How To Expand Your Audience As A Content Creator
Photo by Melanie Deziel on Unsplash
In this digital age, it seems that everyone has something important to share. Some may want to share their love of dancing through TikTok, inspire others with their personal blog, showcase tasty recipes on YouTube, or publish their stories on various writing platforms. Others may want to share their knowledge through written or video-recorded courses on platforms like Skillshare.
The one thing that all creatives have in common is the desire to build their audience. It can be a demoralizing moment to realize that the video or article you’ve worked so hard on publishing has only gotten a couple of views, or worse, none. So, how do you go about reaching a wider audience?
Self Promotion
One of the best ways to get your work out there and build an audience is by mastering the art of self promotion. This could mean cross-sharing videos or articles on different platforms, posting on social media, and sending a link to your work directly to friends, family, and fans.
Try to create short posts on social media that showcase the topic of your content and why someone would want to read, watch, or listen to it. Most people have a pretty short attention span these days which means you only have a few seconds to catch their attention and reel them in. End your posts with a call to action that drives your potential audience to check out your work.
It may feel uncomfortable when you get started because creators often have trouble recognizing the true value of the content they create. You may not feel comfortable promoting yourself in the beginning but the more you practice it the more comfortable you will become.
Join A Group
There are so many people who are trying to make it as a content creator. As a result, thousands of groups have popped up across social media platforms and other websites for up and coming content creators to join.
There you can share links to your content, exchange ideas with other creators, and connect with a group of people who understand and experience the same challenges that you’re facing.
These groups are a great place to share successes, commiserate over difficulties, and strategize about how to build your audience. If you don’t find a group that’s specific to your niche and medium, then it may be beneficial to consider starting one yourself. You may be surprised by just how many people find you via your group and follow your work from there.
Translation Services
Language barriers can be a difficult hurdle to overcome when you’re trying to widen your audience. If you want your content to reach as many people as possible then you should look into paying for a reliable translation service.
If you’re still a small creator and can’t focus on translating your work into multiple languages, then it might be a good idea to start with Spanish translations. Spanish is the second most frequently used language in the United States.
You can find a company that specializes in translating content with a quick internet search. Some companies offer a wide range of translation services from blog posts to Spanish survey translation.
You can add subtitles in other languages to your videos or post a link at the beginning of your article to a translated version. This gives you the potential to open your audience to millions of people who wouldn’t be able to engage with your content otherwise.
Other Mediums
As a content creator of any kind, you can’t be shy when it comes to promoting your work. Try delving into other mediums to reach a wider audience. For example, if your focus is on publishing how-to videos on YouTube, then it should be a quick and simple process to turn those videos into articles. You can publish the articles on a personal blog or writing platform like Medium. It’s a great way to help your content reach a wider audience.
You can also do the same thing in reverse. If you’re a content creator who focuses on writing articles, poetry, or stories, then you should absolutely look into turning your written content into audio and visual content.
All you need is a cell phone to record yourself reading your own content and there are several websites that will allow you to upload your video or audio file for free. This way you can reach people who may be visually impaired or simply prefer consuming content audibly or visually.
Networking
Finding a wider audience doesn’t have to be challenging. Millions of Americans consider themselves to be content creators and that number is expected to continue growing at a fast pace. No matter what your niche is it’s guaranteed that there will be others who have already found success and would be happy to share the wealth.
Reach out to successful content creators in your niche and medium through social media. Write a glowing review of their work and tag them on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. All content creators love to feel that their work has really reached and resonated with someone so make sure to engage directly with their work. This may look different across various platforms but like, comment, and follow them where you can.
Once you’ve managed to connect with a successful creator, you can try pitching a collaborative project with them. This will get you in touch with their entire audience and will almost certainly lead to new followers or fans for you. By working with a successful creator your work will gain a sense of authority and credibility.