The Creator Spotlight Podcast

Reid Pakula oversees the influencer division at IF Management, where his team represents more than 50 creators. In this episode he tells Francis what brands really pay creators, how deals are structured and negotiated, and why he thinks a creator video can be a better buy than a Super Bowl ad.

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This episode is presented by Google AdSense. Q4 is the biggest ad revenue window of the year; get your site set up with AdSense to unlock peak season moments: Sign up here 

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IF Management 

Reid Pakula

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Timestamps 

00:00 Introducing Reid Pakula of IF Management

00:34 The friction between brands and creators

05:31 When should you have representation as a creator?

09:27 What do creator agencies offer?

16:39 More than a brand deal a day

19:40 $3k to $80k, how creators get paid

28:53 The most important metrics in getting brand deals

33:45 Mistakes made in building a creator-centric business

37:44 The future of the creator economy

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Dylan Huey is the 24-year-old founder and CEO of Reach, a creator network with chapters at 100 colleges and a for-profit talent, marketing and ventures business. We discuss how he built both sides, the five divisions of the business, and why he building a creator-centric ecosystem of tech products, starting with his paid-engagement platform Daisy.

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Try ElevenLab's most emotive voice model yet, Eleven v4 at: https://elevenlabs.io/v4 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Dylan Huey 

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Timestamps

00:00 How the business spawned

05:20 What makes a successful creator

10:36 The power of a supportive creator community

16:43 The five arms of a $2M creator business

24:00 How the creator talent agency works

27:31 How the creator marketing agency works

31:39 Building tech companies that support creators

35:37 Audience sentiment to paid engagement services

42:20 Building a creator-centric ecosystem

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Jess Ramos is a data and AI creator with over 640,000 followers across platforms who makes B2B content for tech companies like IBM, Microsoft, OpenAI, Salesforce and Tableau. In this episode she tells Francis why brand partnerships make up 95 percent of her revenue, how to build authority in your space, and how one viral LinkedIn post led to her accidentally becoming a creator.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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Try Eleven v4 from Eleven Labs at: https://elevenlabs.io/v4 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Jess Ramos 

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Jess Ramos

00:55 Building a six-figure brand deal business

07:41 Brand deal non-negotiables

10:55 How to be a voice of authority in your industry

15:33 Becoming a creator by accident

24:15 Building a quality course product

31:30 Pivoting YouTube strategy

35:31 Top 3 social media platforms

41:33 AI tools for content creation

44:20 Growing the brand

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Rowan Cheung is the founder and CEO of The Rundown, a daily AI newsletter that has seen incredible growth, reaching over 2M subscribers all while remaining profitable since day one.

In this episode, Rowan shares how he gained his first 250k subscribers through Twitter posts, why he recently took his first-ever investment from Electrify, and the one piece of growth advice he'd give every newsletter operator.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles
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ElevenLabs Eleven v4 is available now and until October 12th Creator+ plans in ElevenCreative can use it for free. Try it today: https://elevenlabs.io/v4 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Rowan Cheung

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Rowan Cheung of The Rundown

01:06 The revenue split of an eight-figure newsletter business

02:35 Gaining the first 250k subscribers

09:47 The key growth lever now at 2M readers

13:44 How a newsletter makes over $10M annually

23:55 Why The Rundown is taking on investment

28:11 Scrapping his short form AI avatar

34:20 Creating unique valuable content

37:24 Advice for creators

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Jacques Keyser is the Programming Director at VidCon, where he has spent eight years building events for creators, brands, and platforms around the world.

In this episode, he shares how to host a small event that people actually show up to, from booking speakers with no budget to knowing where the money really matters, and explains why he believes IRL events are becoming essential in the age of AI.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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On Tuesday, October 6, Creator Spotlight will be hosting our first official event in Manhattan, together with ElevenLabs.

Space is very limited, so RSVP now to hear firsthand how creators are using generative AI audio tooling to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Really hope to (literally, actually) see you there: https://luma.com/TheNewReach 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Jacques Keyser, programming director at VidCon

00:53 How to run a great IRL creator event

10:06 An example of the perfect creator event

16:16 How VidCon has changed over the years

24:52 The most unique international VidCon events

29:42 Why come to VidCon in 2027

36:15 The value of IRL events in the creator economy

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Jack Settleman is the founder of Snapback Sports, the sports media company that started as a Snapchat account in 2017 and became one of Underdog's earliest creator partners. Jack breaks down the bets behind the business — taking equity in Underdog before its $1.3 billion sale, deleting a 600,000-subscriber YouTube channel, sending his brother to 33 World Cup games in 39 days, and choosing not to pay himself a salary — plus why he believes the gatekeepers in sports media are running out of time.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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On Tuesday, October 6, Creator Spotlight will be hosting our first official event in Manhattan, together with ElevenLabs.
Space is very limited, so RSVP now to hear firsthand how creators are using generative AI audio tooling to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Really hope to (literally, actually) see you there: https://luma.com/TheNewReach 

open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Snapback Sports 

Jack Settleman

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Jack Settleman of Snapback Sports

00:52 The $1.3B sale

05:59 The origin of Snapback Sports

09:36 Turning a Snapchat page into a real business

12:47 $2M revenue with mostly brand deals

15:30 Remaining unique as a sport media brand

24:32 Ethical boundaries in sports advertising

34:53 Making ambitious unique content

44:30 Pivoting from creator to business owner

48:19 Investing back into the product

56:15 Creating products beyond content

Hosted on beehiiv. Read the full Privacy Policy at beehiiv.com/privacy.

On Tuesday, October 6, Creator Spotlight will be hosting our first official event in Manhattan, together with ElevenLabs.

Space is very limited, so RSVP now to hear firsthand how creators are using generative AI audio tooling to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. Really hope to (literally, actually) see you there.

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video

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Fernando Caralt and Espresso Matutino

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Fernando Caralt

02:18 Growing a newsletter to 150k readers

08:03 Targeting a Mexican audience

10:04 Generating $400k with one revenue stream

17:38 The state of the newsletter market in Mexico

24:22 The lack of acquisitions opportunities

27:32 AI tools to build your newsletter product

33:01 How big can this newsletter business get?

Hosted on beehiiv. Read the full Privacy Policy at beehiiv.com/privacy.

Taylor Craig is the co-founder and head of content at Launch Live Now, a live streaming production company pioneering the social media live show format. He and Francis get into why niche live streaming is becoming a real business, how you measure and sell a live audience when the viewer counts look small, and how creators can tell whether converting their video podcast into a live show is worth it.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video

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Taylor Craig

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Taylor Craig

00:56 Interactivity is the future

02:53 Why live stream audience value is so high

08:40 Behind the scenes of a well produced live show

18:22 When should a podcast become a live show?

21:43 The best social media platforms for livestreaming

26:04 Who are the best creators for livestreaming?

34:03 How livestreaming makes money

40:23 The skills and tools needed for livestreaming

45:05 Who watches live streams and nichecasts?

49:39 The next decade of livestreaming and nichecasting

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Amanda Shendruk is an award-winning visual journalist who's spent 15 years making charts for the Washington Post, Quartz and The Guardian, and now writes the data newsletter Not Ship. Francis asks her to teach him the craft, how she decides what to label, and why she still doesn't trust AI with a chart.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Amanda Shendruk

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Timestamps 

00:00 Introducing Amanda Shendruk

01:52 Making your graphics legible at a glance

10:18 Universal rules of data visualization

18:10 Finding trustworthy data sources

27:08 Tools for research and data viz

32:24 Good and bad data visualization

37:48 The real world effect of good data journalism

39:55 Starting a newsletter

47:16 The future of Not Ship

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Imran Mumtaz is a former Amazon engineer who quit in 2022 and now creates content as Imran the Finance Engineer, with 1.7 million followers built almost entirely on short form. He and Francis get into how long it took to replace his $250,000 salary, his current revenue mix, the tactics that make financial content hold attention, and why he refuses to post every day.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/profiles 

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open.video lets you host your videos on your own domain, under your own brand — so you control the channel, the data, and the direct connection to your viewers. Try it out at https://open.video 

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Imran Mumtaz

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Imran The Finance Engineer

01:24 Long form vs short form content creation

07:19 Four revenue streams that make $250k

13:43 The short form video strategy to get millions of followers

19:03 Starting a second channel

26:20 Competition and collaboration in the creator economy

30:05 Making educational content entertaining

34:58 Diversifying revenue streams: course and newsletter

38:52 Advice for starting out as a creator

42:09 Avoiding burnout as a creator

48:19 The future of Imran's business

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