7 Decisive Traits of Successful Content Creators
A career in content creation is mostly a test of character
Content creators are everywhere these days.
Youtube ads have replaced urban billboards and freelance writing is the new journalism.
Aside from that, we are constantly reminded of the glamor of content creation.
Be your own boss, live on a beach, and escape the corporate shackles forever. The Insta-famous Bali lifestyle.
Lasting success in content creation, however, is not about jumping into waterfalls and sharing cocktails on social media.
It is about developing certain character traits and honing those over many months and years.
This means learning how to discern the tip of the iceberg from the actual iceberg.
In simple terms, the people who truly make it in content creation are the ones who understand the unsexy part of the job before thinking about the inspiring outcome.
On this basis, here are 7 decisive traits of successful content creators.
1. Perseverance
“Without perseverance, talent is a barren bed.” — Welsh proverb
As with most online careers, content creation is a long and tiring process. Whether you’re a photographer, a writer, or a Youtuber, nothing will happen overnight.
Chances are you’ll write over 100 articles before making any decent money as a blogger.
You might have to upload 5,000 stock photos before seeing a return on gear investment. Worse still, you need 4,000 hours of watch time before Youtube even allows you to monetize.
Content creation has changed a lot in the past 10 years. In 2010, thanks to a lack of competition, talent would almost always engender success.
Today, talent is a given in most markets. There are thousands of incredible Youtubers, freelance writers, and other content creators out there.
However, not all of them run successful businesses.
Why? Because talent alone will not make you stand out in today’s market.
You might be a fantastic photographer. Perform a search on Instagram. Hundreds or even thousands of accounts probably match your quality.
As such, being unique and talented is not the holy grail anymore. Consistency is. And the only way to achieve that consistency is through perseverance.
Continuing when times are tough. Not letting small failures halt your progress.
And finally, being patient for months or even years before making considerable strides toward that fabled Bali lifestyle.
2. Passion
Perseverance and passion often go hand in hand.
It is virtually impossible to maintain an unflagging creator’s routine if you are not obsessively passionate about your endeavours.
This reminds me of a carpenter I met in Orlando in 2016. A family man with 4 kids, he makes videos on how to build wooden tables and closet doors.
Back then, he had just started his own carpentry business and the videos were a hobby. From a videography standpoint, they were terrible. One thing, however, always shone through: his passion for wooden furniture.
Fast forward to 2020 and he owns 3 carpentry workshops. He still spends most of his time building furniture. He has, nonetheless, elevated his Youtube channel to the next level.
He upgraded his camera setup and his videography skills improved. After a lot of hours and 2 years of practically no views, his side hustle evolved into a thriving second business.
He now has over 200,000 subscribers and various major sponsors. In 4 years, he produced over 500 carpentry tutorials.
Even with a solid 6-figure online business, he has never left the country. Nor did he ever share a beach cocktail on Instagram. Only saws, screws, and wooden panels.
When I asked him why he invested so much time, energy, and resources into building an online business next to his already flourishing brick and mortar business, his answer was unequivocal.
Because I love teaching carpentry.
His story illustrates the power of passion.
Even if your background has nothing to do with content creation, passion can lead to perseverance and perseverance will be the decisive factor for your success as a creator.
3. Belief
Passion will get you far, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. The only way to persevere in the pursuit of your passion is by firmly believing in your project.
This belief has several components.
First and foremost, you need to believe in yourself.
This is why so many content creators take huge risks by scrapping their corporate careers to pursue an entrepreneurial route — they believe in their ability to attain a different lifestyle.
Before you even think about starting a content business, you have to acquire the right mindset.
Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t exclude the presence of doubts.
I have doubts, you have doubts, and even the most successful Instagram models have doubts.
The challenge resides in building an ambitious yet realistic vision and pushing the doubts into the background.
The doubts won’t vanish, but they will be passengers with no real impact on the ride.
A great doubt minimization method is the celebration of small wins. This is common among high-performing, successful content creators.
Every dollar in revenue is a small win. Every 100 views count. Remember, a 5-year old blog with 1 million readers is nothing more than an accumulation of a few hundred readers more every day.
Finally, you also have to believe in your product.
After all, you are creating content. If you don’t like what you’re sending out into the world, you will have a hard time developing continuity in your output.
This is often the case for content creators who market products purely because they sell.
As an example, lots of online business gurus develop courses they haven’t tried in the real world. Thanks to clever marketing techniques, they might get lucky in the beginning and sell a few “you can do it” classes to unassuming couch potatoes.
However, after a while, their lack of belief in the course will herald their downfall.
The initial customer base will dry up and they won’t be able to reinvigorate the product’s marketing. Their lack of belief will preclude long-lasting persuasiveness.
4. Willingness to adapt
“In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” — Warren Buffett
Lots of content-related markets have changed drastically over the past 10 years. I learned this the hard way when I had a travel blog.
In the space of a year, my views went from over 60,000 a month to less than 25,000. Was my content any worse? I don’t think so. Did I produce less? Maybe. Had my passion faded away? Probably.
Those reasons played a role, but the most fateful element was a changing market. When I started travel blogging, Youtube was a thing, but most travel bloggers weren’t directly competing with Youtubers.
My shrinking traffic was not a unique phenomenon. It became clear that many other travel bloggers had similar problems.
I remember another travel blogger lamenting: “Times have changed. The demand for travel-related articles has waned. To stay relevant, we all need to migrate to Youtube. In a few years, the only written travel content will be Lonely Planet and CultureTrip. Interestingly, both also make videos.”
I wouldn’t go so far, but she does have a point.
Even though some travel bloggers still thrive, the majority of travel-related content is now in video format. Millennial backpackers probably can’t be bothered to read anymore.
As for myself, I decided to stop travel blogging and move into other niches.
This little story shows that content creators need to be willing to adapt.
As with any market, trends and customer preferences evolve. If you want to perform your craft successfully over long periods, you need to shift strategy from time to time.
5. Character and personal values
All of the previous qualities require character.
Many people don’t just discover their passion. They form it through trial and error.
This brings me to the importance of investing in yourself.
When you look at the current picture of successful content creators, you see the result of a long and arduous evolution. I know, the result is extremely tempting.
However, if you try to emulate the result, chances are you will fail. Even with adequate talent and skill, you haven’t had time to develop the values that form the necessary mental backbone.
You may not have enough customer experience. You didn’t take on enough challenges to understand the value of things, money, and relationships.
In short, you haven’t built the psychological foundation for durable success.
Consequently, the character and values you learn from going on a long personal growth journey will be crucial for your success as a content creator.
Because no schooling or innate talent will help you stand up after your first failures.
No creative spirit will teach you how to manage difficult people. Not even the deepest passion for your project will establish your core business values. Only your character will.
6. Money management skills
Time and time again, I’ve seen talented content creators having to go back to the corporate world because of bad budgeting.
This is not a new problem. Artists are notorious for neglecting their finances.
I recently read a book compiling the best Al Pacino interviews. One story beggars belief. In his prime, Michael Corleone was struggling financially.
In the 80s, he tried to produce a movie all by himself without any backing from film studios. The idea was to feed his love for filmmaking as an art, not a commercial venture.
The project nearly bankrupted him and he was in debt to the IRS. As a result, he had to participate in various not so great films over a short span. Needless to say, those were not his best appearances.
The “art over business” mantra also often applies to content creators. Many have an artistic background, not a finance degree.
Unfortunately, success as a creator requires both: an artistic gene and an entrepreneurs’ mindset.
This is why you need to see your craft as a business from day one. Manage your finances right away, before the cash starts pouring in.
Nobody wants to receive a letter from tax authorities while sitting on a beach in Bali. Don’t make the classic artist mistake of spending irregular income on consumer goods.
As content creators, our income will always fluctuate. This is why our financial management skills have to be on point at all times.
I know, rewarding yourself with a shopping spree after earning your first 1,000 dollars online is a tempting idea. It is, however, also a death trap for your career as a content creator.
What if your income is zero next month? That fancy outfit won’t pay your bills.
7. Honesty
This might be the most controversial of the bunch. Nevertheless, I believe that honesty still goes a long way in the world of content creation.
I am talking about a long-term career in content creation here. An enterprise that flourishes for more than 10 years. I am not referring to one-hit wonders.
A successful online business often relies on 3 things: a happy, recurring customer base, trusting sponsors, and a capable entrepreneur.
Dishonesty will kill all 3.
On the one hand, you should never try to play your customer base or audience. Sooner or later, they will decipher any sort of phony scheme.
As an example, we’ve all come across the odd “look how I made 3 million euros in 2 months” Youtube ads.
How many of those have you seen over a prolonged period? Probably none. The vast majority gets debunked in a matter of months.
Secondly, honesty will create strong partnerships with your sponsors.
If you present a frank and realistic assessment of your wins and failures, you will always be better off with sponsors in the long run.
Some might expect quick results, but the ones who truly believe in you will support you even more if they get a truthful evaluation of your business.
Those partnerships will be based on trust and belief, not the promise of a quick money-making machine on either side.
Finally, successful content creators learn how to be honest with themselves.
Being able to admit mistakes is an underrated skill in online business. In this context, only the ones who accept their failures will grow from them.
If you cannot be honest with yourself, you will create a bubble. And we all know what happens to bubbles.
