Objective: Ensure content excellence and make sure that content meets its deadline.

How it plays out: If you worked with Colin and Samir as a producer, you’d pitch and book guests and keep a production schedule to ensure they release content on time. Then, after C&S shot the content, you’d make sure it reached the right people—editors, brand partners, illustrators—at the right time.

“It’ll look different if you’re working for us, MrBeast, or TV,” Samir said in a recent podcast. “But typically as a YouTube producer, you’re gonna have to wear a ton of hats, be really plugged into what the creative looks like, and manage schedules and editors to make sure the content is hitting deadlines.”

If you want to know what it’s like producing for Airrack, check out our interview with his producer Hayden Trowbridge here.

Objective: Maintain the creativity of every single piece of creative and ensure all content is made with the creator’s brand and style in mind.

How it plays out: Hiring a creative director is typically for larger creators who need to scale their vision like MKBHD or Rhett and Link. The creative director’s job is to manage the big picture and make sure everything the creator’s staff produces is working toward that vision.

“A lot of times for a creator, their brand style is intuitive and not necessarily something they’re deliberately trying to execute,” Colin said on the podcast. “A great creative director can see that, share the vision, and be able to replicate and communicate it.”

Tip: While most creators don’t have full-time creative directors, many work with freelancers who fulfill similar needs. If you’re a creator thinking of doing just that, remember that it’s all in the details—consider sharing a brand book with a guide to things like colors, lower-thirds, and subtitles so that you maintain consistency in your videos. And check out our interview with a freelancer who works for creators like Jack Neel and Karan Rajan here.

Objective: Run the operations of a channel and potentially launch new channels for a creator.

How it plays out: The channel manager for Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE Clips, Kaleb Karnow, selects highlights from the Impaulsive podcasts, cuts them, uploads the content, manages thumbnails and advertising, responds to comments, and handles overall channel distribution on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.

Colin and Samir are currently considering creating a highlights channel. If that were to happen, a channel manager would produce a handful of seven-minute clips from, for example, Colin and Samir’s Ludwig interview, to distribute via another channel.

Objective: Analyze performance data and advise on content direction.

How it plays out: A strategist pitches new content series—like Colin and Samir’s creator merch reviews and studio tours—and makes sure that content aligns with the brand direction and can perform well given a platform’s algorithm.

The strategist also advises on published videos and shares ways to improve performance. For instance, they’ll suggest alternate titles and thumbnails to use after a video is posted to boost its effectiveness.

Strategists read retention graphs, make suggestions on where to place ads, and think about packaging—selecting titles and thumbnails that work with a creator’s brand and drive elements like click-through rate.

Q: On one of the last episodes of the podcast, you talked about creator jobs, and since no degrees are based on them *yet*, I was curious—what are the best jobs for finding work in the creator economy? What internships look good for applying to work for a YouTuber?

A: Some of the most valuable things we’ve learned as creators have been lessons we’ve encountered while working for other channels, like Yes Theory and Dude Perfect.

Learning the ins and outs of a creator business from a creator will prove invaluable, no matter what your role is. And with the creator’s stamp of approval of a job well done, you’re more likely to get hired by someone in their network.

So for internships, we think the best experience is working directly for a creator. If you don’t have any direct connections, reach out to popular YouTubers and TikTokers to see what their intern needs might be. Twitter and Instagram are a great place to start.

Some search strategies:

Target nearby creators for in-person facetime and the ability to work in their office, if applicable. If you’re looking for a creator in a major city like LA or NY, search by geotag for some top-performing creators on Instagram or by hashtag on TikTok.

Look at large-scale creators like MrBeast, Mythical, or Linus Tech Tips—together, they have over 30 available opportunities right now and they all often offer seasonal internships.

And we’d be remiss not to mention job boards—particularly the aforementioned Creator Moves section in every Tuesday issue. Just sayin’.