Why Producing Content Is So Hard
Writing articles, making video clips, and recording podcasts has been tons of fun. A lot of people dream about being able to do it full time for a career or even being successful in the attempt of making it a hobby. Who wouldn’t want to get paid for talking to your friends about something you love? Every meathead has argued with someone about sports and in turn thinks they could do a better job than the talent on ESPN. Blog writers strive for the ability to feel seen and also to help the readers feel seen. Social media creators put hours of work into a single 10 second video in hopes of a big viral moment.
What am I looking for? I’m not quite sure to be honest. My prayer every morning before I begin my day is guidance in whatever this is. I don’t need a job. My schedule is fairly busy. I produce more flops than successes. Yet, I’m still drawn to the chase. Most people would have quit by now. It’s pretty hard carving out time in an already impossibly busy week to write an article or film a podcast. Especially when there is zero return for the effort. Just as a coach addicted to the grind of turning a losing program into a championship contender, I find myself embracing the brutal nature of producing content. I’ll get back to you one day on my aspirations for V3. I’m waiting on the good Lord’s command. I can tell you I am trying to be open. Open to whatever God asks me to do. I hope to be the potter’s clay, ready to be molded into whatever he intends.
I get asked frequently from people I know or strangers online what it’s like producing content. There are flickers of dreams out there hoping to get ignited. I have the inability to ignore a question or help someone who asks. I take hour long phone calls with people from across the country, respond to as many DMs as I can, and try to remember to go back and check in on previous conversations. This is the summary of what I share about why this particularly evasive dream of thousands of people is so darn hard.
It’s personal. When you work a job, your personality slightly impacts the work but ultimately the work is separate from you. As a teacher people could say I was a good or bad teacher while not saying anything bad about my personality. Criticisms at work are hopefully just focused on your performance. Producing content is super vulnerable because it’s so personal. Whether you draw, write music, or record podcasts, it’s a product from your soul. With that said, if people have criticisms for the product it’s essentially not being fond of you in one way or another. It can be harsh reading negative comments and reviews. My advice to people in this department: Don’t take anything personally, not everyone is going to like you.
You have to be obnoxious on social media. Yes, I’m aware of how annoying it is seeing all of my posts. And I’m sorry. But guess what, in 2025 you cannot grow any kind of content brand without social media efforts. You can’t grow any kind of business period without good social media. My wife often says “they didn’t follow you to follow your content” and she’s right. 100%. But it’s the price of admission. You’re going to lose followers as you gain them. To be blunt, those people who unfollow you were never going to support your stuff anyways. For example, I followed a lot of people from past schools as they followed me. Being a coach in the community I connected with a lot of people. Once I started doing this, I noticed they start dropping one by one. I realized my standing with them wasn’t as a person, but as a coach figure in the community (see point 1). When I shifted from coach who could offer them value to simply being me, they weren’t interested. And that’s OK! It’s their right to not want to follow me, it’s just an example. My advice to people in this department: Don’t take anything personally, not everyone is going to like you.
There aren’t any returns…for a very long time. Have you heard stories from breakthroughs in writing or podcasting? It’s often years of spinning their tires before anything comes from it. More than likely it will take a very long time before you produce any actual output from all of your hard work on the inputs. The only way you can make it long term is to love doing it. I love recording a podcast because I love good conversation. I love writing because it helps me process (if you want to read actual good writing check out my wife’s blog). I love connecting with others through mentorship and friendship because other people make me better. That’s how I’ve made it almost a year with consistency. You have to be regimented and love what you do. It’s hard to tell my wife that I need an hour to film a podcast that 15 people will listen to and I’ll never receive any kind of money back for the investment. My wife knows how driven I am so she lets me do it. But it’s a sacrifice for everyone under your roof. You might not get many readers of listeners. My advice to people in this department: Don’t take anything personally, not everyone is going to like you.
If you’ve made it this far you’ve probably figured out my best advice for the seekers. You can’t take anything personally. Just have fun.
