I have been making money online for a few years now. I have seen many people come and go, some for health reasons but mostly because they did not build a business that will stand the test of time.
I have seen people quit because Elon Musk changed the X algorithm and now it is very difficult for smaller accounts to grow and, yet I see many new creators growing their accounts in the same algorithm.
10 Keys For Creator Business Longevity
Achieving longevity in a creator business is about building sustainable growth over time. Here are the key elements that ensure creators stay relevant, profitable, and resilient.
Adaptability to Market Changes
The only constant thing in life is change, everyday there is a new app, a new algorithm, a new AI tool, etc.
The only way to survive these changes is the ability to adapt, you need to figure out what are the new trends in the industry, learn new skills, and overcome them.
Things that worked a year ago, today are obsolete, you need to be up to date with the changes.
I have a friend who was making $20000+ a month from his blog, but now he can not make even $100 per month, this is because Google changed the algorithm and his site got de-indexed and now can not get the traffic it used to get.
Building a Strong Personal Brand
People buy from other people they know and like. If you want to build a creator business that will pass the test of time, you need to build a brand around it.
Stop building this anonymous business that uses AI-generated images, put your name out there, tell your personal stories, and let people know and like you, this way you will become their go-to person, and even if the algorithm changes, they will know where to find you.
Diversifying Income Streams
I remember I was promoting this great product, I was making a lot of money, so I decided to go all in, a few months ago SEC started to investigate the company, they freezer the company’s accounts and other assets, and just like that I lost my all income.
This happens a lot, I know people who for some unknown reason a payment processor company ( PayPal, Stripe, etc) decided to close their accounts and lost the business.
To protect yourself from this my recommendation is to diversify your income, you can include the following income streams in your business.
Online courses
Affiliate marketing
Sponsored content
Memberships (Patreon, YouTube memberships)
Digital products (eBooks, templates)
Focus on Quality and Value
With AI I see a lot of people generating a lot of low-quality content. Write a short prompt, put it in an AI tool and it will generate content and hit publish.
While this method might work in short time, but people will figure you out and will stop following you and the algorithm will kill your reach.
To generate quality content is simple, do the thing you are talking about, and share the process with your audience, bots and AI tools can not replicate that.
Effective Time and Energy Management
I believe that working hard is key to success, but do not overwork yourself until you reach a burnout stage.
There are many people out there promoting the hustle culture, but I do not believe that working 24/7 will work for most people.
If you put in the real work I believe 8 hours are enough ( if you’re a full-time content creator ) or 2 to 4 hours if you still have a job.
The problem with overworking is that most people will burn out and quit, remember quality over quantity when it comes to building the creator business.
Data-Driven Decision Making
One reason people recommend hustle culture is that they do not track their metrics so they do not know what is working and not is not working in their business.
You need to analyze traffic, engagement rates, and conversions to identify what works. Then Double down on high-performing content and eliminate low-performing strategies.
This will make you concentrate on tasks that make more impact on your business, hence reducing the time wasted on low-impact tasks and freeing more time for you to spend as you wish.
Building a Loyal Community
Human beings love living in communities, since the start of humanity we have seen people with the same interests gather together.
You can find this in every aspect of life, for example, sports, religion, hobbies, etc. In a digital world, it is no different, you will always find people who share a certain interest or belief gathering together.
Building a community will create a sense of belonging. You can use newsletters, exclusive communities, or meet-ups to foster loyalty.
In your community, you can share behind-the-scenes insights or involve your community in content creation (e.g., polls or Q&A sessions).
Facebook Groups, Reddit, and Discord are popular choices. Each offers unique features to take care of different types of communities.
Investing in Long-Term Relationships
Find people you like ( I would say between 10 to 100 people), follow them on social media, engage with their content, and send them a few DMs once in a while.
Most of these people will start to check on you, on what are you doing and they will start engaging with you too.
These are people you can build a relationship with, these are people if they mention in their content can make a difference in your business.
Do not ask them for a favor straight away, communicate with them, offer them help if you can and when you are in need these are the people you can go to and they can help you.
Embracing Innovation and Technology
Technology is changing very fast, you can not afford to stay behind. Use new technologies like ChatGPT to generate content ideas or scripts.
You can use tools for scheduling posts, managing emails, or analyzing metrics (e.g., Hootsuite, Google Analytics, ActiveCampaign, etc).
Also, you can use these tools to Streamline workflows so you can focus on high-impact activities.
Building Long-Term Vision and Purpose
The main reason that most content creators fail and quit is that they focus on short-term goals, they want to make a quick buck, and they want to go viral, if they share 5 posts and no one likes or comments, they think the algorithm is against them and call it a day.
To build a business that will last long you need to aim to build a business that makes a meaningful impact on your audience.
Your content and business should align with your long-term goals and values.
Remember why you started—passion is crucial for maintaining longevity, even during tough times.
Key Takeaways: 10 Keys For Creator Business Longevity
- Adaptability to Market Changes.
- Building a Strong Personal Brand.
- Diversifying Income Streams.
- Focus on Quality and Value.
- Effective Time and Energy Management.
- Data-Driven Decision Making.
- Building a Loyal Community.
- Investing in Long-Term Relationships.
- Embracing Innovation and Technology.
- Building Long-Term Vision and Purpose.