The Biggest Mistake I Made as a Creator - Episode 61

Welcome back to Social Media Mastery - Episode 61!

Today, we’re discussing a topic that is very close to home:

The Biggest Mistakes I Made as a Social Media Content Creator

We all make mistakes right?

Looking back, I made one that held me back for years.

This episode should give you an insight into some of the errors I have made when it comes to content creation, so you can learn from them, without having to make them yourself!

The Trap

When I first started making social media content, I presumed that because I had a vast knowledge of the space (just from being a fan), I would have a head start when it came to “going viral”.

Unfortunately for me, that doesn’t seem to be how it works.

I find social media to be many skill sets, if you are to be super successful.

Firstly, you have to be very analytical.

Secondly, you need to be very creative.

Thirdly, you need to be confident on camera.

And finally, you need to accept two things:

A. It will probably take longer than you expect.

B. You will look cringe before you look successful.

In the beginning, I had the analytical skills, and the creativity as well. However, I did not have the skills in front of camera, nor the acceptance of time it will take to work.

I would get genuinely affected day to day, depending on how many views I was receiving.

And the worst part about it was, I would only be happy if I had an outlier (A social media outlier is a data point, or piece of content that deviates from the average norm).

My advice now, as somebody who has posted over 30,000 times on social media:

Ignore views as a goal.

Use them as feedback - not validation.

Use views and other metrics to indicate what is working, and what is not working, so you can improve.

The Opinion Problem

The second mistake I made when I first started creating content was that I cared way too much about what others would say about me.

Every time I posted, I would refresh my socials to see if any of my “friends” had seen the post, as I was very fearful of what they would have to say.

And honestly…

Who cares?

The biggest content creators don’t care what their friends or family think, otherwise they would have got a “real” job, rather than creating weird little YouTube or TikTok videos.

My advice as someone who has been there and got the T-shirt when it comes to being anxious about other people’s opinions is this:

The funny thing is, I don’t speak to a single person in 2026 who made me feel anxious about posting content in 2022 or 2023.

I noticed the ones I was worried about were also the ones that I didn’t actually really care for as people. They weren’t in my close bubble of people.

So I removed them.

If they were someone you genuinely wanted to speak to in 30 years, they wouldn’t make you feel anxious for creating content and trying to better yourself.

Conclusion

Very simply…

Set goals that are not algorithm based, as you cannot control that.

What you can control is who you choose to spend your time with.

Don’t pick people who make you feel worried about what they might say when you step out of your comfort zone.

Most creators don’t quit because they lack talent, they quit because they care too much about numbers they can’t control and opinions that don’t matter.

Focus on the process.

Ignore the noise.

Keep posting.

Make sure to subscribe, and remember - “One rotten apple can spoil the bunch, don’t let one negative opinion ruin your belief in yourself.”

- Jacob

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