Many creators are starving artists.
It’s not their fault. I’ve observed from afar to understand why. 1) So I don’t become one 2) So I can help others steer clear.
99% of the problem with most creators is they don’t understand copywriting and social media. Even worse, they flat out refuse.
Earnings season reveals all
It’s that magical time of the year when creators share their earnings.
I don’t participate because money isn’t my driver. But I certainly take a look at others to learn. And what I’ve seen recently shocked me.
For all the hustling and content that makes many creators think they’re god’s greatest gift to the internet, many of them are making peanuts.
$1000 here. Maybe $10,000. And often, at best, $80,000.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these numbers except they’re an embarrassment. If I earned $1000 after a whole year of being a creator, I’d shut my pie hole and stop telling people how to “write online.”
What surprised me more was how desperate things got.
Some of these superstar creators had such a bad year they started doing weird stuff, like selling blankets on the side.
From writing to blanket sales … makes sense.
Why these creators fail
I’ve noticed another three trends in this category of writers posting screenshots of their low earnings seeking applause.
1. They starve because they don’t understand social media
Spray and pray is the typical strategy.
Be everywhere. Become a cut and paste recycle machine. If a post goes on LinkedIn then it’ll be great for Instaglam. Paste external links on your timeline. Leave useless comments on people’s posts.
Play the ‘like-for-like’ I’ll-scratch-your-crack-you-scratch-mine game.
I feel like every one of them should study Mr Beast. The guy says it over and over until he turns blue: just make the best content. That’s the shortcut except it’s not a shortcut at all.
It takes time, consistency, and good research.
Instead of doing those things, these copy and paste sheep follow trends. It’s why you’re seeing so much content on ChatGPT. It’s life-changing because it’s hotter than Pamela Anderson’s tits in a 90s tv episode of Baywatch.
All this trend-hopping is exhausting. It’s like playing the lottery, except it’s unoriginal and makes you look and sound like an AI.
2. They starve because they don’t get copywriting
“On Love.”
I don’t care if Keanu Reeves was your real-life lover in the story. The title is boring. No one is clicking. Copywriting is just a fancy way of saying learn how to persuade (ethically).
- Organize the info in a way that’s easy.
- Make the title tell the reader what they’re gonna get and why they should waste their lunch break to read it.
- Package the writing with images, facts, quotes, and simple formatting (without overdoing it).
- Mention benefits in subtitles and subheadings.
- Open with a strong intro that persuades a reader to read.
The writers making these low earnings refuse — and it’s why they starve and end up back at jobs.
They’re romantic. They write boring SEO content with SEO titles to impress google. They’re afraid their content will get labeled clickbait (a completely subjective and useless term). They don’t want to be called a sellout.
They use weak CTAs and can’t drive people to an email list. And even when they have an email list they misuse it by making every email an ad that spikes unsubscribes and destroys families.
Most of all, they’re afraid to sell — so they get sold.
This leads them to fall for the lie of followers and likes. “Don’t build an email list just use our audience.”
Before you know it you’re locked out of the walled garden you signed up for and forgot the keys to the creator mansion you built, thus returning home to mommy for a cry.
Life is a game of sales.
It’s okay to persuade people to read. Always be closing, as they say, otherwise we forget your value. Who are you? Why should we care?
These are the phrases that should keep you awake at night. Not some sellout fantasy promoted by PhDs who still write essays and submit them to old fashion print publications.
3. They’re not being interesting, so no one is interested
A lot of content online makes me feel nothing. It’s lifeless.
And I guess that’s the whole point. It’s not that the average creator is uninteresting, it’s that they’re actors.
They’re trying to be something they’re not. They’re acting out how they want to be perceived. They don’t share enough personal stories, and instead, keep retelling Steve Jobs war stories and pretending he wasn’t a total a-hole to work with despite his iPhone genius.
Being a creator these days is a great way to become an accidental influencer. And we all know the nightmare of this strange life, where you take selfies and put hidden product placements that are so obvious a blind monkey could see them after consuming a 24-pack of beer.
A touch of personality and a few stories from your life can set you a world apart from everyone else with little effort.
What this is all means for you
You might read this and think I’m being obnoxious on purpose.
I’m not trying to be. I just want people to succeed and I’m tired of seeing creators fall flat on their asses because they get bad advice and get sucked into the social media vortex that warps minds.
(Some call it algorithm brain.)
If you want to be a creator none of this is hard.
Make the best content you can, be yourself, learn one social media platform inside out, study copywriting and don’t be afraid to persuade, and have fun while you do it.
If you show up doing that for a few years you should be able to make a comfortable 6-figures from obvious creator income streams. If you show up for 5+ years and become obsessed, you may even make 7 figures.
You’re too good to write your ass off and sell blankets on the side.
