Building a business from the ground up as a creator is no easy feat. Your success depends on a number of different things including your leadership, your team, and your strategy. Often, creators start without a blueprint and fail before they soar. Consultant and Creator of the online course, Notion Mastery, Marie Poulin, always considered her work …

The greatest form of flattery you can get as a content creator is when your audience consistently engages with your content. The 2022 ConvertKit study showed that the average email open rate is only 33%, so how do you break through the noise to get people begging for more? Blogger, content creator, and educator Khe Hy, blows that statistic out of t…

Creators strive to be authentic, but it’s not easy navigating the nuances of your second language while being yourself. Content creator, mentor, and Meta product designer Sara Brunettini realized that if she wanted to grow her audience she had to shake off the fear of looking “silly”. Sara is from Italy and she put off learning English until she mo…

As creators, an entrepreneurial spirit often lends itself to fantastic work. Unfortunately, that entrepreneurial energy also makes it difficult for us to justify taking time off. And regardless of your job title, profession, or proclivity for side hustles, it’s no secret that the hustle culture instilled in us by today’s world means taking time off…

When you’re launching a business, it’s easy to leave SEO on the backburner. But if you ever want your audience to actually find the content you’re working so hard to create, mastering SEO (or at least understanding the basics) is a must. If you’re confused about SEO, think about the first page of a Google search results page as Main Street: the blo…

For those of us without a natural artistic gene, designing our brand from scratch can feel incredibly daunting. Even professional designers work tirelessly to perfect a brand’s launch or relaunch. Luckily, designers say it’s not worth overthinking the details, especially at the start. Taking small steps forward while continuing to focus on what’s m…

Income from Adsense and digital products may pay a bill or two. But most creators take their dreams full-time with the help of paid sponsorships. Thankfully, brands are finally seeing the value in creator services and they’re paying accordingly. As a creator, ignoring sponsored opportunities now means ignoring major revenue. But spending hours sear…

Every action changes the biochemistry of your brain. Not many of us think about that when running errands, slogging through a 9-5, or scrolling mindlessly on social media. But as creators, the way we work and manage our mental health can mean the difference between a thriving side hustle and another creative project left by the wayside. ConvertKit …

For many people, budgeting is simple. You take your income, subtract your expenses, and figure out what to do with the rest. Do you save? Invest? Splurge? As a creator, your life is your business. And that makes budgeting, investing, and managing your money more complicated. The questions you ask yourself aren’t simply, “can I pay my bills and save…

It’s not where you are or who you’re with, but what you create. If you’ve ever felt like success as a creator is limited to the humdrum town you’re in, miles from a traditionally “creative” city, meet Fashion Designer Whitney Manney. Kansas City, Missouri may not be the fashion capital of the world, but it’s a place where Whitney has taken root. An…

Do you consider yourself a creator? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. According to a recent Vox article, more people than ever are referring to themselves as “content creators.” From social media influencers to fashion designers, that term encompasses a wide breadth of professions. Regardless of their specialty, the most successful content cr…

Life moves quickly. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a breath and reflect. After more than two years of unprecedented times and a creator economy that feels stronger than ever, ConvertKit has decided it’s time for a temperature check on the creator economy. The State of the Creator Economy Report for 2022 has officially been released and what bette…

Creator or not, we’ve all experienced burnout to some degree. You throw yourself into a side passion or new business and before you know it, you’re struggling to stay motivated and downright exhausted. While the feeling is familiar, many of us are less familiar with what leads to burnout besides simply “overworking”, how long it takes to bounce bac…

Whether you’re an emerging creator, established TikToker, or you’re just hoping to scale an expanding side hustle, we could all use a little support. Thankfully, as the creator economy expands, so do businesses looking to elevate creators through focusing tools, monetization apps, and even hubs for influencer pay transparency. While they’re moving …

In 10th grade, Henry Thong took media studies, thinking it’d be a chance for him to slack off. Instead, he discovered a passion for videography that transformed his career aspirations and redefined his future. Henry pursued film seriously from that point on, entering festivals at every chance he got and following the Casey Neistat philosophy of con…

What’s your platform of choice? TikTok? YouTube? Twitter? After setting a simple goal to grow, ConvertKit CEO Nathan Barry decided to shift his efforts to one medium rather than spreading himself thin everywhere. The result was a dramatic increase in Twitter followers and high levels of engagement across his posts. So what was the secret to Nathan’…

If you’ve noticed that your attention span feels nonexistent, you’re certainly not alone. A recent Guardian piece, Your Attention Didn’t Collapse. It Was Stolen., paints a grim picture of society’s frightening struggle to focus. In a world where technology and social media continue to invade our lives, there’s always an algorithm ready to suck us i…

With practice, anyone can write. But can anyone transform a blog into a full-blown online publication? There’s a big difference between the two, and how you navigate the transition from blog to publication can determine whether your brand develops or your blog stays stagnant. Dani Stewart, helmer of ConvertKit's blog Tradecraft, knows what it’s lik…

There is lots of advice out there for aspiring creators. Just remember, the best advice doesn’t always come from entrepreneurs with millions of followers and millions in the bank. In fact, the most valuable advice can sometimes stem from the products, platforms, and ideas that never reached the masses. No stranger to The Future Belongs to Creators …

Not all of us have the guts to chase our dreams. Despite family disapproval and peers all around him taking the safe route, Thomas Dulin knew he could make music for a living. Fortunately, he was correct, and today, Thomas is a music producer and sound engineer in Nashville, Tennessee living his dream. He splits his time touring with popular and em…

There’s truly no such thing as an overnight success. Mandi Gubler spent years working on her first blog, Vintage Revivals. Her site launched when blogging was still an emerging industry and unlike her competitors, Mandi refused to accept every sponsorship offer that came her way, holding out for a few brands on her dream list. Eventually, as the su…

ConvertKit Storyteller Isa Adney has always loved to learn. Although she aced high school, Isa’s family couldn’t afford a traditional four-year university, so Isa dove into community college and later snagged a scholarship to complete her Bachelor’s and earn a Master’s in Education. With a higher degree in learning, Isa’s passion for education is o…

Creators come to ConvertKit with dreams of doing what they love for a living. That usually means sacrificing 9-5s for passion and creativity. But often creators forget that a lifestyle doing what you love only comes when you learn to monetize that passion and think like a businessperson. While skills like negotiation rarely come naturally, all it t…

There’s no better feeling than building a livelihood doing the work you love. For many creators, that means a life of painting, pottery, design, and left-brain thinking. But to succeed as a full-time creator, you have to get technical every once in a while. If you’re not a numbers person and shy away from the analytical aspects of email and busines…

You know it, you love it…maybe you’ve never heard of it. Regardless, it’s the first viral trend of 2022 and after a rough few years, embracing something as wholesome as a free word puzzle has felt uniquely refreshing. But what made Wordle the viral sensation that it is? And what’s the best way creators can capitalize on a free service without destr…

When someone stumbles upon something different, it usually takes mainstream society a while to catch up. Understanding and validating the power of creators and the creator economy is no different. After years of creators forging their own careers despite judgment and confusion, the universe is finally catching on. And everyone wants in on the lucra…

The time has come for annual reflection. When you’re passionate about growing a side hustle, it’s important to reflect mindfully on the year you’ve had rather than forging ahead carelessly and going through the motions of yet another 12 months. So what have you learned this year as a creator? And what changes are you planning in the year ahead? In …

As this year wraps up, consider the place email has in your creator strategy. Does it have a place at all? Or was it overshadowed by the latest social trend? Email may be older than the internet, but if you think it’s a medium of the past, think again. While easy to overlook if you’re like all of us reaching for TikTok before breakfast, email stand…

In today’s Q&A episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss the importance of social media, the future of podcasting, and the benefits of planning a business before diving in headfirst. From social strategy to a SWOT analysis, here are a few hot takes on the creator economy. Today’s Questions [06:32] - Will creators always need social media to reach …

Do you know much about NFTs? Or does the blockchain space make you think of Elon Musk and an exclusive tech community that feels far out of reach? Regardless of your personal affinity, NFTs will only become more relevant to our modern economy. And they’ll only become more relevant for creators looking to build community and earn a living. But the t…

Change is hard, especially when it comes to a business or project you’ve built from the ground up. So how do you know when it’s time to iterate on a side hustle? How do you iterate without losing your existing audience? And is it ok to reverse those plans when you suddenly realize that change isn’t always for the best? When you’re solving a problem…

In a world where numbers matter, it can feel discouraging comparing yourself to influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. When you’re just starting out, the path to online influence can feel like an uphill climb with a destination that’s far out of reach. But to become a successful creator, is it necessa…

In the early days of YouTube, popular creators often started second channels: one channel for main content and the other for vlogs. While that trend has since faded away, second channels are still an important content stream for major influencers and niche creators alike. But how do you know when to establish a second channel? Could you create a pl…

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the top one percent of streamers on Twitch earn more than half of all revenue generated on the site. Does this surprise you? Discourage you as an emerging creator? Or does it inspire you to stay the course and keep hustling until you find yourself in that top one percent? In this episode, Haley, Mi…

America was built on specialists. People that were so exceptionally good at one thing that other countries depended on that unique skill set. Entire industries were born overnight from a singular focus. But as creators, we often feel like jacks of all trades. And if we’re constantly juggling multiple hats, can we ever become great at our craft? As …

Is there an app you always click on? A channel you gravitate to? A community that never fails to inspire you or make you laugh? For creators like Charli and Jay Clouse, that app is Twitter. After watching a friend create ceramics for 100 days straight with incredible success, Jay was inspired to explore fostering that consistency on Twitter. Jay de…

In today's Q&A episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss how the pandemic and the “Great Resignation” have impacted the creator economy. They also answer questions about the benefits and pitfalls of short-form content creation and which platforms will give you the greatest chances of success. “We’ve all been forced to take stock of what is importa…

Quitting your 9-5 and launching a business is both worshipped and glamorized. Building a lifestyle business is the new American Dream. But as those who’ve taken the plunge will tell you, it’s never an easy or seamless journey upward. This is especially true if your goal isn’t just to escape the corporate grind, but to build a life doing what you lo…

Constantly feeling overwhelmed, rushing up against deadlines, and scrambling until the last minute is the perfect recipe for burnout. For creators, this often manifests while they’re trying to generate content to keep up with their audiences. Regardless of the cause, every creator finds themself racing the hamster wheel at one time or another. Whil…

The scientific method is straightforward. Identify a problem, draw a hypothesis, run an experiment, collect the data, and find a conclusion. What if we approached our creative side hustles with the same data-driven mindset? Creators of all types procrastinate, get stuck, burn out, or simply lose momentum. When work is personal or we live like perfe…

In today’s economy, it seems like everyone’s a creator. And in a bustling creator economy, making your voice heard can feel impossible. But is it actually impossible? And does success mean viewing fellow creators as competition? In today’s episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel discuss a recent article titled, The Creator Economy Is In Crisis, Now Let’…

As a constantly evolving creator, nothing is ever written in stone. Just ask Hollie Arnett, brand strategy coach for creators and founder of Maker & Moxie. A master of branding, Hollie passed the ultimate test by successfully rebranding a difficult client: herself. Beginning her business as a designer and typographer, Hollie picked her original nam…

In today's Q&A episode, Charli and Miguel talk with ConvertKit product specialist, Ben Schoeffler, about thoughts and experiences turning hobbies into side hustles. They also answer questions about when to push through burn-out and when to quit, creating with a goal in mind, and why it’s OK to produce work without knowing where it’s going. “I notic…

With ADHD, it’s incredibly difficult to focus on one task at a time. For creators with a lot to do, an ADHD diagnosis can make an already uphill climb feel like Mt. Everest. But, as Noah from ProvocaTeach tells us, there are ways creators can overcome their diagnosis and turn ADHD into a creative advantage. Growing up, Noah always felt like he was …

The hardest part of accomplishing anything is taking the first step. Whether you’re nervous about sharing work for the first time or fear you’ll never find success, most big-time creators have felt the same. How do you push through those tough early stages when there’s no guarantee of success or profit? ConvertKit Product Manager, Romane Dagain, kn…

Many companies have regular performance reviews for their employees. If done well, reflecting on your work is a great way to improve and refresh your professional momentum. Even though it’s not mandated by a higher-up, we should still take similar time as creators to reflect on our work and performance. When there’s no boss behind your shoulder or …

Taking a leap of faith is never easy. If you’ve ever thought about starting a newsletter, what’s holding you back? Whether it’s your grueling 9-5, the daunting task of building a website, or starting with zero followers, there always seems to be something standing in the way. But, as Daniel Beasley says, take it one small step at a time. Director o…

How do you go from casual listener of a show to colleague of a creator all in the comment section of a live stream? Ask Teddy. A staple of The Future Belongs To Creators podcast, Teddy’s here (almost) every week to ask questions and keep the conversation fun. In today’s episode, Teddy chats with Charli, Haley, and Miguel about his success working f…

While an app filled with live streaming gamers may be the last thing you associate with 2021’s highest-paid influencers, much of what makes up our modern creator economy originated on Twitch. At least according to a recent article, Twitch Turns 10, and the Creator Economy Is in Its Debt. In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel dig into live stre…

In today's Q&A episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel share secrets and insights from their experience balancing work, life, side passions, and, of course, hosting a creator podcast. Stay tuned for answers on charging for sponsorships, knowing your limits as a freelancer, recovering from creative ruts, and more. “You have to know your audience so well …