How to Start? — For Online Creators
Just take that first step and you will see the momentum build up.
This post was originally published on https://theresonantvoice.com/start-creators/
Being an online creator means different things for different people but there are some things that are common to all, like the need for a platform to share your message and a voice that is unique to you in the online world. This article is about such basic things that every online creator needs to get started.
I am not a blogging or online business expert, but a struggler, just like most of the people reading this article. I have struggled a lot trying to make an online presence and am still struggling (even though not as much as before), so I really understand the struggles that every beginner face while trying to start a creative life online.
I hope this article will give you some valuable insight into building the right foundation for a strong online platform and will cut short some of your struggles with getting started. This would save you a lot of time, which you could invest in some of the bigger struggles that are on the way (that’s true my friend, these struggles will never end, you just have to find more and more interesting things to struggle with 😊).
Here I have put together five steps and lots of expert advice from around the web to get you started with chasing your dreams and creating meaningful things online.
So let’s jump in.
1. Find your voice
For any creator online, this is something that can never be ignored.
Famous blogger and author, Jeff Goins puts up a simple way to find your voice or what he calls your platform personality. After interviewing many successful online creators, he came up with five personalities to fit all of them.
- The Prophet
- The Teacher
- The Journalist
- The Artist
- The Star
In this article, he explains exactly how to find your platform personality.
2. Make up the right mindset
Creating an online platform is above all, pure hard work. If you want to succeed, you must be comfortable with risks and failures and should have a great deal of determination. So it is really important to have the right mindset before you start your journey.
If you are a writer, you must commit to writing regularly, that’s inevitable. However, more important is that you have to commit to reading daily. Always remember that what we produce directly depends on what we consume.So if you are not reading enough, the quality of your writing will drop drastically.
“The first step to writing something meaningful is to read something thoughtful”
Creating the right mindset is all about making such small-but-significant changes and commitments in your daily life that would work together to create a lifestyle that is in parallel with the work that you do.
3. Check out other pros in your field
You should do this for two things,
- To learn from them
- To get inspired
No one starts as an expert, in fact, in today’s world of the internet, where people learn things for themselves, no one ever becomes an expert. Everyone is in a constant process of learning. That’s actually a good thing because it makes us realize the fact that we are all lifelong learners and prompts us to constantly try and learn new things.
The best lessons that you learn, other than from your own experience, are by observing and listening to other people. In the book “Real Artists Don’t Starve”, Jeff Goins talks about the importance of being an apprentice and learning from others, which is a fading practice in today’s world because everyone is so busy trying to create their own things that they don’t have time to pause and pay attention to others. That must change. If you really want to succeed you must realize the importance of learning and being a lifelong learner.
4. Start practicing your craft
There isn’t a much better way to put this than by Stephen King’s quote, “The best way to develop your writer’s voice is to read a lot. And write a lot. There’s really no other way to do it.”
“The best way to develop your writer’s voice is to read a lot. And write a lot. There’s really no other way to do it.” — Stephen King
So just start creating. If you are a writer, start writing. If you are an artist, start creating art. If you are a photographer, start taking great photos. You can never become a good writer by reading guides on how to be a good writer. You do that by practicing the craft. So go on, start doing it. It’s that simple (but, I know, just a bit hard to get done).
5. Buy your space and get started
This is the technical part. Once you have started practicing your craft and creating great things that you want to share with the world, go on, buy a domain and hosting plan and start a blog. While doing that I hope this ten-step guide from Platform University would be of good help.
Your blog is your online home. It is where you live online. So put in some work to make it as personalized as possible. It should be parallel with the message that you wish to share.
Once you have an online home, you are all set to start delivering your content to the world. However, the next struggle comes with getting people’s attention, that’s what we are going to discuss in the next post. Click here and I’ll remind you when it gets published.
How was your experience when you started as an online creator? Or if you haven’t yet started, what is your biggest fear about being an online creator? Share in the comments.
Ready to chase your dreams?
It’s going to take a lot of hard work. But don’t worry. We have created a free eBook to help you keep motivated on the way.
