Hey friends 👋
This has probably been one of the busiest months of the entire year for me. It is insaneee to me that we’re in the final stretch of the year for q4. But it’s also exciting to be so busy and a reminder for me that everything truly comes in waves and seasons. My biggest challenge is making sure that I’m not disappearing deep in client work and that I keep building, keep investing in my brand, & investing in this newsletter. Because I’m super super excited to see all the growth in past few months!
Some quick highlights from what I’ve been working on lately:
Modern media builders essay 🤳 My goal here is to publish 1 long form essay a month that captures my thinking on some aspect of building in the creator economy. It’s my very favorite thing to do! The topic I’ve been wrestling with for the past few weeks is this idea of building a modern media company and the common themes I’m seeing across 7-figure creator businesses. Given my background in media, I wanted to do a deep dive in the lessons from legacy media (glory days of magazines!) to explore what principles of company building still apply and what the playbook creator entrepreneurs should now follow to build their own niche media empire.
A random experiment: John McPhee, a New Yorker writer, famously drafted most of his longform work on index cards. After reading this blog post on the “McPhee method,” I’ve now started carrying a stack with me, especially on the train, and jotting my ideas down that way. It’s been surprisingly helpful to structure arguments and see them all laid out. Plus, there’s just something that feels kind of romantic about working on index cards instead of staring at a screen. (Really channeling this magazine writer in the era of a Nora Ephron film! Sans $6/word rates but that’s another essay for another day)
Design refresh 🪄 Creator Diaries has needed a brand refresh FOREVER. I’ve been focused on creating the best quality content possible but kept feeling stuck because of this lack of overall identity/cohesiveness. I finally played around with the beehiiv editor and duct-taped something together that feels a little more “me.” Still modern enough for the creator economy, but with a little more of that magazine/journalism vibe I love. At some point I’d love bring on a designer to make everything consistent across socials and graphics (if that’s you, give me a shout!), but this feels like a good start.
creator diaries gets an upgrade ✨
I’ve also been putting together a creator resource library — it’s not totally finished, but I figured I’d give you all a first look. I’ve been filing away links, ideas, and frameworks for years but never really shared them. So now I’m curating it into one place. End goal is to make it a one-stop shop for building a creator business. Would love feedback on what stands out or what else you’d want to see!
All of this kind of ties into the big thing I want to talk about this week, which is: the power of building in public.
The Power of Building in Public
This is something I’ve basically been experimenting with the whole year — like, how do I write about not only what I’m working on, but also what I want to be working on?
When I sat down to write my goals for this year, I had this clear idea: I wanted to be seen as a “creator economy expert.”
But I had a tiny problem… I didn’t really have anything that made me an expert. No book, no massive platform (hey, we’re 2500 strong on LinkedIn now!). The only way for me to really bridge that gap was to start creating content around the things I actually knew, the stuff I was learning, and the rabbit holes I was interested in.
It felt really weird and cringy (which later I realized is kind of the primary thing that anyone will experience as when building in public. So you should just expect it.)
I think that there is this lag time between putting yourself out there and actually seeing the results, like with anything. If you were just to start going to the gym or whatever, you have to put in months of work before it ever really feels like "ok, it's paying off".
That has been the theme of my entire year, and only till just a couple months ago has it really started to explode in terms of getting clients, people reaching out on LinkedIn, people finding me through writing for competitor blogs. I've even had my first client find me through ChatGPT search for creator economy expert… which is wild.
Suddenly I wasn't really this random writer anymore, but someone that people associated with thoughtful takes on the creator economy.
Full circle moment is my first article with Stan!
Stan is a creator tool that empowers you to run a business all in one place. Richard reached out to me about writing for the blog, and when I asked how he found me, he said he had literally been searching for “writers + creator economy.” My name came up because of the trail of stuff I’d been sharing online. Like… that’s it.
That’s the entire point of building in public. Share what you’re learning, what you’re trying, what you’re curious about — and people will find you.
Here’s a recap of some top lessons from the article 👇
10 Lessons on Building in Public
Cringe is the cost of entry. It's something that literally EVERY creator deals with when they start out. Is your dream payoff worth the initial feeling of being somewhat cringe?
Your goal is to build a serendipity engine. The clearer you are about your mission, the more the right people show up to build alongside you - clients, collaborators, sponsors, readers, unexpected DMs. Building in public attracts opportunities!
Forces you to not build a vacuum. By sharing updates early and getting feedback and listening to your audience, you ensure that you’re making something people actually want (and will pay for!)
People want to see both wins and failures and all the BTS content in between. It’s more about showing up/being transparent than sharing really impressive product & revenue updates. (I’ve shared some prompts below for this!)
Distribution is everything. Building in public ensures that you have an audience that’s following your work - which will set you up for success no matter what it is you want to launch.
You have to play the longggg game. It’s like going to the gym… unfortunately. You’re not going to go once and end up shredded. The same is true for posting on LinkedIn for a couple of weeks. It took me MONTHS before I felt like I was getting where and many founders I see build in public for years before it seems like their business “takes off.”
You don’t have to be everywhere all at once. Just pick a platform you like best and can commit to - and stick to it! You should, however, 100% have an email from day one.
Two approaches can work well for building in public: the experienced builder (here’s how I did something; you’re coming from a place of expertise and guiding others) or the learner in public (I’m documenting my process & taking you along for the ride). Think about what you could share from either of those POVs.
Sometimes you’re “creating” the future. Saying I want to become an expert in this niche or I’m getting to $1M ARR by the end of the year or I want to launch a podcast. (Goes back to serendipity engine; putting yourself out there actually attracts the opportunities!)
You just have to start. There is no secret formula, there is no progress bar you have to hit. Unfortunately, it just starts with an off-the-cuff post. I think this is something that every creator deals with. (Even something that I'm dealing with now in terms of posting more video) You just have to get to a place where you feel comfortable starting - not even confident - but just enough to push through.
Now, hopefully, you’re a bit inspired! I’ve also gathered here some quick prompts you can save/printout to use as inspo when you’re like okay…I want to build in public where do I start?
That’s all for me this week! If you’re wanting to explore some more deep dives & rabbit holes, here are some faves:
On LinkedIn, I broke down the rise of TBPN (the “SportsCenter of Silicon Valley”) and why it’s a textbook case for the future of creator-led media.
Codie Sanchez joined Jon Youshaei to share her advice for becoming a “millionaire creator” - the advice is even more valuable than the somewhat clickbaity title. She talks about how she’s building a media empire through her business, her various revenue streams, and how we can all be building wealthy more savvily.
Ali Abdaal and Daniel Priestley produced a super helpful, in-depth video on how to start a business in 2025 - and it’s super relevant to any entrepreneur/creator. They go over important lessons like how to think like an entrepreneur and how to approach Founder-Market fit.
Till next time!
Taylor