If you’re concerned that your content won’t have an impact on others, or if you think nobody’s going to care about what you create, you’ve come to the right place.
Hopefully, highlighting my journey in this article will give you some perspective.
Like almost every other writer, I began outside the spotlight.
Back in 2015 during my junior year of high school, my content creation journey was born on an anonymous platform.
I started writing online as a way of venting my frustrations and complaints about the world, and for some time, my content had no significant impact as I broadcasted my thoughts into the dark.
Eventually, however, my content picked up traction, and although nobody knew who was behind the account, people started to express appreciation for what I made nonetheless.
I had no sense of identity attached to what I made and I still managed to create something of value to people I’ve never met.
And that’s when I had an epiphany.
The one thing you have to understand
The bottom line is this:
Last year, I wrote about the power of creating content online, and it is absolutely a real thing.
Anyone at any time can come across something you’ve made on the Internet, and if you’ve made something of value, they can come out on the other side better than they were before they consumed your content.
Maybe your superpower is making the best homemade cheesecake. Maybe you possess a secret trick for doubling your knitting speed while maintaining quality.
But if you don’t create, if you don’t share what you know with the world, we are all the worse for it.
The extent of my impact
I created content online from 2015 to 2021 before my hiatus.
Over those six years, I eventually established myself as someone who kids, teens, and young adults could go to for advice and guidance.
It wasn’t long before the DM’s started rolling in, either asking for advice or thanking me for what I’ve done, or both.
Take a look at what some of my audience has had to say below:
![](https://www.lucashawthorne.com/content/images/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-10-at-9.44.23-PM-1.png)
I don’t think it has to be said, but in case you’re wondering, every single one of those conversations is with a different person.
If you make content on what matters to you, eventually you’ll find your audience, and they will appreciate what you’re putting out there.
All it takes is two things:
And I think #2 is what stops a lot of people.
#2 doesn’t necessarily mean you’re “scared” to create content.
It can mean you:
- Don’t think you have what it takes.
- Don’t think your content will mean anything to anyone.
- Don’t think your content will find anyone.
Now I can’t say I can empathize with these thoughts, because remember, I started my online writing journey as a way to vent.
You don’t think about whether or not you have what it takes to vent; you just do it. And getting my thoughts and feelings out was therapeutic, so it didn’t matter to me if anyone came across my writing, much less whether or not it meant anything to anyone.
I needed an outlet to express myself because nobody in my personal life really cared about how I was feeling.
Yet to my surprise, random people online found my venting insightful.
That’s when I started to think about how I could provide my readers with more value.
I thought: Hey, maybe I should shift my content’s direction to focus less on complaints and more on how to bring about positive change.
Not to call myself a hero, but I do have a cape that I tuck myself under when I go to bed.
But see, not being able to empathize with those worries above should speak volumes about how if you just get started with creating content online, you can have an impact without even intending to have one, as was the case for me.
Don’t let your fears stop you. Once you get started on the road to writing, and content creation in general, people you don’t even know today will be thanking you down the road.
Member discussion