The Best Articles in Creator Economy
The most useful articles and videos in Creator Economy from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Creator Economy Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Creator Economy by Refind users in 2023 so far.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
How to come up with good business ideas
This was recorded on Monday, February 7th for Cohort #3 of The Minimalist Entrepreneur Course.You can learn more about the book this content is based on here...
How to Make $3k per Month - The Digital Nomad Playbook
Thanks to Shopify for sponsoring this video. Get a free trial on the platform with this link - https://shopify.com/alicreatorIf you want to download the list...
Gumroad's Pricing Disaster with Sahil Lavingia
Yesterday, the creator economy learned that Gumroad, a platform where creators have been building their businesses by selling their services and products, in...
Asking A $100M/Year Founder For Profitable Business Ideas (#413)
Episode 413: Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) and Shaan Puri (https://twitter.com/ShaanVP) talk with Anand Sanwal (https://twitter.com/asanwal) CEO ...
How Stacked Marketer grew to over $600k in revenue
By the time Emanuel Cinca launched his Stacked Marketer newsletter around five years ago, he already had a successful affiliate marketing business, but that ...
What is ...?
New to Creator Economy? These articles make an excellent introduction.
What is Good Data?
In this monthly series from Sounds Profitable, we mine the latest audio industry studies and spotlight valuable insights.
NFTs 101: A Useful Beginner’s Guide for Content Creators
Creators must demystify NFTs if they want to control their intellectual property rights and build a business. - The Tilt
How to ...?
How to pick a side project strategically
Three important criteria for picking a side project are longevity, the monetization sweet spot, and the scope.
«identify the primary search keywords, find their search volume, and analyze the top ranking websites.»
How to Invest in Episodic Content that Promotes Itself
I've long been bullish on episodic content; in fact, I think it's likely the best kind of long-term content investment most online brands can make. The
How to create a newsletter to build a loyal community with consistent connection
Learn how to create a newsletter to build a consistent connection with your audience to develop a loyal following.
How to Create a Niche Site That Earns 4 Figures a Month in 6 Easy Steps
Shared by 334, including Michael Kolade
How to start your own podcast
Don’t worry about the equipment … the most important thing is the idea
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Creator Economy on Refind.
Substack and the Writing Long-Game
Thoughts on slow and diligent writing while balancing the demands of the platform
«We need to be vigilant about how our message is being shaped by our medium, and watch for signs that that shaping is changing our voice beyond our recognition.»
TikTok creators use AI to rewrite history
A viral trend imagines alternate timelines in which Western imperial nations never came to power.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Creator Economy—all under 10 minutes.
How the Great Recession paved the way for influencers to inherit the earth
How the Great Recession paved the way for influencers to inherit the earth.
Matt Yglesias and the secret of blogging
How to be a successful content entrepreneur
Building multiple products — how (and when) to do it
I remember a time when I only wanted *one* big revenue stream. The idea of having multiple products and services sounded exhausting. But these days, I'm...
It Is Always Time to Build
Interest rates do not equal innovation rates
«interest rates made highly risky»
Memes & Monetization: Can You Make Money from Memes? by Liz Hagelthorn
This piece highlights the current landscape for viral organic content, maps the key players and describes the financial side of meme creation.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Creator Economy.
The Strange Logic of Value in the Attention Economy
Did you know that 54% of 18-38-year-olds want to be influencers? Or that kids these days would rather be “influencers” or “YouTubers” than firefighters, astronauts, or teachers? Okay, Boomer. Calm…
What's New: Getting free users to convert
*(from the latest issue of the Indie Hackers newsletter)* Freemium, free trials, paid freemium...the debate rages on: - **Regardless of where you stand...
For your next side project, make a browser extension
Reflections on the benefits of tweaking an existing app, instead of starting from scratch.
The Beast Within Capitalism ❧ Current Affairs
The success of YouTuber “MrBeast” tells us a lot about who we are and what kind of world we live in.
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Creator Economy, including:
Li Jin
investing @VariantFund, writing http://li.substack.com
a16z
we invest in software eating the world http://a16z.com/portfolio/ http://a16z.com/podcasts/ Check out our AI Canon: https://a16z.com/2023/05/25/ai-canon/

Taylor Lorenz -- FOLLOW ME ON LINKEDIN
Technology journalist // Buy my new book EXTREMELY ONLINE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF FAME, INFLUENCE, AND POWER ON THE INTERNET via the link below!👇🏻
Starter Story
Discover business ideas that make money and learn how to start them with our real-life case studies

Newsletter Crew
Tips to help you grow, operate, and monetize your newsletter.
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Creator Economy, including:
Social Media Today
Helping you make sense of the ever-evolving #SocialMedia and #DigitalMarketing landscape. Signup for our newsletter here: http://dive.pub/SMTtwitter
SparkToro
We're an audience research tool that helps you discover people's sources of influence: who+what they follow, visit, read, watch, & listen-to.
a16z
we invest in software eating the world http://a16z.com/portfolio/ http://a16z.com/podcasts/ Check out our AI Canon: https://a16z.com/2023/05/25/ai-canon/
Every 📧
We publish smart, thoughtful essays on business and personal development. Our mission is to feed the minds and hearts of the people who build the internet.
Indie Hackers
Get inspired! Real stories, advice, and revenue numbers from the founders of profitable businesses ⚡ by @csallen and @channingallen
What is Refind?
Every day Refind picks the most relevant links from around the web for you. Picking only a handful of links means focusing on what’s relevant and useful. We favor timeless pieces—links with long shelf-lives, articles that are still relevant one month, one year, or even ten years from now. These lists of the best resources on any topic are the result of years of careful curation.
How does Refind curate?
It’s a mix of human and algorithmic curation, following a number of steps:
- We monitor 10k+ sources and 1k+ thought leaders on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
- In addition, our users save links from around the web using our Save buttons and our extensions.
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The result: lists of the best and most useful articles on hundreds of topics.
How does Refind detect «timeless» pieces?
We focus on pieces with long shelf-lives—not news. We determine «timelessness» via a number of metrics, for example, the consumption pattern of links over time.
How many sources does Refind monitor?
We monitor 10k+ content sources on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
Which sources does Refind monitor in Creator Economy?
We monitor hundreds of sources in Creator Economy, including Social Media Today, SparkToro, a16z, Every 📧, Indie Hackers, and many more.
Who are the thought leaders in Creator Economy?
We follow dozens of thought leaders in Creator Economy, including Li Jin, a16z, Taylor Lorenz -- FOLLOW ME ON LINKEDIN, Starter Story, Newsletter Crew.
Missing a thought leader? Submit them here
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