5 Mindset Shifts Creators Need in 2024

It's funny; a lot of kids grow up wanting to be a doctor, a veterinarian, a firefighter, or a teacher. However, I hit a certain age when I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: a content creator. I didn’t know what that would look like for me, and I have changed directions with my content a lot over the 12+ years I have been creating, but one thing never changed: my desire to be a content creator.

There are so many content creators out there talking about how to become one and providing a wealth of information on how to grow. It's awesome; I am one of those people, and I wish I would’ve had access to these types of creators when I was first starting out. But I didn’t, and I figured it out the hard way. The problem with having so many different pieces of advice out there is that you may find yourself doing things because somebody told you to, not because it feels right or is even working for you. So, in today’s episode, I want to chat about some mindset shifts that can truly turn your content creation journey into your own.

The first mindset shift: think of yourself as a business (because you are!)

I would say most of us, when we're starting out as content creators, look at it like a hobby. There are a couple of reasons why.

One might be because you truly just enjoy creating, and it is a hobby.
The other reason is that you might not be ready to admit to people that you are trying to create a "career" out of this.

But the moment you decide that you want to turn your content creation into a job, there are some definite changes you need to make. I think people get stuck in their old habits and routines when they were just doing this as a hobby and forget to shift their focus into creating content as a "business."

Once you really make that decision that this is going to be a business, you can start looking at your brand, content calendar, posting schedule, etc., as a business plan and not just something you're doing on the side.

…and hey, you might spend years posting content as a "business" without making a dime, and I know that is hard; I have been there. But there is that saying that people used to say in the corporate world (maybe they still do) that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

So with your creation, you should treat it like the business you want because only then will you find yourself growing and actually turning this into what you do for a living.

But, you might be thinking, “easier said than done.” There are certain shifts you might have to make in how you approach your content creation, depending on the result you want. First of all, if your goal is to gain leads or make sales from your content, you might see a decrease in views and engagement, but your results in sales will be higher compared to a piece of content with the goal of going viral; you might receive a lot of views and engagement, but probably fewer leads and sales.

Something else you should really consider is making your content creation as high of a priority as you would a regular job or career. Because at the end of the day, you are trying to grow a business, and if you just keep treating it like a hobby, skipping low days, and not being consistent, then you’ll soon realize that you will always be getting the same results. But if you start treating it like a business, have a schedule, and stick to the schedule, just like you would any other job, that’s when you’ll start seeing results.

The second mindset shift: you’re not just a fan girl (you’re one of them!)

How many creators do you follow that, if you met them in real life, would be like meeting a famous person? What if you started looking at those people as your peers instead?

Now, I admit, I’m still a fangirl with some of my favorite creators, but I have also now started networking and collaborating with people that I once aspired to be. Once you start looking at other content creators as your colleagues, and look at yourself as one of them, it can completely change how you feel about yourself and your brand. This is something I still struggle with today.

Something that’s hard for me to accept even now is that people "fangirl" over me? Me?

My operations manager, Shelby, who runs my social media agency, Creatorly Media, was a loyal viewer of my YouTube channel before ever working with me and admitted that she was a fangirl and was in shock that she was even able to chat with me. Which still blows my mind. 🤯

But now we work together as a team, and she’s a huge part of my brand and business. Content creators are just people, like you. As the saying goes, we all put our pants on the same, one leg at a time. So, even though it’s totally fine to aspire to be a content creator that you love or admire their work, remind yourself that you are one of them.

When you make this mindset adjustment, you gain the confidence you need to create for the audience you want to have, not the audience you have. You’ll open yourself up to the opportunities that the kind of creator you want to be recieves. Don’t sell yourself short.

The third mindset shift: you can be your own manager

One of the biggest income streams as a content creator is, of course, brand partnerships. This was my largest income stream in 2023, so trust me, I get the importance of it, but some people out there will have you believe that to be successful and have paid brand partnerships, you also need a manager to communicate with brands on your behalf.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t look into brand managers once you hit a certain point and feel like you might need the help, but I am here to tell you that this can still be a huge revenue stream without a brand manager.

I actually want to introduce you to my brand manager… Myself.

I have always managed my partnerships myself and feel like, for me personally, this has been a game-changer. It allows you the opportunity to negotiate for yourself and make sure you’re getting everything you want out of the partnership. Because let’s be real, nobody knows your worth better than you. And beyond that, you don’t have to give anyone else a percentage of the brand revenue you worked so hard for.

Now I have an entire content creator starter kit, which will be linked below, and it includes a couple of resources that can help you manage your brand partnerships. It includes a brand partnership tracker, which can help you keep track of who you spoke with, are you in negotiation, have they paid you, etc. It also includes a media kit template, so that way you have something you can put together professionally to send potential brands. And, of course, beyond that, there are tons of other resources available in the kit.

There’s this prevailing narrative out there that the marker of success of a content creator is getting a manager, or working with an agency. But, I really believe if you embrace the first mindset shift I talked about - thinking of yourself as a business - then you can most definitely take this on yourself. Unfortunately, I’ve heard so many horror stories from my creator friends about bad experiences with agencies or absentee managers, and the reality is, no one else is going to be as invested in your and your partnership opportunities as you. Many of these agencies will have far too large of a roster for what their staff can reasonably handle - and so creators can easily be forgotten or left behind. If you truly reach a point where you feel like you can’t handle the email communication and negotiation on your own, I would suggest hiring an assistant and training them to take it over for you. What almost all creators want is a manager who will get them out-bound deals (as opposed to in-bound deals, which are ones that arrive in your inbox without pitching) but the reality is, most managers are going to spend 80-90% of their time simply managing your in-bound deals, not getting you new ones. If you’re okay with forking over 20% of your brand deal cash for that service, then go ahead. But I’d highly encourage you to consider being your own manager.

The fourth mindset shift: you’re allowed to keep some things to yourself

There is this stigma out there with content creators and their viewers, where some of their viewers might feel that they are owed knowing everything about the content creator's life, and sometimes that pressure coming from your audience is really strong. You start feeling this obligation to share things that in any other situation you would want to be private, and I am here to tell you that you don’t owe anybody anything, and that you are allowed to keep things to yourself. In many cases that pressure is actually internal as well, and actually - you just feel like you need to share, even though, your audience will likely be totally cool with you setting that boundary. But how do you find that balance?

Here’s my advice:

Choose a few areas in your life that you feel somehow relate back to your niche and share those things with your audience. But then feel free to keep anything else completely private. Especially when you’re a content creator and you’re sharing tons of information online, sometimes you feel like your life is no longer your own, and that can lead directly to burnout and is horrible for your mental health. It’s so important that you prioritize yourself and only share what you feel comfortable sharing.

Here is an example using my own platforms:

Obviously, I share about content creation, growing a small business, and social media growth strategies. But I’ll also talk about being a digital nomad and working for myself on the road and how if I weren’t a content creator, I wouldn’t be able to have this dream lifestyle that I built for myself.

Even though travel isn’t a direct connection to my niche, being able to work from anywhere as a content creator is. So I choose to share my travel lifestyle with my audience.

I also like to share vlogs and day-in-the-life content but usually focus on my work-from-home and productivity routines. I get to share a little bit behind the scenes of my life and what I do each day, but because it’s centered around creating content and working for myself as a small business owner, I’m able to connect that back to my niche.

So though I get to share big and important parts of my life, I keep a lot of other things completely private.

Though I obviously talk about my partner, Dan, I don’t dive deep into our relationship. Though I might mention my parents or Dan's parents, I don’t dive deep into our childhoods. There are tons of things in my day-to-day personal life that I don’t share because I feel better about those being my own and no longer feel the pressure of feeling like I have to share everything.

Action steps:

So maybe take a moment after listening to this episode and just write down some areas in your life that you would feel comfortable sharing and areas in your life you would not feel comfortable sharing. From the things you feel comfortable sharing, do these things relate back to your niche in some way and if so, how? Having this list will help you when it comes to creating content, especially on your Instagram stories. Having just this running list of ways you can tie your normal day-to-day life into your niche will help you feel more relaxed and natural about creating content.

The fifth mindset shift: you have to post daily… not!

There are a lot of conflicting sayings out there: Quality over quantity. Done is better than perfect. Consistency is key.

But do you want to know the true secret? The best strategy is a mix of all three of these things.

You should be consistent in both the quality and quantity you provide in your content. The key is finding a schedule that is realistic for you and allows you the time to create quality content.

If you decide to post 5 times per week, but because of that, you are rushing through your content creation process, and the quality of your content suffers – you might want to drop down to 2-3 times per week.

You can also build up your post amount over time. You could start with two days per week, and after you have turned that into a habit and a part of your routine, you could start adding one post per week each month until you feel like you’ve found a good rhythm.

The goal here is for long-term success, right? So you might as well take your time to build a strong foundation with the number of times you post and provide yourself the time you need to learn and perfect your content.

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If you focus on these 5 mindset shifts, you’re going to not only grow as a content creator but avoid burning yourself out and getting to a point where it doesn’t feel worth it. I know this because I burnt myself out due to most of what I mentioned in today’s episode and after years of struggling through it, I found that these shifts helped me overcome it.