The Challenges of Content Creation: Navigating the Digital Landscape

And How Substack Fits into Our Future

I have a silly job.

I have a silly, unserious job that is ridiculously difficult compared to what it contributes to the world. One that I often step back and ask myself, is it really worth it?

On the surface, content creation looks like a thrilling opportunity, a fun way to create income and "be your own boss" while "making your own schedule." However, behind the scenes, creators like myself often grapple with myriad obstacles that can make the process daunting.

Experts tell us in order to be "relevant" as creators in 2024, we need to post on TikTok three times a day, post on Instagram stories all day long and share at least one Reel, write a daily blog post and one Facebook post, and create 25 - 30 fresh Pinterest pins every single day. Then, we need to go back and update a few pieces of old content daily so our website stays fresh. We must also answer every comment across all platforms and emails first thing in the morning.

I'm not being hyperbolic.

Many experts will tell you this is the minimum you should be doing.

So, today, I want to explore some of the primary challenges of content creators and how I see my business evolving over the next few years while giving you an inside, transparent peek into what it's really like.

Consistent Creativity and Execution

Maintaining a steady flow of creative ideas is one of the most significant challenges for content creators. The pressure to continuously produce engaging and innovative content can lead to creative burnout, especially when you have to do it every single day. Compared to traditional jobs, content creation demands an ongoing wellspring of inspiration, which can be challenging to sustain because it's impossible to keep up with the need for creativity and the execution required to promote it across every platform, every day.

If you think about how a fashion magazine used to run, the editorial team would come up with a concept and give it to a writer. Models would be sourced, the wardrobe would be procured and steamed by an assistant, a stylist would style them, a photographer would come in to shoot, and an editor would review. Then, they would have a separate team for graphics and social media. And they'd have one month to pull together one feature.

Most modern content creators do all that and create all the social media around it, often including video—daily. The BIG creators maybe have an assistant and a photographer.

The amount of content required to be successful in the digital space is mind blowing. And while you could pull back your content schedule, in today’s landscape of free content, your numbers will drop across the board, and it's hard to restore them.

Audience Engagement

Building and maintaining an engaged audience is a constant struggle. With an ever-increasing amount of content available, standing out and keeping viewers or readers interested is more challenging than ever. Additionally, audience preferences can be fickle and change rapidly.

My focus has always been to remain slow and steady, building a community rather than just an audience. I love engaging with followers through comments, social media, and live sessions.

But this is becoming more and more challenging because of ...

Algorithm Dependency

Perhaps the most maddening aspect of content creation is our dependency on multiple algorithms that constantly change for no reason.

These algorithms determine how content is filtered, ranked, selected, and recommended to users, from Google to Instagram and everything in between. So when the algorithm is in your favor, people see your content; when it's not, it's like you don't exist. And if you don't exist, you can't build a quality community.

For example, Pinterest recently changed its algorithm with no notice, and I went from 10 million monthly views to 1 million in 12 days, and I have yet to recover from it.

As someone who is proactive and thinks she can fix anything, it's beyond frustrating to know I can do nothing about it.

It just is what it is.

Monetization

Of course, the business goal for content creators is monetization, which presents its own set of challenges. Ad revenue, sponsorships, and affiliate sales are the primary sources of income for any of your favorite creators and influencers. And by its very nature, monetization can be inconsistent and unpredictable.

To start with, you have to be accepted into most platforms that allow you to monetize, which means you need to have a significant audience.

Luckily, I'm in all of the major collectives that help you monetize and I figured out how to keep a baseline of revenue. I also have enough data to know my strong and weak months and plan accordingly.

Our primary source of revenue is ad sales on our site. I belong to an ad collective called Mediavine.

Mediavine groups together smaller websites and sells our ad space as a package to advertisers.

I think ad sales are the most ethical way to create a steady income stream, but readers HATE them, and I don't love them either. They clutter up your site and make it more challenging to read.

But most sites have them, so I keep them because they allow me to not depend on affiliate sales (my second revenue source) and let me reject paid partnerships.

I've done a handful of paid partnerships in the past few years, but I'm considering removing them entirely from our strategy. They require so much work for very little return, and what brands ask creators to do is getting out of hand. Plus I lose valuable time from creating the kind of content I want to share.

Case in point, my last brand deal paid $1200. Out of that, I had to pay my photographer $350 per session (a totally fair rate). It took one full day to shoot and edit photos and another full day to write, format and work with the brand team on edits. The requirements are so ridiculously tedious that I missed my deadline for two of our daily posts, so I lost money at the end of everything.

I say no to most of deals presented to me, or I'm not even offered them. For example, I have sent tens of millions of dollars to Nordstrom. Still, they have never offered me a partnership because I have articles talking about their dismal customer service or calling their Anniversary Sale "boring."

I've never been a** kisser, and partnering with most of these brands requires me never to criticize them. That's not me, and it's not what my readers want.

That's why ads make the most sense to me. Except you only make money on ads if you have strong viewership. So, on top of everything you need to do daily to stay relevant, you must also constantly source new ways to attract and retain readers.

Technical Skills

Content creation requires various technical skills, from video editing and graphic design to SEO and analytics. Acquiring these skills is a steep learning curve for those of us not naturally inclined toward technology.

And you are your own IT department. I can't tell you how many hours of my life I've spent Googling random errors that show up on my website. I've taught myself how to code and how to do SEO for every platform out there, which, of course, are entirely different from each other.

The technical side of content creation is the most significant barrier to entry for newcomers because, without it, you can't grow an audience, especially in such an oversaturated space and your audience is everything.

Rising Costs

So, you're probably thinking, "Meg, you need to outsource!"

Yes, I do, and I have.

As the content creation landscape evolves, the costs associated with staying relevant and competitive have increased dramatically. Gone are the days when all you needed to do was pay for a domain name and an email.

The financial burden can be substantial, from investing in high-quality equipment and software to marketing and platform fees. Hiring professional help, such as editors, graphic designers, photographers, or social media managers, also adds to the expenses.

And let's not talk about what I spend on clothes and accessories, which, contrary to popular belief, is not a tax write-off.

In the last two years, I've spent over $50K on various support/help roles, from having our website redesigned (an expense that was well worth it) to hiring help with Pinterest, which was an epic waste of money.

Last week, I had an issue with the platform I use to send out our daily emails, a service for which I pay close to $500 monthly.

Their support was useless, so I contacted my network to see if there was someone I could hire to take care of it. I was quoted $12K.

$12,000.00

So I stayed up all night, searching for possible solutions, and, with luck, figured it out. Let me rephrase that, I didn't figure it out; I couldn't tell you what I did, just that I did enough things that something worked. I've built an entire business with this strategy.

It cost me one night of sleep.

Time Management

One night of lost sleep sounds all right, but consistently not sleeping will make you loopy and your creativity will disappear.

Content creation is often considered a cushy job. And yes, in the scheme of life, it certainly is.

For top influencers, parts of it are extremely cushy. They go on brand trips and receive thousands of dollars in free merchandise and PR. They have a management team taking care of all the boring details. But those girls are still hustling hard.

For the rest of us, the ideation, creation, editing, and promotion process is so time-consuming that even the best time manager can't keep up.

So, yes, while I DO make my schedule, it's not a fun or healthy one. It often requires working through the night, burning the candle at both ends. I’m less managing my time and more finding every spare moment to get something done.

Mental Health

The pressure to continuously produce high-quality content, deal with negative feedback, while trying to achieve and maintain financial stability can take a toll on mental health. Many creators experience stress, anxiety, and burnout as a result.

I've been down this path before so I know the red flags.

I know how hard it is to pull yourself out of burnout so I think a lot about the future and how I see our business evolving.

The Future

There will be parts of the business I have to ultimately walk away from or scale back on, which I'm still determining.

I'm at the shore for the rest of the summer and am using it to sit back and think about what I want the next ten years to look like because I know I can't keep up this pace much longer.

I'll never walk away from The Well Dressed Life. One of the best business decisions I ever made was keeping the bulk of our content on the website, and I built a mailing list around it. Plus, I just couldn’t leave our community I love them too much.

I already lost my Instagram following once and was hacked and locked out of Facebook for two years, so my home base will always be TWDL, where I don’t have that risk.

How I see Substack evolving is interesting.

Substack is like an old-school blog, which I love. It values words and conversations, is user-friendly, and requires little technical knowledge. There is no algorithm to worry about. I also don't have to make silly videos to build a following, or pray something goes viral, a welcomed change at 44 years old.

Since Substack is behind a paywall, there will never be ads.

And because it’s behind the paywall, I feel like everyone reading is on board, and excited for the content.

Currently, we share our free-to-everyone The Ten List at the start of every month, it’s like an exclusive newsletter full of fun things.

For our paid readers, I’m also publishing a Monthly Capsule Wardrobe with outfits. I brought back Pinterest In Real Life, and we are exclusively sharing our Gift Guides, which will be well worth it come the end of the year. I also started answering readers questions in From the Mailbag.

I have a few other series that I am considering moving over including What to Buy at from the blog, and reviving our Outfit Formulas, but in a new way in the fall. ;)

And I also share verticals of content that aren’t specific to style, fashion and beauty, but still geared toward women over 40.

All this to say I see Substack as the first platform that’s emerged in a long time that I can build into something that is sustainable and not drive me crazy at every step.

I hope this gives you a little bit of insight into the world of content creators in general and some of the challenges they work through every day. Basically, the easier it looks the harder they are working.

And I hope it gives you a better idea of where our Substack space is going.

Thanks for being here, I’m excited to share more with you as we move into fall.