Want to Go Solo? Here’s a Creator’s Honest Look at the Ups and Downs

This is the last post of 2024. Thank you to every single subscriber. Whether out there living the creator life or just keenly interested in watching this space continue to evolve, I’m so glad you’re here. Since launching in May, Project C has grown faster than expected (just like my 14-year-old son) and been the conversation opener for many now-ongoing relationships. See you in 2025. (Like really, I’ll probably post something later this week, post Jan. 1st.) xo - Liz

the lede

It’s the end of the year and like many of us, creators are reflecting back on the past year. What do we wish we had done differently? What did we do right? What did we learn – about ourselves and this new world we’re building brick by brick? Phil Edwards, a former colleague of mine from Vox who turned his one-time hobby of a YouTube channel into his full-time job in 2024 just logged one of the most comprehensive and smart 2024 self-assessments I’ve seen.

This video checks a few key creator journalism boxes:

1. Transparency: A big part of the promise of creator-model journalism is tied to the ability to forge close relationships with your audience. That kind of bond is built on trust. Phil’s open-book policy here about his revenue sources and their impact on his editorial decisions is crucial and a big key to the kind of ecosystem we want to see.

2. Audience-centric: The whole reason Phil made this video is because his audience asked for it. You’ll see that reflected in the screen grab below, but as you watch the video you’ll hear Phil make multiple references to how he reads comments and values that kind of feedback deeply. At one point, Phil says, “Big companies hesitate to read the comments … I think it makes every part of the videos better.”

3. Helpful to other creators: Not only does Phil share his mix of revenue sources and the impact each has on his editorial decisions, he gives lots of insider-y first-hand experience color to how each slots in to his business model. His Patreon funds the studio, YouTube AdSense dollars grow along with his back catalog, host reads make it possible to support himself and his family and he’s betting on growth for his new and growing Spotify audience.

4. Sharing pain points: Launching a solo venture isn’t easy (we know, right?) but naming the hard parts is super-important. Not only is it helpful to other creators (see point 3), but it allows people like me and others who want to support this space to work towards solutions that are both custom and scaled for creator journalists. In Phil’s case, he shared the real grind of being a one-man band (see below) and the fact that fully outsourcing his sponsorship prospecting may not be the most lucrative strategy, but it’s the one that allows him to do the creative work right now.

If you’ve seen any other particularly compelling year-end reflections, or want to share yours, add it to the comments or hit me up on Bluesky @lizkellynelson.com.

the latest

• “Bliv, the anonymous non-lawyer behind ThuggerDaily, reveals how he scooped the mainstream press and influenced the proceedings in the longest trial in Georgia’s history.” – The New Yorker

• Former CNN tech reporter Brian Fung is officially launching a Twitch stream next week where “viewers can chat with me about tech and media while watching me play video games.” Cooooool.

• Eleanor Hawkins at Axios takes the opportunity to draw some lessons for media from a marketing study re: GenZ’s consumer behavior habits. To build a loyal audience, writes Hawkins, media companies or influencers have to be “booking the right podcast interviews, reading the right Substacks, partnering with the right creators and monitoring the right Reddit threads.”

• As he asks the Supreme Court to hold off on banning TikTok, the Times explains how president-elect Donald Trump went from denouncing the social platform to calling it a “unique medium for freedom of expression.”

• This year’s NeimanLab predictions are all posted now and several smarties weighed in on creator journalism, including friend of Project C Ryan Kellett, who suggested audience teams may have a new client in creators. Don’t miss: how newsrooms might keep all that talent in-house, making sure we don’t miss the forest (narratives taking deep root across culture) for the trees (niche media sources) and how journalists are influencers, and influencers are journalists.

tips + hacks

• Like me, have you seen a bumper crop of Substack subscribers in the last week or so? Hold off on the celebration. Substack is investigating reports of “increased inauthentic signup behavior.” 

things to do

• Applications are open for the inaugural News Creator Award for Excellence in Independent Video Journalism from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). Eight winners will be recognized at 2025 International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy.