Creator Craft: Tools, Mindset and Workflows for Content Creators

In this episode of Creator Craft, Jacob and I chat about the craft of creating! We kick things off explaining our recent name change from Creator Toolbox to Creator Craft (due to a naming conflict with a newsletter). Then I review the DJI Osmo Mobile 7 and 7P gimbals, comparing features and sharing my experience using them for YouTube shorts and videos. Jacob shares a fascinating case study on "news jacking" - how his article about vibe coding went viral, bringing in 17,000 readers and 200 backlinks. He explains the strategy behind riding trending topics, with examples from various industries. I also cover Frame.io, a collaborative video editing tool that works brilliantly with Adobe Premiere. We wrap up with Jacob's creator of the week, Bob Dylan, and the lesson about how even legendary creators started by covering others' work before finding their unique voice. TAKEAWAYS 1 When choosing a name for your creator business, focus on being unique in your specific space rather than globally unique - you need to be easily found and not confused with similar content. 2 The DJI Osmo Mobile 7 ($89) provides excellent stabilization for smartphone video, with the 7P version ($149) offering additional features like a mic receiver and tracking – though for most creators, the base model with a separate mic may be more versatile. 3 "News jacking" can bring outsized returns by creating content around emerging trends before they go mainstream - timing is crucial, aiming to publish between when news breaks and when journalists start covering it widely. 4 Adding your unique perspective, skills, or examples is essential when news jacking - simply summarizing information won't stand out, but showing how you personally apply or use the trend can create genuine value. 5 Frame.io streamlines video review by separating the review process from editing, allowing you to add timestamped comments and compare versions - useful for both team collaboration and solo creators. RESOURCES MENTIONED * DJI Osmo Mobile 7 - Smartphone gimbal for video stabilization * DJI Osmo Mobile 7P - Premium version of the Mobile 7 with additional features * DJI Mic Mini - Wireless microphone system for mobile recording * DJI Osmo Pocket 3 - Standalone pocket-sized camera gimbal * Frame.io - Video review and collaboration platform (included with Adobe Creative Cloud) * Hacker News - Tech community forum * Google Trends - Tool for monitoring search trends * "A Complete Unknown" - Bob Dylan biopic with Timothee Chalamet * "Steal Like an Artist" - Book concept mentioned during discussion * Alitu - Our podcast maker app (use code "creatorcraft" for 50% off first month) CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction and name change explanation 04:04 DJI Osmo Mobile 7 and 7P gimbal review 31:33 News jacking: Jacob's vibe coding case study 46:54 Tips for effective news jacking 54:52 Frame.io for video editing collaboration 1:00:52 Creator of the Week: Bob Dylan and creative beginnings

In this solo episode of Creator Toolbox (soon to be Creator Craft), Jacob announces our name change and uses this opportunity to dive deep into the art of naming creative projects. Jacob explains why we're rebranding from Creator Toolbox to Creator Craft – there's already a newsletter called "Creators Toolbox" which could cause confusion as we launch our own newsletter. Jacob shares valuable insights about different types of creative project names, what makes a name scalable, and practical advice for choosing your own names. Importantly, he discusses when to follow naming "rules" and when it's okay to break them, using our own rebrand as a real-world case study. This episode provides both the ideal framework for naming and honest reflections about the practical compromises we made with our own name change. KEY TAKEAWAYS 🟢 Don't fear rebranding when necessary: Sometimes a proactive name change can prevent bigger problems down the line, especially if there's potential for confusion with another brand in your space. 🟢 Understand different name types: Descriptive names clearly state what you do, evocative names create feelings, compound names combine words for uniqueness, and personal names leverage your existing reputation. 🟢 Consider these factors for scalable names: Memorability, SEO/discoverability, trademark/domain availability, future-proofing, and community appeal all determine how well a name can grow with your brand. 🟢 Follow a practical naming process: Start with a big brainstorm, explore combinations, narrow using criteria like ease of pronunciation, test with your audience, and check availability. 🟢 Know which rules you can break: Context matters tremendously – for us, keeping "creator" in the name and maintaining brand continuity was more important than having the perfect .com domain or ideal social handles. RESOURCES MENTIONED 🟢 Alitu podcast maker app [https://alitu.com/] - Our main company that hosts Creator Craft 🟢 Podcraft [https://www.thepodcasthost.com/podcraft-podcast/] - Our sister podcast about podcasting 🟢 Morning Brew [https://www.morningbrew.com/] - Example of an evocative name for a business newsletter 🟢 Freakonomics [https://freakonomics.com/] - Example of a compound name COMING SOON Our newsletter will be launching soon! Sign up at alitu.com/creator [https://alitu.com/creator] to get creator business insights delivered to your inbox. The official rebrand to Creator Craft will happen next week – you'll see the new name in your podcast feeds, but you won't need to resubscribe. GET IN TOUCH Have naming challenges of your own? Questions about our rebrand? Email us at creator@alitu.com [creator@alitu.com]

In this episode of Creator Toolbox, Colin and Jacob share their strategy for growing the podcast over the next 6-12 months. We discuss shifting to a "newsletter-first" approach, where the podcast generates content that then flows into newsletters, blog posts, and social media. We explore how this approach feels more future-proof in an environment where SEO is becoming less reliable, and how it gives us more creative freedom. Throughout the conversation, we share our plans for improving social media presence with more effective video clips, professionalizing our self-promotion efforts, and bringing back guest collaborations to help grow our audience. We also talk openly about what we're NOT going to focus on right now - specifically paid advertising and building a community platform. While both are valuable, we know we need to establish our content infrastructure first before investing in these areas. The episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at our planning process and how we're balancing ambition with focus to avoid overwhelming ourselves. KEY TAKEAWAYS 🟢 Newsletter-first content strategy: We're shifting from SEO-dependent blog content to building a newsletter as our primary content hub, giving us more creative freedom and a direct connection with our audience. 🟢 Repurpose content strategically: Create podcast episodes with 2-3 solid topics that can be expanded into newsletter content and blog posts, while saving some exclusive content for each platform. 🟢 Experimenting with video clips for social growth: Short-form content on YouTube Shorts, Instagram, and TikTok is crucial for discoverability, even when your main content is long-form. 🟢 Professionalize your self-promotion: Treat yourself as a paying sponsor with proper tracking links, polished ad reads, and clear calls to action - don't be shy about promoting what you've built. 🟢 Say no to grow: We're intentionally NOT pursuing paid advertising and community building right now to ensure we can fully focus on content infrastructure. RESOURCES MENTIONED 🟢 Beehive newsletter platform - https://beehiiv.com/ [https://beehiiv.com/] 🟢 ConvertKit (now called Kit) - https://kit.com/ [https://convertkit.com/] 🟢 Opus clipping tool - https://www.opus.pro/ [https://www.opus.pro/] 🟢 Alitu podcast maker app - https://alitu.com/ [https://alitu.com/] 🟢 Circle community platform - https://circle.so/ [https://circle.so/] 🟢 Publish Press newsletter - https://www.thepublishpress.com/ [https://www.thepublishpress.com/] 🟢 Morning Brew newsletter - https://www.morningbrew.com/ [https://www.morningbrew.com/] 🟢 14 Ways to Collaborate with other Podcasters - blog post [https://www.thepodcasthost.com/promotion/grow-your-podcast-through-collaboration/] & YouTube video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZeGCHAHFuM] CHAPTERS 00:02:24 Newsletter-first publishing workflow 00:05:44 Creating value across multiple platforms 00:08:05 Why newsletters feel more future-proof 00:12:01 Using Beehive for growth tools 00:14:14 Our social media strategy with clips 00:19:26 Adding guest collaborations back 00:23:01 Professionalizing our self-promotion 00:27:52 Treating ourselves as a sponsor 00:31:47 What we're NOT focusing on right now 00:36:31 closing thoughts

In this episode, Colin and Jacob dig into two powerful tools for creators: LinkedIn and AI deep research capabilities. Colin shares his recent LinkedIn strategy, revealing how daily posting has drastically improved his engagement and impressions, and what makes up those daily posts. He explores effective content types like cheat sheets, carousels, video formats, and personal stories that perform well on the platform. Colin also highlights successful creators like Chris Donnelly, Ann Handley, and Tom Hunt who are having a bunch of success on LinkedIn with their distinct approaches. In the second half, Jacob explores his experience with ChatGPT's Deep Research feature, explaining how it revolutionized his content creation process for a viral blog post about vibe coding, providing valuable comparative analysis and SEO gap identification that helped his article reach the front page of Hacker News. KEY TAKEAWAYS: 🟢 Consistency is crucial for LinkedIn success - Colin saw his average post impressions jump from 100-200 to 400-500 by posting daily, with his newsletter content reaching 1,000+ impressions. 🟢 "Cheat sheets" with dense, valuable information perform exceptionally well on LinkedIn - these text-heavy graphics with minimal design offer quick value and stand out in feeds. 🟢 When creating plain text posts on LinkedIn, being opinionated and authentic performs better than overly polished content - controversial hooks and personal stories drive engagement. 🟢 ChatGPT's Deep Research feature (available with Pro subscription) acts like a dedicated research assistant, providing comprehensive competitive analysis and identifying content gaps. 🟢 When using AI for research, being specific with your requests (like asking for first-person reviews rather than marketing copy) significantly improves the quality and usefulness of the results. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction and episode overview 04:44 Colin's LinkedIn growth strategy and results 08:06 Analyzing effective LinkedIn content types 13:34 LinkedIn cheat sheets and why they work 20:40 Carousel posts and their engagement power 24:13 Authentic text posts vs. polished content 26:14 Storytelling techniques from top LinkedIn creators 32:28 LinkedIn commenting strategies for algorithm growth 36:34 Optimizing your LinkedIn profile features 40:35 Jacob introduces ChatGPT's Deep Research tool 45:10 How Deep Research transformed content creation 49:45 SEO gap analysis and competitive advantages 54:38 Practical applications for content improvement 57:01 Outro

We kicked off talking about a big change we're making to our annual planning cadence. Instead of following the traditional January-December cycle, we're shifting to a March-February year. Why? Because December-January is such a mess with holidays and slow starts! We found that planning during this time just doesn't work well. By making March 1st the start of our planning year, we're using January-February as a time for reflection, strategy planning, and wrapping up previous projects. This gives us a nice fresh start in the springtime. Then Jacob introduced us to "vibe coding" - a term coined by Andres Carpathy. It's about using AI tools like Claude or Cursor to generate code without really understanding the code itself. You describe what you want, and the AI builds it for you. We discussed how tools like Replit, Lovable, and Bolt.new make this possible even for non-coders. Jacob shared great examples, including how someone built a multiplayer flight simulator game in just one day! This approach works especially well for personal tools or weekend projects. I shared how I've been using Claude as a resource by creating a project focused initially on designing an agency. The cool part is that I've ended up using this knowledge base for all sorts of other projects - from mastermind landing pages to coaching proposals. The AI basically interviews me and builds up a profile of my skills and experience that I can later tap into for various content needs. Finally, Jacob highlighted Caleb Hammer as his creator of the week. Caleb runs a YouTube show called "Financial Audit" where he reviews people's financial situations (often a bit brutally!) and helps them create a plan to improve. The format is consistent but always feels fresh because each guest brings different financial challenges. Jacob noted how well Caleb has monetized through relevant sponsorships, memberships with behind-the-scenes content, and even creating his own budgeting app. TAKEAWAYS = Consider shifting your annual planning cycle to March-February if the traditional January start feels rushed and disrupted by holidays = AI tools like Replit now make it possible for non-coders to create functional web apps and tools - especially for personal use or to solve specific problems = Building a dedicated AI "project" that knows your skills and experience can become a valuable resource for various content creation tasks = Bringing audience members onto your show as guests can create fresh, relatable content while still maintaining a consistent format = Multiple monetization streams work best when they're naturally integrated into your content - Caleb Hammer's example shows how sponsors can be woven in without feeling disruptive RESOURCES = Replit - A coding platform with AI capabilities that's great for beginners (https://replit.com/ [https://replit.com/]) = Lovable - AI-powered app building tool (https://www.lovable.ai/ [https://www.lovable.ai/]) = Bolt.new - Another no-code tool for building with AI (https://bolt.new/ [https://bolt.new/]) = Cursor - Advanced AI coding tool mentioned for more experienced users (https://cursor.sh/ [https://cursor.sh/]) = Claude 3.7 - The new Claude AI model that Alistair mentioned for coding help = Caleb Hammer's YouTube channel - Financial audit show (https://www.youtube.com/c/CalebHammer [https://www.youtube.com/c/CalebHammer]) = Alitu - Our podcast creation app with new video recording features (https://alitu.com [https://alitu.com]) - use code CREATORTOOLBOX for 50% off your first month CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction and episode overview 00:01:14 Changing our annual planning cadence to March-February 00:07:38 Why 12-month planning can be arbitrary and limiting 00:11:43 What is "vibe coding" and how does it work? 00:20:28 Replit as a beginner-friendly coding tool 00:24:32 Personal software development using AI tools 00:34:01 Using Claude as a resource for multiple projects 00:43:00 Caleb Hammer as creator of the week 00:47:04 How Caleb monetizes his financial audit show 00:52:32 Closing remarks and Alitu promotion