Creator Playbooks

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Josh Sanders is the Head of Content for Chris Donnelly, where he helped scale one of the fastest-growing personal brands in the world from 0 to 3M+ followers across platforms and a 0-250,000 subscriber newsletter in under two years, then engineered the systems that turned that attention into a $10M+ education business.

In this episode, Josh breaks down the data-backed LinkedIn growth playbook behind that rise. We cover how to grow a personal brand on LinkedIn in 2026, how to turn views into customers using offers, funnels, and attribution, why “don’t chase, attract” is the most effective creator strategy, how newsletters compound audience growth, and what most creators misunderstand about monetisation. Unlike most LinkedIn advice, Josh’s insights are backed by large-scale dataset reviews, rigorous testing, and real revenue outcomes. This is one of the most practical LinkedIn and creator growth masterclasses ever recorded.

Listen on your Podcast Player: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/callum-mcdonnell

Follow Callum on socials: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecallummc/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@heycallum Twitter - https://twitter.com/McdonnellCallum LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnell/

Produced by 7xContent - make your own Podcast with us here: https://www.7xcontent.com/

Follow Josh:LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshejsanders/

Timestamps (accurate + true to transcript)
00:00 Introduction to Explosive LinkedIn Growth
00:21 Meet Josh Sanders: Content Mastermind
00:36 The Power of LinkedIn for Business Growth
02:32 Setting Clear Goals and Content Pillars
09:23 Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile
17:21 Engaging with Your Network and Building Relationships
25:57 Creating High-Impact Content
28:10 Analyzing and Adapting Content Strategies
45:50 Leveraging Lead Magnet Posts for Engagement
46:56 Driving Conversations and Engagement on LinkedIn
49:35 Crafting Effective Hooks and Content Structure
51:47 The Science Behind High-Performing LinkedIn Posts
58:06 Tracking Performance Metrics on LinkedIn
01:03:55 Building and Scaling a Creator Accelerator Business
01:07:23 Creating a Cohort-Based Program for Maximum Impact
01:12:45 Marketing Strategies and Community Building
01:28:10 Finding the Right Team and Incentivising Growth
01:30:34 Conclusion and Next Steps

Email me [email protected] with 3 reasons / ideas / examples of your work if you’d like to work with me in 2026.

Apply to work with me here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/7xcontent/jobs/

Join Callum for a candid start-of-year business and life update, breaking down exactly what happened behind the scenes of Creator Playbooks and 7x Content in 2025.

This episode covers real podcast performance numbers, what worked, what didn’t and how one underperforming YouTube episode went on to generate £250k in closed business.

Callum also shares the evolution of the agency, from scaling end-to-end podcast production and chart-topping client launches to hiring from his audience and raising personal standards as a founder.

Listen on Your Podcast Player:⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooks⁠

Follow Callum on socials:
Instagram – ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc/⁠
TikTok – ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@heycallum⁠
X – ⁠https://x.com/mcdonnellcallum⁠
LinkedIn – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnell⁠

Produced by 7xContent – make your own Podcast with us:⁠ https://www.7xcontent.com

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Jordan Schwarzenberger is the manager behind The Sidemen — one of the biggest creator groups on the planet, with over 10 billion views and a content empire that extends into restaurants, vodka brands, trading cards, a membership platform, and more. In this episode, Jordan breaks down the systems, strategies, and business models behind The Sidemen’s explosive rise.
We cover how The Sidemen built a 2-billion-views-per-year YouTube machine, the real economics behind content businesses, the future of creators, how to think commercially about your channel, why most creators are stuck, and why the next era of content isn’t production — it’s engineering. This is one of the most detailed creator masterclasses ever recorded.

Listen on Your Podcast Player: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooks

Follow Callum on socials:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@heycallum
X – https://x.com/mcdonnellcallum
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnell

Produced by 7xContent – make your own Podcast with us: https://www.7xcontent.com

Follow Jordan:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jordanschwarz
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanschwarzenberger
Website – https://www.jordanschwarz.com

Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction: The next era is content engineering
1:37 – When Jordan realised creators were different
5:04 – Why YouTube is the engine room of the creator economy
8:41 – Anyone can win on YouTube: the democratization of reach
9:49 – How Jordan first identified the opportunity with The Sidemen
12:20 – Building the business: the original strategy & 15 focus areas
14:13 – Alcohol brand, restaurant, trading cards & Side+ — choosing what to build
17:20 – Launching Sides, XIX Vodka & Best Cereal — the real challenges
22:20 – Why Side+ (membership) is their most successful business
23:48 – The economics of creator brands & realistic conversion rates
28:40 – Joint ventures, partnerships & structuring creator businesses
33:46 – Long-term thinking: why creators won’t see returns for years
36:11 – Diversifying creator income & building financial resilience
41:05 – Why most UK creators are stuck — and the algorithm trap
43:21 – How to think commercially: audiences, niches & advertising lanes
47:15 – Why YouTube should be your primary platform
49:59 – Do creators need managers? (Jordan’s honest take)
53:47 – High-volume content, storytelling & what makes content “good”
55:58 – The three S’s: Stop, Stay, Satisfy — Jordan’s content framework
1:01:34 – The importance of analysing content like an engineer
1:03:29 – The monoculture collapse & how algorithms changed everything
1:08:07 – Instagram vs TikTok vs YouTube: where the real value is
1:13:37 – Why traditional TV talent struggle to transition to YouTube
1:17:55 – Final insights + why we’re still early in the creator wave

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I've spent the last 4 years working with some of the world's biggest creators and meeting the creators behind Alex Hormozi, GaryVee, Steven Bartlett and many more. I’ve seen the same mistakes again and again - mistakes that are easy to fix but cost creators months (or years) of progress.

In this episode, I break down the eight biggest things holding most creators back: the goals problem, the views trap, content without systems, bad brand positioning, weak storytelling, platform misunderstanding, tracking the wrong metrics, and wasting time in the wrong places.

If you create content, lead a brand, or want to build an audience that actually converts - this episode will save you a world of pain.

Listen on Your Podcast Player:https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooks

Follow Callum on socials:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@heycallum
X – https://x.com/mcdonnellcallum
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnell

Produced by 7xContent – make your own Podcast with us: https://www.7xcontent.com

Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
0:25 – Mistake #1: Creating content with no goal
2:52 – Mistake #2: Why low-view content can be your most valuable
3:50 – Mistake #3: Turning your content into a system
5:52 – Mistake #4: Brand = consistent association
6:42 – Mistake #5: Don’t seek the spotlight — become one
9:58 – Mistake #6: Why you must live and breathe your platform
11:37 – Mistake #7: Track only the metrics that matter
13:01 – Mistake #8: Wasting time on the wrong platforms

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Ben Branson is the founder of Seedlip - the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit. In this episode, Ben shares how he built a completely new drinks category from his kitchen and turned it into a global brand stocked in 40+ countries and acquired by Diageo.

We cover how Seedlip went from an idea in a small kitchen to a movement changing the drinks industry, the creative philosophy that drives Ben’s work, how he blends art and science in brand building, and what’s next for his ventures like Seasn and Sylva. If you’re a brand builder, founder, or creative entrepreneur, this is a masterclass in vision, purpose, and originality.

Listen on Your Podcast Player:https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooks

Follow Callum on socials:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@heycallum
X – https://x.com/mcdonnellcallum
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnell

Produced by 7xContent – make your own Podcast with us:https://www.7xcontent.com

Follow Ben:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/seedlip_ben
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbranson
YouTube (podcast) – https://www.youtube.com/@hidden20charity
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
1:34 – The origin story: how Seedlip began in a kitchen garden
6:12 – Turning a personal experiment into a global drinks brand
11:25 – Naming, storytelling, and the design philosophy behind Seedlip
17:18 – What it takes to pioneer a new category in the drinks world
23:05 – The moment a huge company came knocking
29:42 – Staying true to purpose after acquisition
35:26 – The power of restraint: branding lessons from simplicity
41:15 – Building brands with emotion and authenticity
48:10 – Launching the next generation of purpose-led products
55:42 – The tension between creativity and commercial success
1:03:38 – What Ben learned from failure and iteration
1:12:06 – Designing for meaning, not just marketing
1:20:14 – The impact of nature, art, and ritual on creative thinking
1:28:45 – What founders get wrong
1:36:22 – The future of non-alcoholic culture and conscious consumption
1:42:49 – Final lessons