This week Francis is joined by Jenna Stoeber, 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

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