Aspiring Creator

I've relaunched Aspiring Creator and this time I've outsourced everything except sitting in the chair and talking, so kick back and come behind the scenes 😃

In this episode I talk about using Claude AI to rebuild our entire project system, smashing Q4 sponsorship targets and how creators can pitch brand deals that work.

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you.

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - How Claude AI Rebuilt Our Sponsorship Tracker 🤖

05:01 - How we Plan for Dips in Revenue 📈

06:49 - How VidSummit Changed My Approach to YouTube 📺

11:15 - How We’re Reinvesting Brand Deal Money Into the Channel 🎥

13:45 - How Creators Should Pitch Brand Deals (Most Brands Still Don’t Get It) 💡

26:10 - Why I Don’t Bother Growing on Other Platforms 🙅‍♂️

30:24 - Who Should I Interview Next? 👀

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: @petematheson

▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson

▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

I've relaunched Aspiring Creator and this time I've outsourced everything except sitting in the chair and talking, so kick back and come behind the scenes 😃

In this episode I talk about using Claude AI to rebuild our entire project system, smashing Q4 sponsorship targets and how creators can pitch brand deals that work.

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you.

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - How Claude AI Rebuilt Our Sponsorship Tracker 🤖

05:01 - How we Plan for Dips in Revenue 📈

06:49 - How VidSummit Changed My Approach to YouTube 📺

11:15 - How We’re Reinvesting Brand Deal Money Into the Channel 🎥

13:45 - How Creators Should Pitch Brand Deals (Most Brands Still Don’t Get It) 💡

26:10 - Why I Don’t Bother Growing on Other Platforms 🙅‍♂️

30:24 - Who Should I Interview Next? 👀

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: @petematheson

▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson

▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

I've relaunched Aspiring Creator and this time I've outsourced everything except sitting in the chair and talking, so kick back and come behind the scenes 😃

In this episode I talk about what I learned at VidSummit 2025 - from how top creators run their teams and edit faster, to the weird world of fake affiliate channels, and why every YouTuber probably needs a producer, not just an editor.

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you.

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Inside VidSummit: Key Takeaways, Lessons & Conversations ✈️

05:08 When Brands Secretly Own ‘Review’ Channels 👀

09:34 Fixing Our Biggest Bottleneck: Editing 🧠

14:01 The Power of Storytelling in Tech YouTube 🔋

17:50 Fix Your First Frame: The Secret to Better Shorts 🎯

20:55 The 4% Creator Club 🤑

26:11 I Finally Found an Accountant Who Gets YouTube 💼

27:53 Redefining Roles: Why My “Channel Manager” Is Actually a Producer 🎬

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.petematheson.com/

I've relaunched Aspiring Creator and this time I've outsourced everything except sitting in the chair and talking, so kick back and come behind the scenes 😃

In this episode I talk about how much a 1-million-view video actually earns, YouTube’s new co-creator feature, and whether AI could really replace YouTubers.

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you.

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - YouTube’s Co-Creator Feature - Worth It or Not? 🎥

02:22 - What Does a 1-Million-View Video Actually Earn 🤑

08:27 - Why I’m Saying No to Smaller Brand Launches 🚫

13:54 - We’re Hiring a New Editor 👋

15:31 - Could AI Replace YouTubers Entirely? (Sora 3 is insane) 🤖

18:37 - Creators Are Lying About Sponsorships? 🤦

🔗 LINKS

iJustine’s video on Sora AI - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iMK2TSXO_P4

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.petematheson.com/

I've relaunched Aspiring Creator and this time I've outsourced everything except sitting in the chair and talking, so kick back and come behind the scenes 😃

In this episode I talk about how the channel really makes money, the different types of sponsorships (and what brands actually pay for), and why skipping iPhone launch videos might have been a mistake.

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you.

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - How The Channel Really Makes Money 💰

06:35 - From £700 to £50K/Month: How I Grew My Sponsorships 🚀

11:07 - Was Skipping the iPhone Launch a Mistake? 🤦

14:38 - Types of Sponsorships & How to Charge 🤝

20:42 - The Harsh Reality of Brand Trip Invites ✈️

26:36 - How I Actually Pay Myself & the Team 💷

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.petematheson.com/

I'm relaunching Aspiring Creator and this time I've outsourced everything except sitting in the chair and talking, so kick back and come behind the scenes 😃

In this episode I talk about the surprising impact chapters can have on watch time, the real impact of buying views, and the early lessons from working with an agent instead of managing every brand deal myself.

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you.

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Buying Every New Apple Product 📱

05:58 My First-Ever Apple Briefing Invite 🍏

07:36 Why We Stopped Adding Chapters to Videos ⏯️

08:52 The Hidden Cost of Buying Views 📉

14:38 The Accountant Dilemma: Cost vs. Value 💼

17:28 The Hidden Drawback of Having an Agent 🤔

18:45 Why Everyone’s YouTube Views Suddenly Dropped 🔍

20:40 Why A/B Testing Can Hurt Your Videos 🖼️

🔗 LINKS

📺 iPhone 17 Buyers Guide - https://youtu.be/Exp_iR2r3Oo

📰 Subscribe to my newsletter: Experiments in Progress - https://www.experimentsinprogress.com/

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.petematheson.com/

On this week's Aspiring Creator we're talking about balancing quick cash from brand deals with long-term channel growth, the workflow tweaks I picked up from other creators, and a full breakdown of how much my channel actually makes.If you enjoyed this, a quick rating or review on your podcast app makes a huge difference 🙏New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Choosing Between Fast Cash and Sustainable Growth 💸

05:14 – Buying Views and Why Brands Still Fall for It 🫠

09:55 – How to Make One Great Video a Week ⚙️

13:48 – Signing With an Agent but Keeping Control (the Hybrid Model) 🤝

17:36 – Drowning in Last-Minute Brand Deals (Did I take on too much?) 👀

22:17 – Big Rant: My Accounts (and Accountants) are a Mess 😫

31:39 – Exactly How Much My Channel Makes 🤑

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠⁠

▸ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.petematheson.com/

On this week’s Aspiring Creator podcast, we’re live from IFA Berlin 2025, I’m joined by Alex and MrHtech for a very creator-at-a-trade-show kind of week. We get into how to actually make events like IFA pay, the constant battle with titles and workflow, and why fake views and dodgy metrics still mess up brand deals.

If you enjoyed this, a quick rating or review on your podcast app makes a huge difference 🙏

New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - How Creators made Tech / Trade Shows Pay 🤑

07:05 - The Clickbait Dilemma: Titles that perform vs titles that don’t annoy your audience 🎣

13:08 - Planning Content for Apple Season (and keeping to deadlines) 📅

18:17 - Do You Need an Agent to Manage Sponsorships? 🤝

23:55 - Fake Views & Failing to Educate Brands 😤

🔗 LINKS

• Alex Gear & Tech - https://www.youtube.com/@AlexGTech
• MrHtech - https://www.youtube.com/@MrHtech

💬 SOCIAL STUFF

▸ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠@petematheson⁠⁠⁠

▸ Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.petematheson.com/

We're back again with another behind-the-scenes look at running a creator business.

In this episode I talk about:

🚀 Growing an email list

🤖 How to massively level up your content using Claude

🤝 What really goes into brand deals and sponsorship negotiations

If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀

⏰ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 How to Grow an Email List (+ SEO Experiment Update) 🚀

05:57 Claude AI is Actually Insane 🤯

16:52 How I Really Negotiate Brand Deals (with Actual Numbers) 🤝

26:46 Selling my Business to go all in on YouTube 😳

32:00 The Real Difference Between Short Form and Long-Form Content 👀

37:20 The Creator Trap: Why Doubling Output isn't Always the Way 🙅‍♂️

42:11 Is Google Pixel Screwed Over Smaller Creators? 😕

💬 SOCIALS

▸ Instagram: ⁠@petematheson⁠

▸ LinkedIn: ⁠@petematheson⁠

▸ Website: ⁠https://www.petematheson.com/