Content Creation Traps

Technology has enabled content creators to present samplers, so as to obtain immediate feedback – which if used wisely can take you places. However, I qualify this by saying should the artist focus on the superfluous feedback in the form of likes and banter associated with promptly engaging with your audience, it could lead to nothing more than a career local maxima.

Whether it is launching a blog, a podcast or a YouTube channel, it is not uncommon for people to start small and seek to grow following. Nothing taken from the popular quip, “You are as powerful as the network you possess.” The initial pursuit to produce work of the highest quality goes through a variety of phases as it gets recognized.

To consistently produce the work that is top-notch, one needs to take up a counter-intuitive approach to producing work – don’t produce to on-board a following. Create work that you would like to see for yourself. Be your own favorite audience.

Treat the media you use to deploy not primarily for engagement but rather for storage. I say this with good reason. This ensures we keep validation in the back seat and lets us focus on working on the next extraordinary foray. Over time the power of compounding really takes over.

Consider getting a Social Media Manager. By this I don’t mean hire someone to work out your social media while you focus on your art, you could make use of scheduling applications, to ensure you’re spacing out content and keeping the community that you’re building engaged.

Your presence online can help garner the viewership for what you produce and sell, however in all honesty, it’s time to pull an Uno Reverse Card on our immediate instincts and do what Cal Newport says, “Be so good they can’t ignore you”