Joining me this week is Kaya Yurieff. Kaya is a reporter for The Information, a subscription-based technology publication. She writes a daily newsletter on the “Creator Economy”, breaking ground on new developments and insights in this exciting emerging space. Before joining The Information, she covered business for TheStreet, a financial news and literacy website. Following this, she worked for CNN on the Creator Economy beat. This was my first ever interview with a journalist, so it was fascinating to dive into her process for writing, her process for finding stories, and some of the intricacies of the news business.
Some of my key takeaways here are:
- The rise of subscription-based news and what this means for traditional media.
- What the Creator Economy is, and why people should be excited about it.
- Some of the trends Kaya is seeing are improved forms of direct monetization:
- creators becoming founders.
- creators gaining power over traditional media.
- the public’s ability to buy shares in individual creators.
If you have any interest whatsoever in the Creator Economy, Kaya is all-knowing and all-seeing, spending every day of the week researching and writing about this exciting new space.
Please sit back and enjoy my conversation with Kaya Yurieff.
Full Episode
Guest Links
- Kaya’s Twitter
- The Creator Economy newsletter
Show Notes
- Starting young. We talk about Kaya’s early experiences, how they shaped her love for journalism, and what keeps her motivated and inspired. (00:02:10-00:03:34)
- Don’t miss the mark. The lessons Kaya learned from working at CNN and TheStreet; and the importance of accuracy. (00:03:35-00:05:58)
- Finding signal in the noise. We discuss Kaya’s process when covering daily stock movements, and how she handles massive amounts of raw data in order to report reliable news. (00:05:59-00:07:33)
- Authenticity first. The uniqueness and individuality of her news reports, how Kaya brings her voice forward, finding the right mix of truth and self when creating these stories. (00:07:34-00:09:32)
- Breaking new ground. What inspired Kaya’s decision to leave CNN and join The Information. (00:09:33-00:11:46)
- Building her own brand at The Information and appreciating the value of the team she works with. (00:11:47-00:13:38)
- The Information’s business model and the aspects that attract the public to subscription-based news. (00:13:39-00:17:30)
- Leveraging networks. We unpack the relationships built and sense of community that comes along with a subscription-based service. (00:17:31-00:18:53)
- We talk about The Information’s overall brand voice and the community she has built within her own newsletter. (00:18:54-00:20:52)
- Provide value first. Kaya talks about her newsletter engagement and how it influences and inspires her future write ups. (00:20:53-00:22:08)
- Kaya’s thoughts on the freedom of press. (00:22:09-00:25:31)
- Kaya talks about her creative process for producing amazing ideas for writing. (00:25:32-00:26:40)
- Maintaining good habits. What Kaya’s typical week looks like, and what tools and resources she uses to be on top of things. (00:26:41-00:30:50)
- What is the Creator Economy? (00:30:51-00:32:30)
- We talk about Creators being entrepreneurs and how are they different from traditional forms of entrepreneurship. (00:32:40-00:33:41)
- The balance between building an audience vs monetizing the audience, and the challenges around finding this balance. (00:33:42-00:35:54)
- How Creators’ influence the public compared to traditional media, and the successful partnerships that occur between the Creator and the product. (00:35:55-00:38:48)
- Kaya’s thoughts on the limitless possibilities and creativity of Creators, and how they use technology and platforms to their advantage. (00:38:49-00:41:28)
- How do Creators benefit from platforms? (00:41:29-00:42:46)
- Platforms are the true starting point for Creators. (00:42:47-00:44:17)
- Volume vs value: the importance of creating a relationship with your audience. (00:44:18-00:47:00)
- We consider the new age of Creators becoming founders and building teams. (00:47:01-00:48:19)
- Kaya shares Creator Economy statistics and her thoughts on the potential for further growth. (00:48:29-00:50:24)
- Tips and insights for getting started in the Creator Economy. (00:50:25-00:52:22)
- The early mover advantage and upcoming platforms to watch out for. (00:54:45-00:56:51)
- We address concerns around maintaining positive mental health, as a Creator. (00:56:52-00:58:21)
- The world of social tokens: investing in Creators. (00:58:22-1:01:03)
- Kaya shares her hopes and aspirations for the creator economy. (1:01:04-1:03:36)
- Where you can find Kaya on social media. (1:03:47-1:03:58)
Selected Links from the Episode
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