We have some very exciting news to share: baby boy Clouse has arrived! Jay, Mal, and big sister are over the moon (and very short on sleep). Jay didn't quite get to writing this newsletter before the little guy showed up, so we told him to go be with his family. Now the Creator Science team is officially taking over. 😈

Wait, Jay has a team? Yep! Hi, that's us (more on who we are at the end).

This is the first time we're running the show without Jay. We've been rehearsing for months, but to be honest with you, getting Jay to let go of the business he's poured his heart into hasn't been easy. (We love him for it.) This is a big leap for all of us.

Every big leap needs a motto, so we picked the only logical one: How much 🤑 can we make without Jay? (Without getting him cancelled. Please.) As you can tell, we're a little less humble and a lot less serious than Jay. But really, we just want Jay to come back to a business that's thriving and not on fire.

While Jay and Mal enjoy some well-deserved family time, you'll probably see a bit more of us around here. We'll share little bits about the team, bring in some of our favorite people in the creator space, and fail experiment with fun ways to bring you the content you're used to.

But fear not: we suspect Jay won't fully disappear on us. You'll probably get a sneaky newsletter from him during naptime. Plus, he's DETERMINED to build an entirely new product that helps creators go from zero to real traction with their content: the Traction Plan. Wheeelp… He just can't help himself. (More on that below.)

If he pops up in your social feed, please help us remind him to enjoy his paternity leave (and if you could subtly mention that his team's got this, that would help, too).

So, who on earth is "we"?

Allow us a quick round of introductions:

Izzy Rodriguez | Operations Coordinator Izzy interned with Jay back in 2018 while studying at Ohio State University. Today, she’s a professional soccer player in the NWSL. (Yes, we have a real celebrity on the team!) In her "spare time," she keeps Creator Science running. She's the reason our partners and Lab members keep renewing, which makes her the only person we know who can close a partnership deal and win a match on the same day.

Laura Woythe | Creative Associate Laura joined almost exactly a year ago (time fliieees!), and she’s the team’s ACTUAL scientist, with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering! (Fitting, for a company called Creator Science.) She’s also our creative wildcard for socials, lead magnets, landing pages, email sequences, making guest essays shine, and any special project that doesn't fit in a box.

James "Ritzy" Bevins | Social Media Manager Ritzy was a Creator Science fan for years before joining as Social Media Manager in May. If you’ve been seeing (and liking 👊) more of Jay’s content lately, that’s his doing. He's built the entire content system behind it: turning podcasts and newsletters into posts, scripting and editing short-form videos, designing graphics, and building ManyChat automations. Basically, he’s the reason Jay is in your feed at all.

Anna Reich | Integrator Anna joined in May and runs Creator Science day-to-day alongside Jay. She landed the job by publishing an unsolicited breakdown of Jay’s business on her Substack. Some call it the boldest job application ever, Anna would call it the most time-consuming (it took two full weeks). Jay says, she's been “kicking his butt into shape” ever since. She helps turn his endless stream of big ideas into a long-term plan, and has been building out the team to make it happen.

Want to see how Creator Science runs behind the scenes, what Jay is like when the mic is off, and what we've learned from him along the way? Hit reply with your questions. If we get 15 or more, we'll hijack the podcast and record a little something just for you.

When somebody asks ChatGPT, "Who are the best creators in your niche?" — does it say your name, or does it mention your competitors?

Because a response will only share a few names. And with LLMs, if you’re not cited, you might as well be invisible. And that’s at the exact moment someone is deciding who to follow, or what to buy.

The first step is finding out just how visible or invisible you are to LLMs like ChatGPT. And Ahrefs built a new tool called Brand Radar to show you where you actually stand. It tracks your mentions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews, and Copilot, and gives you an AI "share of voice" against your competitors — how often you get named when your topic comes up, and whether you're being mentioned or actually cited as a source. It's built on 481 million real prompts, making it the largest AI visibility database out there.

This isn't about gaming AI. It's about finding out whether the work you're already doing — the content, the authority, the backlinks — is translating into AI visibility.

PS: Ahrefs has a free AI visibility checker too. Check it out here!

The five stages of being a creator Where you are, and what's next Jay Clouse Read Online ↗

From the Archive: This is one of the essays readers reply to most. If you've ever wondered which stage you're in, start here.

If you're creating content but still waiting for it to catch on, this one's for you.

Most of Jay's products are built for creators who already have traction. But the question he hears most is how to find it in the first place. So, he's building Traction Plan: an interactive tool that helps you create a personalized plan to grow your audience, one step at a time.

• Get clear on who it’s for, what you promise them, and the topic you want to be known for.
• Pick your medium, your platforms, and a rhythm that fits your real week.
• Leave with a written plan and your first month on the calendar.

Want first access when it launches?

And yes, Jay is building Traction Plan from his paternity leave. That's how much he believes creators need it (classic Jay). So Jay, if you're reading this during naptime: we appreciate you. Now go take a nap too. 😉

Thanks for hanging out with us. What happens when Jay steps away from the day-to-day? We'll all find out together in real time.

Cheers,

The Creator Science team
​Izzy, Laura, Ritzy & Anna