The Creator Spotlight Podcast

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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Get started for free at https://taplio.com

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