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Are You Experiencing A Creative Collapse?

Content Creation and the Persistent Pressure to Perform

 


32, 083.

That’s the number of posts being made to social media platforms every minute — of every day.

The scary part? That number is ultra-conservative.

I say that because it’s my own math. 

4.62 Billion Active Social Media Users
1% of those users = Content Creators
Each Content Creator posting 1x / day

I’m comfortable that my opening number is too low. It better illustrates the point however, when even your minimum value overwhelms your capacity.

The Frame

I’ve been writing a lot in 2022.

The other day I noticed that I have written more blog posts this year than I did in all of 2020 when I first started. A fun fact about 2020, I didn’t work a day job for half the year. 

I’m not a professional writer. I don’t make money from this. I write because I enjoy sharing ideas.

Add to this writing tied to my professional field on LinkedIn and my current Twitter experiment and I am writing a lot.

The Lure of Likes

The more you post, the more people see it. That’s the point.

No matter what anyone says, if you are writing in public you have some desire. That’s not to say you are selling out, that you aren’t being authentic or that your desire is something sinister.

But, there is a desire.

If there wasn’t you’d be journaling and keeping it all to yourself.

As more people see your work, you get more engagement. More likes, more comments, more shares. You enjoy it. You write more.

The more work you put into something, the better you get. Most people writing will then also actively work to improve their craft and it doesn’t take long before you start seeing gains.

Followers, audience, fans doesn’t matter. They are the gains. It’s from them that you may publish a book, start writing for a magazine, get that job offer, close that contract.

The Noise

The problem is you aren’t the only person creating content. It’s you and 46.2B others, all vying for the same thing. Someone’s attention.

Seth Godin first published “Purple Cow” in 2009. It’s more relevant today than it was when first released.

For the uninitiated, it’s a marketing concept that states:

companies must build things worth noticing right into their products or services.

Today, your personal brand is the product, you’re what’s trying to get noticed.

And everyone is doing it.

Pressure to Perform

How many people selling a “system” do you come across on your daily digital drifts?

Exactly.

Content marketing and social selling have blown up.

Because of competition, everyone steps up their game. 

  • Post X times / day to Y platform
  • Post exactly at the same time every day
  • Don’t skip weekends
  • Deliver value
  • Solve a problem
  • Niche Down
  • Plan your content in advance

(I am sure there are whole articles on here that can add to this list for days)

The pressure is real. You are putting in effort. Putting in work. You are improving your writing and sharing amazing stories, great ideas, solutions to problems.

Why did that last post get no likes?

My take on that was so much better than what I said last week, but last week 1,000 people clapped.

The problem must be you. You messed up. You didn’t do something right. So you try harder.

You keep grinding your creative gear.

The Close

So, what do you do? 

Keep going.

I wrote this today because I was feeling tapped out. I try to post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (at least) — I had nothing to say. 

For those that know me, that’s crazy. I rarely have nothing to say (jury’s still out on whether or not that’s a benefit).

Have systems if that’s what you need. Add structure if that’s what you need. Walk in the woods, have a beer with friends, watch a movie, read a book … do whatever you need.

Your creativity is fueled by your experiences. Your habits are what help you express it.

Be ok with missing “post day”.

Be ok with posting off schedule.

Be ok to write about what inspired you, not only what was on the monthly plan.

The goal is to keep thinking and to keep sharing. Appreciate that it has never been easier to let the world know who you are.

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