Gaining a following: Does being an influencer help your business?
Today we're talking about freelance writers who are launching courses, templates, digital products, etc., and the promotion it entails to be successful. To do this well, does a freelance writer need to think of themselves as a full-time Creator or Influencer? We discuss our different stances/experiences doing this work and explore the complexities, challenges, and ethical considerations of this career shift.
We start by defining what it means to participate in the creator economy—essentially becoming a public-facing figure who monetizes their expertise through coaching, courses, digital products, or content creation. We both acknowledge that this path requires established credibility and a substantial body of work first.
We then went into share our personal experiences with this potential career pivot:
Emma finds aspects of influencer work appealing, particularly since she has a personality-driven brand that resonates with people. However, she identifies several hesitations:
The need for extreme focus on a specific audience
Ethical concerns about making guarantees in a challenging market
Managing multiple audience segments across different business lines
Personal boundaries regarding sharing family information online
Kaleigh, despite having a significant social media following (64,000 followers on Twitter/X), expresses similar reservations:
Discomfort with constant self-promotion and selling
Preference for behind-the-scenes service work
Life circumstances making public-facing work intimidating
Social media algorithms limiting actual reach despite follower counts
We then went on to explore the fundamental business model differences between service-based freelancing and creator businesses:
Service businesses can thrive with just five high-paying clients
Creator businesses typically require thousands of followers/customers to generate comparable income
From there, we discussed evolving expectations for creators, particularly the increased demand for personal vulnerability and authenticity. We both noted the trend toward sharing more intimate life details, but suggested creators can still maintain boundaries by selectively choosing what personal information to share.
The conversation concludes with agreement that while pivoting to the creator economy offers potential business opportunities for freelance writers, it requires careful consideration of personal comfort levels, ethical boundaries, and business model viability.
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