Freelance Your Way to Freedom

18Creating and Automating Content

You don't need a corporation or a marketing company to brand you now: you can do it yourself. You can establish who you are with a social media following.

— Ray Allen

Creating content online is just as much a calculated, research‐based endeavor as it is a creative one. You don't have to be the most “creative” person to ever hit planet earth to make content on social media. I find the most successful content creators of all are the ones who perfectly blend the art of research with artistic expression.

The online world is equally receptive to extroverts and introverts. In fact, I find that most of my favorite TikTok creators self‐identify as introverts in real life. At the end of the day, making content is a lonely pursuit: it's just you, your phone, and maybe some lights or a mic. You don't need to perform in front of real people. You can find the settings, spaces, and times that make you feel the most comfortable. It can be something that anyone can do, I promise.

Before you automate the content development process, let's first go over how to create it. As I mentioned in Chapter 17, making content on social media is going to be something that you'll change over time. The type of content you make today may not be the content your audience wants from you one year from now. Many trends on TikTok can come and go in just a few weeks. Being timely with what people want and adjusting your posting style can really help you grow a following that makes ...