Habits Of Career vs Casual Creators

Let’s consider two people; A and B.

Person A has this awesome blog where he writes whenever he feels inspired or has some free time. He really enjoys the process of writing and loves honing in his writing skills. Now, Person B is writing a book, she has a writing schedule and spends loads of time in libraries doing research. She even has discussions with editors to make sure her work is top-notch. Both Person A and Person B are writers, but their approaches to writing are as different as night and day.

I feel the same contrast can be seen between casual and career creators. Both are content creators, but if you’re getting into the industry to make a career out of it, you need to get into a whole different mindset.

I’ve come to realize that there are a few key habits a career creator needs to adopt in order to grow and sustain their platform, and that’s what I’d like to share with you today.

First and foremost, I believe, the most important question you can ask yourself as a career creator; How much time, resources and energy are you willing to invest to bring your creative vision to life?

🚴‍♀️ Career Creators = Pro-Athletes

In one of his short podcasts, Samir Chaudry from the Colin and Samir podcast likened creators to athletes, here is a link I found to the short video. What he says is that, if an athlete stops playing, their main source of income is stopped. The same is true for a career creator, if they stop creating, well, they stop getting paid. Think about it as career creators being similar to professional athletes and casual creators to those who play a sport for fun. This means creators whose sole income is from creating content have to share that same dedication and drive as professional athletes to excel in their field so that they can keep their income coming in.

Just like athletes dedicate themselves to their sport day in and day out, career creators are completely focused on their craft. They are constantly looking for ways to improve their content, researching, growing, and finding ways to get better every single day. It's like a constant journey of improvement for them. For a casual creator, they might create when they have the time or when inspiration strikes. The pressure on them to constantly create doesn’t really exist because there is no pressure to make a living out of it.

 🌱Organic Content vs Trends

I think as career creators, you need to give importance to developing a unique voice that stands out amongst the crowd. Trends are great! They're fun, they keep you in touch with what’s culturally relevant at the moment, and even hacking growth, getting millions of views and thousands of followers by simply jumping on what’s hot at the moment. But what I’ve noticed is that a creator who solely jumps on trends, makes it very hard for them to build a community around that. To build a foundational audience that's necessary for a career, you need to show them your unique personality, character, and most of all, authenticity.

Sure, you could go viral, if your aim is to have an audience, but if you want to create a community, people who know you and support you for who you are, what you create and how you make them feel, you need something that gets them to come back to listen to your unique voice, in an industry where everyone is trying to sound the same.

💼 Investing vs Spending

Let's talk about money, it’s important no matter what industry you go in, and content creation is no different. As a casual creator, the money you earn from your content can be considered pocket money! A reward for doing something you love, which is amazing! However if you’re committed to the long game, it's super important to think strategically about what you earn, and ask the following questions:

• What do you need to invest in to make that content better?

• How can you grow and engage your audience in a more strategic way?

• What do you want to look like as a creator 10, 15, or 20 years down the line?

• What kind of team and people do you need to surround yourself with?

• What brands do you aspire to collaborate with?

• If you have a family, Is this a journey that you can still be able to support and provide for them?

I think that your priority should be; how do you make your content better? A great example is Mr. Beast, he believes in reinventing and reinvesting into his content. You can read about it here.

⚡ Playing the Long Game

When you're a career creator, sticking to the same types of content forever is not a realistic way to grow. The industry is forever changing with new media platforms and new content formats, you always have to be thinking of new and entertaining ways to engage your audience while staying true to your authentic voice. Today it’s easier than ever to go viral, but I feel it’s harder than ever to stay relevant over the long term, which is why I feel it’s always important to experiment and take calculated risks with your content.

I know from my experience that experimenting with different forms of content, and persistence in the pursuit of being the best creator I can be, pays off.

For example, for as long as I can remember I was making shorter forms of content; funny, relatable videos. Then when I heard about what was happening in Sri Lanka, I knew the headlines weren't telling the entire story, and I knew I needed to amplify the voices of those on the ground. So I took a risk with the style of content I make. I filmed the entire 5 days I was there and made a video that was an hour long; the longest video I had ever made prior to that was about 20 minutes!

I was freaking out! Would it be something my audience would enjoy? Would it convey the story I’m trying to tell? Now, a month later, I am glad I took the risk because that video’s almost at 1M views! What’s truly awesome about this filming process, is that it was one of the most enjoyable experiences for me as a creator, to just live and experience the moment as the story unfolds itself.

The important lesson here is that I would have never discovered that this kind of storytelling works too, if I did not take the chance to experiment. You never know what doors of opportunity might open for you, if you don’t take the risk.

If I’m being honest, I think these habits apply to all kinds of content creators; be it full-time or part-time (or even very-little-time 😂). It helps you create a space for yourself that’s uniquely yours, people remember you for you and not just as “the person from that one video”. That’s how you build a community and connections, over and above an audience that might have seen you somewhere but aren’t quite sure who you are. This is important for creators across the vast internet, but more so if you want to make a career out of it.

🗞In other news

Last week, my team and I visited the Paragon Restaurant in Kerala, India. It was a whirlwind 24-hour trip, with red-eye flights and minimal sleep. I went there because the restaurant was ranked 11th in 150 Most Legendary Places To Eat by Taste Atlas. As a self-proclaimed biriyani connoisseur, I knew I had to see for myself. I have to say, that ranking is well deserved! In case you missed it, here’s the video! 

See you next week!
Much love & God Bless ❤️✌️,
Khalid