Content Creators Are Full of Sh*t
Imagine earning $10-15k just for publishing a ‘sponsored’ post on social media, as well as making more than $2k per hour for playing your favourite computer game.
Imagine having more than 1.3 million YouTube subscribers, 500,000 Instagram followers and 370,000 Twitter followers.
Imagine (on top of all of that) that you’re a professional model with a host of famous friends, and you’ve not even had your 30th birthday yet.
Sounds good, right?
This was the reality for a well-known content creator. He had what so many people want - an audience, fame, earning power, the freedom to do whatever he wanted and earn ‘easy’ money while doing it, a life that appeared fun and amazing in comparison to most of yours.
And yet, in June 2019, his backpack, wallet, phone and a change of clothes were found on the pedestrian walkway of a well-known American bridge. His body was hauled from the river five days later.
This social media star had, to the shock of his entire community, committed suicide.
That’s part of the reason that I’m awake and writing this for you. It’s 5am on a Tuesday morning in a bleak English December.
To me, this feels like a purpose, like I have a responsibility to cut through the noise and tell you the truth. You need to know that your life isn’t as shit and boring as you probably think it is.
I’m not here to fix something, nor am I going to preach or lecture you on the ways of the world or give you any life-directing bullshit. I’m writing this to expose the problem, because those responsible are a lot like me.
What you’re about to read is the whole truth about a profession that calls themselves ‘content creators’.
I know that most of you will be hoping for a ton of hacks or shortcuts, or content creating strategies that will help propel you to internet stardom. Rest assured, by the time we’re through you’ll know what it takes to be a content creator.
BTW: If you have picked this book up because you’re thinking about moving into content (or content marketing) don’t start anything until you’ve finished reading this.
But before we really get into it and I start kicking the hell out of everyone in my industry, I want you all to know that I don’t hate my job. It’s quite the opposite, I was born to do this stuff.
If -as a kid- you were passionate about making stuff, liked to read, possessed a crazy imagination and more than anything, hated losing, you’ll fit right into the content creation world. Come join the party. You won’t dislike content marketing (or creation), in fact you’ll probably adore it.
However, there’s a problem with the profession that I love: lies - a hell of a lot of them.
I’ve read, watched and heard a ton of stuff about people like me, and I’ll be straight with you, most of it is bullshit.
Content creators (and marketers) spend a large chunk of their time creating content about how they create content. In layman’s terms, they’re constantly telling the world how they do their job successfully and why they’re so good at it. In any other profession that wouldn’t cause a problem, however in the world that I’m from, there’s one big complication with this:
Content creators are full of shit.
I go through the same processes, face the same problems, revel in the same victories and some of the time, I too, am also full of shit.
I understand why it happens and in 99% of cases, I can actually see why content creators get worse.
Anybody who enters this industry is in danger of becoming completely full of shit within a year of stepping foot inside it, but it’s not a creator’s fault and in the rest of this book I’m going to show you why, explain how you can avoid it and teach you how to be a winning creator for years to come.