I have a theory of how content works. It’s pretty half baked, but I feel like I’ve figured it out from watching how things go over time in the realm of online entertainment. Content creation is very cyclical, as far as I’m concerned. Whether it’s blogging, YouTube, TikTok, it tends to all work in a similar manner.
Phase one: a new type of content is invented, usually in a first world country
This is what will usually precipitate the rush. Think of TikTok, it comes out in 2016 and undergoes some refinements. By 2019/2020, a lot of young people are using it. Now it’s an app with over 1.5 billion active users. This is what happens when a new type of content takes off. Everyone flocks, and people are excited to use it. People aren’t necessarily looking for money. They’re often looking for fame. That fame leads to increased income when they find that they strike it big due to the first mover advantage. Think of people like Pinkydoll and other IRL streamers. IRL streamers are basically people who sit on TikTok live and collect tokens in exchange for acting like specific characters, such as spider man. It doesn’t pay well at all, but first movers like Pinkydoll were making thousands of dollars per day at the beginning. This is because their first mover advantage made them more famous than they otherwise would have been.
There is no competition, and there might even be bonuses
It used to be much easier to get traffic creating content online. You just posted and Google would pick it. Now, it’s really tough because you’re competing against pretty much everyone on planet Earth. You need to understand social media and what content creation in order to get ahead. Just posting isn’t enough. Sometimes you might get paid for content that isn’t profitable. Instagram reels is an example of this. Instagram had to shut down their payout program because it didn’t jive well with customers.
Many people join in
The money is flowing, and lots of people are getting famous. It’s a party! Everything’s great, and nobody plans on looking back to where they came from. This is the point at which a lot of people start to get greedy.
Greed sets in, and the market becomes saturated
Sometimes the quality of the product goes down. The talent pool goes from being those who are skilled, to pretty much everyone who thinks that they deserve to get famous. As you can expect, these people almost never deserve to get famous. The market being saturated also brings overseas players and audiences. This in turn causes ad revenues to drop. Most people overseas don’t have the money to be buying things like Americans do. Their attention isn’t as valuable. As people make less money, really skilled creators paywall their content and amateurs become discouraged. The place that once was a content-rich becomes a content desert.
How to take advantage of this? Be realistic and stay consistent.
If you live in a country like the United States, the odds of you having enough money to live off of your content are pretty low. But maybe your content creation can fund your exit plan. If you’re dedicated and willing to learn, grow, and learn to limit your consumption, you’re going to find that you can live a great life overseas with some content creation. It’s grueling on the front end as you have to fight the content cycle, but it can be very worthwhile if you have no options and are looking to end up going overseas. If you’re consistent enough, you should rise above the content cycle and make up a significant enough share of your platform’s revenue that your income feels “constant”. This is where it’s important to know how much people are making around the world, so that you don’t overspend. Realize that globalization is equalizing the world. This means those of us in Western countries need to let go of our privilege and entitlement and work our butts off. It sucks, but it’s true. We should be happy that we live in a world in which so many cheap places are liveable. in the past you basically had to live in the USA or a few other countries to avoid extreme poverty. Incomes are stagnant, but more of the world is benefitting. So don’t overspend.
Think of it like digital real estate
Digital real estate is the way you should think of, understand, and imagine your content, because that’s what it is. You’re playing a numbers game. Find the average value of a content piece, work with that, and create as many content pieces as you need. Kind of like if you were buying or building houses.
Pick something tried and true
Try not to revinvent the wheel unless it’s going to be low cost. I decided that I should life coach. I saw that the value of blog posts was highly apparent, so I decided to start writing. It’s been a little over a year and I might have built myself a $50,000 business, by accident. If I had tried some new YouTube concept, the road to monetization would be far less apparent. Recommendations are not transparent, you don’t want to be fighting them.
Part 4, be location independent
I’ve been living in the highest cost of living area of my country for the last 5 years. It’s been rough, but I’ve learned about life and how to maneuver as a young man. One thing I know for sure is that I’m spending too much money. Or that I don’t work hard enough, I’m not quite sure which it is yet. But no matter what, I know that I’m going to need to lower my consumption and move to a lower cost of living area eventually. I’m not lazy, but the area of the world in which I live is quite expensive, and the city in which I live is way too pricey considering what incomes are. This is going to be true for a lot of people. Don’t let that stop you. Even if you end up looking more broke than your high powered peers, being location independent is a great blessing. Even $500-$1,000 per month in online income is worth cultivating.
Ignore the content cycle, start a real business
This is the point. Treat your content like a business, whatever it is. Just realize that it’s likely to be a smaller business, and accept the freedom that it gives you graciously. These are very tough economic times. Brighter days are ahead for the world, but a lot of people from wealthier countries are going to have to learn to live with a bit less. This is all the more reason to start a stable business that generates a reliable asset for you, rather than chasing trends.
If it looks like a platform is “dead”, it might be. But your job as an online entrepreneur is how dead that platform is, and whether or not you can find some use for it. This is why having a sense of the content cycle is important, in my opinion. Make data driven decisions and use your eyes. You’ll start to notice patterns. I hope this article was helpful to aspiring content creators. Work hard and avoid getting discouraged!
Thanks for paying attention.
