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Every essay, one trail at a time

Pick a topic, start with the three we’d read first, then keep going. Every essay ends with the next one in its trail.

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Business Strategy Content Strategy Audience Building Monetization Process & Operations Mindset
20 essays · 30 episodes

Business Strategy

Start with a solid foundation. Learn the fundamentals of how to think about your creator business.

Start hereHow I'd start today (if Creator Science didn't exist)Start hereWhich name to create behind? Your name vs. project nameStart hereThe Pendulum: How To Get Ahead of Trends
🎧 Prefer to listen?How I'd start today (if Creator Science didn't exist)Sam Vander Wielen’s Beautifully Elegant Business: $8M+ From One Product. No Pivots. No New Offers. No Down Years.Kevin Espiritu – How Epic Gardening went from a blog to a video empire.
See the whole trail →

20 essays

  1. How I'd start today (if Creator Science didn't exist)6 min
  2. Which name to create behind? Your name vs. project name5 min
  3. The Pendulum: How To Get Ahead of Trends4 min
  4. How to become a professional creator – the PARTS model.13 min
  5. Creator-educators: the true opportunity of the creator economy11 min
  6. The five stages of being a creator6 min
  7. How to find your niche (and why the typical advice is bad)11 min
  8. Your creator brand1 min
  9. What is your American Idol story?2 min
  10. Earned insight3 min
  11. How to look more legitimate14 min
  12. Become a trusted source3 min
  13. Are you building a Skyscraper or a Strip Mall?5 min
  14. What game are you playing?12 min
  15. How to find traction3 min
  16. Become platform-resilient as a Sovereign Creator6 min
  17. Slingshot Season5 min
  18. AI-rbitrage4 min
  19. Vibe Coding: Opportunity or Distraction?3 min
  20. Single-serving effort is why the Red Queen is going to catch you3 min

30 episodes

25 essays · 42 episodes

Content Strategy

Develop your strategy for content creation, one of the most important parts of being a creator.

Start hereDesigning Your Content StrategyStart hereDesigning Your PremiseStart hereConsistency vs. Frequency
🎧 Prefer to listen?Paddy Galloway – How he makes any niche go viralCaleb Ralston – Meet the Secret Strategist Behind Alex Hormozi and GaryVeeJake Thomas – How to write great YouTube titles
See the whole trail →

25 essays

  1. Designing Your Content Strategy9 min
  2. Designing Your Premise3 min
  3. Consistency vs. Frequency3 min
  4. Quality vs. Quantity (and why it's not that simple)6 min
  5. The game within the game (why your growth may be slow)3 min
  6. Shiny Platform Syndrome3 min
  7. The Regret Test3 min
  8. Maybe your content isn't the problem6 min
  9. The Asset-Creation Business2 min
  10. The Value of Attention8 min
  11. Taking the long view on short-form video8 min
  12. Is shorter content better?6 min
  13. When the schedule gets in the way6 min
  14. "Should I publish my newsletter to my blog?"3 min
  15. "How does podcasting fit into your content ecosystem?"5 min
  16. 11 lessons from five years of writing an email newsletter6 min
  17. "For You" feeds are not for you.3 min
  18. Will we feel nostalgia for discovery in the 2020s?5 min
  19. Algorithm-proofing4 min
  20. Sora and Vibes: We're Being Played With5 min
  21. Midslop3 min
  22. Trust over Attention1 min
  23. Attention Maximizers vs. Trust Maximizers4 min
  24. The Barbell Content Strategy6 min
  25. How to Talk to 10,000 People at Once2 min

42 episodes

14 essays · 49 episodes

Audience Building

Learn how to attract attention, develop trust, and build your audience.

Start hereIndifference is the enemyStart hereAssociation: The Secret to Organic GrowthStart herePublic Homework
🎧 Prefer to listen?Chris Williamson – How his podcast exploded to 70 million downloads and 125 million viewsChenell Basilio – How the best newsletter operators grow to 50K+ subscribersBryan Harris — How to grow your audience through partnerships (even if you have a small audience yourself)
See the whole trail →

14 essays

  1. Indifference is the enemy4 min
  2. Association: The Secret to Organic Growth6 min
  3. Public Homework3 min
  4. Five audience growth strategies for creators4 min
  5. Attention Retention1 min
  6. The Secret to Word of Mouth4 min
  7. How To Connect With Anyone8 min
  8. How to grow an email newsletter6 min
  9. Lead magnets that actually work3 min
  10. The magic of email-based courses4 min
  11. Two underutilized email strategies3 min
  12. Are LinkedIn newsletters the easiest way to grow your list?3 min
  13. RIP Followers?3 min
  14. What if you couldn't reach anyone new?2 min

49 episodes

29 essays · 44 episodes

Monetization

Learn how to capture value and generate revenue from the attention you’re receiving.

Start hereWhen to start monetizingStart hereWhy you need a Signature ProductStart hereDesigning Your Product Strategy
🎧 Prefer to listen?The best and worst income streams for creators (ranked)Chris Do – From running a multimillion dollar design agency to becoming a multimillion dollar creatorSam Vander Wielen’s Beautifully Elegant Business: $8M+ From One Product. No Pivots. No New Offers. No Down Years.
See the whole trail →

29 essays

  1. When to start monetizing7 min
  2. Why you need a Signature Product6 min
  3. Designing Your Product Strategy3 min
  4. Return On Attention (ROA)2 min
  5. The Audience Trust Battery3 min
  6. "How should I validate product ideas?"3 min
  7. "Should I sell a course, coaching program, or both?"4 min
  8. "How do I go from clients to full-time creator?"2 min
  9. How to build an online course8 min
  10. Why most digital products fail (and we're to blame)4 min
  11. Getting your audience to their destination3 min
  12. Creating Magical Experiences4 min
  13. The magic of pricing tiers3 min
  14. Pricing for Memberships3 min
  15. Evergreen vs. Launches4 min
  16. More, better, new3 min
  17. You're getting disqualified.3 min
  18. How to improve your sales copy3 min
  19. How to build better sales pages3 min
  20. Why you should ask your customers why they DIDN'T buy2 min
  21. Why people aren't buying (and how to fix it)5 min
  22. "When should you start a membership?"2 min
  23. Why (and how) I designed my community to stay small12 min
  24. Building Better Community Products4 min
  25. Why I'm investing in IRL events3 min
  26. Shared Experiences (And Why You Should Invest In Them)3 min
  27. Experiment: Cohort to Membership Sales4 min
  28. Platinum Handcuffs4 min
  29. Cultivating a Revenue Ocean3 min

44 episodes

8 essays · 13 episodes

Process & Operations

Great creators leverage great systems. Learn how to improve your process and operations.

Start hereGoals, Non-Goals, and Anti-GoalsStart hereYour business as a machineStart hereHow to be consistent
🎧 Prefer to listen?Garrett Kennell – How thinking big helped Michelle Khare attract 4.8 million subscribersAngus Parker – Ali Abdaal’s right-hand man shares a YouTuber’s guide to hiring.Bonnie Christine – How to ACTUALLY hire and delegate.
See the whole trail →

8 essays

  1. Goals, Non-Goals, and Anti-Goals6 min
  2. Your business as a machine7 min
  3. How to be consistent14 min
  4. Leverage2 min
  5. How to be more prolific2 min
  6. The art of efficiency5 min
  7. How I Manage Shiny Object Syndrome4 min
  8. Pacing2 min

13 episodes

26 essays · 26 episodes

Mindset

Get your mind right so you can get your business right. These pieces help you see the creator game through a smarter lens.

Start hereExperimentalityStart hereHow To Keep GoingStart hereSolving the Cobbler Problem
🎧 Prefer to listen?Dr. K – The Harvard Psychiatrist helping creators with performance, burnout, and dealing with negative feedback.James Clear – Habits, research, and how to create A+ work from a New York Times best selling authorHow To Stop Limiting Yourself (Backed By Science) with Nir Eyal
See the whole trail →

26 essays

  1. Experimentality6 min
  2. How To Keep Going5 min
  3. Solving the Cobbler Problem3 min
  4. Creator Scientists3 min
  5. Optimism – Your Secret Weapon2 min
  6. What if you're not an expert?3 min
  7. Permission to be bad2 min
  8. The best teachers are students3 min
  9. Two traits of successful creators4 min
  10. Artist vs. Entrepreneur2 min
  11. Your Art vs. Your Ego2 min
  12. Quality and Belief3 min
  13. Restraint2 min
  14. How would someone else run your creator business?4 min
  15. Making better decisions3 min
  16. Low-Cost Experiments3 min
  17. Enthusiasm Generates Momentum2 min
  18. Push the Pace, Sustain the Standard4 min
  19. A lesson from basketball's 3-point line2 min
  20. When emotions get in the way2 min
  21. What a Harvard Psychiatrist says about burnout and performance6 min
  22. When to quit1 min
  23. "You give better advice than you take."6 min
  24. Creative Independence vs. Financial Independence4 min
  25. Who are you becoming?3 min
  26. What will your luck look like?2 min

26 episodes

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