By no means am I an expert in content creation. But I’ve made this blog, YouTube videos, and podcasts and have released them out into the world.
Whenever people tell me they’re thinking about creating something like this, I give them the same advice: do it.
That’s because they have no reason not to. Let me explain.
When I prepped all my audio equipment to record my first podcast in 2018, I was terrified. People are going to make fun of me. They won’t take me seriously. They’ll play my content for their friends and have a cringe-fest.
These emotions were even stronger when I started making videos. I was afraid I’d come off as a poser—someone going for something and it just not working.
However, with both of these ventures, I realized a refreshing truth:
No one gives a shit.
It turns out, people I went to high school with were NOT lining up in my comment sections to bash me. There was no one there.
When we start a creative pursuit, aside from a few supportive friends or family members (shoutout Grace and Aunt Pam!)…no one is interested. There are two main reasons for this:
We aren’t that good yet.
Building trust (i.e. interest) takes time.
Attention is a valuable resource. How easy is it for us to click out of something if it isn’t lighting us up?
I’ll occasionally go back and read my earlier blogs. I’m stunned anyone ever read one in its entirety. The question for any piece of content is: Why am I sticking around? What do I get out of this?
We need to agree that something brings us value if we’re going to continue coming back to it. I won’t subscribe to a YouTube channel unless I’ve watched at least 10 videos and loved them all.
So what can we do with this truth that nobody really cares about what we’re doing in the beginning? Simple…
We experiment. We have fun. We try things because we have nothing to lose.
Two years ago, I would write about habits, politics, and finance. I was throwing things at the wall and seeing what stuck. What did I enjoy writing about? What did people engage with?
I wrote blogs I disagree with now. Some blogs even make me cringe. But here’s the kicker.
I didn’t lose any readers…because I didn’t have any readers.
I remember being hesitant to do a podcast where I shared some political opinions. “I don’t want to be divisive,” I said. Then I remember there was no one to divide. I doubt I would’ve had much impact on the three people who listened to that episode.
When there’s no one there to disappoint, it can be a difficult time…or it can be an empowering one. It’s an opportunity to develop our skills, find our voice, and just have fun trying shit.
TL; DR
To anyone thinking about creating content of any sort, my loving advice is:
Just start. You have nothing to lose. No one cares (yet).