🔴 Getting paid (and paying) to learn creator skills

Some of the most popular, successful, and idolized creators are self-taught. What about the rest of us? I’m seeing more and more compelling, thoughtful education initiatives built to produce successful creators … from companies, from non-profits, from creators themselves.

Three of those in today’s newsletter. Also, down at the bottom, a quick poll — I’m looking for your input on what educational products and services we might build to serve you better.

— Francis Zierer, Lead Editor

He has a newsletter on beehiiv. So do Codie Sanchez, Jay Shetty, David Begnaud, Colin & Samir, and Joanna Stern.

They could publish just about anywhere. They chose beehiiv to build a direct connection with the people who want to hear from them most. And you can do the same, whether you’re world-famous or just at the start of your plan for world domination.

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Simple question: How do you make more effective content?

“Effective” can mean many things, though. Let’s say: How do you reach more of the people you want to reach and, having reached them, drive them to desired outcomes?

There are many programs helping creators answer these questions. I’m sharing three that seem worthwhile — this is not meant to be a perfect sample of all such programs. And I have not participated in any of the three, but I would feel confident in the outcomes of doing so.

Traditional news organizations, broadly, are still catching up to audience demand for engaging, social-platform-native content. Former Spotlight guest Sophia Smith Galer was ahead of her time during her 2017–2021 stint at the BBC, where she had to fight for the validity of her (successful) work translating articles into engaging TikTok videos.

News organizations are not dismissing the format anymore.

As Charlotte Tobitt reported in Press Gazette this week, the Guardian is creating 40 new journalism jobs, including creator training. It’s the “Digital Journalist Scheme.”

Key details:

(If you’re in the UK, applications for this program are open until Thursday, October 8.)

Based on the available information, I’m a fan of this approach — a paid apprenticeship at a reputable news organization for a total of 40 people. Everything about it seems mutually beneficial for participants and the organization alike. The former receive on-the-job training; the latter receives a stream of content and, at the end of it, the opportunity to hire top participants full-time.

It’s too early to say “every news organization should have a version of this program,” but there, I’ve said it.

There are, of course, only so many newsroom jobs. Anyone can publish content in a newsletter or on a social media platform, though — and they deserve training, too. More importantly, their audiences deserve trained and responsible creators.

Late last year, I interviewed three people for an episode on News Creator Corps, a 2025-founded organization aiming to give creators “the skills, resources, partnerships, and support they need to empower the communities they serve with accurate information.”

NCC has two fellowships. When I spoke to them, the first edition of their Trusted Creator fellowship was wrapping up. (Applications for the fifth edition open this month — subscribe to their newsletter to stay informed.)

The Trusted Creator fellowship includes:

The Rural Creator fellowship is similar, though slightly scaled back, and focuses on rural communities; the homepage notes that “more than 3,500 local news outlets have closed in the past two decades.” It includes:

I admire the NCC approach. It’s a relatively short but high-potential engagement for the creators, who are compensated for their time through the stipend. As creators now command much of the attention journalists did in the pre-smartphone era, it’s important that they be trained in responsible research and reporting.

It’s popular, too. The first fellowship received 149 applications for 20 spots. The most recent, which kicks off next week, was the most competitive yet, with nearly 600 creators applying for 20 spots.

The creator economy is not all journalism and public service. Far from it. Professional creators, first and foremost, need to make a living. These people are often more accurately described as entrepreneurs chasing business outcomes.

Cut30 is “an intensive 30-day bootcamp designed to help you make Instagram and TikTok content that matters.” Nearly 3,000 students have gone through the program. (The next cohort starts on October 27.)

Cut30 is run by three coaches (below, including their own bios from the site):

Both the Guardian and NCC programs are journalism-first. Cut30 is marketing-first. More specifically, it is distribution-first. All three coaches are operators.

Colin is the CEO of a consumer cannabis company. Oren’s resume includes titles like VP of Markteting, Director of Sales & Marketing, and Creative Director. Alex formerly held marketing roles at Gumroad, HubSpot, and The Hustle. His current business, House of Distribution, is a content studio producing social shows for brands.

Cut30 currently costs $1,797.

The reported outcomes are impressive. One page tracks their alumni’s views in the last 30 days, posts alumni have shipped (time range unclear), total posts in the last 90 days, and students taught to date.

A testimonials section on the homepage focuses on non-view outcomes. One person got a show on Complex; another was able to quit their day job; another sold out their first four product drops.

This is a commonality between all three programs — it’s not about the views, but about understanding that views are a means to an end … but that you need views, need to reach and engage the right audience, to achieve that end.

Again, all three of these programs are currently or imminently open for applications:

Creator Spotlight, too, is an educational resource for creators. Our mission is to increase the quality and quantity of digital media entrepreneurs. We do that primarily by interviewing people we believe have some skill or achievement worth learning from; then publishing those interviews and other analysis.

One thing I know — our content can only do so much for you. Our newsletter is on the syllabus at colleges and universities, including Texas A&M and Penn State, but we don’t have a classroom ourselves.

Outside of newsletters, there are five formats I’ve seen around the creator economy that people tend to find useful or effective for education:

We want to make this kind of learning part of Creator Spotlight in 2027. And we want your input!