The 3 biggest challenges that creators face in 2022 (Results from 900+ creator survey) |
There are no two journeys for creators similar. To learn more about the challenges of running an enterprise that is a creationist by 2022, we polled 900+ creators. This is what we learned.
"Creators have earned their first online dollar in the millions and they're joining one of the most rapidly growing ecosystems on the planet, the creator economy."
A total of 50 million individuals think of themselves as creators. And there's greater information than ever on becoming a full-time creator. The term "digital creator" is searched by search engines 2.5K per month. The phrase "how do I become content creator" is the subject of 1.3K search results.
The term "creator" refers to anyone who makes something. Yes, influencers, YouTubers as well as bloggers and podcasters are all creators, but so are artists and musicians, craftsmen teachers, worldbuilders and educators authorsand all the people in between.
This broad range of creative work means that no two creative journeys are alike.
What kinds of products are created by creators and sold? What are their biggest challenges? Where do they turn to for assistance? Which are the channels that have been most effective?
For more information about the challenges of running a creator business in 2022, we conducted a survey of more than 900 creators on their businesses. We asked them to share their challenges, advice sources along with creative channels, as well as their content.
Here's what we found:
Across experience levels The biggest obstacle for creators is growing an audience (32.9%), followed by finding enough time for everything (21.6%) and being able to realize monetization (14.4%).
For advice on how to tackle the problems, they mainly take advice from other creators. YouTube (22.6 percent) and personal mastermind groups (22.5%) are the top two sources that creators go to for help.
Social media is a way for creators to connect with their audiences, which is why Instagram as the top platform (29.1 percent) however, that means that they need to depend on algorithms to bring their content in front of those who are interested.
Keep reading for more details on the information.
What will be the most difficult for creators' problems in 2022?
We asked "What's your biggest challenge or battle as a creator today?"
32.9% Growing an audience
21.6 percent Finding the time to do everything
14.4% Knowing how to monetize
8.86 percent of product creation
3.35% Engaging with followers on social media
2.27% Keeping up with trends and changes
Across experience levels and content types, creators reported the three biggest challenges they face growing an audience, finding enough time for everything, and knowing how to monetize their efforts.
Challenge #1: Growing an audience
Search engine marketing and.
7.68% would spend on building or upgrading their website through using
5.66% would hire a graphic designer, while 4.16 percent would put their money into the development of
Getting your content and brand placed in front of the correct users can take a lot of time and be costly, particularly if you're not experienced in running an online business.
"While you're trying to build your email list You can't simply email people," Jessica explained. "I should also be present and prominent on social media."
As Jessica is becoming more active and established on social media, she's been capable of finding the appropriate platforms and produce material that is in line with her brand and her story. "If you're trying to create your following, people need frequent visits to your page," she shared.
It's important to be consistent. key -- but that doesn't mean your posts need be standardized. "You are able to do image posts, you can do [Instagram] Reels and also be humorous, you can perform Reels and also be professional ... Anything can be done to broaden the ways people can discover them."
Social media can be effective in reaching more people, but this can also mean that creators need to depend on the algorithmic algorithms of their content to be displayed in their feeds. We'll talk more about how creators want to -- and can -- get away from algorithms in the future.
Email is another one of the most effective and adaptable marketing methods for creators. The regular distribution of an email newsletters keeps you in contact with your target audience.
If you're a creator who wants to increase your email subscriber list and create an email newsletter, check out these resources:
The second challenge is finding enough time for everything
When we asked respondents how they would spend $2,022 to help others, investing in external aid was by far the most popular response.
We also found that 5.2 percent of entrepreneurs would utilize the cash for personal living expenses like rent, utilities, internet charges, as well as their personal salary to spend more time on their business.
3.42 percent of the creators use the funds to pay for time-restoring expenses including childcare, household support and time off from their work full time, or working fewer hours on side gigs.
Selecting the best tools and applications can help creators make the most of their valuable time.
To see how makes it easier to run an effective creator-based business, get started for free or sign up to our weekly demonstration.
Challenge #3: Knowing how to monetize
14.4 Percent of creators agree that figuring out how to earn income from their efforts is the most difficult thing they have to figure out. Your content is valuable and you've built an engaged audience -Now, how do you turn that into income?
We've seen hundreds of artists earn their first dollars online through selling digital items, including online courses, digital downloads, webinars, and memberships. Digital products let creators make money without relying on advertisers or sponsors.
For instance, take entrepreneur, web developer and creative director John D. Saunders to give an instance. When he launched his online training course , John earned $10,000 on day of launch, and $100,000 in total from his site.
When you've made your online class, the majority of the task is taken out of the way, and you can earn ongoing income. "While I'm asleep, I'm making income. While I'm out at amusement park, with my family I'm making sales" John explained.
Learn more about monetization options for creators by reading these articles:
With the many options for monetization out there, many creators look to each other for suggestions, ideas and advice on their own journeys. Which brings us to our second key lesson of the survey: How creators go to seek advice.
Where do creators go for advice?
We inquired "What's the number one source of advice for tackling your most difficult problem?"
22.6 percent YouTube
22.5 percent A private mastermind group
15.4 percent Google
8.86% Facebook group
7.89% Podcasts
5.95 percent of the non-Facebook community
4.11 percent of Blogs
1.41% Public forums (ex: Reddit)
While no two creative journeys are the same, we do know that creators from different specialties, products types and experiences levels are faced with similar challenges.
It makes sense, then to find solution and suggestions to the issues they face by talking to each other.
Creators are able to learn from their peers. Between YouTube videos, mastermind groups, Facebook groups forums, communities podcasts and blogs, 73.3% of creators surveyed look to other creators for guidance.
Google is the sole advice resource that's not necessarily in this category, though you can be sure that the creators created a large part of the search results, too.
An incredible seven-in-ten internet users participate in some type of virtual group, and 66% of people claim to join online communities to meet others who share their interests.
For creators, these communities are a vital source of information. Creators join in order to grow and learn, and we've seen the most successful creators to be extremely kind with their ideas and knowledge to assist new creators.
How do other creators run their business? What do they sell? Where does most of their income be derived? What is their method of building their audiences?
We are sure that creatives ask many questions, and frequently turn to one another for answers and inspiration.
The Creator Community was created by us to: Creator Community in order:
Provide entrepreneurs and creators with an opportunity to meet and collaborate
Help make the journey of creating more enjoyable and less lonely
Make creators feel part of a community that is accessible exclusively to them
Create exclusive content for members of the community, such as tutorials, interviews with creators and community-driven contests
Within the first two weeks of extending the forum to creators of all kinds, we saw over 1500 members as well as hundreds of posts with thoughts, queries, and advice.
Expert creators such as Emily Mills contributed helpful posts like this one:
Emily's hacks served as an excellent instance of how participants can benefit from one another's knowledge, one of the biggest advantages of joining a Creator community.
What types of content do creators produce? What is the best place to share their content?
We asked "What is your primary type of content that you produce?"
33.6 percent of courses
13.8% coaching
13.4% social media
16.54% video (9.19 percent short-form, 7.35% long-form)
6.38% blog posts
4.76 percent of downloads
4.43% email newsletters
2.81 percent of webinars
Over one-third of people who filled out the survey created online courses as their main form of content. Following courses, coaching, social media, and video were the most popular types of media.
Here are some useful resources for creators seeking to design and sell online courses:
Also, we learned that authors sell an average of 10.95 items.
After that, we inquired "What's the most important channel that you use for your business?"
29.1% on Instagram
22.4%
17.4% Facebook
8.97 Percent YouTube
5.41% Blog
5.08% Zoom
2.49 29% TikTok
0.865% Shopify
0.541% Etsy
The creators of the world are making use of social media to engage with their fans, with Instagram being the most popular social media channel (29.1%) and then being followed by Facebook (17.4 percent) and YouTube (8.97 percent).
We've already mentioned that social media is a terrific way for creators to expand their reach and establish themselves within their respective niches and communities. There's just one drawback to relying on social media the algorithm.
Social media platforms use algorithms to decide what content is displayed on their users' feeds.
The creators of content are in the hands of these algorithms . Your original content could show on the feeds of your followers However, it may not. These algorithms are subject to change with no notice, and social media companies are far from being transparent with regards to how they operate.
For example, updates on the Facebook algorithm over the last few years have led to the decrease of organic engagement which means that fewer users see creators' social posts in their news feeds.
Below are additional motives why some creators do not like Facebook:
"I consider that FB is distracting and members either won't find my post or will not stick on the site."
"FB groups are untrustworthy as well as a bit clumsy, and many people have fled FB in the present, and it's tough to get engagement there."
"I am really averse to having my family members go to Facebook or similarly shady tech companies who collect information and use it to hook users to distract us."
"I must pay for a full-time VA to admit members to the club, accept them as members and moderate them. We have Google Sheets and separate Facebook Messenger software, which costs $30 per month, plus we are bound by Facebook's algorithm as well as distracting features. This is a complete mess."
Creators tend to build digital communities using social media platforms due to the lack of an alternative. Facebook Groups make it easy to log in, but it's also where the benefit ends.
On the other hand this, an all-in-one platform for creators like gives you complete control of the contents you offer to your customers and how you interact with them.
Members of the community are able to:
Buy your products
You can access your contents
Post and discuss between one another
...all all in one place.
Since they're already signed in to buy your items or consume your content, there's no need to log onto a different website or depend on Facebook. It's better for your users and you.
Overall the social media platform can prove to be a useful marketing tool for creatorsHowever, it's best utilized as a piece of 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?
For the opportunity to apply to the fellowship, candidates had to be current creators and part of the Creator Community. The application was completed by applicants in which they explained how they planned to use the money they won and also provide details about their company, products, challenges, and objectives.
A majority of the information contained in this article originates from questions where the creators were asked to select from several answers. In the case of "If you were awarded the $2,022 grant, what do you plan to spend the money on?" we included an open-ended field for answers.
In response to questions about their experience level:
30.85 percent are classified as beginning and averaged 2.40 years of work experience
8.11 percent of respondents were classified as beginners and an average of 2.77 years of experience
40.98 percent are classified as middle-level with an average 4.98 years of experience
15.80 Percentage of respondents are classified as highly advanced, with an annual average for 7.69 years of expertise
4.27 percent of respondents are classified as experts, with an average of 15.3 years of experience
We also wanted to know if they're a full-time or part-time creator or in between:
39.13% identified as a full-time creator
18.81% identified as a creator, who also has a part-time job
18.59 percent of them identified as creator and freelancer
14.70 percent of them are classified as part-time creator
8.76 Percent of respondents are classified as creator, who also has a part-time job
Thank you to every creator who submitted an application for this fellowship, and who gave us an insight into their creative ideas, struggles and experiences.
Key takeaways
The economy of creators is expanding with each passing year, and no two journeys are the same. We interviewed over 900 creators to learn more about the challenges managing a creative business by 2022.
Here are the key lessons they learned from their responses:
Creators of all niches and different levels face the same challenges increasing their reach (32.9%), finding enough time to get everything done (21.6 percentage), and being able to make money from their work (14.4 14%).
When creators look for advice for overcoming these difficulties, they turn to other creators. It is essential to have a community as aspect of the creation process. More experienced creators have been in newer creators' shoes. As such, they're armed with valuable knowledge to impart.
Social media is a popular way for creators for sharing their content to their followers, with Instagram as the most popular platform (29.1 percent). Using social media implies that creators are at the mercy of algorithms and give an uncontrollable access to their content as well as the audience they reach.
From the more than 900 responses we used for our data, no two were the same. Every creator journey is different We're there to help you through each step.