Good morning. Today, we’re giving out two $500 gift cards to B&H Photo in our first referral giveaway.

Here are the details:

• When you share the Press using your unique referral link (find that at the bottom of the newsletter), you get entered into a raffle to win a $500 gift card to B&H Photo, the creator-favorited gear retailer.

• If you win, we’ll select someone you referred to win, too.

• And the more you share, the better chance you have of winning (1 referral = 1 ticket).

We'll announce the winner in Wednesday's newsletter. Happy sharing!

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Creators' Finance Show Debuts at No. 1

Business and finance podcast Mind The Business, hosted by finance TikTok creator Austin Hankwitz and podcaster Jannese Torres, briefly hit the top of Apple’s Business podcast charts last week—above stronghold shows like Dave Ramsey’s The Ramsey Show and NPR’s Planet Money.

Context: Independently, Hankwitz has 670k followers on TikTok, a podcast, and a newsletter. And Torres has a finance blog and podcast. Together on Mind The Business, they interview small business owners about entrepreneurship.

We spoke with Hankwitz to understand how finance creators are competing with big names in business media to entice an eager audience.

How do finance creators differentiate their content from the business sections of the WSJ or NYT? Hankwitz often shares his own personal finance stories—like his student debt, credit score, and how he’s managing his money as a 24-year-old in Nashville—something he says you won’t find in traditional finance media.

• “I think people really appreciate the transparency and authenticity,” Hankwitz told us.

• “If I can be a person that someone sees themselves as trying to accomplish similar goals—I love that and it gets me so excited.”

What’s the need for a new show when Hankwitz already has a podcast? Hankwitz said this one lets him lean into his role as a small business owner. “[Creators] pigeonhole ourselves sometimes into these very specific niches,” Hankwitz said. Through this podcast, he can share what he’s learned about hiring, firing, and building a content-based business—while seamlessly promoting that existing content.

Hankwitz’s strategy for that content? It’s a flywheel, with three different types of content:

• “Get seen” videos about current events that land on the FYP.

• “Nurturing” content that builds on his past curriculum and drives people to the podcasts and newsletter.

• “Deep cut” content about intricate financial topics that make Hankwitz an authority in the space.

Lyrical Lemonade Shoots Music Video for Super Mario Bros. Movie

Creator and director Cole Bennett just released a music video starring Jack Black to promote The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The video was distributed through Bennett’s Lyrical Lemonade YouTube channel and peaked at No. 4 on YouTube’s Trending charts for music.

FYI: The video marks the second collaboration between Lyrical Lemonade and Illumination, the animation studio behind the Super Mario Bros. movie. The Bennett-directed “Rich Minion” music video (released ahead of last year’s Minions: The Rise of Gru) helped create the viral #gentleminions trend where suit-clad teenagers showed up to watch the Minions movie in droves.

A look at Bennett’s decade-long journey to working with the biggest names in entertainment:

• He got his start documenting Chicago’s up-and-coming hip hop scene on his Lyrical Lemonade YouTube channel and a blog of the same name.

• He began directing music videos for rappers like Juice WRLD and Famous Dex and distributing them on the growing Lyrical channel.

• Bennett organized Lyrical’s inaugural music festival, Summer Smash, in 2018 and released a collaborative sneaker with Nike in 2022.

Go deeper: Bennett explained how the shoot with Black came together on Lyrical's second channel.

Hank Green Compares Artificial Intelligence to...Mongooses

In a recent video titled “The Coming AI Invasion,” educational creator Hank Green likened what he predicts will be the unintended consequences of AI to an invasive species.

To sum it up: Green thinks that we’re introducing AI into society at an unsustainable pace. He suggested that isolated communities could be more at risk of falling behind the technological curve if we don't make a better effort to understand the full impact of AI on all of us.

What do you think about Green’s comments? Are you using AI in your content or business? Let us know by hitting reply!

👀 Creator Moves

• Jedcal is offering paid internships for ratemydorm.com.

• Joshua Weissman is hiring a full-time video editor to help with food videos.

• AttorneyTom is looking for a law student to do legal research for his channel this summer.

• Donald Glover is hiring across several roles for his new production company, Gilga.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Minecraft creator and MrBeast collaborator Karl launches gummies with Feastables.

• QTCinderella releases a behind-the-scenes vlog from planning the Streamer Awards.

• Twitter disables likes, replies, and retweets for tweets with Substack links.

• Ninja sounds off on why Mixer failed.

• Jacques In The Garden celebrates hitting 100k subs while working for Epic Gardening.

• Chef Reactions signs with WME.

• Creators need lawyers too, and Carbon Law Group is here to help, starting with explaining why you should trademark your social handle. Interested in their services? Be sure to mention Publish Press to get $100 off.*

*This is sponsored advertising content.

🎁 Share the Press to Win

We're giving away two $500 gift cards to B&H Photo. To enter, all you have to do is refer new readers to the Press.

Here's how it works:

• Share your unique link with your network: {{rp_refer_url}}

• When they sign up, you get the credit.

• If you win, we’ll select someone you referred to win, too. (1 referral = 1 ticket into the giveaway)

• We'll announce the winner in Wednesday's newsletter.

*Please do not use fake email addresses — they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!