The top 3 challenges creators will face in 2022 (Results from more than 900 creators surveys) |
There are no two journeys for creators identical. To find out more about the challenges of running an enterprise that is a creationist in 2022, we conducted a survey of more than 900 creators. What we discovered.
"Creators have earned their first 'online dollar' by the millions, and are part of one of the fastest-growing ecosystems on the planet, the economy of creators."
The estimated 50 million individuals believe they are creators. And there's more information available today on becoming a full-time creator. The phrase "digital creator" is searched by search engines 2.5K each month, while "how you can become a content creator" sees 1.3K searches.
The term "creator" refers to anyone who makes something. In fact, YouTubers, influencers as well as bloggers and podcasters are all creators -- but so are artists makers, musicians, educators, worldbuilders, authors, and everyone that is in between.
The wide range of creativity work ensures that no two creative journeys are identical.
What kinds of products are created by creators and sold? What are their most difficult challenges? What are their best sources for help? What channels have the most success?
To learn more about how to manage an entrepreneur business that is based on creativity in 2022, we surveyed over 900 creators regarding their businesses. We asked them about the challenges they face, their sources of advice as well as creative channels and the content they create.
What we discovered:
At all levels of experience The biggest obstacle for creators is to increase the number of people who watch their content (32.9 percent) in the next step is finding enough time for everything (21.6%) and understanding how to make money (14.4%).
In seeking help to overcome the problems, they mainly take advice from other creators. YouTube (22.6%) and personal mastermind groups (22.5 percent) are the top two places creators turn for advice.
Social media is a way for creators for connecting with their fans as well, and with Instagram being the most popular platform (29.1 percent) However, this means that they need to depend on algorithms to bring their content in front of those who are interested.
Keep reading for an in-depth look at the data.
What are creators' biggest problems in 2022?
We asked "What's your greatest challenge or difficulty as a creator this moment?"
32.9% Growing an audience
21.6 percent Finding the time to do everything
14.4 Percent Knowing How to monetize
8.86 Percent of creation
3.35% Engaging with followers on social media
2.27 percent Keeping pace with changes and trends
Across experience levels and content types, creators consistently reported the same top three challenges that they face: attracting a larger following, having enough time to do everything and knowing how to make money from their work.
Challenge #1: Growing an audience
and Search Engine Marketing.
7.68 768 percent of people would invest the money building or improving their website by employing
5.66 percent would employ graphic designers, and 4.16 percent would make an investment in a
The process of getting your content and your company's brand in front of the right users can take a lot of time and be cost prohibitive, especially for those who are just starting out with an online company.
"While you're still trying to grow your email list it's not enough to just send emails to folks," Jessica explained. "I must also be very present and very noticeable on the social networks."
As Jessica has become more active and established on social media, she's been successful in identifying the best platforms and create posts that are in keeping with her style and tells her story. "If you're trying to build an audience, they need to see you very often," she shared.
She emphasizes that consistency is key -- but that doesn't mean your posts have to be formulaic. "You are able to do images, you could do [Instagram] Reels and also be humorous, you can make Reels and also be serious ... Anything that will allow you to be diverse in how folks can potentially discover your posts."
Social media is an effective method of reaching many more people. However, this also means that creators have depend on algorithm of the platforms for their content to be displayed on their audience's feeds. We'll talk more about how creators canand are able to move away from the algorithm at a later date.
Email is yet another of the most cost-effective and efficient marketing channels available to creators. By sending out regular emails, your newsletters keeps you in contact with your target audience.
If you're an author looking to increase your email subscriber list and begin an email newsletter, take a look at these sources:
The second challenge is finding enough time for all things
We asked our respondents to tell us about their plans for spending $2,022 spending money on external assistance was the most frequently requested answer.
We also found that 5.2 percent of the creators make use of the funds for personal living expenses like rent, utilities, internet charges, as well as their personal salary to spend more time on their business.
3.42% of creators would spend the money on time-restoring expenses such as childcare, household help, time off from regular jobs and less hours at side jobs.
Choosing the right tools and software can help creators make the most of their valuable time.
For a look at what makes it simpler to manage your own successful business as a creator, get started for absolutely no cost or join our weekly demo.
Challenge #3: Understanding what to do to increase your income
14.4 Percent of creators agree that knowing how to make income from their efforts is the biggest obstacle they face. You've produced valuable content and created an audience that is engagedNow, how do convert that into money?
We've seen hundreds of artists earn their first online dollar by selling digital items, including online courses, digital downloads, webinars, and memberships. Digital products let creators earn money, without having to rely on advertising or sponsors.
Consider entrepreneur, web designer and creative director John D. Saunders , for illustration. When he launched his online course on , John earned $10,000 on launch day and $100,000 overall through his website.
Once you've created your online course, the bulk of the work is gone, and you can earn regular revenue. "While I'm in bed I'm earning money. When I'm at playing in the parks with my kids I'm making sales" John explained.
Learn more about monetization options for creators by reading these articles:
With so many monetization options out there, many creators look to each other for suggestions, ideas and advice on their own journeys. This brings us to the next key takeaway from the survey: Where creators seek out advice.
Where do creators go for advice?
We asked "What's the number one place you go for advice for tackling your most difficult problem?"
22.6 percent on YouTube
22.5 percent A private mastermind group
15.4% Google
8.86% Facebook group
7.89 789 % of Podcasts
5.95 5 % of non-Facebook community
4.11% Blogs
1.41 14% Public forums (ex: Reddit)
Though no two creator journeys are identical, we know that creators across niches, product types, and experience levels face similar challenges.
This makes sense it makes sense that they can find solution and suggestions to those challenges by asking each the other.
Creators are able to learn from their peers. Between YouTube video, mastermind groups, Facebook groups, forums, communities, podcasts, and blogs, 73.3% of creators are surveyed to look up other creators for advice.
Google is the only information resource that's not necessarily in this category, though you can be sure that the creators created a large portion of the content that appears in the search results, too.
An incredible 76% of internet users are part of some kind of online community. 66% of users are able to say that they participate in online groups to make friends with similar interests.
For creators, these communities can be a valuable source of information. Creators connect in order to improve their skills and knowledge We've observed the most successful creators to be extremely open with their knowledge and expertise to help the new generation of creators.
What are the ways other creators manage their business? What do they sell? Where do the majority of their revenues originate? How do they build their followings?
Creators are aware of numerous questions and turn to one another for answers and inspiration.
The Creator Community was created by us to: Creator Community in order to:
Provide entrepreneurs and creators with a place to connect and collaborate
Help make the journey of creating more enjoyable and less lonely
Create a community for creators that is open exclusively to them
Develop exclusive content specifically to share with community members. This includes classes, interviews with creators, and community-driven contests
In the initial two weeks after we opened the forum to creators of all kinds We saw more than 1600 users and hundreds of posts with questions, ideas and suggestions.
Highly experienced creators like Emily Mills contributed useful posts such as this:
Emily's hacks were a great example of how members can learn from each other's expertise which is one of the main advantages of joining a Creator community.
What kinds of content are created by creators? What is the best place to share their material?
We asked "What is your primary type of content that you produce?"
33.6 percent courses
13.8 percent coaching
13.4% social media
16.54% video (9.19 percent short-form, 7.35 percent long-form)
6.38% blog posts
4.76% downloads
4.43% email newsletters
2.81% webinars
More than a third of those that took part in the poll create online courses as the primary type of content. Following courses, coaching, social media, and video were the most popular types of media.
Here are some useful resources for creators looking to build and market an online course:
It was also discovered that creators are selling an average of 10.95 merchandise.
Then we asked "What's the primary channel you use for your business?"
29.1 percent on Instagram
22.4%
17.4 17% Facebook
8.97 percent YouTube
5.41 percent Blog
5.08% Zoom
2.49 percent TikTok
0.865 0.65 % of Shopify
0.541% Etsy
Social media is a popular way for creators for interaction with their followers With Instagram being the top social platform (29.1 percent), closely followed by Facebook (17.4%) and YouTube (8.97 percent).
Like we said earlier, social media can be a terrific way for creators to reach new audiences and to establish themselves in their respective niches and communities. However, there's a major drawback when it comes to using social media: The algorithm.
Social media platforms employ algorithms to determine what content is displayed on their the feeds of users.
Creators are at the mercy of these algorithms -- your organic content might show up in your followers' feeds, but it also might not. The algorithms can change without notice, and social media firms aren't transparent about how they work.
In particular, changes in the Facebook algorithm over the past couple of years have resulted in the decline on organic traffic and consequently, fewer people are able to see the posts of creators in their news feeds.
Below are additional reasons why creators don't like using Facebook:
"I consider that FB can be too distracting and users either don't see my content or won't stick around."
"FB groups are not trustworthy as well as a bit clumsy, and many people are running from FB right now, so it's tough to get an environment of engagement."
"I really hate the idea of directing my friends to Facebook or similarly shady tech firms that collect data that they use to lure users to distract us."
"I must pay for the full-time VA to allow members in and welcome them and moderate them. We use Google Sheets and separate Facebook Messenger software that costs $30/month as well as being dependent on Facebook's algorithm and interruptions. It's such a mess."
The creators are more likely to create communities of sorts using social media platforms due to insufficient reasons. Facebook Groups are easy to join, but it's also where the advantages end.
In contrast, an all-in-one creator platform such as this one gives you total control over which content you serve up to your viewers and the way you engage with your audience.
Community members are able to:
Get your goods
Get access to your Content
Post and discuss amongst each other
...all in the same place.
Since they're already signed in to buy your items or consume your content, you don't need to sign them onto a different website or use Facebook. It's better for you and your members.
In the end the social media platform can prove to be an effective marketing tool for creators -however, it should be used in conjunction with a larger strategy and toolset. Creatives are successful by having control over what and how they make their content available.
Who took the time to fill out the survey?
In order to be eligible to the fellowship, candidates were required to be creators currently and part in the Creator Community. They had to fill out an application detailing how they plan to spend the prize money, as well as details about their company product, their challenges, and objectives.
Most of the data in this article comes from questions where creators were asked to choose among a variety of answers. For the question "If you were awarded the $2,022 fellowship, which would you use it for?" we included an open-ended field for answers.
In response to questions about their experience degree:
30.85% identified as beginners and averaged 2.40 years of work experience
8.11% identified as novices and an average of 2.77 years of expertise
40.98% identified as mid-level, with an average 4.98 years of expertise
15.80 Percentage of respondents are classified as highly advanced. The average 7.69 years of experience. 7.69 years of expertise
4.27% identified as experts, with an average of 15.3 years of expertise
We also asked whether they're a full-time creator, part-time creator, or somewhere in between:
39.13 percent of respondents are classified as full-time creator
18.81 percent of them identified as creator, who also has a part-time job
18.59 Percentage identified as creator + freelancer
14.70% identified as a part-time creator
8.76% identified as a creator, who also has a part-time job
Thank you to every creator who applied for the fellowship and gave us an insight into their thoughts, ideas and experiences.
The most important key
The market for creators is growing with each passing year, and no two journeys are the same. We interviewed over 900 creators to learn more about the challenges to run a creator business by 2022.
The most significant conclusions from their answers:
Creators across niches and experience degrees face the same 3 main challenges growing their audience (32.9 percentage) and finding the time to finish their work (21.6 percentage) as well as being able to make money from their work (14.4%).
When creators look for advice to overcome these challenges, they turn to other creators. It is essential to have a community as aspect of the creation process. The more experienced creators have been in newer creators' shoes. As such, they've got plenty of knowledge to impart.
The primary reason for social media use is to communicate their work with their fans, with Instagram being the most well-liked channel (29.1 percent). Using social media implies that creators are dependent of algorithms, which gives an uncontrollable access to their content and audience.
Of the 900+ responses we used for our data, no two were identical. Every journey of a creator is unique -- and we're here to support you at every stage.