Creator Toolbox: Tools, Mindset and Workflows for Content Creators

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Podcast by Colin Gray and Jacob Anderson

Creator Toolbox: Tools, Mindset and Workflows for Content Creators

The Creator Toolbox is all about the nuts and buts behind every creator business. We'll cover the gear and tools you need to run your creator business, and dig into how to stay consistent, how to monetise, and how to start to take your creator business seriously. Join Colin Gray (Founder of Alitu and The Podcast Host, a $1m+ creator business) and Jacob Anderson (Head of Growth at Alitu) as they dig into their experience in running a creator business since 2010.

Latest episodes

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07 October 2024

The Power of Real-Life Content to Grow Your Audience & How To Get 10x More From Books

In this episode of The Creator Toolbox, we explore how to turn everyday moments into content gold, helping podcasters and creators build thriving channels.

We share real-world examples from top YouTubers like the Aquarium Co-Op and The Hoof GP.

Tune in to learn strategies for growing your audience, monetising "boring" niches, and boosting productivity with flexible co-working and AI tools.

This episode is perfect for content creators wanting to leverage everyday life for maximum impact.

⌚ Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

02:00 - Turning Everyday Moments into Content

04:20 - Examples of Successful Real-Life Content

09:30 - Monetising "Boring" Niches

13:45 - Productivity Tips for Creators

17:50 - Co-Working Spaces for Focus

26:15 - Productivity Hacks

35:00 - Using AI to Maximise Book Insights

45:10 - Final Thoughts

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55:24

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24 September 2024

Barbell YouTube Strategies, Updated Video Set-Ups and Jacob's Photography Going Viral

In this episode of The Creator Toolbox, we kick things off with Jacob's viral Northern Lights photography story. He shares how his stunning images went a bit loopy online and how he used Shopify to capitalise on print-on-demand sales. 

Colin then breaks down his current video lighting setup, discussing the best ways to use softboxes, LED panels, and smart lights like Philips Hue to create professionally lit backgrounds and achieve a high-quality video feel.

We then get into the barbell strategy for video content creation, where we either go all-in with highly-produced content or keep it rough and ready to deliver quick, relevant videos. 

This episode is perfect for podcasters and content creators who want practical advice on streamlining production, enhancing video aesthetics, and avoiding burnout. 

We also highlight a Creator of the Week, David Larbi, and his podcast, "Mindful Moments," as a great example for solo podcasters looking to build a deep connection with their audience.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

03:00 – Going Viral

07:45 – Monetizing Creative Work

12:00 – Professional Video Lighting

20:30 – Optimising Video Backgrounds

25:00 – Creator of the Week

29:50 – Barbell Content Strategy

35:30 – Boosting Productivity

45:00 – Creative Energy Management

47:00 – Outro and Call to Action

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48:04

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11 September 2024

Creating Collaborative Montage Content with Multiple Guests: Behind the Scenes on a Season of our Podcast

In this special episode of The Creator Toolbox, we dive into the craft of producing highly polished, montage or documentary content. That means one or more episodes with narration, clips from multiple interviews, music and FX, all aimed at creating a way-above-average listening and viewing experience.

We'll share our experience in creating a podcast series in this way, but it applies to multi-interview YouTube episodes just as well.

We cover everything from setting up interviews with expert podcasters to editing multiple voices into a cohesive narrative, unpacking the strategies behind our latest (20th!) season of PodCraft.

We’ll walk you through how we source high-quality guests, create seamless transitions with narration, and blend in the perfect soundtrack. Whether you’re a podcaster, YouTuber, or content creator, these tips will help you elevate your production skills and streamline your workflow.

Join us as we show you how to turn a series of interviews into a compelling season of audio storytelling.

Chapters

00:00: Introduction and Welcome

02:10: Switching the Format for Season 20 of PodCraft

05:05: Finding the Right Podcast Guests

09:12: Structuring the Interviews

14:05: Scheduling and Recording the Interviews

17:30: Editing and Organizing the Content

24:00: Narration and Music Integration

30:15: Creating Blog Posts for Episodes

34:12: Publishing and Promoting the Season

38:00: Closing Thoughts and Final Tips

00:00

45:56

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04 September 2024

Ghost or WordPress? How to choose the best platform for your creative project

Welcome back to another episode of The Creator Toolbox! In this episode, we talk about our new Creator Toolbox blog and dive into ways to develop a website to suit our creative needs - from building it, to preparing the content and finally going live.

We discuss the blurry lines between a blog and a website. Jacob also gives some good examples from his own experience. We then expand on why we chose Ghost as the most suitable hosting platform for our content. We talk through differences with WordPress and general practicalities, including UX, coding, integrations and plugins, email marketing, and community-building. 

We delve into the crucial aspects of content ownership, but not for the sake of growth, discoverability, collaboration, conversation, and community building. Here, we touch on Substack, Ghost, LinkTree, Beehiiv, ConvertKit, and more.

Colin highlights the importance of owning customer relationship marketing through email marketing and presses a strong case for content ownership. He also shared a recent discovery of Bear, a minimal, no-nonsense blogging platform with no ads, trackers, or scripts. Jacob adds that Ghost also supports a short-form blog on the platform.

If you found this episode helpful, the best way to support us is by checking out Alitu, our podcast-maker app. We're always working to make podcasting accessible for creators like you.

Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode!

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30:12

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20 August 2024

What is a StoryBrand? Plus Automations, Shortcuts & Project Juggling

On this episode, we dive into some automation tools that can really boost your productivity as a creator. I shared my experience with the Stream Deck, which has become an unexpected favorite of mine. It's not just for streamers – I use it for everything from controlling my studio lights to automating repetitive tasks in video editing. We also touched on browser recording tools for automating web tasks and text expansion for speeding up writing. These might seem like small time-savers, but they really add up.

Next, Jacob introduced us to the concept of a "Story Brand" by Donald Miller. This is a powerful marketing framework that puts your customer at the center of the story, with your product or service as the guide. It's all about simplifying your message and connecting with your audience on a deeper level. We even explored how Apple used a similar storytelling approach in their iconic "Think Different" campaign. It's fascinating to see how effective this can be.

Lastly, we tackled a challenge that I think many creators face – balancing new projects with existing ones. We discussed strategies like outsourcing updates, taking on partners, and keeping a database of all your projects. I shared my own experience with this, including a course I created called "Immortal Content" that I haven't promoted much. It's a constant juggling act, but it's important to revisit old projects and see if they can be revived or integrated into your current work.

We wrapped up by highlighting Steph Smith as our creator of the week. Her ability to consistently ship new projects while maintaining high-quality content is really inspiring.

Remember, if you found this episode helpful, the best way to support us is by checking out Alitu, our podcast maker app, at alitu.com. We're always working to make podcasting as easy as possible for creators like you.

Thanks for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode!

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

01:10 - Episode overview

01:49 - Alitu support slot

03:12 - Tool of the week: Stream Deck

07:05 - Automation tools discussion

17:40 - Introduction to Story Brand concept

20:01 - Applying Story Brand to different creators

28:28 - Importance of having a plan in Story Brand

32:49 - Apple's "Think Different" campaign example

40:57 - Implementing Story Brand

45:23 - Creator of the week: Steph Smith

49:19 - Balancing multiple projects as a creator

58:27 - Wrap-up and closing thoughts

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59:27

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12 August 2024

Perfect Writing Tools & Top-Level SEO for a New Content Project

In the latest episode of The Creator Toolbox, we cover writing tools (find the best space to create shownotes, scripts or full-scale blog posts!) and SEO for a new content project (my full process for figuring out the first 30 to 50 episodes or posts on a brand new brand).

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51:29