The power of a side hustle that brings you joy

There aren’t many things I’d call crucial to my success as a marketer.

But I can identify the one thing that has been consistently true over the years: how fulfilled, passionate, and creative I am outside of work.

In the years when I was completely heads-down at work, I wasn’t just more burnt out—I also wasn’t really growing as a marketer.

I think that’s because I wasn’t making the time to learn from others, have real conversations, or create from a place of passion. I was just busy executing and getting projects out the door. 

When you do carve time out of your day to be out in the world—learning, creating, or doing something you genuinely love—it shows up in your work.

Passion makes you happier, more creative, and more energetic, all of which directly impacts how well you do your job.

I sat down the other day to chat with an old friend of mine, Kelly.

Kelly started working as a content writer at a marketing agency after college. Recently, she was promoted to senior copywriter on her team.

Kelly is a lot more than a marketing writer though.

She’s been running podcasts as a side hustle for years. And her story is a perfect reminder that sometimes finding a passion project—something outside of work that energizes you and makes you excited to show up every day—can make the biggest difference.

Because here’s something that took me a while to figure out: work doesn’t have to fill your entire cup.

It can fill parts of it, sure, but finding fulfillment, challenges, and growth in other areas of life takes the pressure off your job to do it all.

And once you realize your job doesn’t need to tick every box for you to stay, there’s freedom in that. Just my two cents.

Okay, let’s get into it!

From fan to podcast host

In 2018, Kelly and her cousin Mel started Another Bite of Twilight, a podcast about all things Twilight. For Kelly, side projects have always been second nature. In college, she was constantly picking up new hobbies—it’s just how her mind works.

The podcast wasn’t just a way to geek out about a series she loved; it was also a chance to create something she could call her own.

As Kelly put it:

Have a job, do your thing, but don’t submit your creativity to somebody else’s goals.

This perspective shaped Kelly’s career. After college, she sought out remote work even before it was a thing.

Today, she works as a content writer, creating blog articles, SEO strategies, and landing pages. Quality writing has always been a big part of who she is, but she knew she needed a creative outlet outside her day job.

What started as a fun way to chat about the Twilight saga quickly gained traction and earned them a spot in the fan community.

The podcast’s success opened doors they never imagined: performing live at a Twilight festival, being featured in fandom articles, and even catching the attention of Kristen Stewart.

She filmed a video for them while she was on the movie set. Rob Pattinson’s stunt double then sent them that along with a a video message saying the cast had listened to and loved the show—all achieved on a tiny budget with an attitude of, "we have no idea what we’re doing."

That’s the point I want to highlight because it speaks to something I’ve seen in marketing: we can be way too hard on ourselves.

We think everything has to be flawless and perfectly produced, but sometimes, just being scrappy and getting things off the ground is enough. In our personal lives, we make mistakes and move forward, but at work, we’re often much tougher on ourselves.

The Twilight podcast is proof that taking the pressure off can lead to incredible results. You don’t need perfection to build an engaged audience or earn trust and attention.

I asked Kelly if she ever had a full-circle moment with the podcast, and she pointed to the time they got Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke on the show.

It was a milestone that cemented their place in the fandom: a director of a movie that grossed over $407 million was not only aware of their podcast but excited to join them for a conversation.

That success sparked something new

From one of their most popular episodes about Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson, Kelly and Mel launched Significant Lovers in 2022, a podcast about famous couples throughout history.

They go way beyond surface-level research…diving into archives, books, and forums to uncover stories and details you can’t easily find elsewhere on great love stories.

A few months ago, they were mentioned in The Guardian as part of a weekly roundup on the best podcasts across different categories. 

As Charlie Lindar put it so well:

The pair’s investigative skills and earnest emotional investment in each couple makes every episode a heartbreaker one way or the other.

I couldn’t agree more with this. When picking topics, Kelly and Mel pore their heart into the detail, storyline, and history you need to know in order to connect to each episode. 

I asked Kelly how they choose the couples to feature because they really do it all from John and Yoko to Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson. She said that they try to balance what interests them with what they think will resonate. And they obviously have a good feel for what will.

Their episode on JFK and Carolyn Bessette became their most popular, going viral on TikTok with 938K views, 55K likes, and over 500 comments. It also got over 8K views on YouTube. 

I think a big part of their virality has to do with one key thing: they sound like insiders—like two friends with firsthand knowledge, gossiping off-mic about celebrities.

Their detailed stories make it feel personal, while their TikTok clips offer a rare, behind-the-scenes look at public figures in a way we haven’t seen before.

I also love the copy they use for their episode descriptions, like this one: She was a recluse. Between alleged affairs and family drama, we discuss first-hand accounts of their turbulent story, which ended tragically far too soon."

When it comes to workload, Kelly and Mel take turns preparing episodes.

Kelly describes their process: "We switch off who researches and leads the episode. During the recording, we tell each other everything we learned—that’s kind of the gist of it."

Each recording is about two hours. Kelly then focuses on editing—sometimes spending up to five hours per episode—while Mel manages social media and ad partnerships.

Recently, Kelly’s sister joined the team, helping with YouTube and Instagram. 

Building a community has been one of the most rewarding parts of Kelly and Mel’s journey.

With 20.7K TikTok followers, 1M+ likes, 16K Instagram followers, and 517 Patreon members—200+ of whom are paying subscribers—they’ve built an audience that’s both loyal and engaged. 

Fans often mention how well they feel they know Kel and Mel, which has become a big part of what makes the show special.

They’re not just reading from a script or going through the motions—they’re being themselves. You can feel it in how they interact. Maybe it helps that they’re not just cousins or cohosts, but best friends.

For me, it was a good reminder that who you are off-script, offline, and off-camera absolutely comes through in the final result.

I think more founders now, especially, want to start creating content, running podcasts, and so on—and that’s great. The idea of the CEO also being the chief marketer is a nice one. But you can’t discount the passion needed behind a topic, the dynamic between the host and interviewee, and so many other factors.

I see it all the time: founders who succeed on social and those who don’t. The ones who do are the ones genuinely putting their personality out there. They’re not afraid to just say what they think, to be themselves, and—most importantly—they enjoy the process of creating.

Those are the ones who gain a following and build real authority.

The bottom line?

Make space for what excites you and understand why you’re doing it. If you’re creating on social or running a YouTube channel because it gives you something to look forward to and makes those outside-work hours worth it, then the time you put in will be worth it—because growing something takes time.

But if you love it, it’s going to be a lot easier to stick around long enough and eventually see those results.