Content creation is dead. Quite possibly, so am I.
Are all the opportunities to make it big as a creator gone already?
Game over. It is too late to be a content creator on LinkedIn.
I should’ve started 5 years ago. Now, all 50 million+ creators around the world will rake in the money, while I slowly starve to death.
Does this sound like a familiar story?
Well then, let’s look at some facts.
~2 million people are full-time content creators. That’s huge, right?
Nope, it’s about 0.03% of the world’s population. Still a lot, no?
Oh well, the number of sales people across the world is about 6 million, i.e. 3 times the number above. And… people haven’t really stopped selling (or buying), have they?
The great thing is that anyone can be a creator. You don’t need a fancy degree, you certainly don’t need a studio to record yourself, and you don’t even need to slog for 18-hour work days.
Some of what has worked for me in the past has been:
1. 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Who are you speaking to? If you could create just ONE SINGLE persona for your audience, what would that look like?
Narrow it down.
For example, Grade X students of English who study in Hindi medium schools, can’t afford private tuition, but can spend 5–10 minutes a day watching a YouTube video.
2. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝘆: In Simon Sinek’s words, what is your driving purpose? What would you like people to learn from you? Why are you creating something in the first place?
Is your goal establishing yourself as a brand or to just add some value to someone’s else’s life? If it’s the former my friend, you’re not going to make it too far.
3. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: Don’t make your audience wait for the Halley’s comet to arrive again, before you post. Create at a frequency that appeals to you — daily/weekly/fortnightly/monthly.
And don’t worry about the audience being bored — even within the same audience, there will be people who might tune in today and tune out tomorrow (or vice-versa).
4. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: Sometimes, you might just wonder if someone has already said what you are saying now. Can you say it differently and more visually?
For example, the lines from a poem I first read over 25 years ago are still etched into my mind,
“The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.”
The poet could’ve simply said, “It was windy and the moon kept appearing and disappearing through the clouds”. It’s the same message in different words, right?
Ok, I’m not suggesting that you pick up other people’s content and make it ‘poetic’ (or turn it into ‘broetry’ as they say these days). But, just find your own unique and authentic voice. (Hopefully, it’ll be a more melodious voice than the one I use to sing when I bathe)
5. 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱: Whether people disagree or agree, acknowledge them and respond. Don’t get carried away by emotion. Use facts to make your point.
Always easy to gnash your teeth, wave your fists and holler, “I’LL TEACH THEM TO MESS WITH ME.” Keep your inner troll at bay, breathe, walk around, and then come back to respond once the smoke coming out of your ears has dissipated.
If you’ve been sitting on the fence and watching others create stuff, get into action and create something for your audience.
It is easy to feel dejected by looking at people with thousands of followers or with hundreds of reactions on each post.
But, one meaningful connection is all it takes to land the next job, engage peeople with your content, win a new project, or learn something from an expert.
And when in doubt, follow this great advice from one of the best writers ever, the legendary Stephen King,
“When asked, ‘How do you write?’ I invariably answer, ‘one word at a time.’”
