Category: Creator Economy

Smart Brevity book cover
"Smart Brevity" Book Review — Can it Help Improve Your Writing?
I'm not 100% sure when it was that I first heard about the site Axios. Regardless, these days, I'm subscribed to several of their newsletters, regularly visit their website, and may or may not have already taken some inspiration from them when revamping the news style of the Disney site I write for. For those...
robot hand and a human hand holding a pen
Blogging Tools: AI Writing Generator Test
Previously when I kicked off my Blogging Tools series, I shared a look at some services you can use to improve your writing by fixing grammatical and spelling errors. Well, today, we're taking things to a new level and looking at tools that will actually do the writing for you! That's right, we're going to...
Writing on an iMac
Blogging Tools: Writing and Grammar Tools
It's been a while since I've written about writing. While this section of my site has sat up next to more frequently covered topics such as Travel, I haven't explored the meta opportunities of blogging about the practice of blogging for far too long. So, today, I'm working to correct that by kicking off a...
Stock Video Footage: Pros, Cons, and Options for YouTube Creators
This may shock you, but not everything you see on YouTube is 100% produced by the creator uploading the video ;)  Instead, in some cases, they may be using what's called "stock footage" to accompany their talking head clips or voiceover. So where do these creators find such clips — and how much does it...
video editing software
4 Tools That Could Help "Level Up" Your YouTube Game
Amazingly, it's now been just over five years since I uploaded my first YouTube video. What's more, as I just learned by happenstance, I've apparently uploaded 200 videos to my channel. As you can probably imagine, since that first video, a lot has changed. Beyond changes to my scripting, structure, and skills, the past few...
YouTube screenshot
How I Create My Video Reviews for YouTube
Let me cut to the chase: this week, my YouTube channel officially surpassed 10,000 subscribers. This is something I never really expected when I launched my channel a few years back and, while I'm not one to wrap my self-worth up in such metrics, I am incredibly proud of this milestone. So, to celebrate, I've...
video play button
YouTuber Brand Deals: My First Sponsored Video Experience
A couple of months ago, I reached what I think is a YouTuber milestone: I completed my first brand deal. Okay, "brand deal" sounds very influencer-y, but I did make my first sponsored video. Previously, I'd made a handful of videos about products or services I'd received for free (but with no promise of a...
#FinCon21 logo
#FinCon21 Recap: My Virtual Experience
And just like that, another FinCon is in the books. As I mentioned in my preview, although this year marked the return to an in-person event (taking place in Austin, Texas), I made the last-minute decision to go virtual. Of course, with approximately 20% of conference attendees choosing this option, there were plenty of tools...
#FINCON21
#FinCon21: My 11 Most Anticipated Presentations
For weeks, today has been on my calendar as the day I was going to dive into the FinCon 21 schedule in order to prepare my annual look at the panels and presentations I was most looking forward to. Ironically, today also ended up being the day I canceled my trip to FinCon 21. Well,...
Sony ZV-1
Cameras for YouTube (2021): What I Bought and Why
It's hard to believe that I've now been creating YouTube videos for more than four years. What's even crazier is that my channel has garnered more than 1.6 million views in that time! I share this not to brag but because I honestly just learned this information. Since starting my channel, a lot has changed....
Storyblocks screenshot
Storyblocks Video (Videoblocks) Review: An Affordable Stock Footage Option?
When I started creating videos for YouTube, I quickly fell into a format that finds me on camera to introduce a section while filling out the rest with images and clips. While this has worked well for my app reviews and other finance topics overall, there are some limitations — namely, it can be difficult...
YouTube Studio logo
YouTube Studio in 2021: The Latest Upload Process Updates for Creators
Just over one year ago, I wrote a post detailing some of the changes YouTube had been making to its YouTube Studio platform and how these adjustments impacted creators. Since then, the site has continued to make updates — including some that have arrived in just the past couple of weeks. Therefore, I thought it...
Featured Articles
Hey You Kids, Get Off My Lawn!
With last Friday being July 4th, I decided to take a week off from posting. However, I wanted to share a story from that night (or, really, early the next morning). Backing up, last year, we learned that our neighbors loved fireworks. So we were prepared for a few hours of noise and helping our...
Travel Tuesday: The Venetian Surveying Guests on Possible Rewards Credit Card
Late last year, I had a chance to cross another Las Vegas Strip property off my list with a stay at The Palazzo at The Venetian. Whether because of that or because I opened a players club card with them as well, this week The Venetian sent me a survey regarding a potential rewards credit...
Allbirds is Celebrating Independence Day with a 50% Off Sale
One funny thing about summer is how a sunny day can quickly turn into a heavy downpour. This is even more prominent in certain parts of the country where you may be headed on a summer vacation (I'm looking at you, Florida!). So, given that weather reality, it makes perfect sense that Allbirds would be...
An Amex Platinum Card Revamp is Coming — And I'm Worried
Earlier this week, Chase confirmed pretty much every rumor that had been swirling for the past couple of months by announcing details on a major refresh for its uber popular Sapphire Reserve card. When this refresh launches next week (or in October for current cardholders), it will bring new credits, a reimagined rewards-earning system, and...