0:01 There are five essential levels of
0:03 growth that every creator needs to pass
0:05 through in order to become a full-time
0:07 content creator. Each of these stages
0:10 build on the last to create a successful
0:12 creator career. And if you skip one of
0:15 them, then you'll either struggle to
0:16 actually grow an audience [music]
0:18 or you'll get burnt out before you
0:20 actually make any money. Full-time
0:23 creators are not an overnight success,
0:25 even though sometimes it can seem like
0:27 that. And going viral is not the key
0:30 that you think it is to unlocking this
0:32 as a career. I'm going to talk you
0:34 through these five stages of growth and
0:36 tell you the most critical thing that
0:38 you should be doing right now in [music]
0:39 order to level up. So, hopefully no
0:41 matter where you are on your creator
0:43 journey, you'll be able to push through
0:45 your current obstacles and get one step
0:47 further to being a full-time creator.
0:49 So, this is going to be a more chatty
0:52 video than normal, so go ahead and make
0:54 yourself a matcha, get comfy, and feel
0:56 free to listen to this one in the
0:57 background. If there's anything that I
0:58 think would be helpful for you to look
0:59 at, I'll include this little sound
1:00 effect to remind you to look at the
1:02 screen, but otherwise, happy listening.
1:03 Also, let me know what you think of this
1:05 format in the comments cuz I know it's
1:06 kind of different than what I typically
1:07 do, but yeah, I just wanted to have a
1:10 chat with you guys today. Stage one,
1:12 consumer. Everyone has to start by being
1:14 a viewer [music] first. You develop your
1:17 sense of taste and understanding of what
1:19 makes good content by watching other
1:22 creators. Just like being an avid reader
1:24 will make you a better writer, being a
1:27 passionate consumer of content will make
1:28 you better at creating it. But it's very
1:30 important that you don't just passively
1:32 consume content if you want to move up
1:34 to the next level. In his book, Better
1:36 Living Through Criticism, writer A.O.
1:38 Scott argues that the discipline that
1:40 turns a fan into an adept can be
1:42 acquired at school or in solitude by
1:45 direct tutelage or [music] dreamy
1:47 osmosis. In every case, it involves the
1:49 transformation of awe into understanding
1:51 and the claiming of a share of
1:53 imaginative power. To really hone the
1:55 skills that you need to become a great
1:58 creator, I think you actually need a mix
2:01 of that direct tutelage and dreamy
2:03 osmosis that A.O. Scott is talking
2:04 about. Watching content like mine, I
2:06 think, is an example of that direct
2:08 tutelage. You're learning the methods,
2:10 the techniques, the strategies. Like
2:12 you're literally being taught [music]
2:13 the tricks of the trade. And that's
2:16 great and all, but I think actually the
2:18 learning that you do through watching
2:20 and observing the creators that you love
2:22 who make the kind of content that you
2:24 want to create. That is the dreamy
2:26 osmosis through which you can absorb
2:29 inspiration, absorb the tactics and
2:32 strategies, and the methods for great
2:34 content by just seeing other artists do
2:36 their work. It's like you can't learn to
2:38 play the piano well just by reading
2:40 music theory books, right? At some
2:42 point, you're going to have to actually
2:44 listen to music. But listening to music
2:46 in itself is not going to make you a
2:47 great musician. [music] So, when you are
2:49 watching these creators that you love, I
2:51 really want to encourage you to be
2:54 intentional and active about that. It's
2:55 so easy for us to just get caught up in
2:57 passive content consumption, but I want
2:59 you to watch videos and think deeply [music]
3:00 [music]
3:02 about why you're enjoying watching it.
3:03 What's making you absorbed in the
3:05 storytelling. That level of critical
3:07 engagement with the content is what's
3:08 going to [music] help you actually
3:09 become a better creator yourself. A
3:12 consumer merely watches content, but an
3:15 aspiring creator watches content with a
3:17 critical eye. So, you might be in the
3:19 consumer stage if you love watching lots
3:20 of content online and you're always
3:22 thinking about stuff that you'd want to
3:24 create. Maybe you have like a notes app
3:26 note full of video ideas, but you've
3:28 never actually sat down to make one. The
3:30 main things that are probably holding
3:31 you back right now are like decision
3:35 paralysis, the fear of being cringe, and
3:37 ultimately just overthinking it. To
3:38 borrow some advice from a Substack
3:41 article that I read recently by writer
3:43 Erophile Gerani, it's called literally
3:45 just do things. And this really
3:47 resonated with me. She writes, "I would
3:48 take advantage of the momentum of
3:51 inspiration immediately and act on it.
3:53 That's the main trait I attribute good
3:54 outcomes to. It comes from being
3:57 impatient. When I'm excited or inspired
3:58 about something, there's no way I'm
4:00 delaying it. I want to launch myself
4:02 into it right here, right now, for
4:04 better or worse. And I love [music]
4:05 that." If you are in this level right
4:08 now, I want you to, before this video
4:10 finishes, I want you to actually create
4:12 that Instagram account, start that
4:13 YouTube channel. I know you're probably
4:15 scrolling on your phone while you're
4:17 listening to me talk anyway, so you
4:18 might as well make that scrolling time
4:20 productive and take that essential first
4:22 step to actually making this happen. The
4:24 second stage is the hobby creator.
4:26 You've started making videos here and
4:28 there just for fun. And at this stage,
4:29 you've already passed through the most
4:31 crucial filter that holds back the vast
4:33 majority of people from ever becoming
4:35 creators, and that is simply starting.
4:37 So, congrats. So, you might be at this
4:39 level if you're making content here and
4:41 there kind of as inspiration strikes.
4:43 You might be floating from platform to
4:44 platform trying to decide if like
4:46 YouTube is where you should be posting
4:48 or if like Instagram and TikTok is more
4:50 of your thing. You might also be
4:51 creating content that's kind of all over
4:53 the place. Maybe you're exploring
4:54 different niches or trying out different
4:57 formats. Maybe you've even seen a video
4:58 pop off here or there and get a bunch of
5:00 views, but nothing has really translated
5:03 into actually having a large audience.
5:04 So, here are the biggest things that are
5:06 holding you back if you're at this stage
5:07 and what you're going to do about it.
5:09 The biggest practical challenges that
5:11 hobby creators face are finding the time
5:14 to create and the confidence to tell
5:15 people about it. In terms of time
5:17 management, I just want to tell you like
5:19 it is hard. If you are struggling to
5:21 find the time to create amidst like a
5:23 full-time job, I just want to say you're
5:25 not crazy. Like this is a really
5:26 difficult thing. I think one of the
5:28 greatest things about making content as
5:30 a hobby is that A, [music]
5:31 you have a hobby at all. So, it's
5:33 something that forces you to stop
5:36 scrolling and focus on other things.
5:37 Like I think a lot of us think about
5:39 content creation as a very chronically
5:41 online thing, which in some ways it is,
5:43 but the nature of it is you create
5:47 content offline. You just post it
5:49 online. All the time that I'm spending
5:51 writing scripts, talking to my camera,
5:53 editing, that is time that I'm spending
5:55 not doom scrolling. So, I think it's
5:57 actually a really positive way to fill
5:58 your time, especially if you're feeling
6:01 like overwhelmed by just being on the
6:03 internet all the time. Approach it in
6:05 ways that you find relaxing and
6:07 enjoyable, and that is going to be the
6:09 key to making the time to do it more
6:11 often. Like if it always feels like a
6:12 chore to you, it is going to be
6:14 incredibly hard to fit this in amongst
6:16 your already busy life. So, I think my
6:17 biggest advice in terms of time
6:19 management, above and beyond the
6:21 practical stuff like time blocking and
6:23 creating routines, you need to make sure
6:24 that you're approaching content creation
6:26 in a way that feels fun and exciting to
6:28 you, because then you'll just naturally
6:30 make time for it. Now, in terms of
6:31 having confidence, I think you kind of
6:33 need to gaslight yourself into it. I
6:34 know we've all heard fake it till you
6:37 make it before, but it's actually really
6:39 true. The biggest way to have confidence
6:42 is to prove to yourself that you can do
6:43 something, but I know it's hard to feel
6:44 like you can do something if you don't
6:46 have the confidence yet. So, you kind of
6:48 just need to hack the system by creating
6:50 that first video, posting consistently,
6:52 then you prove to yourself you can do
6:53 it, and that in turn will make you feel
6:55 more confident. It's kind of a chicken
6:56 and egg scenario. So, you just have to
6:59 rewire that whole system by like pushing
7:01 yourself to take that first step, and
7:02 that will help you kind of snowball
7:04 towards more confidence. Okay, so here's
7:06 the practical exact next steps that I
7:07 want you to take if you're a hobby
7:08 creator. Okay, first, if you have just
7:10 arrived at this level, like you were a
7:12 consumer yesterday and now you've made
7:13 like your first video, I want you to
7:16 take some time to experiment. Don't push
7:17 yourself to move into the next level
7:19 just right away. Take 3 months [music]
7:22 or so to figure out what you enjoy
7:23 creating. Kind of what I was just
7:24 talking about. Figure out what puts you
7:26 into that flow state, what you have fun
7:28 doing. I know a lot of us get frustrated
7:30 at this stage [music] feeling like want
7:31 to start getting more views, you want to
7:34 grow your audience, but actually having
7:36 this time to sort of hustle in silence
7:38 at the beginning is kind of a blessing
7:40 in disguise because it means you get to
7:42 experiment without embarrassing
7:44 yourself. Because someday down the line,
7:46 once you do grow an audience, you are
7:48 going to end up somewhat pigeonholed. No
7:49 matter what you do, >> [music]
7:49 >> [music]
7:51 >> you're going to end up with expectations
7:52 on you from your audience about what you
7:54 should create. So, relish in this time
7:56 right now where you can do whatever you
7:58 want and you can really figure out what
7:59 you love. After experimenting for a
8:01 while, stage is I want you to really
8:03 pick a format to focus on. Not only like
8:05 long-form versus short-form, though I
8:07 think that is an important kind of fork
8:09 in the road where you need to figure out
8:10 which side you're on. Okay, but in
8:12 addition to long-form versus short-form
8:13 and like what your primary [music]
8:15 platform is, I also want you to hone in
8:19 on what your signature format is. A lot
8:21 of creators right now are having a lot
8:22 of success with having [music] their
8:25 content basically feel like a show. I
8:27 think really big name examples are
8:29 people like Cleo Abram who does Huge If
8:31 True, or Michelle Khare who does
8:33 Challenge Accepted. Now, obviously these
8:34 are big, really well-established names.
8:36 I also like to come up with smaller
8:37 creator examples for you guys. So, a
8:40 channel that I came upon recently >> [music]
8:40 >> [music]
8:42 >> is called Shameless Nerd, and the host
8:44 Reed does thoughtful video essays about
8:47 what it means to be online, creativity,
8:49 having hobbies, try to spend less time
8:50 on our phones, basically. And he has a
8:52 consistent format. Same kind of cold
8:55 open, joke, silly entry to it. Then
8:56 we've got the body of the video, which
8:58 is just like thoughtful video essay. And
8:59 then at the end, he does kind of the
9:01 after video video where he just chats a
9:03 little bit. And I think that is a really
9:05 solid format because as a new viewer of
9:07 his channel, I know when I go back, I
9:08 have the same type of video that I can
9:10 expect again and again. And people
9:11 really appreciate that. Okay, so once
9:13 you've locked in on what your show or
9:15 your format is going to be, then the
9:17 next crucial step is doing it
9:19 consistently. You're going to develop a
9:21 content calendar and you are going to
9:22 stick to it. So, if that's posting a
9:24 YouTube video every Monday, or if it's
9:25 posting your short-form every Tuesday,
9:27 Thursday, figure out what that's going
9:28 to be and then hold yourself accountable
9:30 to it. The plans that you make for
9:31 yourself are just as important as the
9:32 plans that you make with your friends,
9:34 and you wouldn't flake on a friend,
9:36 right? So, stick to that schedule, and
9:38 soon enough you'll be moving on to level
9:41 three. Level three is being a side
9:43 hustle creator. You will inevitably
9:45 achieve this when you follow through on
9:46 the steps that we talked about at the
9:47 hobby creator level. So, at the
9:49 beginning, I really just want you to
9:50 focus on creating great content and
9:51 doing it consistently, and don't get too
9:53 wrapped up in the monetization stuff
9:55 because eventually it will sort of come
9:57 to you. So, as a side hustle creator,
9:59 right now you're posting consistently,
10:01 maybe you have somewhere between like
10:03 10k or like 50k subscribers. Maybe
10:05 you've even had a brand deal or two, but
10:06 they're just kind of coming in
10:08 inconsistently, like here and there.
10:10 First of all, I want you to continue
10:12 posting consistently. If you're seeing
10:14 nice slow and steady growth from your
10:16 current content strategy, then keep it
10:17 up. I don't want you to change it. The
10:18 two main things that you're going to
10:21 need to do are develop a monetization
10:24 system, and then second of all, figure
10:26 out what your plans are for actually
10:28 leaving your current job. Like, what is
10:29 your financial strategy for that? Now,
10:31 in terms of your monetization system,
10:33 let's just go over the main income
10:34 streams that you're going to be looking
10:36 at as a creator. The first is AdSense.
10:37 If you're posting on YouTube, the nice
10:39 thing about that is it just runs on
10:40 autopilot. There's really no more
10:42 strategizing that you need to do other
10:44 than considering that you can have
10:46 mid-roll ads on any video that's 8
10:49 minutes or longer. So, if you're making
10:51 videos around the like 7-minute mark,
10:53 maybe consider making them, you know, 8
10:55 minutes because you could probably
10:57 increase your earning potential, but
10:58 chances are your videos are already
11:00 longer than that. Second big one is
11:01 brand deals. Now, when I changed my
11:03 strategy around brand deals, that is
11:06 when I completely shifted the trajectory
11:08 of my business. I went from making
11:10 around like 70k a year to multiple six
11:12 figures, and I just really want to
11:15 encourage everybody to basically do what
11:16 I did because I found it very effective.
11:18 First of all, I created a tracker for
11:20 myself, like a database where I would
11:21 list all of the brands that I had
11:23 contact with. I would write down any
11:25 communication that I had over email,
11:27 take notes about what we had discussed.
11:28 Because when you have a bunch of random
11:29 reach outs, it's so easy for them to get
11:31 buried in your inbox and for you to
11:32 forget about them. So, I would take
11:34 notes about all these things, I would
11:36 set my alarm to like follow up with
11:38 them. And very crucially, after I would
11:40 have a successful brand deal, the
11:42 project was complete, I would then give
11:43 myself a reminder to follow up in a
11:46 month pitching myself for another
11:47 project with them. This level of
11:49 organization and consistency is what
11:51 took me from having random brand deals
11:55 here and there to consistently having my
11:56 YouTube videos booked out with brand
11:58 deals like months in advance. If you
12:00 want to copy and paste the same strategy
12:03 that I used for doing this, I have my
12:06 brand deal tracker template as part of
12:07 my content creator starter kit. I'll
12:09 have that link in the description. The
12:10 starter kit is basically a compilation
12:13 of all of the resources, templates that
12:15 I have built for myself over the years
12:16 of being a full-time creator that I
12:17 think would also be helpful for you.
12:19 Speaking of that, that's an example of a
12:21 digital product, which is another income
12:23 stream that you might want to explore.
12:24 Selling digital products is a great
12:26 really low-overhead option for creators
12:29 cuz you make it once and you can sell it
12:31 infinite times. And trust me, it is not
12:32 just something that's available to like
12:35 business or like coach-type people. I
12:37 know sometimes it can feel like that,
12:39 but I personally have purchased digital
12:40 products from my favorite travel
12:42 creators, like a custom Google Map with
12:43 pins or like a travel guide to a
12:45 destination where I'm planning to go to.
12:46 I've even purchased like a
12:49 language-learning resource hub. Okay,
12:50 there's so much stuff you can do with
12:52 this. I feel like we get caught up in
12:53 the idea that all digital products are
12:54 just like ebooks on how to grow on
12:56 Instagram, and it does not have to be
12:58 like that if you just get creative with
13:00 it. Now, to actually logistically sell
13:01 your digital products, I'm really going
13:03 to recommend that you use Stan Store
13:05 because it's built specifically for
13:07 creators, and I think it is the most
13:10 user-friendly platform for selling stuff
13:11 online. And also just generally for
13:13 building your business as a creator cuz
13:14 there's so many other tools built in as
13:16 well. It just takes a couple minutes to
13:17 set up, and you can create your own
13:20 store, which is basically like your list
13:21 of links. This is going to be the link
13:23 that you put in your bio on Instagram,
13:25 [music] on TikTok. So, on mine, I have a
13:27 whole list of like affiliate links to
13:29 some of my favorite products. have my
13:31 most recent YouTube video embedded, so
13:32 you can watch it right there. And of
13:34 course, I have a link to my content
13:36 creator starter kit. To set this up, all
13:37 you got to do is go to your store page
13:39 and then click add product. And there's
13:40 actually a bunch of different options
13:42 you can pick from here. I've been
13:43 talking about digital products, but
13:44 depending on what you want to offer,
13:46 maybe you want to do a membership or
13:49 even host a course or offer consultation
13:50 or coaching calls. There's so many
13:51 different options. You don't have to
13:54 feel stuck with doing just one. You can
13:55 pick what's going to work best for what
13:56 you want to offer and what would be
13:58 helpful for your audience. And it's such
13:59 a seamless experience for your audience,
14:01 too, because they can purchase right
14:03 from you without having to like leave
14:04 the app that they're in. So, it feels
14:06 very integrated. Basically, Stan tries
14:08 to make the process as frictionless as
14:09 possible, which is ultimately going to
14:11 help you make more sales. There's other
14:12 really great built-in marketing
14:14 features, like their email flows and
14:16 auto DMs. Like, if you ever seen me make
14:19 a post where I'm like, "Comment link and
14:20 I'll send you the link to this product."
14:23 I'm using Stan auto DM to make that
14:24 happen. It's super easy. If you want to
14:26 start making money as a content creator,
14:28 I think Stan is the perfect place to
14:30 start. You can check it out using my
14:32 link in the description, which helps out
14:34 the channel. It lets Stan know that I
14:36 sent you. So, yeah, make sure you go
14:38 check that out. And of course, thanks to
14:40 Stan Store for sponsoring today's video.
14:43 Level four, full-time and burnt out.
14:44 When you implement the monetization
14:45 strategies we were just talking about,
14:47 eventually you will see them snowball
14:50 into a business and also a lot of work
14:51 for you. Creating content in and of
14:53 itself is very interdisciplinary. For
14:54 example, if you're a YouTuber, not only
14:56 do you need to know how to like write
14:58 [music] scripts and then also use a
15:01 camera, edit videos, graphic design to
15:03 create your thumbnails, plus a little
15:04 bit of like, >> [music]
15:04 >> [music]
15:07 >> you know, SEO search optimization stuff.
15:09 Like, all of that, it's like six or
15:11 seven different jobs, and you need to
15:13 know how to do all of them just to be a
15:15 YouTuber. And now, as a full-time
15:17 creator, in addition to all of that, you
15:19 also need to know all that business
15:20 stuff. Okay, but the biggest things
15:22 probably holding you back right now are
15:24 actually your time and energy. You just
15:26 simply don't have enough time in the
15:27 week to do all of the different tasks,
15:30 and even if you practically could, you
15:32 know, like you can fit it into the hours
15:34 in the day, it's more about your energy
15:35 and your ability to be constantly
15:37 switching tasks. Another thing that
15:39 might be holding you back that you might
15:41 not want to admit is your inability to
15:43 let go of control. Look, I get it. This
15:45 can be very difficult when you've built
15:47 everything yourself from the ground up.
15:49 It can feel really scary [music]
15:51 to hand over something to somebody else.
15:52 Like, if you've always done all of your
15:54 own emails and you have great
15:55 relationships with the brands that you
15:57 work with, it can be really scary to let
15:59 somebody step in and do that for you.
16:01 Finally, another component that's maybe
16:03 keeping you burnt out is [music]
16:06 this idea of golden handcuffs. And this
16:08 could be both in the sense of the views
16:09 that you're getting and the money you're
16:11 making. Typically, we talk about golden
16:12 handcuffs in the realm of like people
16:15 having like a really high-stress, very
16:17 high-paying job, and they want to leave
16:18 it, but they get used to having this
16:21 really high salary, and so [music]
16:23 they're kind of stuck in that lifestyle,
16:24 and they can't really leave because they
16:26 have this expectation of making a
16:28 certain amount of money a year. That can
16:29 definitely apply to content creators,
16:32 too, but I think another aspect is the
16:35 validation that comes from high views
16:36 and a lot of engagement. Like, sometimes
16:38 I even think about this for myself of
16:40 like, "Okay, I could post less. I could
16:42 even post about different stuff if I
16:44 felt like vlogging more often or doing,
16:46 you know, other type of content." But I
16:48 know that it would get less views, and
16:50 my brain is so conditioned to have a
16:52 certain level of success with my content
16:54 that having less would like feel really
16:56 bad. Okay, well, that's something that
16:57 we all need to work through in therapy,
16:59 but I just wanted to point it out as
17:00 something that you might not have
17:02 considered that's maybe keeping you in a
17:04 place where you're feeling really,
17:06 really stressed, and there is a way out
17:07 of it. So, let's talk about your
17:09 options. Okay, so one big obvious thing
17:12 is you can outsource. You can hire. One
17:14 option that I would love to pitch to you
17:16 is outsourcing your editing. So, if you
17:18 didn't know, I have a small agency of
17:20 all female video editors, and we work
17:22 with YouTubers called Creatorly Media,
17:24 and we've got a few openings for our new
17:26 retainer packages. So, basically, I
17:28 would highly recommend getting some help
17:29 with your video editing cuz it's one of
17:32 the biggest, most time-consuming parts
17:34 of your job, and it could open you up to
17:35 being able to focus on other stuff
17:37 [music] that's even more potentially
17:39 revenue-generating. Or, I will offer you
17:41 this, just relaxing. [music]
17:43 Maybe you would just take that time to
17:44 like hang out, and that would be so
17:46 valid, too. So, that is something you
17:48 could consider. Go to creatorlymedia.com
17:50 for details. But also, you could get
17:53 like an admin assistant. You maybe even
17:54 could look for a manager to take over
17:56 your brand deals, though typically I am
17:59 in favor of self-managing. That is what
18:00 I personally do, but you know, it
18:03 depends. Teach their own. Another thing
18:08 is taking time to return to the
18:10 creativity that got you to where you are
18:12 now. You need to ultimately decide
18:13 what's more important. And I feel like
18:15 this comes back to the golden handcuffs
18:17 situation of like, [music] do you care
18:20 more about getting reach and views, or
18:23 is creative fulfillment something that's
18:25 important to you in your life? And maybe
18:26 you need to sacrifice in order to go
18:28 back to that phase of experimenting and
18:30 trying out different stuff. But I think
18:32 for a lot of people who become full-time
18:34 as creators, you spent a lot of years
18:36 creating in the same subject area,
18:38 [music] doing similar stuff, and you
18:40 might find it really refreshing to have
18:41 a chance to do something different
18:43 again. All of these considerations will
18:47 help you get to the ultimate stage five.
18:49 And level five is work-life [music]
18:51 balance. This is the final stage
18:52 because, honestly, I kind of believe
18:54 that every creator needs to go through
18:56 that process of like [music] burning out
19:00 in order to achieve a more peaceful
19:02 balance between your work as a creator
19:04 and just living life. Cuz the thing is,
19:05 when you first start getting paid to
19:08 create, it's really easy to go overboard
19:10 because it's just like so exciting. This
19:11 idea that somebody wants to actually pay
19:13 you to like make a video, that's
19:15 incredible. And it also just feels
19:17 really like unstable and quite fleeting.
19:19 Like, you feel like at any moment you
19:20 might stop getting opportunities or
19:22 money might stop coming in. And so, you
19:24 feel this kind of internal pressure to
19:25 take every possible opportunity that you
19:26 get because you don't know when you're
19:28 going to get your next one. And it's
19:31 funny how even like 5 years into this, I
19:33 still often feel like that. And I
19:34 wouldn't say that I have reached this
19:37 ultimate stage of enlightenment of like
19:38 work-life balance, but I think where I
19:40 have arrived at is this understanding
19:42 that being a creator is kind of about
19:44 going through seasons. You've got your
19:46 planting seasons and your harvesting
19:48 seasons. And if you try to just
19:50 constantly harvest, harvest, harvest,
19:51 like create, make money, create, make
19:53 money, eventually you're going to
19:55 deplete your soil and you're going to
19:57 burn out and you just can't keep that up
19:59 forever. And so you kind of need to go
20:01 back into your own creativity, into a
20:03 moment of rest, into maybe making less
20:06 money for a time in order to, you know,
20:08 plant those future seeds for harvesting
20:10 down the line. I often think about like
20:13 musicians with album cycles and how that
20:15 is a very natural [music] process of
20:17 like planting and then harvesting. You
20:19 know, artists will like release a new
20:20 album, they'll do a ton of promo for
20:22 [music] it, they'll tour it, they'll be
20:24 in the media all the time, and then
20:25 after that dies down, they'll kind of go
20:27 away for a while and, you know, maybe
20:29 run a couple marathons if you're Harry
20:30 Styles, go back in the studio,
20:33 brainstorm, write, live a life to become
20:35 inspired by in order to make [music]
20:37 their next album. And unfortunately as
20:38 content creators, I don't think we
20:41 really have quite that benefit of time
20:43 because we're constantly, you know,
20:45 fighting for relevance in the algorithm
20:46 and staying top of mind with our
20:48 audience. Like I don't quite think it's
20:49 possible to just go away for like 2
20:51 years and then come back like nothing
20:53 happened. Unfortunately, we are not
20:54 Harry Styles. But I do think we can do
20:56 that on more of a micro level even if it
20:58 means, you know, spending a few months
21:00 posting super frequently and then taking
21:02 a few months to maybe like post a little
21:03 less often, [music] take more time for
21:05 yourself, learn something new, get
21:08 inspired. You don't have to just be like
21:10 foot on the gas pedal, go go go all the
21:11 time. I really believe in kind of
21:14 cycling through growth periods and then
21:15 more periods of like maintenance. I know
21:17 we've talked a lot about the emotional
21:18 side of being a content creator in this
21:21 video, but to quote the queen of social
21:23 media tips, Tess Barclay, it really is
21:25 that deep. I love how she acknowledges
21:27 like the emotional work that goes into
21:30 doing this career because there really
21:32 is so much like self-reflection and
21:34 analysis that is built into it. And I
21:37 think that that is often overlooked in
21:38 videos like this for the sake of, you
21:40 know, growth strategies, what's
21:41 trending, tips and tricks, and like all
21:43 of that stuff is really important, but I
21:45 just want to say that I appreciate you
21:46 taking the time today to do a little bit
21:48 of self-reflection, thinking about your
21:50 next step on the journey from this
21:52 bigger picture because I actually think
21:54 that that is going to help you a lot
21:56 more than if I would have made another
21:57 tips and tricks video for you. And yeah,
21:59 I just want you to know that I'm here to
22:01 support you on that journey of becoming
22:03 a full-time creator and I really believe
22:04 in you. I know it's hard, I know it
22:05 takes a long time, there's many ups
22:06 [music] and downs, it can be
22:09 frustrating, but ultimately I do think
22:10 it can also be a very fun and fulfilling
22:13 [music] journey as well. So, I hope you
22:14 found this video helpful. I hope you
22:16 enjoyed joining me for a little matcha
22:17 chat and >> [music]
22:17 >> [music]
22:20 >> as always, thanks so much for watching.
22:21 I hope you're having adventures and
22:23 following your dreams and I will see you
