E55: Many content creators struggle with building a dedicated audience and effectively monetizing their content. Despite having quality content, they often lack the strategic framework to captivate and monetize an audience in a landscape saturated with creators.

So, how do you sift through the noise?

On today's episode, host Yong-Soo (@YongSooChung) has a very special guest, Joe Casabona (@jcasabona) , the host of the popular podcast 'How I Built It.' Joe talks about his S.M.A.S.H. framework for creators, which highlights all the monetization channels a creator has at their disposal.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn:

- Creator Monetization Strategies
- Why Sponsorships Don't Always Work
- S.M.A.S.H. Framework and its Components
- How to Master the Art of Audience Building

If you're a content creator looking for ways of monetizing your content, this episode is a must-listen!

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EXCERPTS:

Premium Content: "What I tell people for this is you don't need a big audience, but you need a loyal audience. People who are really love your content or conversely really hate ads, like, I know people who pay for my show just because they hate ads, the value proposition for them is that you're providing them with a little extra." — Joe Casabona (17:43)

The Power of Podcasting: "A podcast can be a great way to get people to know, like, and trust you faster."  — Joe Casabona(28:23)

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LINKS:

How I Built It Podcast
Podcast Liftoff

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First Class Founders is a show for indie hackers, bootstrapped founders, CEOs, solopreneurs, content creators, startup entrepreneurs, and SaaS startups covering topics like build in public, audience growth, product marketing, scaling up, side hustles, holding company, etc.

Past guests include Arvid Kahl, Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, Clint Murphy, Jay Abraham, Andrew Gazdecki, Matt McGarry, Nick Huber, Khe Hy, and more.

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