The Creator Spotlight Podcast

This week Francis and Natalia are joined by sewing creator Sydney Graham ( @HiSydGraham [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCeD1USYxuRnh3yfiydz6cTQ]). Sydney has gained over 100k subscribers on YouTube this year and has over 600k followers across platforms. * Read the newsletter [https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles] __ RSVP to the Creator Business Summit [https://www.beehiiv.com/virtual-events/creator-business-summit] __ Follow Sydney * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@HiSydGraham] * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@hisydgraham] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/hisydgraham] __ 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 Sydney Graham 01:01 How to gain 100k subscribers in a year 10:46 Early days of the creator economy 15:05 The biggest creators in the sewing space 17:40 Balancing community and individuality 21:17 The best video platforms for creators right now 25:19 Why you shouldn't chase trends 31:48 Sewing content is growing - here's why 33:45 Revenue breakdown 36:51 Content creation and sewing similarities 41:12 How to build a friendly community online 45:53 Choosing the right brand partnerships 49:38 Defining your goals as a creator

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+ followers across platforms. Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/tom-fishburne [https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/tom-fishburne] __ RSVP to the Creator Business Summit: https://www.beehiiv.com/virtual-events/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/profiles [https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles] __ Get your free ticket to The Creator Summit at https://live.mightynetworks.com [https://live.mightynetworks.com] __ Tiffany * 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

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. __ 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

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. __ Get your free ticket to The Creator Summit at live.mightynetworks.com [http://live.mightynetworks.com] __ Kevin * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjonw/] * Twitter/X [https://x.com/thekevinjon] * Megalomedia [https://www.youtube.com/@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