Notes on building creator apps.
Essays on paywalls, retention, release QA, and running an app for an audience instead of just shipping one.
Strategy
Do creators need a website if they already have an app?
Apple requires a working privacy policy URL for every app submission. Here's why creators keep a website even after their audience lives in an app.
·4 min read
Monetization
Instagram Broadcast Channels vs. a paid subscription app
Broadcast Channels put your updates in a subscriber's inbox for free. Here's what that free reach still can't do that a subscription app can.
·5 min read
Monetization
What creators actually earn from subscription apps
Half of all subscription apps grew MRR by just 5.3% in 2026, while the top 10% grew over 306%. Here's what the real revenue numbers look like by audience size.
·5 min read
Monetization
The best creator monetization tools in 2026
A category-by-category look at the creator monetization tools worth using in 2026, from subscription apps to link-in-bio storefronts, and what each one actually costs.
·5 min read
Product
What creators wish they knew before launching a paid app
Apple's in-app purchase cut can run 30% before it drops to 15%. Here are the lessons creators report after their first paid app launch, and how to avoid learning them the hard way.
·5 min read
Monetization
Instagram Close Friends vs. Instagram Subscriptions vs. your own app
Close Friends is free and Subscriptions takes no Instagram cut, so it's tempting to stop there. Here's what neither one actually gives a creator trying to get paid.
·5 min read
Build & Launch
20 questions creators ask before building a subscription app
Cost, timeline, Apple and Google requirements, pricing, churn, and legal setup: the questions creators actually ask before their first subscription app, answered in one place.
·6 min read
Community
Twitch creators: monetizing beyond subs and bits
Twitch keeps 30% of every cheer and up to 50% of every sub. Here's what to actually build once that ceiling starts costing more than it earns.
·4 min read
Monetization
Newsletter writers: when a paid app beats Substack
Substack's 10% fee plus Stripe processing pushes real costs to nearly 20% per subscriber. Here's when that math, and Substack's limits, mean a writer should move to their own app.
·5 min read
Monetization
Podcast creators: turning listeners into paying subscribers
Podcast subscriptions still make up a small slice of industry revenue, but the creators who convert listeners well are outearning ad revenue alone. Here's how.
·4 min read