The top 3 challenges creators are facing in 2022 (Results of 900+ creator survey) |

May 17, 2022

There are no two journeys for creators similar. To find out more about the challenges of running the business of a creator by 2022, we polled more than 900 creators. This is what we learned.

"Creators have earned their first  online dollar with the help of millions of people, and they're joining one of the most rapidly growing ecosystems on the planet, the economy of creators."

A total of 50 million individuals think of themselves as creators. There's now more info available now today on becoming an all-time creator. The word "digital creator" is searched by the search engines 2.5K times every month. The phrase "how to become a creator of content" is the subject of 1.3K search results.

Creators are those who is creative. In fact, YouTubers, influencers, bloggers, and podcasters are all creators, however, so are artists and musicians, craftsmen teachers, worldbuilders and educators authors, and everyone in between.

The wide range of creativity work ensures that no two creative journeys are alike.

What types of goods can creators create and offer? What are their biggest challenges? Who do they go to for help? Which are the channels that have been most effective?

For more information 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 own businesses. We asked them to share the challenges they face, their sources of advice, creative channels, and content.

We found this:

At all levels of experience The biggest obstacle for creators is growing an audience (32.9%) in the next step is having enough time to do everything (21.6%) and knowing how to monetize (14.4%).

When seeking advice to solve these issues, creators typically learn from each other. YouTube (22.6 percent) and private mastermind groups (22.5 percent) are among the most popular spots where creators seek advice.

The creators of content are making use of social media to reach out to their audience as well, and with Instagram as the most popular platform (29.1%) -- but that implies they must depend on algorithms to bring their posts in front of the appropriate people.

Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the information.

What will be the most difficult for creators' challenges in 2022?

We asked "What's your most difficult or biggest struggle as a creator right now?"

32.9% Growing an audience

21.6% Finding enough time for everything

14.4% Knowing how to make money

8.86% Product creation

3.35% Engaging with followers on social media

2.27 percent Keeping pace with changes and trends

Across experience levels and content types, creators reported the three biggest challenges they face growing an audience, finding enough time to do everything and knowing how to make money from their work.

Challenge #1: Growing an audience

and Search Engine Marketing.

7.68 percent would use the money building or improving their site by employing

5.66 percentage would engage graphic designers, and 4.16 percent would make an investment in an investment in

Getting your content and brand in front of the right people can be time-consuming and cost prohibitive, especially for those who are not experienced in running an online company.

"While you're trying to grow your email list, you can't just email folks," Jessica explained. "I also have to still be very present and very prominent via social media."

As Jessica is becoming more active and established on social media, she's been successful in identifying the best platforms to create material that is in line with her brand and narrative. "If you're trying to build an audience, they need be able to visit you frequently," she shared.

It's important to be consistent. key -- but that does not mean that your content has to follow a formulaic format. "You can create your own images, you could do [Instagram] Reels and be funny, you can make Reels and be professional ... whatever you want to try to diversify how people can discover them."

Social media is an effective way to reach larger audiences, but this also means that creators have to rely on the algorithmic algorithms of their content to be displayed in the feeds of their followers. In the next article, we'll discuss how creators canand are able to get away from algorithms in the future.

Email is another of the most effective and scalable marketing channels for creators. By sending out regular emails, your newsletter keeps you in touch with your target audience.

If you're a creator who wants to expand your list of email subscribers and begin with an email newsletter, be sure to check out these resources:

Problem #2: Finding the time for all things

We asked our respondents to tell us how they would spend $2,022 to help others, investing in external aid was the most common response.

Additionally, we discovered that 5.2 percent of entrepreneurs would utilize the cash for personal living expenses like utility bills, rent, internet expenses, as well as for their own earnings to allow them to focus more working on their businesses.

3.42 percent of the creators invest the funds in time-rebuilding expenses including childcare, household support and time off from their work full time, or working fewer hours on side gigs.

Choosing the right tools and applications helps creators get the most of their valuable time.

To see how makes it simpler to manage your own successful business as a creator, get started for no cost or sign up to our weekly demonstration.

Problem #3: Understanding the best way to make money

14.4% of creators say they are unsure of how to earn income from their efforts is the most difficult thing they have to figure out. You've created valuable content and gained an enthusiastic audience- now, how do you turn that into income?

At , we've watched thousands of creators earn their first online dollar by selling digital items, including online courses, digital downloads webinars, memberships and. Digital products let creators earn money, without having to rely on advertisers or sponsors.

Consider entrepreneur, web designer and creative director John D. Saunders  to give an instance. The day he announced his online course on , John earned $10,000 on launch day and $100,000 overall on his site.

But once you create your online class, the majority of the task is taken gone so you're able to make an ongoing stream of income. "While I'm in bed, I'm making income. If I'm in playing in the parks with my family I'm making sales" John explained.

Learn more about monetization options for creators by reading these articles:

With so many monetization options available, many creators are looking to one another for examples, inspiration as well as guidance in their individual journeys. That brings us to our second key lesson of the survey: How creators go to seek guidance.

Where do creators go for advice?

We asked "What's the number one source of advice for tackling your most difficult problem?"

22.6 percent on YouTube

22.5% A personal mastermind group

15.4 percent Google

8.86% Facebook group

7.89 789 % of Podcasts

5.95 percent of the non-Facebook community

4.11 percent of Blogs

1.41 percent of forums are public (ex: Reddit)

While no two creative journeys are the same, we do know that creators of all categories, types of products and experiences levels are faced with similar challenges.

This makes sense, that they find the solutions and guidance on the issues they face by talking to each questions of each other.

Creators can learn from the work of other creators. Between YouTube videos, mastermind groups, Facebook groups forums, communities, podcasts, and blogs, 73.3% of creators surveyed look to other creators for advice.

Google is the only advice source that doesn't necessarily fit the category. However, it's a safe bet that creators produced a big portion of the content that appears in the search results, too.

A staggering 76% of online users participate in some type of virtual group, and 66% of them are able to say that they participate in online communities to meet others with similar interests.

For artists, these communities can be a valuable resource. Creators join in order to improve their skills and knowledge, and we've seen creative professionals who are successful be open with their knowledge and experience to aid the new generation of creators.

What are the ways other creators manage their business? What do they sell? Where do the majority of their revenues be derived? What are they doing to build their audiences?

We know that creators have numerous questions and turn to one another for answers and inspiration.

We have created the Creator Community in order to:

Provide entrepreneurs and creators with the opportunity to network and network with each other

Help make the journey of creating more enjoyable and less lonely

Create a community for creators that is open just to them

Develop exclusive content specifically to share with community members. This includes courses, creator interviews, and community issues

Within the first two weeks of extending the forum to creators of all kinds We saw more than 1600 members and hundreds of posts featuring suggestions, questions and tips.

Highly experienced creators like Emily Mills contributed useful posts such as this:

Emily's hacks were an excellent illustration of how the members benefit from one another's knowledge, one of the biggest advantages of joining a creator community.

What kinds of content creators create? Where do they share that information?

We asked "What is the main form of content you create?"

33.6% courses

13.8% coaching

13.4 Social media is a third of the total.

16.54% video (9.19% short-form, 7.35 percent long-form)

6.38% blog posts

4.76 percent of downloads

4.43% email newsletters

2.81 percent of webinars

Over one-third of people who took the survey make online courses their main form of content. After the courses, coaching video, and social media were the most popular types of content.

Here are some useful resources for creators seeking to design and sell an online course:

Also, we learned that authors have an average sales of 10.95 items.

We then asked "What's the most important channel that you use for your business?"

29.1% on Instagram

22.4%

17.4% Facebook

8.97% YouTube

5.41 54% Blog

5.08% Zoom

2.49 29% TikTok

0.865 0.65 % of Shopify

0.541% Etsy

Social media is a popular way for creators for interaction with their followers, with Instagram as the most popular social media channel (29.1 percent) which is followed by Facebook (17.4%) and YouTube (8.97%).

As we mentioned earlier, social media is a terrific way for creators to connect with new audiences and establish themselves within their communities and niches. But there's one major downside when it comes to using social media the algorithm.

Social media platforms use algorithms to decide what content is displayed on their the feeds of users.

Creators are at the mercy of these algorithms . Your original content could show on your followers' feeds, but it also might not. These algorithms are subject to change with no warning, and social media companies are far from being transparent with regards to how they operate.

As an example, the changes made in the Facebook algorithm over the last several years have caused an decline of organic engagement  which means that fewer users see creators' social posts in their news feeds.

Below are additional motives why some creators do not like Facebook:

"I think FB is distracting and users either don't see my post or will not stick around."

"FB group is not reliable as well as a bit clumsy, and many people are fleeing from FB at the moment, which is why it's hard to create engagement there."

"I truly hate sending my people to Facebook or similar shady tech companies who collect information and use it to hook our attention to distraction."

"I must pay for 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 that costs $30/month as well as being bound by Facebook's algorithm as well as distractions. The mess is so messed up."

The creators are more likely to create communities of sorts using social media platforms due to lack of a better solution. Facebook Groups are easy to sign in, however that's where most of the benefits end.

However the all-in-one creator platform such as this one gives you total control over which information you provide to your viewers and the way you engage with your audience.

Members of the community can:

Buy your products

Access your content

Post and join discussions with each other

...all at the same time.

Because they're already logged in to shop for your goods or to consume your content it's not necessary to sign onto a different website or use Facebook. This is a more enjoyable experience for your users and you.

All in all it's clear that social media is an excellent marketing tool for creators -however, it should be used in conjunction with the larger plan and toolset. The creators will succeed in the event that they control the way and who they share their content.

Who took the time to fill out the survey?

To apply to the fellowship, candidates were required to be creators currently as well as members of the Creator Community. The application was completed by applicants telling us how they would make use of the cash prize, as well as details about their company and products, as well as their current challenges and plans.

Most of the data in this article comes from questions where authors were required to select from several answers. In the case of "If you received the $2,022 fellowship, which would you use it for?" we included an open-ended question field.

In response to questions about their experience in the field:

30.85% identified as beginners With an average of 2.40 years of expertise

8.11% identified as novices and an average of 2.77 years of experience

40.98 percent of respondents were classified as middle-level with an average 4.98 years of expertise

15.80 Percentage of respondents are classified as highly advanced. The annual average for 7.69 years of experience

4.27 percent of respondents are classified as experts, with an average of 15.3 years of expertise

We also wanted to know if they're full-time creators, part-time creator or between.

39.13 percent of respondents are classified as full-time creator

18.81% identified as a creator, who also has a part-time job

18.59% identified as a creator or freelancer

14.70 percent of them are classified as part-time creator

8.76% identified as a creator, who also has a part-time work

Thanks to everyone who submitted an application for this fellowship. We appreciate every one of them for giving us a glimpse into their creative ideas, struggles, and journeys.

Key key

The creator economy is growing in every sector, but no two journeys are identical. We conducted a survey of nearly 900 creators to discover more about what it's like managing a creative business by 2022.

These are the most important takeaways from their responses:

Creators from all niches and experience different levels face the same challenges increasing their reach (32.9 percent), finding enough time for everything to be done (21.6 percent), and being able to make money from their work (14.4 14%).

For advice from creators for overcoming these difficulties and obstacles, they seek advice from other creators. Community is a crucial part of the creator journey. Experienced creators have been in newer creators' shoes, so they're armed with valuable insights to share.

Social media is a popular way for creators to communicate their work with their followers, with Instagram as the most popular platform (29.1%). Utilizing social media can mean that the creators are at the mercy of the algorithms, giving an uncontrollable access to their content and their audience.

Of the 900+ responses we used for our information, none of them were identical. Every journey of a creator is unique -- and we're there to help you through every stage.