The bar is lower than you think!
It's time to get out of your own way
Gary Bloomer | SHAKING THE TREE # 211
I get it: sticking your neck out as a content creator is a scary thing to do.
People might laugh.
They might mock you or try and tear you down.
You know what?
Let them.
You could just sit there, gazing out to sea and accept the fact that you’re not going to make any progress.
Or, you can take action.
It's funny how many people think becoming a content creator and actually getting seen is some sort of Herculean task, a climb up a sheer cliff face with no handholds.
They envision a landscape choked with established giants, their voices booming across the digital plains, leaving no room for a humble newcomer.
And while it's true the online world can feel overwhelming, the reality is the barrier to entry and the path to visibility are far less daunting than most beginners imagine.
Think about it.
Just a decade or two ago, creating and sharing your thoughts, or your art, or your expertise with a wider audience required a significant investment in time and skills, and a fair amount of money.
You needed recording studios, publishing houses, gallery representation, or at the very least, a personal website you painstakingly coded and promoted.
The gatekeepers were numerous and powerful.
Today?
The landscape has been radically democratized.
The smartphone in your pocket is a high-definition camera, a recording studio, and a broadcasting platform all in one.
Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and even X offer free and relatively intuitive tools to share your creations with the world.
You don't need a massive marketing budget to get started; a compelling idea and consistent effort can often be enough to gain traction.
Consider the sheer variety of niches and communities that thrive online.
There's an audience for almost anything, from intricate miniature painting to obscure historical facts to the ASMR of crinkling paper.
This fragmentation of attention, while sometimes criticized, actually works in favor of the beginner.
You don't need to compete with the biggest names in the broadest categories. In fact, it’s better for your state of mind if you don’t! Instead, focus your efforts on finding your tribe and building your community. Your goal needs to be to buld a smaller but engaged audience hungry for exactly what you have to offer.
Of course, this lower barrier to entry also means more competition. But that competition isn't necessarily a bad thing. Why? Because over time, the majority of those competitors will lose their edge or get bored, or they’ll post less and less often.
But this can be used to your advantage by being more authentic, more creative, and more engaging. As others trail off you’ll still be there, honing your unique voice and finding your specific angle.
The key isn't necessarily about reaching millions overnight.
It's about consistently showing up and it’s about regularly putting out valuable (in whatever way you define "valuable" for your niche) content; it’s about engaging with your audience, and it’s about understanding the platforms you're using. It's about building a community, even a small one, that resonates with your message.
The perception of an insurmountable barrier often stems from comparing a beginner's nascent efforts to the polished output of seasoned professionals.
It's like comparing your first hesitant steps on a hiking trail to a marathon runner in full stride. Everyone starts somewhere. The trick is to stop using someone else’s 500th post as a benchmark for your 20th post.
If you've been harboring a creative spark, a desire to share your passions, don't let the perceived difficulty hold you back.
The tools are readily available, the audiences are out there, and the journey, while requiring dedication and persistence on your part, is far more accessible than you might think.
The digital world isn't a walled city; it's more like a bustling marketplace, and there's always room for a new voice with something new, fresh, and interesting to say.
You just have to step up and start speaking.
As always, thanks for reading.
—Gary
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P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … The value of starting small
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the U.K., Gary Bloomer is a writer, branding advocate, marketing specialist, and an award-winning graphic designer.
His design work has been included in Creative Review (one of the UK’s largest design magazines). Since 2009, he has answered over 5,000 marketing and business questions in the Know-How Exchange of MarketingProfs.com, placing him among the top 3% of contributors. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.