Overcoming imposter syndrome as a Content Creator

As a digital creator in 2023, you are constantly measured and judged. Views, clicks, likes, shares, and comments. A lot of times I have fallen into the trap of over-analyzing the data and my own performance.

Is the video too long? Is this video too short? Is it enough “clickbait” in the title? Is the thumbnail good enough? Maybe the white balance on this clip should be adjusted? Should I delete this section of the video? Am I speaking too slowly? Do I look tired? Is this the right time to post? What will people say? Does this video feel like “me”? Is this what I want to create? Should I quit? Is it just me feeling this way?

Imposter syndrome is a real thing. The videos you create can ALWAYS get better. You can always add more B-roll, improve the color grading, and enhance the video with transitions/masking/graphics/sound effects.

The problem is just that “a better video” is often just a made-up definition of something that is based on your own experience, view, and opinion.

Your opinion about the quality and value of your own work is hugely subjective. But as creators, we don’t like to believe that.

So many times, I have gotten positive feedback about the most unexpected things. A certain part of a video where I share a mistake or a video where I’m vulnerable can create a greater emotional response than the self-proclaimed “masterpiece” I worked on for months.

Our viewers are not robots or algorithms. Our viewers are humans with emotions and how they react to our videos is based on so many aspects that are out of our control; their background, their culture, their childhood, their previous experience, their knowledge, their associations with the content, their current mood, and much much more.

Therefore, the value and quality of your video can be perceived differently depending on who’s watching it. If you view the world with different eyes, you will see different things.

So, don’t overthink it.

(There’s even a separate art form called “optical illusion art”, where the viewer can perceive the same piece of art in very different ways. But that’s another story for another day.)

Sometimes, we set the bar so high for ourselves that we don’t realize that we are actually elevating slower than if we would have just launched the video and moved on to the next project. And the next project. And the next.

If this is just your hobby, the issue can grow even bigger since you might not have the external pressure or expectations from a customer to deliver within a certain timeframe or budget.

You can’t become a professional videographer solely by high enough repetitions of action. But you also can’t become a professional videographer by just making one video.

There has to be a balance between you raising the bar for yourself and you trying to be as productive as possible. I believe that a financially successful and fulfilled content creator has to be a hybrid between an artist and some kind of factory or machine. Personality, creativity, and integrity have to go hand in hand with productivity.

But where you draw that line for yourself is a question only you can answer.

3 other stories that might interest you: ⭐️ I think I just figured out life 🤯 ⭐️ 5 tips for making money on YouTube (How to get started today!) ⭐️ 25 things I learned during my first year as a Video Editor

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