage your attention as your audience and customer-base grows?
When someone fills out an NPS score and gives feedback, which scores should we focus on? Feedback of high score givers or that of low score givers?

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Thought of the day

(35:38) “Sit down and think about what you don’t want to be doing, where you don’t want to end up, and what failure looks like as a creator. Once you name it, it is less scary and it also allows you to design your life for the opposite. ” ~ @NathanBarry

Links

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How to Deal With Hate and Unwanted Attention as a Creator May 07, 2020

As creators, we put our work out there for public consumption. But sometimes that brings out the haters. Charli Prangley joins Nathan to discuss how to deal with haters and what we can do with negative feedback.

Charli’s been making YouTube videos for nearly six years with a focus on design topics both practical and personal. With more than 150k YouTube subscribers, she’s gotten a lot of attention - positive and negative.

Being open and transparent in your creative work will inevitably draw in people who want to comment on your process. It’s important to create a mindset and process to deal with potentially negative feedback.

In today’s episode, we talk about preparing for negative feedback, how to redirect your anger and frustration, and how to manage unwanted attention.

Main Takeaways

There will always be certain topics that attract more negative attention than others. This varies by industry and topic, so it’s something to keep an eye on and be aware of with your audience.
Being prepared for negative feedback and understanding that the person commenting only knows you from this snapshot of your life can go a long way in helping you process and move past the negativity.
Having other creators to talk to can provide an outlet for frustration. It also helps you redirect your anger away from the person who made the comment.
Keep an archive of positive feedback. Being able to reference the good things people have said about you can remind you why you do what you do.
Use the block button liberally. It’s there for a reason and you decide what people can say in your space. Have a policy, make it clear, and enforce it. You can also delete comments as you see fit or reply to comments to educate people on why it’s not OK.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“If you’re a creator that’s struggling with haters or unwanted attention, just know that you’re valid and you can rant about it.” ~ @charliprangley

Links

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Creating a Content Strategy From Scratch May 06, 2020

Whether you already have a content strategy or are truly starting from scratch, today’s episode will provide you with the tools you need to create a content strategy that will move your business forward.

A solid content strategy is built from aligning topics and themes along a matrix. This is a great time to pull out your spreadsheets because the more buckets you can identify for your content, the more robust and intentional your strategy will be.

In today’s episode, we talk about the importance of understanding your audience, why creating an outline first is important, how content strategy is related to search marketing, and more!

Main Takeaways

Be strategic about what you’re making and why you’re making it. Know your audience and your topic before you get started.
Great content is in-depth, searchable, and easy to understand and digest. Find a structure that fits you and your audience and stick to it. Creating an outline first can ensure that the creation process stays on track. It will also make longer content easier to write.
Find a publishing schedule that you can consistently commit to. How frequently you publish will partially dictate the actual content you produce.
Create a schedule and format that you are comfortable with. You want to play the long game with content, so it doesn’t serve you to try to do too much out of the gate.
Contribute your unique voice. Don’t just aggregate content, use your experiences and stories to add more value to your audience and to improve your organic search results.

Links

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Striving for Better While Maintaining a Sense of Gratitude May 05, 2020

Many of us set lofty goals and milestones but once we get there, is it enough? Do you know how much is enough for you? The balance between being grateful for what you have and striving for more or bigger goals can be tricky and is different from person to person.

Appreciating your day and the work you’re doing is a big step in practicing gratitude regularly. It also helps you separate productivity from progress; they are not always the same. If you can take a few minutes to write down everything you’re grateful for, it will significantly improve your mental outlook and recharge your ability to drive toward your goals.

In today’s episode, we talk about celebrating wins, comparing your progress to others, practicing gratitude, and how being content and being driven are not mutually exclusive.

Main Takeaways

Being able to enjoy and learn from the journey allows you to be grateful for where you are while also driving toward new goals.
When you’re working to fulfill your hierarchy of needs (food, water, shelter, love, etc), it can be difficult to focus on gratitude over goals.
Take more time to celebrate wins. No matter how big or small, take a moment to celebrate what you’ve accomplished.
Every six months, ask yourself, “what’s one thing I’ve accomplished that I’m proud of?” Then make a plan to celebrate it with someone rather than keeping it inside.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Everest Disaster by John Krakauer

Thought of the Day

“Be introspective. Ask yourself if you spend more time thinking about the past, present, or future. If you find you are always thinking about the next milestone, think about spending more time with this gratitude practice. Pursue something because you believe in it. Do it with an open heart.” ~ @NathanBarry

Links

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Using Twitter to Grow an Audience May 04, 2020

Twitter is a place where you can meet really interesting people and is a great channel for sharing original content and ideas. It’s a platform where people are highly engaged and where conversations can evolve rapidly.

We firmly believe that you should choose an appropriate channel outside of email to build your audience. Though the platform may change depending on the type of content you’re creating, we find that Twitter is the best for our audience and business.

Though Twitter does have downsides, such as a significant amount of trolls and fully public conversations, you can make up for some of the downsides by being intentional about the people you follow and engage with.

In today’s episode, we talk about why we like using Twitter, how we use Twitter to expand our audience, and things you can do to use the platform effectively. We also talk about whether or not Twitter is still relevant among all of the other options available.

Main Takeaways

You should pick at least one channel outside of email to help connect with and grow your audience. The platform you choose depends on your business and the type of content you produce.
Starting with Twitter allows you to see if an idea resonates with your audience in an outline format before spending the time and energy to create something more robust.
Replying to people who have very large followings can bring visibility to your account and increase your followers. Especially when you can respond quickly and thoughtfully.
People follow faces, not logos. Be yourself and share what you’re interested in.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Shower Arm + Flange

Thought of the Day

“No platform is the perfect place to grow an audience. Your best shot is to go all-in on one channel to start and focus on creating engaging conversations. ” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

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Q&A Friday #6 May 01, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about why we have a board as a private company, generating side income, podcasts vs. YouTube for creators, and more!

Why does ConvertKit have a board?
If we wanted to earn $10k over the next six months, how would we do that?
Where should an offline creator start when thinking about going online?
Do all ConvertKit employees have a side project that you encourage them to work on?
What’s the best way to send an online poll to my email subscribers.

Creator of the Day

Resource of the Day

Thought of the day

“We’re always in a hurry, but now we have time. We can do things that we normally wouldn’t do just because we now have the time to do it. We can make this a habit by telling ourselves that we have all the time we need to do the things that bring us joy.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

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Building Relationships From Scratch to Break Into a New Industry Apr 30, 2020

Building relationships is challenging even when you’ve been in an industry for a long time and have domain expertise you can demonstrate with your work. It’s even harder when you are trying to break into a new industry where you have yet to prove yourself and don’t have many connections.

Relationships are the cornerstone of everything that we do personally and professionally. As a company, we wouldn’t have gotten where we are without strong, foundational relationships.

In today’s episode, we talk about breaking into new industries, building strong relationships, and making creators the center of the work that we do at ConvertKit.

Main Takeaways

When you have a genuine interest in another person, are an advocate for them, and approach the relationship from a perspective of service, you grow a strong, mutually beneficial relationship.
Transparency and humility go a long way toward building relationships with mutual trust and respect. It has to be a good fit for both sides from the beginning.
Most of the time, you’re not actually starting from zero. It may be a small foothold, but it’s something on which you can build and generate momentum.
Go where the people are (this works digitally, too) and ask them what they are working on now or are hoping to do in the future. This can help you identify pain points and possible ways you can help them.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson

Thought of the Day

“Relationships are the foundation for everything. If you can approach building new relationships from a place of serving, people will be open and excited to meet you.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

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Premortems: Predict Every Way Your Idea Might Fail and Move Forward Anyway Apr 29, 2020

Premortems are a tool for decision making with confidence. This exercise allows you to think through all the ways a project might fail and how to move forward anyway.

Once you identify the things that could go wrong, you can begin to understand the why behind each point of failure. Then you can plan preventively and pad your downside before you start the project.

In today’s episode, we go through some real-world examples, and talk about when and how to use premortems to plan your projects better.

Main Takeaways

When you think of a project as a failure and you identify the why, it allows you to take preventative measures before you even start.
You shouldn’t use premortems for all projects. They’re most useful for projects with a risk of misinterpretation or people using it in a way you didn’t intend. This is especially true if you plan to spend a lot of time, energy, or money on the project.
Start by understanding your goals and desired outcomes. Then, given that plan, assume things go horribly wrong. This enables you to poke holes in your plan that may actually exist rather than just taking a contrarian role or playing devil’s advocate.

Creators of the Day

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“The point of a premortem is to bring clarity to risk. Whenever you’re trying to make a decision, there’s risk involved. A premortem brings clarity to that decision.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Black Panther Comic Books

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Create a Strong Relationship With Your Audience From Day One With Email Automation Apr 28, 2020

Getting into the habit of creating content is a lot of work, but it’s only the beginning of the process. Creating quality content is about connecting with your audience and one of the most sustainable ways to do that is through email automation.

Once you get someone’s interest, you have to keep it. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay on the content hamster wheel. Leveraging your existing content through email automation enables you to build relationships without having to constantly churn out your best work.

In this episode, we dig into using email automation to bridge the gap between initial contact with your readers and why they should stick around. We also talk about pillar content, how to organize your sequence, and how to get vulnerable with your readers.

Main Takeaways

Building a strong, authentic relationship with subscribers is critical. A strong relationship is what opens to the door to everything that comes next, including sales.
Your best content has nothing to do with the day it was published. Good content should be something you can always leverage to create relationships with your audience.
Email automation allows your audience to be on their own schedule and meets them where they are in their journey. It also allows you to control the sequence of content that your audience receives so you can better set them up to understand who you are and what your business can do for them.
Be vulnerable and share with your audience. This enables you to build a personal relationship with each reader.
Use a separate email address for email replies. This is the lifeline to your audience and developing those relationships.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Focus on building relationships—no matter what you’re creating or writing—with automation.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Make Something You Are Proud Of Apr 27, 2020

As creators, we often spend a lot of time thinking about why we create. Making money, serving people, gaining notoriety, etc, are all reasons why we might create for our businesses. But what do we do with the ideas that aren’t driven by making money or serving others?

Sometimes, creating is about doing what gives you joy. The metric for success doesn’t always equate to making money; it can be solely to bring joy to yourself and others.

In today’s episode, we explore several creators whose products seem to be driven by this desire.

Main Takeaways

Art is what you feel called and inspired to make regardless of whether or not someone else is paying attention to it.
Selling out is an emotionally rigged term. Often, when people are called a ‘sellout’ it’s because they’ve focused only on making things for money and not necessarily joy, pride, or quality.
The ideal outcome for a creator is when creating can exist at the overlap of joy and making money.
As a creator, there’s a downstream effect that happens when you put your work into the world; you can’t put business metrics around that.
Brand is the story that people tell themselves about your business.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“Once money is taken care of, what do you want to create? Even if it doesn’t make money, give yourself permission to pursue that. ” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #5 Apr 24, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about dealing with haters, creating content where your audience is, managing remote employees, and more!

I’d like to know how being transparent has affected ConvertKit? How transparent should people be with their businesses?
What’s the difference between Twitter and LinkedIn and which one do you prefer to channel people to your email list?
How do you monitor your remote employees to ensure that they’re doing their best work and actually getting things done?
How do you get out of a research rut when starting a new project?
As an expert on a particular topic, how do you go about creating an email or content strategy that organizes all of your different ideas?
How many emails is too many emails to send to your list?

Thought of the day

“Weeks are really long right now. Take the time to do something that brings you joy this weekend.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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5 Templates for a High-Quality Podcast Episode or Article Apr 23, 2020

Starting a podcast or blog can be overwhelming. And while it’s important to develop your own voice and point-of-view, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with your format.

There are many tried and true content formats that provide a solid place to start, and can be helpful for beginners and seasoned creators alike.

In this episode, we explore five different templates that you can use to create a high-quality podcast, article, or blog post.

Main takeaways

Roundups may seem overdone but they can still be effective if you put your own spin on them. Having people share their input allows you to drive organic traffic to your site and builds your community simultaneously. Doing a roundup via podcast adds a barrier because it takes more effort and know-how to execute well.
Story or documentary-driven posts use a story or real-life event, supported by deep research, to draw people in. This is a great way to illustrate a problem, solution, or moral.
Biography or storytelling can be well done when you let the reader or viewer draw the conclusions rather than doing it for them.
Teach, inspire, or entertain are three solid goals for creating content. You don’t have to hit all three; just one can be enough.
List posts are overdone but they are still effective at drawing attention and getting people to engage.
Epic guides should exist to beat any other post or resource about that specific topic.
Interviews are a great way to gain deep insights into individuals or topics. However, the interview is only as good as the guest.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Templates make things easier to create. It’s hard to show up and create things regularly and templates make it easy to move past creative blocks. It can also make publishing schedules easier if you do it by format. The idea of publishing meaningful content each week becomes achievable.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Dealing With Anxiety: Permission to Not Be on Your “A” Game During Challenging Times Apr 22, 2020

Uncertainty, loss, and shifts in our daily life can create new forms of anxiety that we haven’t experienced before. Understanding that life is different now and will be different for the foreseeable future comes with its own set of challenges.

Acknowledging your emotions and feelings is an important first step. It allows you to trace it back to the reasons why you feel that way. All of these steps can help you better deal with anxiety while also allowing you to be kind to yourself. It’s important to realize that it’s ok to not be at the top of your game right now.

In this episode, we dig into ways you can better cope with anxiety in challenging times and steps you can take to move forward.

Main Takeaways

It’s important to fully understand the situation so you can embrace the reality. It can be painful but approach it one day at a time.
Emotional awareness is critical. Something as simple as ‘Red, Yellow, Green’ can put a name to how you’re feeling, which makes it easier to deal with.
Try not to attach your self worth to productivity or output. Good days will be great, and bad days will be bad.
Lower the bar for what it means to show up every day. Make it something manageable and achievable.
Spend time doing things that bring you joy and focus on the habits you can control.

Creators of the Day

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“There are no bad feelings. Anxiety is not a bad feeling. It’s a normal, human thing to feel any kind of emotion. The best thing you can do is embrace them and acknowledge them and find ways to move through them. If you’re able to do that, you’ll have a fuller human experience.” ~ @BarretABrooks

Links

Start Building Your Audience for Free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Defining Your Flywheel for More Creative Output Apr 21, 2020

Though we’ve mentioned the creative flywheel in past episodes, we want to go a step further and help you figure out your own flywheel.

While every creator has a different flywheel, the process of discovery tends to follow a pattern. As we discuss this pattern, think about your own flywheel and in what ways your journey might be similar or unique.

Main Takeaways

The creator flywheel cycle follows a straightforward and logical path that encourages education, creation, and promotion.
- Learn and practice continuously.
- Hone your voice, point of view, and unique story.
- Create and publish continuously.
- Actively promote your content.
- Sell products to earn a living.
Any successful creator has likely followed a similar path. It can be useful to examine their business strategies and see how they align with these patterns.

Creators of the Day

Courtney Slazinik

Resources of the Day

Thought of the Day

“When you find your creator flywheel and prove that it works, you have to stay focused and only say yes to things that drive business results. To stay in the game and keep creating you have to care about the business outcomes.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Define Your Flywheel to Fuel Faster Business Growth by Barrett Brooks

Start Building Your Audience for Free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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The Gap Between Our Taste and Ability Apr 20, 2020

As a creator, you will naturally have ideas for things that you want to create. The problem most people run into is turning those ideas into realities.

When we talk about taste, we mean those things you want to create. Those ideas are influenced by the things you love, filtered through your brain, and given a unique spin or angle. The challenge is to match your ability to your creative imagination.

It’s OK if your ability isn’t there yet.Everybody starts somewhere.

Main takeaways

Creative people want to be able to create what’s in their mind and make it a reality. But, early on, they have trouble making that vision come to life. This is normal and you have to push through it and put in the time.
Patience is what’s going to close the gap between what you want to make and your ability to make it.
To develop taste, you need to document what you love, be exposed to new people, places, and experiences, and reflect on what and why you like those things. It’s important to then share your ideas.
Start copying. If you can figure out how to recreate what you love, you can deconstruct the process and start learning what makes that thing special.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Start defining your taste. What are the things you really love? What really stands out to you as great work in your field?” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Q&A Friday #4 Apr 17, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we’re joined by guest co-host, Cory Miller. We talk about how our goals changed over time, acquisitions, handling communication while working remotely, and more!

How have your dreams and goals shifted over time and how do you know when it’s time to pivot? What are your feelings about those processes?
Has ConvertKit had any acquisition offers? What was it like to get an offer?
How do you deal with communication overload while working remotely?
How is Covid-19 affecting customers?

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Creating From a Vulnerable Place Apr 16, 2020

Today we are joined by special guest host, Alexis Teichmiller, and we’re talking about vulnerability.

Vulnerability has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, but that’s not a bad thing.

Social media makes it easy for people to only share their successes. But, if you can be more vulnerable on these platforms, and open about your process, people will connect with it more deeply and see you as a real person.

Main takeaways

Share both your successes and your failures. Be open with your audience about what went wrong, instead of just showing the positive results.
Vulnerability is more for you than others. It’s you keeping a promise to yourself that you’ll be who you are.
Be calculated in what you choose to share. Knowing what you’re trying to accomplish when you share something will help you avoid oversharing.
Imposter syndrome can stand in the way of your vulnerability. It makes you feel like you need to have the answers to every question in your profession.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Find the right amount of vulnerability for you. Think about what you’re trying to accomplish and who you’re trying to help by what you share online. ” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Using Constraints to Power Creative Output Apr 15, 2020

Constraints can be a great way to lock yourself into a project and force yourself to create on a regular basis.

You will undoubtedly run into natural constraints along your journey. That’s a good thing! But you can also give yourself some external constraints that will keep you motivated and moving forward.

Holding yourself accountable will make you more creative.

Main takeaways

Scheduling is a great way to keep you consistent. You can take scheduling to the next level by creating a system that holds you accountable if your work is incomplete.
Needing to publish regularly can also serve as a constraint in itself. If you have an audience that counts on your work at a specific time, you hold yourself accountable to publish on time.
It takes a lot more work to do something irregularly than regularly. The key is to make creating a habit in your daily routine.
Find an accountability partner or a group of people that will hold each other accountable.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Streaks App

Thought of the day

“You may have to be more intentional with the way you budget your money in order to buy from a small-time creator, or the people who are just getting started, or the people who are good at one thing instead of a million things. But I believe that local economies can help us power this creative world that we believe is going to continue to come to life as more menial jobs get automated and people have more time for creative outlets.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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Finding Leverage as a Creator Apr 14, 2020

Leverage is one of the most important ways that you, as a creator, can push your product out to the world.

The key to finding leverage is through a good reputation, which you’ll gain as you grow. It takes a lot of hard and dedicated work to start this process, but as you gain momentum, you’ll be able to refocus that work into other aspects of your business.

At first, it can be scary to put your name to your work, but it is a key factor in gaining a reputation that you’re proud of and that will work in your favor moving forward.

Main takeaways

There are three types of leverage: labor, capital, and products with no marginal costs of replication.
As you grow and gain a reputation, the ability for you to leverage your products and services also grows. You can begin to multiply one form of leverage with another, accelerating your efforts.
As a creator, you should be thinking about two things: 1) How can I productize what I’m doing? and 2) How can I build an audience? Both will create leverage.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Spend some time journaling today and think about where you already have leverage in your business, where you could create more leverage in your business, and also think about where you are shying away from signing your name to your work.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

Start building your audience for free

With ConvertKit landing pages, you can build a beautiful page for your project in just a few minutes. Choose colors, add photos, build a custom opt-in form, and add your copy. All without writing any code! Check out landingpages.new to get started.

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The Creator Journey Apr 13, 2020

We often have assumptions built into our thinking about what it looks like to start a creative business — things that might not be obvious if you haven’t done it before.

And this is true whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned creator. Our goal in this conversation is to help you understand what some of those things are, and ways you can make progress on your own journey.

Main takeaways

Creative “sparks” often occur as external events. It might take losing your job or being thrown into a project to get you started.
Research the market. Is there competition? How can you be different? Is there a gap you can fill? Do the research, but don’t stay in this phase for too long.
Once you have a direction, build momentum and to keep it going as long as you can.
Decide on your medium: writing, audio, video, etc. Then choose a platform to distribute what you create (that isn’t email).
The creative flywheel includes learning, creating and publishing content consistently, sharing and promoting your work, and making and selling high-quality products and services.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“The thing I would encourage you to do is to start to think about all of those activities you do to run your business and how you can move them from a sequence into a flywheel.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

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Q&A Friday #3 Apr 10, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about extending your networks, early mistakes and what we learned from them, combining email lists, and more!

If you own a micro gym, what is the first thing you do after getting Zoom classes for current members set up?
What do you recommend for getting into the second or third tier of connections? I’ve got about 250 people on my email list and I know almost all of them. How do you connect with people they know?
How did things fail or result in undesired outcomes in the early days, and how did you correct it?
I have email lists from past talks and events I’ve done previously. Is it okay to add them to my subscriber list now that I have ConvertKit? What's the best way to do that and should I send them an email first?

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Planta

Thought of the day

“In the spirit of casual Fridays, do something that will get you in the right mindset to have some fun this weekend. Whether it’s starting a new project, spending time with family, or just goofing off, have some fun.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

Secondhand Lions

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Your Work Deserves to Be Promoted. Here’s How. Apr 09, 2020

It’s likely that you enjoy the process of creating a lot more than you enjoy the process of promoting. However, promoting is a skill that you can learn and get better at.

In many ways, our work is not done until we promote it. Promoting the work is just as important as creating it.

But, like everything, promotion is a lot easier with a system. Here are some tips that will help you develop that system and make the whole process less overwhelming and threatening.

Main takeaways

Self-promotion is not bad. It’s a small bet toward getting your content out there and in front of people.
Make sure you build self-promotion into your creative process. It will become more natural when it’s just another step in your outline.
Email is the best and most reliable place to start promoting your content.
Use social media to share the highlights.
There are communities for everything (Reddit, Soundcloud, etc.). Find them and promote your work there.
Paid ads are great to boost your reach if you have the money.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“One of the key differences between creators who have a hobby that they work on and creators who earn a living from their work is their level of willingness and comfort with doing the heavy lifting of getting their work to spread.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

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How to Incentivize Your Subscribers to Join Your Email List Apr 08, 2020

People are more protective than every of their email accounts, so it can be hard asking them to join your mailing list. And if you do ask, they may need the right incentives to actually sign up.

The key is to give these subscribers what they want so they feel confident in signing up for your list. Permission-based marketing is more effective than spam mail, so it’s important to focus on the people who want to hear from you.

Today’s episode is an extension of yesterday’s, so be sure to check out episode 011 for more information on how to get started with landing pages.

Main takeaways

An opt-in incentive is something you give to subscribers, and it should be valuable to them.
Use your landing page to give people a taste of what they can expect from your opt-in incentive, should they decide to sign up.
We suggest using a double opt-in method. This may decrease your subscriber count, but it will also decrease the spam you get from bots. And, overall, it will improve the quality of your list.
Opt-in incentives will vary across different industries.
- For authors, the incentive might be the first chapter of an upcoming book.
- A podcaster might include a how-to guide they discussed in a previous episode.
- Musicians could include a behind the scenes process for creating an album.
- An athlete could give unique insights into their leagues.
- Chefs might feature some of their favorite recipes.
- Filmmakers or photographers could include an exclusive photo pack or b-roll.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Do something you really enjoy today. Take an hour for yourself. You may realize you need it while we’re in the thick of this pandemic.” ~ @barrettabrooks

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Designing a Great Landing Page for Your Next Creative Project Apr 07, 2020

We’re creating a landing page on the fly. Rather than put a lot of planning into it, we decided it would be more authentic to create a landing page and evaluate different scenarios in the moment.

Landing pages are a great tool for grabbing attention. We’re going to walk through how to design a great landing page with a ConvertKit template that will help your call-to-action be more effective.

Main takeaways

Choose a template that best reflects what you do and will catch people’s eyes.
Consider the amount of content you are trying to convey and choose a template accordingly. If you are pre-launching, you will probably need less content.
The easiest way to start is to change the imagery and colors. These are quick changes that will create progress.
Use a headline that captures the core value of what you do as a business. There are helpful tips for how to do this in ConvertKit’s templates.
For your call-to-action, have someone interview you. It’s a helpful way to get more clarity around your core values instead of just free-writing.
Decide what information you need from people. For example, you might not need a first name, but it could help you personalize your content.
Add a thank-you page, and provide more information that could be helpful in the future.

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Now, especially while social distancing, is the perfect time to start a project. Whether you’re taking an off-line business online or you have another venture, now is a great time to start.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

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Mastermind Groups: How to Surround Yourself With Remarkable People Apr 06, 2020

Mastermind groups are a great way to share ideas with like-minded people in your field and to cheer each other on.

In a mastermind group, your peers are able to give you a more objective look at the work you do. As your group continues to hold each other accountable, you’ll strengthen the skills you have, while also giving valuable insight to others in the group.

Today we talk about the best ways to get your own mastermind started and what to look for in the people with whom you choose to surround yourself.

Main takeaways

Try and find people going in the same direction you want to go. Look for people in your immediate network who are like-minded.
Put yourself in situations where you can meet people. This can be done through interviews, conferences, roundtable discussions, meaningful social media conversations, etc.
Come up with a format for your group meetings. Go with what works for you. We suggest covering the following: How are you doing? What have you accomplished since we last met? What are you struggling with?
Take retreats and spend time with each other in person to build even deeper relationships.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Think about who you want to surround yourself with. If there are people out there who do work that you admire, reach out to them. They could end up being your friends one day.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

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Q&A Friday #2 Apr 06, 2020

In today’s Q&A Friday, we talk about our audio setup, tools for writing, building a SaaS company, books, how to read an article, hobbies, and more!

Q: What is your audio set up?

We use the MixPre 3 since it has three audio inputs. We also like that it can use batteries and an SD card. It makes it very portable and can be used without a computer if you have to go out to grab an interview with someone. For mics, we use the Audio Technica AT875R. It’s a great shotgun mic that works well in spaces that aren’t acoustically treated. Finally, we use Sony MDR7506 headphones.

Q: What tool do you use to draft your writing?

We use tools like Ulysses for a pure writing experience. It has a great “table of contents” style organization. We also use Notion for long-form and collaborative writing.

Q: What’s one thing you learned about building a SaaS company that you think is a valuable lesson for creators?

The first thing that comes to mind is that it will take a lot longer than you think. You’ve got to make sure you keep at it and have the mindset of showing up every day for years.

Q: Which books about writing non-fiction would you recommend?

Nathan recommends Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Barrett recommends The Golden Book on Writing by David Lambuth, Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, On Speaking Well by Peggy Noonan, The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto, and On Writing by Steven King.

Q: When you read articles, do you read the entire article, or just skim for highlights?

We usually read the entire thing. If we’re thinking of giving up on an article, then we start skimming to give it more of a chance.

Q: Are you expecting a decrease in your customer base from people who have gone out of business?

We’ve seen a little bit of that, but we’ve actually seen more growth as businesses try to increase their online presence.

Q: What are your hobbies?

Nathan - playing outside with his kids, practicing soccer by himself, woodworking, and reading books. Barrett - reading and writing, hiking, skiing, camping, and fly-fishing.

Q: What are your priorities for revenue as your business increases?

We’ll invest heavily in the product. We’ve added team members recently and we’ve put more money into advertising. We want to be able to serve a larger group of creators while maintaining the notion that existing customers are more important than getting new customers. Our success is creator success.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“If rest is what you need, take this weekend to not be productive, so that you can be more productive in the week. After the last few weeks of non-stop craziness, this might be the perfect thing for you to hear.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

Links

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How to Create and Launch a Course in 72 Hours Apr 06, 2020

We greatly underestimate what can be accomplished in 72 hours. With the right mindset, it’s possible to create and launch something others will be happy to support.

When doing something this fast, it’s critical to focus only on the essentials. If there are details to add that aren’t absolutely necessary, they can be added later. The main point is to launch.

You will continue to iterate and add detail over time. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.

Main takeaways

Create a content outline. You won’t have enough time to focus on a script. Plot out headlining points and be able to riff on them briefly.
When filming, leave the camera running regardless of any errors you make. Have a visual or audio cue that lets you know where to make edits later. This will save you valuable time in the long run.
Edit the course to convey only what is necessary. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It might also help to edit backward to see your best takes first. Save all the polishing for later.
90 minutes is the perfect amount of time for a paid course. If you’re making a free course, 30 minutes is more than enough.
Promote the course to your email list and on the social media channels with which you’re most familiar.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Start before you feel ready. If you already know something that someone can learn from you, you have something worth sharing. ” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

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How to Change Your Business Model in Uncertain Times Apr 06, 2020

COVID-19 has forced businesses to change almost overnight. But this isn’t just about our current circumstances. Adaptability is always important.

This means understanding how to be accessible despite new hurdles. It’s about being flexible and nimble as a business so you’re ready and capable when rapid changes occur.

Main takeaways

Try new things. Restaurants have switched their model overnight. Many offer curbside pickup or free delivery where they previously didn’t. Menus have also been modified to cut costs while maintaining quality.
Prioritize the changes you want to make, so you can make them at your own pace. Many businesses have moved online. While some were already planning to do this, others have been forced to before they were ready. Changing at your own pace is always better than having it forced upon you.
Learn to adapt quickly. Event companies have had to change their model entirely. They’ve had to learn how to operate with new dynamics at an incredible pace. Those who can’t adapt, or do so slowly, will struggle to get their businesses back on track.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“It’s a time when it would be really easy (if your career is falling apart, if your business is falling apart) to just want to curl up in a ball, and that’s totally understandable. But if you can stay in the game and keep your head right, you’ll always have options.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

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Eight Creative Business Ideas We’d Start Today Apr 06, 2020

Yes, new businesses are popping up online every day. But that doesn’t mean everything’s been done, or that the market is saturated. In fact, there are lots of creative ways to get started with a business that may be easier than you think.

Don’t let a lack of ideas stop you from starting a business. Here are eight creative ideas for businesses we'd start today (if we weren’t currently running ConvertKit).

Sign-making
Sustainable and fashionable clothing
A tiny house hotel
Electronic music production for YouTube/podcasting/etc.
An X-Carv CNC community
Detailed online fly-fishing guide for Central Oregon
Redo Living For Monday
Teaching design

Take notes, jot down ideas, or just let the creative juices start flowing. Let’s get creative with how and what we can start creating today.

Main takeaways

Using the skills or resources you already have access to is a great place to start when starting a new business.
Timing is key. A great strategy is to look at movements that are starting today and figure out how to get ahead of the competition.
A business that allows you to document the process is awesome for customer engagement. If you do it well, it’s a great marketing tool that allows for lead generation.
Start small or get very specific and build a community around it. More business will always follow and new ideas will come from that niche.
Revisit topics or ideas that you had (or even tried) years ago, but could do now with much more experience and expertise.

Creators of the day

Eric Friedensohn

Resources of the day

The Wisdom of the Enneagram

Thought of the day

Lost by David Wagoner

“Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.”

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The Ladders of Wealth Creation Apr 06, 2020

The Ladders of Wealth Creation is an idea that came from an article Nathan wrote in 2019 called, “The ladders of wealth creation: a step-by-step roadmap to building wealth”. It’s worth discussing here given the surge in people wanting to take control of their career trajectory.

In short, the four ladders are:

Time for money
Your own service business
Productized services
Selling products

In this episode, Barrett puts Nathan in the hot seat and gets at why these concepts are both timeless and timely.

Main takeaways

Trading time for money, while often viewed as the least desirable category to be in, should not always have a negative connotation. In fact, it’s almost always necessary at the beginning of your journey of wealth creation.
While it’s possible to jump around on the ladder, the more skills you acquire that align with running a business, the easier the transition to being a full-time business owner will be.
A productized service business is likely ready when people start asking for a similar service to what you already offer, or a lightweight (cheaper) version of what you’re offering.
Ask yourself how much momentum your projects or products have, after putting them out there. Will they continue to add value to your business even if you leave them alone?

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“If you’re doing work for clients, sign up as another client yourself and be a little bit demanding. Say that you need one hour a day for wealth creation.” ~ @nathanbarry

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Q&A Friday Apr 06, 2020

It’s our first Q&A Friday! Instead of our usual segments, each Friday we’re going to take your questions and do our best to give thorough and thoughtful answers.

If you listened to our episode on building an audience, you’ll know that part of staying engaged is listening to your audience’s pain points and finding ways to help. This is our way of doing that during these challenging times.

Q: Do you “get ready” when working from home as though you’d be going to the office?

It’s important to get dressed for work every single day. When you shower and get dressed, you shift your mindset into a work zone, instead of just rolling out of bed and opening up your computer. Nathan doesn’t always follow the same process but sees the value in it.

Q: How do you stay inspired to create every day?

A great way to create every day is to make it a habit or set goals to do it every day. Barrett encourages not to rely on inspiration, because it can wane or be interrupted, but to rely on habits or schedules. Keeping a list of ideas when you’re inspired is a great resource to come back to when you have the time to create.

Q: I’m trying to decide between creating this weekend (writing my newsletter that has lapsed) and needing to disconnect completely for a few days. How do I decide what’s most important?

Do both. Turn off your wifi, find a new location, and set a timer and finish the newsletter. Once you’re done with that, close the computer and disconnect.

Q: Do you have any advice for content and messaging right now? There's an opportunity to connect with a captive audience but I want to be thoughtful and respectful.

Being transparent can help take the scariness out of the current situation (COVID-19 Pandemic) and help get your message across. A lot of people are ready to talk about something else, so new messaging might be welcome.

Q: Regarding the ladders of wealth creation, I’m having a hard time stepping away from spending 40+ hours per week working with freelance/consulting clients to actually write/podcast/create a product. Help!

Good news! We’re going to do an entire episode on the ladders of wealth creation in Episode 5. Check out that episode for a more in-depth answer to your question.

Q: Do you guys use any self-organization/note-taking methodologies (E.g. second brain, getting things done, etc.)? What do you find helps you stay organized or productive?

Nathan uses the Notes app for Apple products, which isn’t necessarily recommended. It doesn’t matter which tools you use, but you should use and rely on your personal rituals to stay on top of things.

Q: Which is better, bootstrapping vs taking advantage of the small business loans that are becoming available? What financial steps would you take in this uncertain time?

Take aggressive action. That looks different from businesses to business, but now is the time to move forward with purpose.

Creators of the day

Maria Popova

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“I can’t wait for a years time, when all of this is a distant memory and there is a corona baby boom because all the lovers were lovin.

And there is a rise in small business because all the entrepreneurs had a moment of stillness and creativity.

And all the children remember nothing but a time when all the mums and dads were at home and drawing and playing board games and we remember it as the time we all got to stop and be present.

We will remember the time our health was our first priority and people learnt new ways to use fresh produce to feed their families and we were all forced to think outside the box and dream up new things, and reinvent old ways and for once even amongst the chaos there was community, there was a global rise in togetherness and the streets were quiet but our homes were bustlin with love and laughter.

That time is coming… soon just like other crisis before it this will all be a distant memory, a thing we soon listen to our children discuss in classrooms, a once was; that we share with our grand babies. So to you - I know it’s unsettling but focus on the silver lining, we are in this together and there’s so much beauty to see.” ~ @leilastead

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How to Be Productive Working From Home Apr 06, 2020

Feeling productive is getting harder and harder. As most of us find ourselves working from home, how can we cultivate a new kind of productivity that fits with our current circumstances? How can we feel like we’re still making progress even when things aren’t normal?

The most important thing to remember is that it’s ok to not feel as productive as we would in our normal work settings. We need to reset our expectations for what productivity means and create a plan for getting back on track.

Main takeaways

Create work-life boundaries. It may be tempting to work at the kitchen table or wander from room to room, but it’s important to have a dedicated space so you can focus during your work hours and leave it when you’re done.
Communication is key. Make sure you’re communicating with your family about your work hours, when you’re on calls, and setting expectations with your colleagues or clients.
Create a to-do list at the end of each day. This ensures that when you start working the next day, you can jump right in and make the most of your time.
Block your time each day for work, meetings, and creativity. This helps when trying to coordinate schedules and gives you more freedom in your day.
Avoid task-switching and distractions. Put your phone across the room. Don’t check your email constantly. Try to stay focused on one task at a time so that you can check it off and move on rather than having it loom over your head all day.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“Fear, uncertainty, and doubt can be fuel for brilliance. This is an important message for us today with what we’re going through as creators, and as a society. If you can find a way to channel all of the fear and anxiety you’re feeling right now into creating, then you’re going to come out of this stronger than you came in.” ~ @BarrettABrooks

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Building an Audience Is a Superpower Apr 06, 2020

There’s never been a better time to build your audience. They are the people who will cheer you on and champion your work. It’s essentially a ‘cheat code’ for your business, ensuring that you’ll have people there to support you as you create and grow.

But if you’ve never built an audience before, it can seem daunting. Where do you find the people who want to hear from you and would miss you if you didn’t show up?

As usual, getting started is the hardest part. Here are a few tips and reminders that will help.

Main takeaways

The most direct metric for how many people have decided to actively engage with you is your number of email subscribers.
If you can get 1,000 people to engage with you and be there to swarm the next thing you create, you don’t need to charge that much to make a good living.
Getting your first subscriber is important because it shows that it is, indeed, possible to create an audience from scratch.
Building an audience is not sexy. It takes time, it takes a lot of asks, and it pushes you out of your comfort zone.
Once you build an audience, you have to show up consistently. Maintaining your audience is all about showing up and sharing with them.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“When you ask yourself, “where in my body do I feel stress?”, you can start to distance yourself a bit from the stress itself. It goes from ‘I am stressed’ to ‘I feel stress’ and that’s much easier to find ways to deal with.” ~ @nathanbarry

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Kevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans

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Why Being a Creator Is More Important Now Than Ever Apr 03, 2020

We believe the future belongs to creators. What started as an idea at Craft + Commerce, has since become an ever-increasing part of our mindset.

Being a creator means taking ownership of your destiny. When we look at the world, it’s easy to feel like we are just along for the ride. But being a creator means we take control, we create outcomes, we take full responsibility for what happens in our lives.

This mindset helps you “future-proof” yourself. Now is the time to start owning your path.

Main takeaways

Lean into what you want to share with the world. Now is the perfect time to put your work in front of people and build a captive audience.
Keep sharing and working in public. This will help you build an audience that cares about what you’re doing and will be there to support you in the future.
Make 2020 your year for connecting with your audience and building trust. People will still buy your stuff because people buy stuff from people they like.

Creators of the day

Resources of the day

Thought of the day

“How can we be deliberate about the constraint we’re under? How can we channel this into something that's really meaningful? I want to look back on this time as a time where we created habits and special moments in our family that we're proud of.” ~ @nathanbarry

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