Seamus Hughes is the terrorism scholar and two-time Pulitzer-winning New York Times contributor behind Court Watch, an independent newsletter that mines the federal court system's 94 districts for stories no one else is covering. Francis talks with him about building a fiercely loyal 10,000-subscriber audience without ads or partisanship, the tactics he uses to find stories inside a deliberately broken records system, and why he trains 1,000+ of his own competitors every year.

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

__

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

__

Seamus Hughes

__

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Seamus Hughes

00:52 Intentionally making less money

06:55 The creator ecosystem falls apart without him

11:00 Growth to 10k subscribers

13:57 Over 500 paying subscribers

16:20 Why this costs $100k to run

31:06 Finding stories within the outdated legal system

38:49 The value of a collective or community

43:02 Why he only sleeps 4 hours a night

45:47 Why he doesn't sell ads

Jenn Lueke is a short form content creator, author and newsletter publisher that focuses on providing actionable and attainable healthy recipes, meal plans, and more to her followers. In this episode Jenn reveals how she grew her audience to 3M total followers and built a seven figure business from five key revenue sources.

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

__

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 

__

Jenn Lueke 

__

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Jenn Lueke (JennEatsGood)

00:42 The journey to 3M followers

07:20 5 revenue streams that make $1M+ business

11:22 Brand deals are changing

15:31 $670k a year with paid subscriptions

21:49 Building a team as a content creator

30:26 The reality of publishing a cookbook

39:16 Building a content calendar and maintaining structure

45:58 How a professional background helps being a creator

49:50 Gaining experience working for a creator

53:01 The value of finding your community

Kyle Poyar is the founder and writer of the newsletter Growth Unhinged, which has over 85,000 subscribers. He’s been running the newsletter for nearly 5 years, full time for 1.5 years, and is on track to break $1.5 million this year as a solopreneur.

Read the newsletter

__

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 

__

Kyle Poyar 

__

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Kyle Poyar

00:47 Making $100k with the his first brand deal

07:45 The 5 revenue streams that make $1.5M

17:30 Making $125k through subscription

22:44 Summiting the LinkedIn cringe mountain

27:51 6 steps to creating great LinkedIn content

39:12 Growing a newsletter to 85k+ subscribers

43:35 The challenges and rewards of solopreneurship

AJ Eckstein is the founder of Creator Match, an agency building creator programs for the world's biggest tech brands and matching brands with B2B creators. In this episode he lays out the full process of a creator brand campaign, how to get a brand deal while getting paid the most for it, and how to build a reputation that brands come back for.

Read the newsletter 

__

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 

__

AJ Eckstein 

__

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing AJ Eckstein

00:48 Paying out $10M to creators

05:14 How to get a brand deal in 2026

10:25 What are brands looking for in creators?

17:57 The full process of a creator brand campaign

22:57 Which creators get paid the most?

31:44 Why outbound reach is so important

34:12 From demand to brand — building a reputation

Evan Armstrong is the founder and writer behind The Leverage, an independent newsletter covering the tech industry for an audience of investors, founders, and operators. In this episode he breaks down the business behind indie media, pricing, audience quality, and why being accurate doesn't actually matter to readers.

Read the newsletter

__

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 

__

Evan Armstrong 

__

Timestamps 

00:00 Introducing Evan Armstrong

01:01 Turning his writing into a business

05:30 Becoming an independent creator

11:39 Audience size and revenue

15:46 Charging a premium price as a creator

19:40 Be a creator and you'll make less money

25:09 Advertising with integrity

32:15 He's accurate, but readers don't care

38:24 Using AI for research and editorial

43:11 Most creators fail, this is why

48:03 The pursuit of distribution

Jerome Aceti, also known as JeromeASF, is a content creator with over five million YouTube subscribers who has since become an investor, founder, and partner across a range of creator-adjacent businesses. In this episode he tells us why he's stepped back from YouTube to focus on those businesses, how he made himself the kind of creator brands keep coming back to, and why he believes there's never been a fairer time to start on YouTube.

Read the newsletter 

__
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 
__

JeromeASF 

__

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing JeromeASF

00:31 From full-time to semi-retired YouTuber

05:02 Working with brands as a creator

13:27 Why Jerome has 9+ YouTube channels

17:50 JeromeASF is losing subscribers, but it doesn't matter

24:12 Now is the best time to start YouTube

30:10 JeromeASF revenue breakdown

35:13 Shifting from YouTuber to entrepreneur

38:53 Lessons learned in business

Kobi Brown, also known as Astro Kobi, is a science and space-focussed video-first creator with millions of subscribers and followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. In this episode he tells us about his rapid growth, transition intro long form content, and a breakdown of his monetization sources.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/kobi-brown

__

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 

__

Kobi Brown 

__

Timestamps

00:00 Introducing AstroKobi

00:42 The journey to full time creator

04:59 Revenue breakdown

07:55 How long does it take to make a YouTube video?

12:08 Building legitimacy as a creator

15:48 Education vs Entertainment

21:03 Investing in long form content

27:07 Goals for the future

Stephen Totilo has spent 20 years reporting in the video game industry, working at MTV, Kotaku and Axios. Francis and Stephen discuss his recent transition to independent journalism and how he's built a stable and successful newsletter product, support entirely by his readers.
__
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 open.video 
__
Stephen Totilo

__
Timestamps 
00:00 Introducing Stephen Totilo
01:17 Reporting and criticism.
07:10 Transitioning to independent journalism
13:15 Stories that generated the most growth
18:25 No clickbait — building with integrity
29:00 Pricing yourself as an independent journalist
37:29 The difficulties of expanding a media business
51:50 Passionate about helping other journalists

Rob Martinez and Julian Mu are independent food creators with a combined 2.1 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, and co-hosts of the YouTube channel 'Martinez and Mu'. They discuss how they built their channels, how they make money as full-time creators, and the creative and business decisions behind launching a new show together.

__

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 

__

Martinez and Mu

__

Timestamps 

00:00 Martinez and Mu's Feasting for Fifty
04:40 Doing food content differently
11:13 Guardrails that make the show better
15:25 Why start a new YouTube channel
21:07 The most important platforms right now
24:13 The revenue and costs of running a food channel
32:50 Collaborating through competition
35:30 When to kill a show
44:46 How your work changes through collaboration

Max Z Zavidow is a content creator who makes narrative "really short films" for TikTok and Instagram, including the Webby-winning video "Long Time." In this episode, he discusses his evolution from investment banking to stand-up comedy and vertical video, how he funds and structures branded short films, and why he believes the phone is the next major medium for storytelling.

__

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 

__

Max Z Zavidow 

__
Timestamps
00:00 Introducing Max Z Zavidow
00:28 The monetization model of short form content
04:13 The evolution of short form content creation
16:04 Focusing on quality not quantity
24:19 Making money as a short form content creator
33:55 Creating for TikTok first
35:58 The value of winning a Webby
38:00 Respecting the phone as a medium
44:38 The importance of collaboration
47:44 The steps of making a viral video
52:03 Analyzing content and finding inspiration
55:30 Revolutionizing content creation