The Creator Spotlight Podcast

This week Francis is joined by Tom Fishburne, also known as The Marketoonist. Tom is a cartoonist and marketer who turned his satirical drawings about corporate life into a sustainable business that has brought him over 500,000+ across platforms. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/tom-fishburne __ RSVP to the Creator Business Summit: https://www.beehiiv.com/virtual-events/creator-business-summit __ Follow Tom LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomfishburne/ Website: https://marketoonist.com Newsletter: https://marketoonist.beehiiv.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketoonist __ Links & References The Do Lecture: https://thedolectures.com/speakers/tom-fishburne/ __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Tom Fishburne, The Marketoonist 01:05 How to price your work online 08:49 Humor as a leadership skill 11:45 The world of content creation in the early 2000’s 15:05 It’s not the ink, it’s the think 21:05 The importance of mimicry in creative work 23:26 How to create a recognizable style 26:36 You must be an entrepreneur in the creator economy 30:41 Email, the most valuable platform 33:16 The best platform for audience engagement 38:32 Red flags for clients 43:17 Why you shouldn’t scale your business 44:37 How to nail speaking engagements 52:25 Structuring your day for optimal creativity 57:39 Focussing on sustainability, not growth

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Tiffany Yu, the founder and CEO of Diversability, an entirely disabled-run and disabled-led social enterprise to elevate disability pride. Tiffany is also the author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto, in which she highlights the myriad ways our society discriminates against people with disabilities - and what we can do about it. Read the newsletter:https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/tiffany-yu __ Get your free ticket to The Creator Summit at https://live.mightynetworks.com __ Tiffany's Links The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: https://www.tiffanyyu.com/book LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyayu/ Website: https://www.tiffanyyu.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imtiffanyyu/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imtiffanyyu __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer Follow Natalia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmperez/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/_NatmPerez __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Tiffany Yu 01:01 The three levels to building a community 04:41 What is Diversability? 06:17 The breakdown of a 80k community 13:09 Key elements of a strong community 18:43 The reach of virtual communities over in-person 24:42 Influencers vs. creators 31:48 The four pillars of monetization 36:25 How the creator economy has helped the disability community 49:02 Best platforms for virality and business growth 53:57 The tenets of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto #podcast #creatoreconomy #community

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Jayde Powell, a creator, social strategist and entrepreneur. Jayde has worked in the industry for over a decade and is an expert in social strategy, previously working with brands like Apple TV, LinkedIn and Delta Airlines. As a creator, she's built a thriving, sustainable business, and currently has 28,000 followers on LinkedIn. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/jayde-powell __ Get your free ticket to The Creator Summit at https://live.mightynetworks.com __ Jayde LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaydeipowell/ The Em Dash Co: https://www.theemdashco.com Website: https://www.jaydeipowell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaydeipowell/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/jaydeipowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jaydeipowell __ References Jayde's interview with Buffer: https://buffer.com/resources/creators-unlocked-jayde-powell/ Natalia's essay on authenticity: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/building-authentic-community __ Follow Francis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-zierer/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/FZierer Follow Natalia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmperez/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/_NatmPerez __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Jayde 01:24 Making $50k+ in 3 months 06:39 What they don't tell you about speaking engagements 09:15 Creator Tea Talk 13:22 3 parts of approaching brand partnerships 14:49 Authenticity in the creator economy 19:15 Establishing a personal brand in 2025 24:19 The journey to 100k LinkedIn followers 30:27 The journey to $250k of revenue 34:42 All creators are entrepreneurs 42:04 How to build the self-promotion muscle 44:24 Creating unique content to stand out on LinkedIn 48:03 Building a sustainable future in the creator economy 52:56 The importance of community amongst creators 55:24 The #1 piece of advice for creators #podcast #creatoreconomy #linkedin

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined by Kevin Jon. Kevin is a YouTube strategist, creator, and founder of multiple media businesses. He started as a solo YouTuber, grew and sold his own channels, and now helps brands and broadcasters build profitable content on YouTube. In this episode, we dive into his playbook for growth, monetization, and turning channels into real businesses. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/kevin-jon __ Get your free ticket to The Creator Summit at https://live.mightynetworks.com __ Kevin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjonw/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/thekevinjon Megalomedia: @megalomedia Channel Craft: https://www.channelcraftagency.com __ 00:00:00 Who is Kevin Jon? 00:00:58 Grow your channel with The YouTube Masterplan 00:07:07 How to identify opportunities on YouTube 00:09:13 What it takes to get 1M views on YouTube 00:19:34 The difficulties of building a media empire 00:25:15 What can be learnt from traditional media 00:30:01 The most important metrics to track on YouTube 00:32:29 Building the biggest YouTube agency in the world 00:36:40 Selling a YouTube channel for $100K 00:39:20 The value of pre-production 00:41:45 Translating traditional media content to YouTube 00:44:45 From teenage YouTuber to media entrepreneur 00:50:08 Lessons from working in China: Be scrappier 00:56:43 Bullish and bearish YouTube predictions #podcast #creatoreconomy #entrepreneur

In this episode of The Creator Spotlight Podcast, Francis speaks with Melanie Ehrenkranz, the creator of the Laid Off newsletter and Discord community. They discuss the origins of Laid Off, building a community where people feel supported and engaged, and the concept of the laid off to creator/entrepreneur pipeline. __ Follow Melanie Laid Off Newsletter: https://laid0ff.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-ehrenkranz-07231126/ __ References Melanie's Laid Off survey: https://laid0ff.substack.com/p/hundreds-of-layoff-stories Never Post podcast episode with Melanie: https://www.neverpo.st/any-rigid-idea-about-yourself-is-a-prison/ Interview with The Sidebar: https://mozillasidebar.substack.com/p/inside-the-newsletter-making-layoffs Interview with The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/03/style/laid-off-newsletter-substack.html __ 00:00 Introducing Melanie 01:44 How 'Laid Off' began 06:32 Building an engaged, valuable community 10:12 Trend reports and insights from the laid off experience 13:20 Monetization that gives back to the community 22:47 LinkedIn culture and the need for personal brand 30:36 Potential future services for Laid Off 35:48 Permeable definitions of the creator 39:56 The creativity of the newsletter format 42:28 The laid off to creator pipeline 49:01 How to gain your first 10K subscribers 51:26 One year of Laid Off #podcast #laidoff #creatoreconomy

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast, Francis is joined by Hayley Rose, a former Google and YouTube employee turned YouTube growth strategist. Hayely has worked with some of the biggest channels on YouTube, growing them from zero views to hundreds of millions. In this podcast Hayley breaks down the five steps that every creator should follow to get more views, grow on YouTube and build a sustainable career in the creator economy. __ Hayley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleyleighrose YTJobs: https://ytjobs.co/talent/profile/257289 The Upload Club Website: https://www.theuploadclub.com/ Newsletter: https://theuploadclub.beehiiv.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theuploadclub __ Timestamps 00:00:00 Introducing Hayley Rose 00:03:00 The three services of The Upload Club 00:05:44 The actual purpose of a thumbnail — it’s not what you think 00:08:05 YouTube's most important metrics to focus on 00:12:20 The five steps every creator must know 00:15:22 Step 1: The Idea 00:19:14 Step 2: Pre-production 00:25:22 Step 3: Shoot day 00:28:35 Step 4: Edit 00:38:18 Step 5: Upload 00:43:37 Hayley's experience working at YouTube 00:50:55 Huge opportunities in the creator economy 00:57:32 What makes a creator? 00:59:55 Ex-YouTube employee's thoughts on the algorithm 01:01:50 Tactical advice for creators #podcast #creatoreconomy #youtube

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast, Francis is joined by Colin Rocker (@careercolin), a creator focused on career and corporate content. Colin shares his journey from skepticism about TikTok to becoming a successful content creator with a mission to educate 'first-generation professionals'. -- Follow Colin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinrocker/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careercolin TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careercolin YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careercolin Weekly All Hands newsletter: https://colinrocker.kit.com/profile -- 00:00 Introducing Colin Rocker (@careercolin) 01:11 The many failed attempts before finding success 03:23 Defining the niche 'first-generation professionals' 05:46 Diversifying your platforms: Instagram vs TikTok 08:00 The most valuable skills needed as a creator 15:11 Going all in as a full-time creator 18:39 The value of personal brand identity 23:51 Monetizing your audience, ethically 29:21 Attracting a diverse audience 32:32 Managing your time as a full-time creator-entrepreneur 38:29 Creating meaningful, positive content 42:46 Building a welcoming community 46:17 The challenge and rewards of writing a newsletter 49:54 Personal experience in a post-information world #podcast #creatoreconomy #careeradvice

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast, Francis is joined by award-winning journalist and podcaster Chico Felitti. Chico has found much of his success creating content for the Portuguese speaking audience, topping the podcast charts of Brazil multiple times with his shows Além do Meme, De Saída and O Síndico. Relaunching his hit podcast 'A Coach' for the English speaking audience, 'Don't Cross Kat' has now become a success in the US market, landing itself in the top 10 of the US charts. __ Follow Chico on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicofelitti Listen to 'Don't Cross Kat': Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0QBYq2PoV5VtUbCkV8t6uV?si=d3344f4be42f4efe Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/guru-dont-cross-kat/id1518839824 __ 00:00 Introducing Chico Felitti 01:33 Being a journalist first influencer 05:59 The ethics of influencing as a journalist 10:06 The cultural shift to independent creators in Brazil 12:47 Why Brazilian's are so wild on social media 15:48 Rebuilding the story of Kat Torres for the US market 22:59 AI dubbing facilitating the cultural exchange 27:30 Building audience relationships through different mediums 29:33 From zero podcasting experience to Brazil's number one 36:50 The power of storytelling and the lives it can change 38:55 Chico Felitti's latest project #podcast #brasil #creatoreconomy

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we're joined my Jazmin Griffith, social media expert and founder of social listening agency Que Lo Que. Jazmin has over a decade of professional social media experience, working with some of the biggest brands such as Sony, Google, Microsoft and PepsiCo. __ Follow Jazmine and check out her work Que Lo Que: https://www.queloque.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazmingriffith/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamthesocialista/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamthesocialista __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Jazmin 01:06 What is social listening? 04:48 The most important datapoints as a creator 08:34 The newest tools to analyze your social media 10:44 Finding valuable content amongst the slop 14:35 The inspiration behind Que Lo Que 21:12 How you can use social listening as a creator 24:02 The value of LinkedIn over TikTok 27:15 Blurring the lines between influencer and creator 32:54 Gen Z's unique relationship with social media 38:45 Jazmin's social media evolution, from hobby to business-card 44:05 The difficulties of making content as a solo creator #podcast #creatoreconomy #socialmediamarketing

This week on The Creator Spotlight Podcast we are joined by Adam Biddlecombe, co-founder of Mindstream, a successful AI-focused newsletter which was recently acquired by HubSpot only 17 months after its inception. Adam shares his journey from being a musician to an entrepreneur, the ability to identify and seize an opportunity, and how to prep for acquisition. __ Adam's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bidd/ Adam's X/Twitter: https://x.com/Adam_Bidd Mindstream: https://www.mindstream.news __ 00:00 Introducing Adam and Mindstream 01:48 Adam's first business in the music industry 06:38 The creator/entrepreneur spectrum 10:34 Getting started in the newsletter world 15:13 The first 1k subscribers and early investments 20:51 The skill of identifying an opportunity 27:31 Monetizing strategies following rapid growth 31:57 The value of using LinkedIn as a creator entrepreneur 37:56 How to prepare for acquisition 49:06 The three types of exits in business 52:20 The biggest opportunities in the creator economy right now #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter