I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
3 skills successful creators will master in 2025
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Hey Reader, Have you noticed how some creators seem to thrive while others struggle? I've spent years watching thousands of creators build businesses, and I've noticed some patterns. The most successful creators don’t just create more content—they master three specific skills that set them apart: 1. Capture and maintain attentionThe most valuable currency in the creator economy isn’t followers or subscribers—it’s attention. Platforms care about one thing above all else: can you hook attention and maintain it? YouTube tracks watch time. Instagram measures if viewers watch your entire Reel. TikTok monitors completion rates. Can you get 100% watch time? 110% watch time? This isn’t about clickbait. It’s about understanding how to structure your content so people stay engaged from start to finish. If you only learn one skill as a creator this year, make it this one. 2. Master businessIt’s really tempting to say, “Oh, I just want to make things. I’ll let someone else figure out the business side.” But creating great content is just the beginning. Most creators shy away from learning about sales, marketing, and finances. They’d rather just focus on making content. But top creators deliberately master business with the same intensity they bring to their craft. Yes, it’s possible to hire people to help you. But the creators who reach the highest levels of success are the ones who understand the business fundamentals themselves, even if they ultimately delegate them. 3. Own your audienceBuilding on social platforms is building on rented land. Algorithm changes can decimate your reach overnight. The platforms can shut down or ban your account without warning. You have no real control. Smart creators use social media for discovery but then create clear pathways to move their audience to channels they own—primarily email. At Kit, we see this pattern consistently: creators who own their audience build more resilient businesses. Converting followers to email subscribers gives you direct access that no algorithm can take away. That’s how you and I can have this direct connection right now. — Which of these three skills do you need to focus on most? Pick one and start there. PODCASTMy Advice for Creators & Entrepreneurs in 2025Today, I’m joined by Haley from the Kit team for a Q&A where we answer your questions about building a creator business that lasts. We cover things like:
Also, why are celebrities suddenly launching newsletters? We talk about that too. Watch or listen to episode » KIT FEATURESYour Kit just got more powerfulThis overview video shares a bunch of recent feature updates and improvements to Kit:
VIDEOUsing My Blackhawk to Recover an Aircraft & Fallen Pilot No One Else Could ReachI started following Dave when he and his crew helped pour concrete at Cerro Gordo. They showed up with a full crew and accomplished a task no one else would do—even for $250,000. Since then, his channel has grown by 10x and it’s because he does incredible things like this. Have a great week! —Nathan |
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Hey Reader, If I could solve only one thing in my business, that would have the biggest impact, what would that be? This is the question every great entrepreneur obsesses over. Rather than trying to do everything at once, you look for the bottleneck and focus on solving that. There’s a book called The Goal by an Israeli physicist named Eliyahu Goldratt. It’s a 1984 business novel that business systems nerds love. However if you’re not a business systems nerd you probably… won’t love it. It’s...
Hey Reader, Have you ever spent money on something and immediately felt guilty afterward? Will Guidara spends his money foolishly on purpose. And he thinks you should too. He once bought an entire barrel of whiskey and put it in his basement. He also put a skee-ball machine in the office. Is he going to get a monetary return on either of these things? No. But that’s kind of the point. He calls it the 95/5 rule: Manage your money and time like a maniac 95% of the time (no expense is too...
Hey Reader, Have you ever spent a whole day on something almost nobody saw? It's painful when the whole reason you worked hard was because you wanted to reach people. If you teach a workshop in person, you reach the 20 people in that room. But if you record that same workshop once, you can keep teaching for years on autopilot. This is the concept of leverage, and it's something I talk about in my upcoming book, The Ladders of Wealth (you can pre-order it now). A lot of people will look back...