Creator Spotlight: Nathan Baugh

What is Creator Spotlight?

Each week we'll feature a newsletter on beehiiv that's experiencing tremendous success with their content and growth. It's a two part initiative packed into a single day:

1. an email showcasing their content, tips, and goals (this email here)

2. and a live Twitter Spaces tonight where you can join the conversation and ask questions directly

Tell me about World Builders

World Builders exists at the intersection of business, tech, and storytelling. I have a background in engineering and have worked as a tech consultant. I also love fantasy fiction and taught myself to write in the process of writing a novel and studying how to structure writing to get across broader, deeper points. It’s a unique background and the newsletter is how I am pursuing what I am really interested in.

How can companies employ storytelling effectively?

I like to separate World Building and Storytelling into two separate things. World Building, to me, is the actual structure that a company will put around itself. Beehiiv, at its core is the newsletter product, an email service platform. That’s its core competency. At the same time, it is creating a world around newsletter writers and companies that use beehiiv. They are saying we’re going to help you with growth with the referral system, we’re going to help you in the future with monetization, we’re going to help you on the content side, we make it super easy to design your newsletter/customize it, etc. What we’re doing right now, highlighting creators on the platform to exemplify how beehiiv is utilized for potential converts, that’s a win-win for everyone and I would consider it a way to storytell for the brand. It’s a way to show that beehiiv puts the customer at the center of their mission and that the customer is the hero of story.

Shopify is another great example, they offer a ton of resources and events designed to support e-commerce entrepreneurs, including business courses and social opportunities. Anyone who wants to launch an e-commerce brand can learn so much and Shopify can then be like, oh by the way, this is a great platform to sell your product.

What kind of stories are you interested in?

A story requires tension at every step, the best stories are the one that are hard to stop watching or reading, there’s a high level of inner emotion or physical danger going on. A really good story will have a larger impact than just the immediate story. Everyone knows Steve Jobs is one of the best entrepreneurs out there. I looked at how he told stories. His first stint at Apple, he objectively failed to tell the story. The products were great, but they didn’t connect with people.

In 1986, he buys Pixar and spends about a decade there. He is way more hands offs at Pixar than he ever was at Apple, he appreciated that time because he effectively learned to tell stories at Pixar, he intentionally learned those skills. And he brought them to his second stint at Apple, he applied storytelling to launch three products to billions of users.

What about these rise in podcasts and tv shows about the downfall of CEOs, why are these stories so compelling?

Storytelling and products are two separate things. There are founders, like Elizabeth Holmes and Adam Neumann, who nail the storytelling but have a product that was so far behind. For the storytelling to be effective and to not be a complete fraud, you need to have product competency as well. There’s a good amount to be learned from them and I’m sure I’ll cover some of them down the line.

Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak to be the other side of the coin, to focus on product. There’s a great quote from the Steve Jobs Biography, “I play the orchestra, and you're a good musician. You sit right there and you're the best in your row.”

Tell me more about Twitter as a tool for growth for World Builders.

Twitter threads are my number one driver for growth. I do one per week, I just crossed 11,000 subscribers and I’d say that Twitter threads are probably responsible for 9,000. A Twitter thread is a great example of a long form opinion, and a newsletter is a natural extension for that. If I follow some who puts out thoughtful stuff, I’m going to want to read more about them. Newsletters are the natural next step.

Where do you turn for inspiration?

I read Steven King’s On Writing every couple of years. I’m constantly reading and listening to podcasts. I have a Notion Board with ideas I want to explore. If I’m reading or listening to something and there’s something I found and want to explore later on, I’ll make a note on where I found it.

Advice for other writers

Nail your call to action — why someone should open up their crowded inbox to your specific newsletter.

Want more?

Join the conversation with Nathan on Twitter Spaces. We'll discuss how she plans to grow her newsletter and why queer pop culture is important to her.

For those new to Twitter Spaces—you can join the conversation and ask them (and others) whatever you want!

When: Tonight at 7:00pm ET Where: Twitter Spaces (link below)

In the meantime, be sure to follow Nathan on Twitter here and be sure to subscribe to their newsletter here!