The Creator Spotlight Podcast

This week Francis is joined by Kyle Sheldon, founder and CEO of Name and Number, a soccer specific marketing and creative agency. Kyle has worked within the US soccer world for two decades and held marketing roles at multiple MLS clubs. Kyle is also the founder and editor of Pathway, a newsletter aimed at helping individuals break into the soccer industry. Kyle: https://x.com/kylesheldon Name and Number: https://www.nameandnumber.com Pathway: https://pathwayhq.com 00:00 Introducing Kyle Sheldon 01:05 The evolution of soccer and sports marketing 04:28 Becoming the driving force in growing soccer in the US 09:25 Growing careers in the soccer industry 12:22 Pathway's natural growth has led to extremely high engagement 17:32 The potential future growth of the soccer industry is massive 21:20 Navigating the soccer-creator industry requires expertise 24:49 The fashion culture within soccer 28:19 Empowering creators to thrive in the soccer space 32:22 US vs European football content culture 41:36 The shifting power dynamic between creators and traditional media 50:32 Partnership advice for creators and brands #podcast #creatoreconomy #mls

This week Francis is joined by award winning financial reporter, Phil Rosen. Last year Phil left his role as Senior Markets Reporter at Business Insider to pursue his independent newsletter-first media company, Opening Bell Daily. His flagship newsletter Opening Bell Daily, now has over 190k subscribers within its first year of operation. Opening Bell Daily: https://www.openingbelldailynews.com Phil's X: https://x.com/philrosenn 00:00 Introducing Phil Rosen and Opening Bell Daily 02:00 Building the foundation of a successful writer 05:27 Independent journalism's rise over established media 13:49 Navigating the business side of journalism 18:22 The freedom of building a new business model 21:40 Phil's ambitions to NOT scale the business 24:32 The death of objectivity in journalism 30:48 The untapped market for valuable growth 33:40 Overcoming the fear of posting video 39:30 Paywalls: The necessary evils of the media business 44:36 Advice for aspiring writers and creators #creatoreconomy #podcast #newsletter

This week Francis is joined by six-time author, cultural critic and book publishing coach, Leigh Stein. Leigh is also the creator of the newsletter Attention Economy. Attention Economy: https://leighstein.substack.com/ Leigh's Website: https://www.leighstein.com/ 00:00 Leigh's prolific content output 01:43 Is now the best time to be a writer? 04:38 Defining 'writing vs creating' 08:47 The art is the product 16:45 Does form come before content? 20:25 TikToks instability and the importance of BookTok 23:09 Leigh's journey through the literary world 27:25 We're influencing, not influencers 34:54 Writing 'Attention Economy' 40:52 How to make your content shareable 42:54 Destroying the stigma of self-publishing 45:55 The magical portal to likeminded people 48:54 Leigh's upcoming projects 52:27 Advice for other creators #creatoreconomy #podcast #booktok

This week Francis is joined by Eric Silver, a podcaster, podcast producer and head of development at Multitude, a podcast studio and production company. Multitude: https://multitude.productions 00:00 Introducing Eric Silver 03:14 Crafting your interview style 06:04 The details of teaching podcasting 11:56 Podcasting does not mean video 19:41 The future of audio-only podcasts 25:39 The intention behind the creator 28:24 What makes a good podcast guest? 31:46 The difficulties of guest-based podcasts 36:06 Building an ethical creator-first business 44:11 The rise of Actual Play podcasts 50:08 The future of worker-owned and independent media 52:57 Hank Green's best interview #podcast #creatoreconomy #podcasting

This week Francis is joined by Matt Brown of Extra Points. With a laser focus on writing high quality content, Matt is an independent sports journalist covering the world of college sports in America. Extra Points: https://www.extrapointsmb.com 00:00:00 Introducing Matt Brown and Extra Points 00:01:47 The focus on producing quality content 00:05:26 The unique story of acquisition and reacquisition 00:13:11 Striving to make the internet a better place 00:19:36 Balancing creativity and business in the creator economy 00:22:53 The values and integrity of independent journalism 00:26:27 Vox Media: The bootcamp for independent journalists 00:35:28 Understanding your community 00:42:29 Providing value with high-ticket and low-ticket offers 00:55:41 All analytics lead to $$$ 00:59:59 Bridging the gap between communities through sport 01:04:09 The decentralization of media #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter

This week Francis is joined by essayist and culture critic, Alicia Kennedy. Alicia is primarily a food writer, however also has many refined takes on writing itself, the algorithm, and the attention economy. Alicia Kennedy: https://www.aliciakennedy.news 00:00:00 Introducing Alicia Kennedy 00:01:38 Rejecting the idea of the creator 00:07:06 Declining media literacy in the digital age 00:12:36 The fragmentation of public intellectualism 00:17:09 Attaching value to greatest achievements 00:19:32 The creator economy tradeoff of freedom and instability 00:29:33 The need for publications that challenge food writing norms 00:35:08 The blurred line between influencers and creators 00:40:13 Building a like-minded diverse community 00:43:58 The key to consistent organic growth 00:47:10 The need for a more horizontal media ecosystem 00:52:32 Navigating platforms with limited audience engagement control 00:57:51 Experience of writing a book vs newsletters #podcast #newsletter #creatoreconomy

This week Francis is joined by Kofie Yeboah (@KofieWhy) a versatile creator in the sports media landscape. Kofie does it all, social media, long-form, short-form, podcasts, research and writing. He's here to tell us how he does it all. Kofie: @KofieWhy 00:00 Introducing Kofie Yeboah 01:25 Kofie's early introduction to sports 05:35 The evolution from long-form to short-form 10:21 TikTok's endless opportunities and constant insecurity 14:37 Balancing roles as a content creator and producer 19:43 Successful strategies for repurposing content 26:56 The best and the worst of social platforms 29:57 Fostering a positive and engaged community 32:23 Revenue reinvestment strategies 43:24 Balancing a full-time job with content creation 46:55 Kofie's relationship with different sports leagues 48:33 The path to 100k subscribers #podcast #creatoreconomy #youtuber

This week Francis is joined by Jenna Stoeber (@the_jenna), a video essayist and content creator known for her deep dives into video game and media culture. Jenna's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@the_jenna/ Jenna's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thejenna.bsky.social 00:00:00 Laying the content creator foundation 00:07:00 The art of constructing informative videos 00:09:20 If I create, am I a creator? 00:14:36 The dichotomy of creating and consuming 00:17:19 Beating the algorithm with one simple video 00:20:55 Balancing creativity with optimization 00:29:13 Building diverse and sustainable revenue streams 00:34:25 Sacrificing salary for freedom and autonomy 00:39:27 Knowing your strengths and how to use them 00:46:07 The joys and challenges of podcasting 00:59:02 The art of researching and scripting a video essay 01:05:47 The boss fight: Goals for 2025 #podcast #creatoreconomy #videoessay

This week, Francis is joined by Henry Winslow, founder and writer of Tricycle Day, a newsletter focused on psychedelics research, policy, and business. Francis interviewed Henry exactly one year ago, and this conversation is centred around Henry's growth over the past year.

Tricycle Day Newsletter: https://www.tricycleday.com 

Tricycle Day Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tricycleday 

00:00 Sustaining a creator-led business following rapid growth

06:27 The key to growing your first 1000 subscribers

09:23 Understanding your audience and utilizing data

12:44 Hiring an successful team as a creator

16:47 Scaling to a $250k business in year two

18:53 The benefits of advertising to a niche audience

23:27 The struggles of operating in a controversial space

28:03 Building an audience around trust

35:21 Expanding your business beyond the newsletter

38:09 Community is a buzzword, but not this time

41:42 Goals for 2025

This week Francis is joined by Matt McGarry, also known as the Newsletter Guy. They discuss his agency Growletter, the nuances of newsletter-only businesses, the challenges of monetization, and the evolving role of creators in the media landscape. Newsletter Marketing Summit: https://newslettermarketingsummit.com FOR $200 OFF, USE CODE: CS200 Newsletter Operator: https://www.newsletteroperator.com Growletter: https://growletter.co Write Grow Sell: https://writegrowsell.com Matt McGarry: https://x.com/JMatthewMcGarry 00:00:00 Introducing Matt and his businesses 00:01:12 Breaking down Matt's multiple income streams 00:04:52 Newsletters are NOT a business model 00:08:24 CPA is not as important as you think 00:16:06 Creating a winning ad to grow your newsletter 00:19:24 Why you should not start a newsletter only business 00:23:21 Do not paywall your best content 00:29:19 The key to monetizing your audience 00:36:10 The devolution from media founder to creator 00:41:36 The difficulties of marketing a podcast 00:47:13 Maximizing reach and engagement by repurposing content 00:52:55 The must-haves for a growing newsletter 00:56:30 The most saturated areas in the newsletter world 00:59:46 Newsletter trends for 2025 #podcast #creatoreconomy #newsletter