Where’s my parade??

Welcome to the sixth issue of the series!

If you’re a content creator like me, then I want to ask you a question:

How long have you been at this?

• days?

• weeks?

• months?

If the answer is any one of these time scales, then chances are that you’ve committed this sin at least once in your mind…

You’ve thought that it wasn’t you, that you have been here long enough that something should have happened, that people just don’t get your genius, that the platform is screwing you…

You’ve screamed into the void long enough, and the parade was supposed to have arrived already.

Countless others who are half your age have grown their audiences and are reaping the rewards and swimming in wealth.

You feel jealous, and you start bashing the platform, your audience, your loved ones, anyone who seems to have it out for you because you’re here.

In the ONLINE writing craft, there is no such thing as overnight success (it doesn’t exist anywhere, but especially not here).

You’re the victim…

If the previous sin wasn’t bad enough, this one has surely cost people their following literally with one post or one statement about how the algorithm has mistreated them.

You’ve struggled for what seems like an eternity to get people to listen to you.

You’ve tried every trick in the book.

You’ve listened to every guru that has promised their way is the best way.

You’ve attended webinar after webinar, built a library of swipe files and courses and giveaways that would guarantee your success.

You post and write and engage.

Crickets.

It’s them. Not you.

It couldn’t be you, right?

You’ve worked too hard for it to be you.

Once you shift to this mindset, it’s a half step from rage quitting.

The only way to pull yourself back from the brink when you start down this path is to take a hard look in the mirror…

Take stock of your situation and your actions

If you’ve been down this road and are reading this issue, then there’s still hope to rekindle the spark and forge a new path…

If you’re not there yet, then I hope this issue arms you with foresight and self-awareness to stop yourself from slipping into the abyss.

Here are a few tips to stay focused and realign with yourself on this journey:

1. Hardest one first: it’s you. Your content isn’t working because you’re missing something. You’ve committed one or more of the sins we’ve covered so far, and this one closely follows as a result.

2. Ask someone for brutally honest feedback. It doesn’t matter who it is, but someone you trust and respect is a good start.

3. This is an infinite game. You aren’t going to become a master writer overnight. It’s a craft that requires persistence, commitment, and time.

4. Beginner’s luck is the worst thing that could happen to anyone. It’s like those mobile games where you virtually are guaranteed to blast through the first few levels without any trouble to get you hooked before it rug-pulls the game and makes it impossible to progress without paying up. Don’t fall for it. Find your process.

5. Accept the fact that if you don’t own the platform, the algorithm is going to change without your knowledge. If you want to create on social media, you need to learn their rules…then learn how to work with and around them.

Hey, I’m just a messenger sharing my personal experience from my years on social media. They all have their quirks and inscrutable systems.

If you’re going to succeed, it’s going to take effort. Those courses and giveaways are nice to have, but it you aren’t actively practicing and internalizing based on the lessons, then you aren’t improving. Period.

It’s your choice to play, so why not read the manual and push forward?

What’s next?

I can’t believe there’s only one more week before the school year starts winding up again!

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been going through two challenges and a course:

1. Kieran Drew’s MCM 30-Day Challenge

2. Daren Chapman’s Craftsmen Creative Challenge

3. Eve Arnold’s Medium Blueprint - awesome writing course!

Also, I’ve been having some massive breakthroughs in the greater perspective of all the content that I’ve been creating for the past 19 months now…

Next week is the final sin…I’ve saved the best for last (it’s the one that I’ve committed the most to my shame).

P.S. I’m going to be doing an audit of this newsletter and removing those who haven’t been opening them for the past two months or so. I’m not for everyone, and everything I’ve done is beginning to crystallize into coherence now…so if you’ve read this far and no longer want tips to improve writing or content creation, then unsubscribe. Thanks for being here!