Reflecting On Creating For Yourself
Create For Your Own Sake Or Perish!
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As the economy comes crashing down around us, it might be a while before creators start seeing money again. Times like this are an excellent opportunity for self-reflection on what you should be creating.
Chasing Someone Else’s Fame
There’s a sad truth about creators online. Many of us are initially inspired by someone else’s success. Seeing how “easy” it was for them, we decide to pursue this ourselves.
“Wow, I can make money by just doing X? I’m in!”
Don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all been there. There is a black hole on the internet where all my gaming videos exist.
The truth is that it’s never easy. Ever. And anyone who says otherwise is trying to tell you something.
But even if it was that easy, there’s a catch…
You Fail Even If You Succeed
If you’re one of the lucky ones & “make it” by half-heartedly trying something you don’t really care for, it’s actually the worst-case scenario.
For one, you’ll never be the best in your field. You won’t achieve mastery because it doesn’t matter to you. And with a lukewarm success under your belt, you’ll feel beholden to your audience.
“Well, I’ve already got a small audience. I may as well stick with it.”
This is the kind of sunk cost fallacy that leads to burnout, depression, & misery. And it’s even worse if you’ve become dependent on the income.
If you ever end up in a situation like this, your best option is to sell it. That’s what I did with my old YouTube channel (scary story narrations).
It was a fun side project. But it wasn’t my calling in life. It wasn’t what I was put on this earth to do. And if I hadn’t sold it, I would still have that same feeling of entrapment.
“My fans have been waiting 2 whole weeks for an upload. I really need to make something. Even though I really don’t want to.”
Instead of being guided by the potential end results, focus on this instead.
Creating for Creation’s Sake
There will be many factors that determine what side project you pursue. But your Northstar should be your internal sense of fulfillment.
Your internal sense of fulfillment is going to heavily depend on 3 factors.
Topic - The specific thing you’re talking about. For me, this has been history, philosophy, psychology, economics & a dash of politics. You need to pick something you actually care about.
Medium - Where you talk about it. Your options are pretty limited here but they are getting better. Substack, Patreon, & Twitch have all introduced great new ways to monetize your content.
Format - The way you talk about it. This will be something like your formula. Hook, intro, content, etc. This will generally stay the same but I’d recommend not being too rigid with it. Don’t lock yourself in.
These are the pillars of digital content creation. If you can get them right, you’ve got something that can last you a lifetime.
Whatever you’ve been doing the last few months. Ask yourself, “can I realistically become the best in the world at this?”
If the answer is anything other than “Hell yes” it’s time to reevaluate. but that doesn’t mean dropping it completely. Maybe you’ve got the right topic but not the right format. Or you haven’t found your particular style yet.
This is why experimentation is so important. The only way you’re going to find your passion is by experimenting & reflecting.
I tell you to experiment every other week. But it’s worth repeating. It’s just that important.
I want to tell you about my recent experiment. This is how I experiment.
How I Experimented
I don’t watch many YouTube videos anymore. But one channel I always come back to is Kraut. He makes history videos using countryball cartoons.
As goofy as it sounds, he has impeccable research & great writing. It’s not only educational but extremely entertaining. And the crude cartoon style helps illustrate confusing concepts. One of these videos will teach you more about a topic than a course.
I decided to make a YouTube channel with a similar format. My infinite creativity gave birth to a truly original name. Countryball History.
I set a limit to how many videos I would create. Since a single video takes a lot of time, I decided on 3 or 4.
To date, I finished 3 entire videos. And in all honesty, they took a lot longer than I thought. I’ve started a 4th, but I don’t think I’m going to finish it since this isn’t for me.
Here are some reflections on the entire process.
What Was Fun:
Learning new skills - there are so many different layers to one of these videos it isn’t even funny. I broke the process down by starting with historical research. And then I wrote a draft. Typically rewrote it 3-4 times to maximize concision. Then narrated it. Then there’s the audio editing & music/SFX. Then the animation/video editing part which by far took the longest. It was a blast to play with each of these different skill sets. I really had to grow as a creative thinker.
Accessible content - my goal with these videos was to make otherwise boring information extremely accessible & entertaining. Not sure I reached Kaut’s level, but I’m happy with how “watchable” these videos were.
Serious yet funny - there was some serious research that went into these videos. Despite there being expansive research they still had a light touch without being too heavy.
The creation process was honestly a blast. It was genuinely fun working on these videos. But wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns.
What was not fun:
Beholden to YouTube - YouTube is still the dominant video platform. I don’t own my channel or my audience. The second that YouTube isn’t making money by showing my videos, it’s all over. And with a format like this, it would be difficult to get people to come off YouTube.
Cannot become a master - there are about 6 huge skill sets that go into making one of these videos. And it’s impossible to master all of them at the same time. A single person can only realistically master one or possibly two. But my animation skills will never come close to my writing.
Too much time - making one of these videos takes forever. I didn’t keep track of how many hours went into each video, but it’s without a doubt a few hundred each.
In the end, the negatives outweigh the positives. This is a content format that requires an entire production team. No idea how Kraut does it.
As much as I enjoyed working on these videos, there was an overwhelming feeling of being behind. No amount of work was ever enough because there was so much to do. This was the greatest factor in my decision not to continue.
That’s not to say it was a complete waste of time. The first 2 videos were decent. But I’m really proud of the Columbus video. This little experiment reminded me that I’m at my best when I’m researching & writing. Anything outside of that will always be meh.
Final Thoughts
Experimentation is key to finding your passion. And most experiments turn out to be failures. We need to prepare to try, fail, reflect, and then move on.
What’s an experiment you’re planning on trying next?
Drop a comment! I’d love to know :)