Vanessa Lau, Founder and CEO of Vanessa Lau International Inc.
Have you been trying to monetize your content for a while but still don’t see any results? Do you have an audience, but nobody seems interested in your product? Have you consistently published content on various platforms but are still unable to quit your job to become a full-time creator? According to Vanessa Lau, this is probably because you’re making one of these three basic mistakes.
Vanessa Lau is a corporate escapee who in 2018 decided to quit her position as marketing manager to become a full-time content creator. In less than a year, she managed to create a multiple six-figure business that helps thousands of people from all over the world expand their organic reach.According to Lau, these are the three most common mistakes that prevent young content creators from scaling up their businesses.
1. Only relying on short content
Most platforms are now pushing short-form content, leading many content creators to give up long-form videos. The truth is that focusing only on this type of content not only is a losing battle but can also be very frustrating. “I don’t know about you, but I prefer to grow my account based on my thought leadership and unique content, not lip syncing to a five-second audio and praying people read my caption,” said Lau.
According to her, even though short-form content can help you expand your brand, long-form videos and emails are fundamental to creating a solid fan-based community. These are considered by Lau as the pillar pieces of every business as they build trust and nurture prospects way faster than short-form content. “Someone is able to watch one video of mine and immediately trust me as a creator and also as a business owner because they have spent at least ten minutes watching my video in full, whereas it may take multiple short form content pieces that someone needs to watch or read in order to get that same level of trust,” said Lau.
2. Get stuck in audience capture
Another common mistake new creators make is getting stuck in audience capture. But what does this term refer to? Most people initially focus on a particular topic. As a consequence, their audience will expect them to share the same type of content over and over again.
The problem is that if you don’t expand your brand, you will never be able to scale up your business. The entrepreneurial landscape is constantly changing and unless you adapt, your brand will soon die. Even though this may make you lose a few subscribers it will also help you get plenty of new ones in return. “When it comes to entrepreneurship, you cannot get too comfortable. Things always change, and you need to adapt or die. The algorithms, market trends, and customers don’t care how you feel. Things will move on without you, whether you like it or not,” said Lau.
3. Don’t find customers, create them
One of the biggest advantages of being a content creator is that you don’t need to attract customers, but can create your own instead. If you’ve been in this business for a while but still don’t see results, it’s simply because your content is not good enough. So, stop complaining and change your strategy! Your videos should have the power of shifting beliefs and sharing new perspectives turning non-ideal customers into dream clients.
You can achieve this by avoiding one-dimension content and considering the clients’ full customer journey instead. Your videos should be tailored for people who don’t even know they have a problem and help them become aware of an untapped opportunity. Once you achieve this, you can tell them how to solve the problem or execute that opportunity. Create videos showing your unique experience in the field and build a solid community. Once you have a faithful audience who trusts you, you can finally create content focused on your product. “This is how you create customers without paying to find them. When I explained this in more detail to some entrepreneurs, their perspectives completely shifted,” said Lau.
You may be interested in: 5 Must-have Features In An Online Form Creator