Insightful Notes - CM #32
Memorable kicks, design resources marketplace, valuable personal notes at the crossroad of history and PKM. Data-driven opportunities. Copyright-free video finder.
Welcome to a new special edition of CM.
Happy to have you exploring these interesting examples and opportunities. (If you run into little-known or new interesting curated content resources (newsletters, directories, catalogs, libraries, etc.), please do send them my way.)
The more I dig in this direction, the more interesting curated resources I find. So much so, that on my other newsletter,
, I have started an experiment in showcasing interesting curated newsletters that create value (and often revenue as well) by contextualizing, dissecting, critically analyzing and illustrating facts, resources, tools and people out there.On the good news side, I have also just completed the second mini-app (built by humans with a little AI assistance) for value creators and content curators. Titled CCPD Video Finder, it is a super-simple vertical search engine capable of instantly uncovering copyright-free videos, clips, documentaries and films.
It is fully-free, functioning and available now to all that support my work with a Premium subscription (here or elsewhere).
In this issue:
3 Real-World Examples of Curation Monetized
3 Data-Verified Curation-Based Business Opportunities
CCPD Video Finder
Curation Monetized Real-World Examples (3)
In this section find real-world examples of existing online projects that generate revenue by organizing existing information, resources or tools as well as additional key opportunities that such projects (or similar ones) could leverage.
1) Showcase of Nostalgic Football Videos
Nost FC
Curated selection of great soccer moments in the best video quality.
Niche
Problem it solves: Revisiting great football moments, teams, players and memorable matches.
Audience: Football / soccer fans.
Tech
YouTube
Business
Business Model: Advertising, Courses, Trainings, Guides.
Price: N/A
Sold via: Skool
Author(s)
Abdullah Yaseen
Curator’s Job: Researching and finding quality video material of specific players, teams or matches, editing , reframing, cleaning up.
Key Insights:
The curator/creator manages at least 2 Youtube football/soccer "highlight channels" iGooner (176k subs) and Nost FC (46k subs).
He shows that he's earned $100K+ from his channels since starting in 2020.
Highlight: He has made $5500 from one video titled Most CONTROVERSIAL Matches
A few of his videos have more than 1 million views.
According to Niall Doherty of eBiz Facts this curator makes an average of $2,000/month
Apparently he only posts 2 videos per month on average.
He does sell a course on how to monetize video curation for $149.
Source: eBizFacts
Key Opportunities:
1) Affiliate Marketing
Promote football-related products, such as jerseys, equipment, or streaming services, and earn commissions through affiliate links.
2) Sponsorships and Brand Deals
Collaborate with sports brands or services for sponsored content, providing additional income and exposure.
3) Membership Programs
Offer exclusive content or perks to subscribers through platforms like Patreon or YouTube Memberships.
2) Marketplace of Curated Design Resources
UI8
Curated digital marketplace selling high-quality UX/UI design resources (UI kits, wireframes, templates, icons, and 3D assets).
Niche
Problem it solves: Providing a high-quality selection of UI resources for designers.
Audience: Designers and agencies.
Tech
Magnolia
Business
Business Model: Direct sales, Paid Subscriptions, Affiliate Commissions.
Price: from $112 for 3-months access
Sold via: Stripe
Author(s)
Chris Slowik
Curator’s Job: Creating in-house design resources while also licensing third-party ones and making them available through a curated marketplace.
Key Insights:
UI8 started in 2014 by creating quality design resources.
Later is started to operates as a digital marketplace, facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers. It now handles product curation, licensing, and payment processing, providing a platform for designers to monetize their work. The platform's success hinges on maintaining a high standard of quality and offering resources that meet the evolving needs of the design community.
Generates revenue through:
a) Individual Product Sales
Designers and agencies can purchase assets like UI kits and templates individually.
b) All-Access Pass
A subscription model offering unlimited downloads of all products, catering to frequent users.
c) Marketplace Fees
UI8 earns a commission on sales made by third-party designers who list their products on the platform.
N.B.: Opportunity: Many negative reviews relative to the recent quality of the products being offered, customer support and administrative transparency.
Key Opportunities:
a) Enterprise Licensing for Teams and Agencies
Offer scalable licensing solutions tailored for design teams, agencies, and enterprises. In other words, develop tiered licensing packages that provide access to UI8's resources for multiple users within an organization, along with administrative tools for managing team access. Charge annual fees based on team size and usage levels.
b) Customizable Design-as-a-Service (DaaS)
Provide custom design services leveraging UI8's extensive asset library giving clients the option to request personalized UI kits or design elements tailored to their specific project requirements, delivered by UI8's in-house design team.
c) Educational Partnerships and Certification Programs
Collaborate with educational institutions to integrate UI8's resources into design curricula and offer certification programs. Develop structured learning modules using UI8's assets, and partner with design schools or online education platforms to deliver courses and certifications.
3) Newsletter About Historical Personal Notes
Noted
Newsletter focused on note-takers, offers in-depth analysis accompanied by inspiring quotes, archival photos, and insights on what can be learned from such notes.
Niche
Problem it solves: Learning from the notes of important past historical figures.
Audience: People interested in knowledge management, history, note-taking and culture.
Tech
Substack
Business
Business Model: Paid Subscriptions, Books.
Price: $5/mo for newsletter subscription
Sold via: Stripe/Substack
Author(s)
Jillian Hess
Curator’s Job: Curating unique historical notes from famous note-taker (often a historical or cultural figure) and analyzing their personal notes, notebooks, or information-management habits.
Key Insights:
Jillian Hess is an English professor at CUNY and the author of "How Romantics and Victorians Organized Information: Commonplace Books, Scrapbooks, and Albums" (Oxford University Press, 2022). She is an expert on commonplace books.
The Noted Substack newsletter is ranked among the top Substack newsletters in the History category (ranked around #16–#19 overall) (2025).
Hess has effectively created her own niche at the intersection of literary/cultural history and personal knowledge management. While there are many productivity blogs about digital note-taking or “second brain” systems, Noted stands out by looking to the past – it mines analog methods used by artists, writers, scientists, and others.
Hess’s exact paid subscriber count is not public, but if even 5–10% of her ~30k readers converted to paid subscriptions, that would imply on the order of 1,500–3,000 paying subscribers. At $50/year each, such a base would generate roughly $75k–$150k annual gross revenue (before platform fees).
On the subscriber side, paid members receive perks beyond the free posts. Hess includes a P.S. section (post-script essay) each week for paying readers, often diving deeper into that week’s topic. She also runs interactive features like a “Noted Lab” Q&A, where paid subscribers can send in questions for her to answer in exclusive posts.
Key Opportunities:
a) Curated Digital Products
Develop and sell digital products such as printable templates, e-books, or guides that align with the newsletter's theme. For example, create resources like "Historical Note-Taking Templates" or "Guides to Effective Journaling," available for purchase through platforms like Gumroad or directly via Substack.
b) Workshops and Webinars
Host webinars or workshops (online and off) focusing on note-taking techniques, journaling practices, and historical insights featuring experts in the field, offering practical exercises and discussions.
c) Collaborative Merchandising
Partner with artists or designers to create merchandise inspired by historical note-taking and journaling. For example, design products like notebooks, pens, or tote bags featuring quotes or designs related to famous note-takers, available for purchase through an online store.
d) Educational Licensing for Academic Institutions
Offer curated content packages tailored for educational purposes. Develop thematic notes collections aligned with academic curricula, accompanied by discussion guides and analysis. License these packages to schools, universities, and educational platforms.
Were these opportunities and examples valuable for you?
If the answer is YES, please do click the heart / like button at the end of this newsletter, so that other people can discover it.
Data-Verified Curation-Based Business Opportunities (3)
In this section find curation-based niche business opportunity keyword-ideas validated by data. Selection criteria are: min 500 monthly searches and keyword difficulty below 20.
These keywords represent concrete potential commercial resources such as directories, catalogs, collections and libraries of specific information or tools for a specific audience and need.
1) Backup Batteries for Home
The opportunity here is to research and put together a guide or a directory of home backup batteries for a specific world region while comparing their key traits and differences.
Monetizable via:
Advertising & sponsorship
Affiliate commissions
2) TikTok Dances
Compile an anthology of some of the most spectacular and interesting dance videos available on TikTok. Consider specializing on a sub-category like dance theme, culture, or music genre.
Monetizable via:
Promotion of online dance courses
Affiliate commission on promoted dance courses
3) Leg Workouts for Elderly
Curate a catalog of leg-specific physical exercises for seniors from existing published content.
Monetizable via:
Sell book / guide to leg health for elderly
Promote leg exercises apps
Create and sell paid subs to a dedicated app
Data source: BuildTheKeyword
CCPD Video Finder - Search Engine
A mini-app created by Robin Good.
Find copyright-free videos that you can curate, edit and re-use for your content.
From YouTube and Vimeo.
No ads. No algorithmic results.
Just pure free video content under a Creative Commons license or in the Public Domain.
Available to active Premium subscribers. (Paid subs will receive a separate email with a link to it in the next 24 hours).
Premium subscribers to this newsletter:
a) can contact me and ask me questions privately, and
b) get access to the new mini-apps for curators and indie entrepreneurs that I am building with AI assistance and releasing monthly. Two mini-apps already available (WebPage TimeDetector + CCPD Video Finder).
c) receive the Curation Monetized Database Catalog containing 100+ real-world examples of successful curation-related commercial projects (annual subscribers only).
d) support and encourage this work. It’s done with lots of curiosity, attention and love.
Stop searching for something new.
Organize and add value to what is already there.
from sunny-hot Koh Samui (TH)
Robin Good
.