You Can Escape the Rabbit Hole of Endless Content Creation with a North Star
Are you creating content for the purposes of creating?
“In the case of content, addiction is a good thing — it means there’s something of value being offered to readers. Value can be offered in the form of actionable tips, outlines of strategies, in-depth case studies, helpful diagrams, humor, inspiration, motivation, an unusual opinion, surprising information, or a unique writing voice. Usually, the best and most addictive content will be a combination of those elements.”
- 46 Expert Secrets For Creating Addictive Content, Social Media Today
We work hard to create content to build our personal brand, to get viewers to like us. When our follower count, subscriber count, stalker count, one-night stands, connections skyrocket, we feel invincible.
And we should. After all, it takes effort to get to 10,000 followers on Linkedin. So, give yourself a pat on the back!
That said, I think content creators (such as we) can be addicted to our own content before others do. Like drug tasters. In other words, we get self-obsessed. When that happens, narcissism rears its ugly head.
Look at me! Look at me! I am good! I am darn good!
I thought a lot about this. It came to me as a reflection. I have a day job, and I work on my side-hustles for 3 hours in the evening. I believe in content creation, and the digital highway is a brilliant distribution channel for free.
And because of zero cost to entry, we slip into the well-lubricated rabbit hole of infinite depth, creating content for content’s sake. To avoid that, we need a North Star to align our time and energy.
To me, that North Star is my side-hustling business.
Working Behind the Computer Screen to Grow a Business is to Grow a Business
The little guy (gal) behind the computer screen has everything stacked against him (her). I know because I am that guy trying to build my tiny empire in a vast world of digital real estate.
I market myself on Linkedin, and the odds are against me. Take a look at the statistics below.
There are 9 billion content impressions in LinkedIn feeds every week.
2 million posts, articles, and videos are published on LinkedIn every day.
3 million users post on LinkedIn every week.
- Social Media Marketing, 367 Social Media Statistics You Must Know In 2021
I post daily. That means my post competes with 2 million others for viewership. I am wrestling with 3 million other heads per week to become a go-to person for content viewership.
I realized that competing on one viral piece of content can only bring me so far. How far? Make it 1 week. I have had content pieces of 500+ likes and 15,000 impressions orbiting Linkedin-Universe for 7 days before it gets gobbled up by a digital Black Hole.
Note: Creating endless content cannot be the way ahead. I have to think business. By that, I mean I have to market myself as a business. You will have your own North Star, and it may be different from mine. That said, I suspect you will be happier to earn more from your side-hustles sitting behind your computer screen every evening.The Side-Hustle as a North Star
Rule # 1 — Create content relevant to the side-hustle. Rule # 2 — Never forget the above.
We market ourselves online to grow our side-hustles. I was fooled into thinking that the more followers I got, the more business I got. Do allow me to pause for a moment to add tonality emphasis into my previous sentence.
I USED TO think that the MORE FOLLOWERS I got, THE MORE BUSINESS I got. Sense the annoyance? I hope you did.
It never worked for me. So, I flipped the model on its head. I asked myself what do I seek from creating content online?
The answer was straightforward. I want to grow my side-hustle, so I need more sales, more projects, and marketing myself online has to bring me more deals.
That changed the way I think about content. In fact, I no longer think about content per se. I think about the entire distribution channel and how I can use it to serve my purpose.
This is what I mean:
- Livestream — I work with my co-founders to demonstrate how live streaming can be easily performed with a topic focus. We showcase how we produce our own show to market ourselves and our work. We talk a lot about digital marketing services, web copy services, and videos behind a paywall. We talk about what we sell.
- YouTube Channel — Notice I used the word channel. We upload our livestream MP4 file to our YouTube Channel, so we get an additional push of our content on another platform. We have taken down past video content that talks about everything and anything irrelevant to our side-hustles.
- Substack Newsletter — I focus a lot on making my newsletter a proper newsletter. While the purpose of a newsletter is to pursue paid subscribers, getting people to pay for online content is anything but easy. Unless, of course, you are Harvard Business Review or Forbes. To avoid getting more attention at the expense of delivering high utility content, I focus on the services I sell as a side-hustler. I define what is free, what is paid, and I present industry research that I dig into to support the value of my work.
I feel good doing all this work. I can see how it helps grow my side-hustles as a digital marketer, website copywriter, and livestream affiliate marketer.
Why do you think I am writing long-form content here? Well, because I hustle as a website copywriter in my 6–9.
Tip: If you feel tired of creating content, ask yourself whether you see the alignment between your content and the side-hustles you are working on. Sure, personal branding is important, and it goes a long way. However, if things are not working for you now, I recommend you to change course and align your side-hustling hours to produce content that helps you get more deals. There is always a choice between having fun and making money.Summary
You may not think of your side-hustles as your North Star. That is perfectly fine too.
However, if you do want to grow your side-hustle as I do, then let us focus. Make our side-hustle the Sun in our Solar system. Create side-hustle relevant content to give us that tiny edge of snatching that next deal from 3 million competitors on Linkedin.
Our time and energy are limited. Focus. Focus our sights on the North Star and keep marching towards it. That is the best way to escape the digital Rabbit Hole.
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
