When I Realized How Little I Knew About Content Creation

There is a SEVERE lack of understanding of what it really takes to create content online.

I know there is because I'm now on the other side of the large percentage of people who dream too much, consume too much, and never do enough. It's crazy. I really thought I was "doing something" with my content, but I was just running in circles.

I mean, I knew the basics (or thought I knew them):

Find a niche, build a brand, and consistently post...

BUT THAT WAS IT.

I was an avid YouTube guru success watcher, and a subscriber to the "get rich quick" content. I knew that these videos were egocentric by nature, but I still thought, "If I just keep watching these videos, one day I'll come across some impactful information that will MAKE me jump out of my seat and start creating all this wonderful, purposeful, and beautiful content. And everyone will finally see what I have to offer!

So I waited...and watched...and in my binge-watch, quickly started to get fed up with all the "BS" content I was consuming. I was frustrated by my lack of understanding, and then I began to feel discouraged, like giving up on my dream of becoming a YouTuber, a well-known Music Artist, and a Thought Contributor in my social networking spaces of choice.

Turned out the information I was being given, was unreliable sources, and was only a small slice of a larger cake.

Let's dig into this pun even further:

I was taking sample-sized bites of information and wondering why I was never getting full.

Little did I know, I wasn't going to get the answers I was looking for on YouTube or Instagram because I needed to educate myself first. I was stuck in an endless cycle of trying to decode a language I had never learned. So nothing anyone was saying made any practical sense to me.

Sad thing is, I THOUGHT that was me educating myself that whole time.

It was around the time of almost giving up, that I realized I had a passion for learning more about social media, digital marketing, and content creation.

I like to think that the moment you are about to give up, is the moment when you are about to have a breakthrough.

And I realized how sad it made me, to think about my life being purposeless because I wouldn't be making content anymore.

"I have to make content to feel alive...I'm a Millenial who has to make an impact (cliche)!"

So I thought, "Let me at least make this into my career."

Then I can have a content-filled life! Even if I'm working for someone else's business!

Spoiler Alert:

This was still a form of giving up!

But it was the best decision I ever made (for different reasons than you might think). I mean, working for someone else was not fully aligned with what I wanted for my life, but digital marketing was (at least)!

With zero work experience in digital marketing, I started looking for jobs. I found some opportunities that seemed entry-level...then I took one look at my resume and thought:

"I have some transferable skills, but what are all these other skills they're asking for?"

And that was when I did a google search and found a website filled with all the free courses and certifications I needed to feel confident applying for Digital Marketing jobs!

And for free dollars, I started to LEARN the Digital Marketing LANGUAGE! So cool.

And my newfound understanding gave me the confidence to apply for these jobs...

But then it inadvertently made me realize I DID NOT want to work for someone else after all. In my heart-of-hearts, I still wanted to work for myself.

But back to my mini-review of the courses:

They were eye-opening, to say the least. Life-changing, to say the most. And learning six-plus hours of digital marketing information proved to me that I truly was interested in digital marketing this whole time (it held my attention and kept me hooked during the course). And I realized:

"Yeah! I just never had the right teachers before! But I ALWAYS had the interest."

That's the thing about "bad" teachers, they make it seem like they hold the key to your understanding (smh), while good teachers show you how to unlock your understanding (thumbs up, smiley face, praise hands).

Before when I was searching for information to help me become a better creator, I was trying my best to grasp the information with what little amount the success gurus were sharing. But once I finally got my hands on some REAL VALUABLE EDUCATION, I was shooketh to the core. Because when I went back to test my former "teachers"... whoof! Let me tell ya. I started to understand and FILL in all the GAPS of what they were saying. I started to SEE the missing information because my MIND was placing it there.

"Oh, why didn't expand on that topic? Seems hecka important to know the actual steps of content creation."

That being said, I KNEW there was a plethora of information that I, a BEGINNER, COULD PROVIDE for others. I could be the one to talk about all the things I wasn't told when I was desperately looking for answers. And that's how I started a REAL channel that has more videos on it in a month than I've had on all my other ghost channels in years, combined.

That is the POWER of EDUCATION in PRACTICE.

People want to tell you to do something, but they don't want to tell you how.

And I now make it a goal of mine to try and provide the value that I see missing from BIG NAMES in my industry.

I don't focus on "How To Get Followers", "Should I Start A YouTube Channel" or "How To Get Tik Tok Famous".

Yes, some of those are great attention grabbers, and I can talk about those, but I'd rather dive into "How To Create Content Pillars", "How To Use Creative Flow To Come Up With Continuous Content Ideas," and "How To Incorporate Search Engine Optimization".

Like, let's get real.

Why only preach advice, when you can teach practical steps too? Yah'nah mean?

I'll leave you with this:

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT rely on "successful others" to be your main source of knowledge. You owe it to yourself to read the blogs, take the free courses, the quizzes, and even more so, you owe it to yourself to have an education that shows you the steps to take to get you to a level of success BEYOND where you are right now, and it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg to get there, but mostly just time and effort. Never stop searching until you find something of value, that you can use, that excites you.

If what you are consuming now, isn't filling you, that's a good sign that you are ready to LEVEL UP.

Once you start seeing all the information others are leaving out, you'll KNOW you passed the introductory stage, and have arrived at a higher level of understanding.

Now keep going, there's more where that came from!

- Lil Rig