How to Succeed as a Content Creator (hint: be punk about it)
You only fail when you quit or quiet your inner awesomeness. Success is entirely dependent on your willingness to embrace your authenticity and simply never stop. It’s so easy, it’s hard.
Creatorship (and life) should be more punk — this is how to succeed as a content creator.
Punk was a reaction to overly polished and elaborate music. It was a movement to cut away the inauthentic clutter and embrace your true self — to disrupt any status quo that isn’t aligned and to be absolutely stoked about doing things differently and being different.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty epic brand and content strategy.
We need more creators like this.
Because believe it or not, we’re in a serious creator drought and the world needs your kick-ass, awesome self. So this is a call to all creatives to step into your unique power and show up like never before.
This post isn’t sharing the 10-step formula to “hack” the algorithm or a list of generic best practices that every other post is regurgitating. We already know those tips.
This is something deeper and more important.
So here’s my three-part formula for succeeding with content creation (by being punk about it — aka, authentic and actually stoked about your stuff):
Now let’s do this freaking thing!
1. Get Aligned
“Alignment is knowing exactly who you are and then doing more things that resonate with you.”
Here’s the truth: most of the opportunities you hear about online can work.
You can be an artist. Or a travel blogger. Or start a micro SaaS and generate leads through X copywriting and social engagement. All of it can work — but only if it’s aligned.
Alignment will push you to show up everyday, have fun and enjoy the ride.
So what does alignment in creatorship mean? Alignment is the thing that feels and comes most naturally for you, making the path forward easier (not easy, but easier).
I spent years trying to make something work that I didn’t even want, because I didn’t believe that my true passions could actually work. So I went with what society told me would work — the “safer” bet.
And surprise surprise, that path was hard and my “success” was capped. But as soon as I stepped into my true authenticity and alignment, things started to fall into place.
Alignment is embracing your innateness. It’s creating what you actually want to create. Because that’s what all of this is for — it’s in the name: creatorship. So be an artist.
This is way more important than stressing about the perfect strategy or choosing the right platform. It’s even more impactful than crafting the right audience avatar or making the perfect offer.
Because remember, all of it can work — if it’s aligned.
So here are some ways to get aligned as a content creator:
Find clarity. This comes down to self awareness and understanding your values, personality, goals and preferences. Everything starts (and ends) here.
Be specific. Being specific means you stick to one thing(ish). It’s the art of focus, which is especially important if you have multiple passions (like me).
Set intentions. This means creating intentional content and branding that’s aligned with your values, personality, mission and goal(s). It’s being able to listen to your creator intuition and then take action on those hints and create the stuff you actually want.
Do what’s natural. Consider what things or subjects you’re naturally good at or passionate about. These are hints about your authenticity and your destiny as a creator (not to get too woo-woo on you). But try to do the things that feel easiest, innate and more like play — because that’s alignment.
And don’t worry if you don’t have everything figured out right away. Stay patient and focus on testing and taking action (rather than over-planning and never growing).
2. Be Punk About it All
“The most impactful creators are punk — authentic, unpolished and completely owning their uniqueness.”
This is how I like to approach content creation and branding (and life). Be punk about it.
Punk is a rejection of anything polished, expected, elaborate or soulless. In the case of being a creator, this includes overused templates, generic AI responses and the regurgitation of old ideas and trends without actually adding anything new to the conversation.
Being punk requires taking risks and being vulnerable — testing new ideas and sharing your true self. This can be hard.
Because the generic stuff can work, to a certain extent (after all, doing what’s popular makes sense).
But if it’s not authentic and representative of your identity, mission and style, then it’s not worth it. And it won’t be fun.
Making things punk promotes authenticity, motivation and real sustainable growth — because it’s true to you, honest and feels more like play.
Growth from inauthenticity never lasts in the long run.
To succeed in content creation, you must embody this way of being, this way of creating. Your content and brand is a reflection of your personality, values and more. You can leverage templates and use the trends — of course — but never at the cost of losing your authenticity.
Being punk is the art of embracing being different. How?
Do you.
Layer your unique interests, skills and experiences on top of each other.
Find untapped corners of your niche to build authority in.
Watch what everyone else is doing, and then do the opposite.
Explore, test and create without any expectations of metrics or money.
Whatever way you decide to be punk and embrace your authenticity, remember to aim for alignment.
Because that is differentiation — a punk strategy for standing out.
3. Make it a Public Project
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit”
You only fail when you quit. So, don’t quit. And the best way I’ve found to do that is to make your content — your personal brand — a public project.
This adds accountability and turns your content into a tangible, action-oriented project (vs. a goal without a guide).
A public project promotes consistency and follow-through.
Consistency means you know how to take breaks rather than just throw in the towel. It means showing up when you have no motivation. It means having patience and thinking in years, not in months.
It means building something real, live and in public. Now that’s a story people can follow and resonate with.
Good stuff — good stuff, indeed.
Consistency builds habits and reflects your personality as a creator. Creator success is embodying your authenticity and the lifestyle required to show up.
Having a project (and treating my brand — my life — like one) makes me more consistent and sustainably stoked.
So that’s it — my artistic, punk-based formula for success as a content creator. It’s simple but effective. It comes down to prioritizing your authenticity and continuing to show up, thinking in the long-term.
Now go out and make some cool sh*t.
Later ✌️
