There’s a huge divide between people who identify as business owners and those who identify as content creators. Business owners seem to despise content creators — they see them as frivolous sellouts, money-grabbing empty shells, with little or no expertise but an overinflated ego to compensate for all of the above.
Recently, I debated this topic with my friend Lee Densmer of Globia Content (BTW, if you’re not on her list, get her newsletter!) and it made me think this is worth a public exploration.
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Why the disdain for content creators?
“Content creator” is a term that was coined when “influencer” got far too derogatory. The first influencers wanted recognition for their work — it’s not just showing up and looking pretty, it’s actual, hard work. Which is true.
Now that B2B creators are thing-thing, they started to balk at being lumped together with beauty and lifestyle influencers. They feel like they’re above that vapid, frivolous world: they have real skills and expertise, dammit.
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I get where this is coming from. Having worked with creators on both sides (B2B and B2C), I can tell you two things:
- The most frivolous of influencers you can think of has a lot of business acumen. The shallow role they play is just that: a role.
- For both B2B and B2C creators, fame is often just a vehicle to the real goal: revenue. Sure, some people enjoy the spotlight but most wouldn’t turn on the camera if they had a choice.
There is a lot to unpack here. Psychologists agree that you need a certain degree of narcissism to succeed on social media or as a content creator. Furthermore, being a creator will increase your narcissistic traits.
[An in-depth essay about what makes this line of work more fascinating than space travel].
This is an interesting key of interpretation for why most B2Bers refuse the “content creator” label and prefer to be known as entrepreneurs or business owners.
And yet
Most small businesses have a creator component to them
If you:
- Post content on social media under your own name, not your company’s name
- Go to podcasts or have your own podcast
- Actively search for media opportunities in your own name, not your company’s
- Regularly engage with people in your industry on social media
…then you’re (at least) part creator.
The most significant distinction delineating the two is that creators sell sponsorship opportunities and digital products, while business owners sell services or other types of offers.
That used to be true but it’s not anymore.
Most creators follow a hybrid model: they sell sponsorships and monetize their audience in various ways (like affiliate marketing) but they also offer services (consulting, for instance).
They are full-fledged businesses. Even in the B2C space, the most successful influencers build their own cosmetics, fashion, or lifestyle brands.
On the other hand, business owners too have turned to building a creator presence online as well, oftentimes borrowing from influencers’ handbook.
Candidly, I’ve started to see less and less of a difference between my agency business and my personal brand, which is closer to what you’d call a creator business.
Two things play a big part in growing both of them:
- My reputation — if my audience or my clients lose their respect for me, I’ll lose them
- The size of my audience — sure, a pure service-based business can fare well on a smaller audience. However, a large one will always, always enhance the owner’s reputation and make it easier to get more qualified leads and then convert them.
Speaking of audiences, I’ve started working on my Audience Accelerator course launching in July. I’m sure you know that, whatever you identify as, a larger audience will make any business easier.
If you want to build your business, build an audience first. Click here and hop on my priority announcement list to be the first to know when the course goes live.
Think this is a brave new (and weird) world? It’s not.
Steve Jobs was a content creator (too)
So are Bill Gates, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuck, Elon Musk (I know, I know), and many of the most prominent business figures you can think of.
They all used their personal brands (I have mixed feelings about this term, but here it is) to fuel the growth of their business
How many extra iPhones did any of Steve Jobs’ iconic speeches sell? I have no clue and neither did he.
This is a good reminder that marketing attribution is next to impossible in most cases.
What we all know is that, without those speeches, iPhones and iPads would have been less popular. Jobs’ brand, with all its good and bad, played a huge part in creating a cult-like following and client base for Apple.
The first Teslas were sold because Elon Musk promised a car like none other. They continue to sell even better when HE, not someone on staff, talks about them.
Gary Vaynerchuck built dozens of businesses on his social media following alone. They are “real” businesses too — I’m sure even those most skeptical about the creator economy will agree.
I could go on and on with examples but I think you got the point.
How do you find the balance between content creation and running a business?
This is one of the biggest challenges the clients I do consulting work with face: how do you balance the need for audience growth/reputation enhancement with being a business owner?
Which should take precedence?
What’s the first thing you do every morning — creator or business owner work?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here.
It all depends on your goals:
- Are you just starting out? → Focus on audience growth.
- Do you need to monetize quickly? → Focus on business growth and on services, not products.
- Are you comfortable with your current revenue? → Grow your audience to make it easier to scale your revenue when you need to.
- Do you need more sales NOW? → Go small, focus on individual relationships rather than audience growth at scale.
The Toddler Method
There are ifs and buts to all the points above. Can’t find a definitive answer? Use what I like to call “The Toddler Method”: ask “why” ad nauseam, 100 times if you have to, until you get to the root of the problem.
Examples:
- “This month, I’ll go all-in on audience building.” Why? → because I need a bigger audience. Why → to sell more products. Why? → to increase my revenue. A valid train of thought if you already have a decent conversion rate. If not:
- “This month, I’ll go all-in on networking and conversations”. Why? → because I need feedback. Why? → to build better products. Why? → because my current conversion rate isn’t good enough. Why? → because I need to figure out if it’s a marketing problem or a product problem. Why? → to increase my revenue.
The Toddler Method doesn’t play by rigid rules (it has “toddler” in the name, after all). However, you’ll notice that both examples end with increasing revenue. In most businesses, this is the ultimate goal.
When you’re unsure of whether you should be wearing the creator or the business owner hat most often, play this game until you can track everything back to revenue.
Like it or not, you need to wear multiple hats
And one of those hats will have “creator” written all over it. My final advice to you is to avoid getting caught up in internet flames and rigid definitions. Flexibility and adaptability always win.
Someone hates creators? So what? If the creator side of your business is responsible for the bulk of your revenue, get on with it. Appeasing Jane’s hatred or disdain will get you nowhere.
Not everyone will like you and that’s perfectly OK. I mean, do you like everyone you meet online, be they creators or business owners?
If you’re for everyone, you’re for no one.
The beauty of this seemingly new era of business is precisely the hybrid mode. It used to take a 6-7-figure PR budget to get media attention and exposure. You can do all that now on your own, with some elbow grease.
These days, it’s not just the Steves, the Elons, and the Marks of the business world that get exposure. You can get it too and NOT getting caught up in labels helps!
Where do you stand, {{ subscriber.first_name }}? Do you hate the term “content creator” or fully embrace it? Somewhere in the middle? Hit reply and let me know, I’d love to chat about it with you!
Adriana’s Picks
- Is social media worth paying for? An interesting analysis by The BBC
- Fashion and beauty brands double down on TikTok despite the looming ban.
- Is Web 3? Stripe started accepting payments in stablecoins. Again.
That’s it from me today!
See you next week in your inbox.
Here to make you think,
Adriana
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