The three biggest issues creators will face in 2022 (Results of 900+ creator surveys) |

No two creator journeys are identical. For more information on the challenges of running the business of a creator in 2022, we conducted a survey of 900+ creators. This is what we learned.

"Creators are earning their first  online dollar by the millions, and joining one of the most rapidly growing ecosystems on our planet: the creator economy."

The estimated 50 million individuals consider themselves to be creators. And there's more information available than ever on becoming an all-time creator. The phrase "digital creator" is entered into the search engines 2.5K times every month. The phrase "how you can become a creator of content" sees 1.3K search results.

A creator is anyone who makes something. Yes, influencers, YouTubers bloggers, podcasters, and influencers are all creators - however, so are artists, craft-makers, musicians and educators, worldbuilders, authorsand all the people in between.

This broad range of creative work means that no two creative journeys are identical.

What kinds of products can creators create and offer? What are the biggest issues they face? Where do they turn to for assistance? Which are the channels that have been most effective?

To learn more about what it's like to run an entrepreneur business that is based on creativity by 2022, we polled more than 900 creators on their businesses. We asked them about their struggles, sources for advice along with creative channels, as well as the content they create.

What we discovered:

In all experience levels, creators' biggest challenge is to increase the number of people who watch their content (32.9 percent), followed by having enough time to do everything (21.6 percent) and knowing how to monetize (14.4 percent).

In seeking help to overcome these issues, creators typically benefit from one another. YouTube (22.6%) and personal mastermind groups (22.5%) are two of the best sources that creators go to for help.

Creators are using social media to reach out to their audience, with Instagram being the most popular channel (29.1%) -- but that means they have to depend on algorithms to bring their content seen by those who are interested.

Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the information.

What are the biggest creator issues in 2022?

We asked "What's your biggest challenge or difficulty as a creator now?"

32.9% Growing an audience

21.6 percent Finding the time to do everything

14.4% Knowing how to make money

8.86 Percent of creation

3.35 Percent of users are engaging with their followers on social media

2.27 percent Keeping pace with changes and trends

Over a range of levels of experience and content types, creators reported the same three main challenges that they face: attracting a larger number of viewers, finding time for everything, and figuring out how to make money off their work.

Challenge #1: Growing an audience

and Search Engine Marketing.

7.68 768 percent of people would invest the funds to build or improve their site by using

5.66% would hire graphic designers, and 4.16 percent would put their money into an investment in

Making sure your brand and content are to the most relevant people can be time-consuming and costly, particularly if you're just starting out with an online company.

"While you're still working to build your email list, you can't just email folks," Jessica explained. "I also have to still be very present and very noticeable via Facebook and other social platforms."

As Jessica has grown more active and established on social media platforms, she's successful in identifying the best platforms to create material that is in line with her brand and story. "If you're looking to grow a following, they have be able to visit you frequently," she shared.

She emphasizes that consistency is key -- but that does not mean that your content has to follow a formulaic format. "You can create your own post with images, do [Instagram] Reels and be funny, you can do Reels as well as be professional ... whatever you want to try to diversify how people can discover you."

Social media may be an effective way to reach many more people. However, it is also a requirement for creators depend on platforms' algorithms for their posts to appear on their audience's feeds. We'll talk more about how creators want to -and are able to change their algorithms at a later date.

Email is yet another of the most cost-effective and adaptable marketing methods for creators. Sending out a regular email newsletters keeps you in contact with your customers.

If you're a creator who wants to expand your list of email subscribers and create an email newsletter, take a look at these sources:

The second challenge is finding enough time for all things

If we asked people what they'd spend $2,022 on to help others, investing in external aid was the most popular answer.

Additionally, we discovered that 5.2 percent of the creators make use of the funds to pay for their personal expenses such as utility bills, rent, internet charges, as well as their personal income to be able to work more in their work.

3.42 percent of creatives use the funds to pay for time-restoring expenditures such as childcare, household help, time off from work full time, or working fewer hours on side gigs.

Making the most suitable tools and applications will allow creators to make more of their time.

For a look at what makes it easier to run an effective creator-based business, get started for no cost or sign up to our weekly demonstration.

Problem #3: Understanding what to do to increase your income

14.4 Percent of creators agree that knowing how to make income from their efforts is the biggest obstacle they face. You've created valuable content and created an audience that is engagedNow, how do transform that into income?

We've seen thousands of creators earn their first online dollar by selling digital goods, such as digital downloads, online classes webinars, memberships and. Selling digital products lets creators earn money, without having to rely on advertisers or sponsors.

Consider entrepreneur, web designer, and creative director John D. Saunders  as an illustration. The day he announced his online class on the 14th of September , John earned $10,000 on day of launch, and $100,000 in total on his site.

Once you've created your online course, most of the job is done and out of the way and you'll be able to earn an ongoing stream of income. "While I'm sleeping I'm earning money. While I'm out at amusement park, with my children, I'm getting sales," John explained.

Find out more about the monetization options for creators by reading these articles:

With the many options for monetization out there, many creators seek out each other's examples, inspiration as well as guidance in their own personal journey. This brings us to the main takeaways from our survey: where creators go to seek suggestions.

Where do creators go for advice?

We asked "What's the first resource you can turn to for help for tackling your most difficult problem?"

22.6% YouTube

22.5% A personal mastermind group

15.4 percent Google

8.86% Facebook group

7.89% Podcasts

5.95 5 % of non-Facebook community

4.11 percent of Blogs

1.41 percent of forums are public (ex: Reddit)

Although no two journeys of creators are identical, we know that creators across specialties, products types and experiences levels are faced with the same issues.

This makes sense it makes sense that they can find solution and suggestions to those challenges by asking each questions of each other.

Creators learn from other creators. Through YouTube's mastermind groups, Facebook groups forums, communities, podcasts, and blogs, 73.3% of creators surveyed look to others who are creators to get advice.

Google is the only advice resource that's not necessarily in the category. However, it's a safe bet that the creators created a large part of Google's search results.

An incredible seven-in-ten Internet users participate in some type of virtual group, and 66% of them say they join groups on the internet to connect with others that share the same interests.

These communities for creators are a vital resource. Creators are connected to learn and grow, and we've seen creative professionals who are successful be open with their knowledge and experience to aid the new generation of creators.

How do other creators operate their companies? What are they selling? What is their primary source of income be derived? How do they build their audience?

Creators are aware of many questions, and frequently look to each other to find answers and ideas.

We have created the Creator Community in order:

Provide entrepreneurs and creators with a place to connect and network with each other

Help make the journey of creating more enjoyable and less lonely

Give creators a community open just to them

Create exclusive content for community members, including courses, creator interviews, and community contests

Within the first two weeks of extending the forum to creators of all kinds there were more than 1600 members and hundreds of post with answers to suggestions, questions and tips.

Highly experienced creators like Emily Mills contributed to helpful articles like this:

Emily's hacks were the perfect instance of how participants can benefit from one another's knowledge which is one of the main advantages of joining a Creator community.

What types of content creators create? What are the places where they distribute that material?

We asked "What is the most important type of content that you develop?"

33.6% courses

13.8% coaching

13.4 percent social media

16.54 percent video (9.19 percent for short-form and 7.35 percent long-form)

6.38% blog posts

4.76 percent of downloads

4.43% email newsletters

2.81 percent of webinars

More than a third of those that took part in the poll create online courses as the primary type of content. After courses, coaching, video, and social media were the most widely-used types of content.

Below are some helpful resources for creators seeking to design and market an online course:

It was also discovered that creators are selling an average of 10.95 items.

Then we asked "What's the primary channel you use to market your business?"

29.1% Instagram

22.4%

17.4 percent on Facebook

8.97% YouTube

5.41% Blog

5.08% Zoom

2.49 29% TikTok

0.865% Shopify

0.541% Etsy

The creators of the world are making use of social media to engage with their fans With Instagram being the most popular social media channel (29.1%) which is being followed by Facebook (17.4%) and YouTube (8.97 percent).

We've already mentioned that social media could be an ideal way for artists to expand their reach and to establish themselves in their communities and niches. But there's one major downside of relying on social networks and that's the algorithm.

Social media platforms make use of algorithms to determine what content appears on the feeds of users.

Creators are at the mercy of these algorithms -- your original content could show on your followers' feeds however it could not. The algorithms can change without prior notice. Social media firms aren't transparent about how they work.

As an example, the changes made on the Facebook algorithm over the last couple of years have resulted in a decrease of organic engagement  and consequently, fewer people get to see posts from creators in their news feeds.

Here are some more motives why some creators do not like Facebook:

"I think FB can be too distracting and members either won't find my post or will not stick on the site."

"FB groups are untrustworthy as well as a bit clumsy, and many people are fleeing from FB in the present, and it's tough to get engagement there."

"I really hate the idea of directing my friends to Facebook and similar tech firms that collect data and then use it to entice users to distract us."

"I need to hire an hourly VA for admission to members to the club, accept them as members, moderate, etc. We use Google Sheets and separate Facebook Messenger software which is $30 per month and we're also dependent on Facebook's algorithm and distractions. It's such a mess."

Creators tend to build communities online through social media sites due to lack of a better solution. Facebook Groups allow users to sign in, however it's also where the benefit ends.

On the other hand the all-in-one creator platform offers you full control over which contents you offer to your audience and how you engage with your audience.

Community members are able to:

Get your goods

Access your Content

Post and discuss amongst each other

...all in the same place.

Because they're already logged in to shop for your goods or consume your content, it's not necessary to sign to a different platform or rely on Facebook. This is a more enjoyable experience for you and your members.

All in all it's clear that social media is a useful advertising tool for creatorshowever, it should be used as part of the larger plan and toolset. The creators will succeed by having control over the way and who they make their content available.

The survey was completed by who?

For the opportunity to apply for the fellowship, applicants had to be current creators and part of the Creator Community. They had to fill out an application detailing how they plan to use the money they won and also provide information on their business, products, challenges, and goals.

Most of the data in this article is derived from questions in which creators were asked to choose between a range of options. For the question "If you were awarded the $2,022 fellowship, what would you spend it on?" we included an open-ended field for answers.

When asked about their experience degree:

30.85 percent are classified as beginning and averaged 2.40 years of work experience

8.11 percent of respondents were classified as beginners, with an average of 2.77 years of expertise

40.98% identified as mid-level, with an average 4.98 years of experience

15.80 percent of them classified as advanced. This is based on an annual average of 7.69 years of expertise

4.27 percent of respondents are classified as experts and averaged 15.3 years of experience

We also asked whether they're a full-time creator, part-time creator, or in between:

39.13% identified as a full-time creator

18.81% identified as a creator with a separate full-time work

18.59 percent of them identified as creator and freelancer

14.70% identified as a part-time creator

8.76% identified as a creator with a separate part-time work

Thanks to everyone who submitted an application for this fellowship, and who gave us a glimpse into their creative ideas, struggles as well as their journeys.

Key lessons to take away

The market for creators is growing, and no two creator journeys are the same. We interviewed nearly 900 creators to discover more about what it's like running a business run by creators in 2022.

These are the most important conclusions from their answers:

Creators across niches and experience levels run into the same 3 main challenges increasing their reach (32.9 percentage) while also finding time to get everything done (21.6%), and understanding how to make money out of their efforts (14.4 14%).

For advice from creators for overcoming these difficulties and obstacles, they seek advice from other creators. It is essential to have a community as part of the creator journey. The more experienced creators have been in younger creators' shoes, so they're armed with valuable knowledge to impart.

Social media is a popular way for creators for sharing their content to their fans and with Instagram being the most well-liked channel (29.1%). Utilizing social media can mean that creators are at the mercy of the algorithms, giving the creators less control over their content and audience.

From the more than 900 responses we used for our information, none of them were the same. Each creator's journey is unique -- and we're here to support you at every stage.