Why most creators don’t embrace distribution

Create Once. Distribute Forever.

Note from Adam: the following is a guest post from my friend Ross Simmonds, who recently wrote a book on marketing that’s worth checking out whether you work for a company or personally want your ideas to spread further. I’m a big fan of Ross and even had him on a previous podcast you can watch here or listen to here. We don’t do too many guest posts here, just from a few trusted people on occasion. Anyway, if you enjoy this primer of his book, make sure you get a copy.

Every creative has two dilemmas. You can be someone who creates, waits, and hopes that good things are going to happen to you. Or you can be the person who creates and distributes deliberately. Every day, many creators take the first, luck-based path. Eventually, they quit before realizing their full potential. Either they are ashamed to promote themselves, afraid that they’ll fail, or any other number of fears that stop them from breaking through their own limits. Creators with these issues will tend to be the “hope for the best” or “blame the system” instead of taking their fate into their own hands. If you’ve fallen into that mindset trap, I’m here to help you snap out of it.

Let’s conduct a thought experiment. Imagine an underrated, underground, and unknown musician who produces excellent music that you (and all your friends) would love. The musician isn’t willing to go on tour. Perhaps they have too much fear to play in front of a crowd or too much ego to play in small arenas and get their foot in the proverbial door. Maybe they don’t want to share tour dates on their social media because they don’t want to seem “too promotional.” And they don’t want to email their friends or colleagues about their latest music, all because of fear of technology. The end result is a great musician whose excellent music is not heard by you or anybody. The musician’s mindset holds back themselves and would-be listeners of something special. And it’s possible that you’ve done something similar. 

This mindset is a waste of talent and arguably life. If you believe in the work you’ve created, then you should feel good and excited to distribute it as well as you can. Otherwise, you’re doing your audience a disservice by not distributing something that would benefit them. Helping your audience find value is not selling out. This is not only about you. It’s about helping other people who are struggling with the thing you can help them with. It’s time to get over your fears. 

The Fear of Being Unfollowed

There are a lot of reasons to be afraid of distribution. Perhaps the most emotionally painful fear is that of losing social validation with your peers by coming off as too promotional or, as some would describe it, selling out. 

To be fair, there’s a real horror movie called Unfollowed, and it’s not meant as a joke. Social fear is a genuine fear. 

Social invalidation comes in many forms, though, not just being unfollowed. It could also manifest as a fear of negative comments or the idea that people will mute your account without you even realizing it. These interactions, to some, can feel like personal attacks. There is something about our wiring as humans that deeply cares about how others view us. 

So, how can we overcome this fear? By internalizing one simple truth about the internet: In reality, no one really cares that much. And if they do unfollow you, mute your account, or block you on social media, does it really matter? You can’t pay the bills with opinions. It’s not likely they were going to help pay your bills down the road anyway. If someone doesn’t like your content, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they will scroll past it. 

Thousands of people scrolling past your work is not an indicator that your content is bad. It’s likely that at that moment they simply were not your target audience and what you shared may not have caught their attention. The vast majority of people who see the link or headline to your content will choose not to engage—and that’s okay. When it comes to distribution, if you pull even 10 percent engagement, you are considered wildly successful. This can sometimes be something hard to wrap your head around because if you received a 10 percent on an exam, for example, you “failed.” It’s important to remember that success and failure are relative. Turning 5,000 website visits into one client, or some such “poor” ratio, could very well mean game-changing money for you or your business. 

You have to get over your fear of what others may say or think about you or your brand. As the popular saying goes, “Haters are gonna hate.” As you grow comfortable with distributing your content, a new group of like-minded and open-minded people will start following and flocking toward you. This is the audience we focus on. Do not fear the haters.

The Fear of Being an Imposter

Imposter Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon wherein an individual doubts their abilities and feels like a fraud despite evidence of their accomplishments. This mindset can be particularly debilitating for individuals looking to promote their content online. Confidence in content can lapse. They may feel like their work isn't "good enough" or that they don't deserve their success, causing them to shy away from promoting themselves.

The fear of being exposed as a fraud can hold people back, resulting in missed opportunities for exposure and growth. Even if someone has a significant following, they may still struggle to feel like they belong in their position, leading to self-doubt and second-guessing. Tom Hanks even suffered from Imposter Syndrome: "No matter what we've done, there comes a point where you think, 'How did I get here? When are they going to discover that I am, in fact, a fraud and take everything away from me?'"

Furthermore, individuals with Imposter Syndrome may struggle to take constructive criticism, feeling as if any feedback they receive is proof that they're not good enough. This can hinder their growth and progress toward goals.

Overall, Imposter Syndrome can be a significant hurdle for individuals looking to promote their content online. It's essential to recognize when these feelings arise and take steps to push past them. Do so by surrounding yourself with supportive individuals, celebrating small wins, and reframing negative self-talk into positive self-talk. 

The Fear of Experimentation

Every year, I like to experiment with a new channel. It’s a personal challenge to figure out how to crack the code as it relates to a new social network, technology, or community. One year it was SlideShare. Another, Quora. Afterward, I make it a point to create a piece of content to summarize the findings and lessons learned.

You never know when your experimentation will lead to a new insight, a new distribution opportunity, or a moment when you strike gold. For example, after learning Quora, the “here are my findings” piece of content I created landed me in Forbes magazine multiple times with stories about Jay-Z and Rockstar Games that generated millions of reads. 

If you keep yourself open, experiment with new possibilities, and move past the initial challenge of not knowing what you’re doing, you can go far. Yes, you might not be successful at first. But the more you experiment, the more insight you glean on how to effectively distribute your content. 

The Fear of Time Commitment

Some people hold the view that distribution efforts and the initial learning curve upfront take too much time. It is true that it is a lot of work. However, it is not true that it takes too much time. In fact, in the long run, your returns will grow while your hours will remain constant (and sometimes lessen). 

How can your growth scale? Let’s look at two possible scenarios. First scenario: You could spend time generating many pieces of great content, thinking that content is most important. You hit “publish” on these pieces of content and only receive a small amount of total engagement before moving on to the next creation piece. Total time invested is two to four hours. 

Second scenario: You could spend an equal amount of time creating one piece of content, consider how to distribute it well, distribute it, and generate even more engagement and returns than you would if you just hit publish. 

Yes, the time invested is greater, but the return from the initial investment in creating is greater—ideally, more than two times greater because you have embraced a distribution strategy that allowed you to reach more than twenty times the amount of people you would have seen if you just hit publish. More often than not, the biggest mistake that people and brands make is that they overestimate the importance of production and underestimate the importance of distribution. The time you would have spent creating the next piece can be allocated to promoting the last piece. 

If you’re a founder or an entrepreneur, you probably don’t have a lot of time. You may believe in the importance of distribution but aren’t sure how to fit it into the schedule. I’m here to tell you—although they will be covered in more detail later—there are ways you can become more efficient in your distribution channels. 

One of those time-saving strategies is to schedule your distribution ahead of time. While you are reading my book, I’ve probably sent out about six Tweets, posted two LinkedIn articles, and shared something on Instagram. I use tools to schedule my content in advance, and you can do the same. In fact, I have a Tweet scheduled for 2089, and it’s going to say “Kids, I miss you and love you.” Please don’t ruin the surprise for them. (If you are my kid and bought my book to support me, this is possibly the worst spoiler alert of all time. I’m hoping you forget by the time 2089 rolls around.) Either way, this tweet will be fulfilling because, while I won't be around physically, I will still be able to tell my kids how much they mean to me. 

A lot of people underestimate the power of scheduling things to get ahead on distribution. It’s even useful for obligatory social media posts on anniversaries, birthdays, and Valentine’s Day, to avoid the dog house. 

There is no better tool for busy people than content schedulers. Go to Google and find a content scheduling tool that works for you and the distribution channels you use. 

The Fear of Being Judged

Not always, but sometimes, creators overestimate their reach and influence. Harsh truth. In most cases, your audience is much smaller than you actually think, and to avoid this misguided thinking you should be promoting your work daily. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re above distribution. Everybody thinks they are a good driver despite the impossibility of everyone on the road being a good driver, right? Or am I the only one with a family member who thinks they are a terrific driver despite me gripping the grab handle tightly the entire ride? 

Most people think they are amazing, and that is also true when it comes to sharing things online. Somebody posts to LinkedIn, gets a few likes, and believes droves of users have possibly clicked on and read the content. One like means a hundred people have read it, right? Wrong. The truth is, we humans are apt to get caught up in our own ego a little bit. Even those few people who liked the post probably didn’t make it past the headline. 

Don’t carry delusions of grandeur. Even Beyonce has to promote her albums. If you are bigger than Beyonce, then well done. But, let’s face it, you’re not. But if somehow you are, then I’m thrilled you found my book, and I encourage you to tweet about how you’re reading these words. Okay. Back to regularly scheduled programming.   

Don’t overestimate your reach or underestimate how your ego could be holding you back. Promote your work. Distribute your stories. And remember there are millions of people out there who haven’t heard of you yet because you’re not willing to put yourself out there.