The Creator Spotlight Podcast

Rachel Meade Smith is the founder of Words of Mouth, a weekly newsletter focused on finding meaningful work. In this episode, we discuss how she built and monetised a values-driven newsletter to 72,000 subscribers over 10 years without ever running a single ad.

Preorder Search Work now: https://orbooks.com/catalog/search-work/

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Rachel Meade Smith

Words of Mouth

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram 

Book

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Rachel Meade Smith and Words of Mouth

01:38 10 years of values based curation

07:17 Growing to 70k subscribers organically

13:03 72% open rate, 22% clickthrough rate

14:07 Monestizing while maintaining strong ethics

20:07 4 ways the newsletter is monetized

37:29 Developing beyond purely aggregation

43:21 The art of aggregation, curation, and editing

46:13 The process and expense of writing a book

Caper is a new media company covering the people, money, ambition, power and chaos that fuels the food world. In this episode we speak to Max Tcheyan, the co-founder and CEO, as well as three of the founding journalists.

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

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Caper

Newsletter

Caper

LinkedIn

In this episode

Max

Emma

Annie

Chris

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Caper Media

01:00 The gap in the market

03:45 Who is the audience?

07:29 How equity changes journalism

15:46 Food journalism that makes a difference

23:46 Building a team of founders

26:30 The $2.5M bet

29:28 Doing something that matters

Daniel Berk is beehiiv’s first sales hire-turned-strategist, cofounder of a local newsletter Palmetto Parents, and cohost of the Two Dads in Tech podcast. In this episode we discuss his journey from chaotic notebooks to 25,000 LinkedIn followers, how he helps creators and enterprise media businesses grow and monetize, and how to run a profitable newsletter and podcast.

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

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Daniel Berk

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

Threads

Podcast

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Daniel Berk

01:34 13 years of writing newsletters

05:25 The problem every creator and business has

11:13 Adapting to the AI driven web

14:24 Best and worst social media platforms

21:58 Why a big LinkedIn platform is so important

29:16 Making $60k with a podcast side-project

38:33 Building a community driven local newsletter

46:38 Outcome vs output driven creators

50:26 The value of writing every day

Grant Beene is a short-form video creator known for crafting wild, story-driven skits that have generated hundreds of millions of views across TikTok and Instagram. In this episode, we break down how he writes and produces viral short films, structures brand deals without compromising creative integrity, and why he believes short-form is the training ground for becoming a world-class director.

Read the newsletter: https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/grant-beene 

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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/

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Grant Beene

TikTok

Instagram

Francis Zierer

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Introducing Grant Beene

00:02:34 The process behind a 120M view video 

00:07:32 Limitations creating uniqueness 

00:10:47 Early TikTok growth 

00:22:41 Pushing short form content to the extreme 

00:26:22 Difficulties monetizing as a short form creator 

00:34:45 The value of collaborating in the creative process 

00:41:03 From short form creator to artist 

00:48:11 The role of faith in drive and discipline 

00:52:47 How the creative process changes with long form 

00:59:10 Unlocking the creativity 

01:05:45 Inspirations in art and film 

01:12:29 Make art and it will take you to your goal 

Lucie Fink is a creator and entrepreneur who’s built a successful personal media company across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, and newsletters. In this episode, we break down how she actually makes money as a creator, dealing with and confronting online trolls, and pivoting from lifestyle influencer to artist.

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

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Lucie Fink — All my Income Sources Revealed

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Lucie Fink

YouTube

Instagram

TikTok

Website

Podcast

Francis Zierer

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Lucie Fink

01:10 Confronting an online troll

08:57 I’m an artist, not an influencer

12:59 Building a personal brand while at Refinery29

17:02 First year challenges going solo

20:58 Making over $100k as a creator

32:30 Learning from previous course mistakes

39:52 Making $50k from one video

45:46 Adapting content to a shifting audience

48:20 Maternal burst of creative energy

51:53 Aspirations of a Netflix show

Marissa Lovell is the founder and operator of From Boise, a local newsletter business generating over $100k in annual revenue. In this episode, she breaks down how she built it, what nearly made her quit, and the decisions that finally made it work.

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Get 10,000 free monthly credits at Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/

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Marissa Lovell

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

From Boise

Francis Zierer

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Marissa from Boise

01:00 From nearly quitting to $100k+ revenue

06:18 The once-a-month growth strategy

09:34 Early stage experimentation

12:15 Accidentally growing a “personal brand”

17:56 Zero to 10k subscribers in one year

23:20 How big can a local newsletter be?

24:18 How to monetize a local newsletter

30:37 Investing in a website that feels right

33:27 Why a discount card for the community didn’t work

38:14 Connecting a community with dinner clubs

42:15 Building in public and empowering female entrepreneurs

46:58 Creating in way that suits you

52:35 Becoming a six-figure solopreneur

55:09 Doubling revenue for 2026

Fernando Hurtado is a former NBC Telemundo journalist who walked away from a six-figure media career to build on YouTube from scratch. In this episode, Fernando breaks down how he got monetized in days, landed (and lost) brand deals early, priced himself wrong, and rebuilt with a repeatable system for publishing high-quality videos without burning out. We talk risk, leverage, time-boxing creative work, and what journalists actually need to know before betting on themselves.

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Watch Fernando’s AAPI Latino’s video 

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Fernando Hurtado

YouTube

Twitter/X

Instagram

TikTok

LinkedIn

Francis Zierer

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Fernando Hurtado

01:06 The hardest part of full-time YouTube

04:40 How to land (and lose) brand deals

09:30 Transitioning from NBC to YouTube

16:02 Four reasons to become a YouTuber

21:00 Learning the business side of journalism

28:59 Diversify your revenue streams

30:41 Building a sustainable upload schedule — without burnout

35:09 Creating videos for the algorithm and the culture

40:48 Showing the journalistic process

43:27 Creating a video that inspires discussion

45:50 Successes from one year as a YouTuber

51:36 Advice for going all in on YouTube

Jack Appleby is a marketing strategist and creator with over 15 years in the industry. In this episode, we break down why most brand content fails, why trends don’t matter, and how creators can build audiences people actually root for.

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Use code: CREATOR1X1

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Jack Appleby

Newsletter

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

Instagram

How to Hoop Forever

YouTube

Instagram

TikTok

Francis Zierer

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

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Timestamp

00:00 Introducing Jack Appleby

01:05 Social media is not marketing

05:30 Making $9,500 in a month on TikTok

09:36 Investing in a series that loses money

13:13 You don’t need production quality, you need story

15:31 Revenue streams as a marketer

18:16 The need for strong opinions online

26:21 Creating a story through short form video

30:49 Building a newsletter to 80k subscribers

36:05 Hiring a manager

44:42 How to make a $50k course

51:40 The need for better content in 2026

This week we’re joined by Kallaway, a creator and operator building a profitable media business by treating content like a system. In this episode, we break down how he thinks about distribution, YouTube packaging, short-form frameworks, and turning attention into a scalable, $1M-per-month business.

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Kallaway

Sandcastles

YouTube

Instagram

TikTok

LinkedIn

Website

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Kallaway

01:05 The $1M/month content machine

10:01 Bringing a consultant mindset to content creation

15:09 Treating content like a science

20:29 Long form video production process

26:22 Replicating your past successes

34:02 How rapping helps you be a better YouTube

38:05 Short form video production process

41:24 De-risking your failure in short form video

47:43 Creating content without being a creator

This week on Creator Spotlight we’re joined by Brittany Ratelle, a lawyer specializing in helping creators, creatives and online entrepreneurs cut through the overwhelm of getting their business legally legit. In this episode she breaks down the most common legal mistakes creators make, from brand deals and contracts, to hiring and platform risk.

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Brittany Ratelle

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

YouTube

Francis Zierer

LinkedIn

Twitter/X

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Brittany Ratelle

01:26 Biggest red flags in brand deal contracts

10:15 Avoid these contract mistakes

16:06 When should creators become a business

20:17 When is reaction content and remixing IP theft?

26:12 The only way to actually own your audience

33:44 How to write a contract as a creator

37:45 Hiring as a creator

42:37 Most common mistakes creators make, legally

45:10 What’s changing for creators in 2026