Hey honeys and hustlers,

Staring at a blinking cursor never truly gets easier, but having a guiding strategy and a goal helps the first draft become a reality. It may be messy. It may need refinement. It may require you to learn new skills. But the first draft makes the final version possible. Many of the creator economy trends I’m listing below aren’t necessarily new ideas; they’re just new ways of packaging stories for different audience viewing habits. They're less about chasing virality and more about building something real, sustainable, and hopefully, more interesting. I believe there will be ideas relevant to all types of creators: freelancers, marketers, business owners who want to invest in original media, and online creators.

P.S. Today’s the day! I’m co-hosting a live virtual event to help you develop your podcast interview skills tonight at 6PM with Matt Gillhooly! I’m sharing my tips, journey, and fails as a podcaster and documentary filmmaker. Stay until the end to learn more and RSVP for free!

The 5-minute video interview. The Running Show with Kate Macks. Subway Takes with Kareem Rahma. Tube Talks by Musicbed. All examples of shows made for social, but just long enough to be repurposed for a podcast feed or YouTube channel. There’s a lot that gets cut from these shows to make them suitable for social media, so there’s also the promise that a longer version will include pieces of the interview that someone will feel are worth the effort of leaving Instagram or TikTok. Many of these shows have now become part of the podcast guest circuit that authors, big creators, and even politicians do for earned media leading up to a big event. Big exclusives coming to smaller shows is probably what’s influencing Instagram’s new TV app (that I desperately hope is better than their desktop app).

Head of Human Storytelling Content. Anthropic, the company that makes Claude, recently sparked many hot takes about their job posting for a writer with an annual salary of $320K. They describe the role as like a "Substack-er within Anthropic with access to real-time data." OpenAI posted a similar role for a content strategist with a $393K annual salary. And PayPal, not to be outdone, posted a Head of CEO content role for $292K. Sure, AI can “write,” but it can’t tell stories from a first-person lived experience, because….well, it has no lived experience. Tyler Denk (beehiiv CEO) and Carl Pei (Nothing CEO) do CEO content well, in both written and video formats. I think many other companies are looking to do the same and leverage the network effects of a “popular” CEO. However, this comes at a cost. Having a CEO with a large public profile or a high social media following doesn’t necessarily mean they're well-liked or that their product is highly sought after. But it is interesting that three huge companies are betting on human ghostwritten content.

Branded narrative series made for social media. Bilt is behind the popular social show, Roomies, which chronicles the life of a character having roommates in NYC. I would categorize branded narrative series as falling somewhere at the intersection of influencer marketing, user-generated content, and acting. There are no direct ads, tags, logos, or collaboration posts on the show account. Bilt is only mentioned in the show's bio. I think brands want a more owned channel than influencers or UGC creators can provide, and more consistent/serial content relative to their product. People want to follow people and invest in “characters” without feeling like they’re being sold to. I think brands are still trying to figure out how to measure the ROI for creative endeavors like this, but with so many platforms optimizing content for TV, this feels like a natural next step.

Branded narrative podcasts. In the same way that narrative short-form series are being used by brands for marketing, I could see narrative podcasts as a way for brands to go deeper with an audience, if they're willing (read = daring) to take a chance on whimsy and entertainment rather than interview-based podcasts, which we are chock full of these days. Narrative shows have traditionally thrived with podcast networks and larger teams (aka not indie, solo podcasters). However, the podcast industry is in a place where it can define what happens next in audio, and I think we’ll see many podcast collectives forming to create unique shows.

Podcast festivals that are structured more like music festivals rather than conferences and expos. I’m on a podcast kick, so stay with me. Discovery is something that podcasters have been complaining about for years. I think podcast festivals that offer in-person listening experiences are one way to address this. A podcast festival structured like a music festival is more attractive for listeners than the podcast conferences I attend, which are aimed at podcast industry professionals. Sure, you can pitch a show to ESPN 30 for 30, but the likelihood of getting picked up by a huge company is slim. Wouldn’t you much rather pick up a new listener or 50? Again, I see an opportunity for podcast creators to leverage their relationships and bring listening experiences to cities and markets that don’t get podcast conferences, sell merch, sell tickets, and craft an experience that makes fans organically share their show with their friends.

In-person events that discourage phone usage. People want to connect, but they also want to be free from rage-bait, anxiety-inducing, never-ending news cycles, and social posts. The bar to get people outside hasn’t been this low since the COVID vaccine dropped. People are tired of having their attention and online presence mined for ads and AI-learning. I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know here, but if there was ever a time to try hosting an in-person event, it’s 2026. This is for me and for you.

Books as branding. Books are becoming the new TEDx Talk. I shared an article from Steve Pratt on his experience writing a book, and I think the why for many new authors will be to leverage it to grow their personal brand and business. Newsletters are living books. Why spend months posting daily text or short-form video posts online when I could spend months preparing for a talk and writing on a topic that I want to be known for that garners much more prestige? This strategy favors the career professional looking to leave their corporate job and seek a portfolio career. They have experience, they have something to say, and they likely have the accolades to back it up. A book doesn’t have to reach the NYT Best Sellers list to be impactful and generate significant revenue. In fact, statistically, most won’t sell more than 1,000 copies. A book can pave the way for speaking opportunities, fundraising, new clients for services or consulting, and brand deals for other forms of media (like a podcast or YouTube channel series). And that, for many, is worth investing the time and energy into.

Which of these do you agree with? Which of these do you disagree with? Which trends do you think we’ll see more of in 2026? Comment or reply and let me know!