It is easy to get discouraged when you are putting out content regularly and aren’t getting much engagement from people. We all enjoy the boost that comes from getting a lot of “likes” on a post or when someone takes the time to send a little love via an affirming comment.
This past week I started a theme of doing The 12 Days of Christmas for my daily post. As we are heading into the Holiday Season I wanted to give myself a “project” and I thought doing each of the days would be a fun challenge (and as an added bonus, a holiday product at the end!). Both in working out the phrases for each day, but also creating the accompanying graphics.
After posting a couple of days, I basically had no responses… no interaction… no love… (cue crickets).
I found myself questioning the idea, wondering if it was stupid and thinking that maybe the best idea would be to scrap it.
It was at that moment that I realized I was looking at the wrong thing. I was looking to other people’s “likes” to keep me going, instead of keeping my eye on my goal.
I started this daily posting to hone my skills and get comfortable with sharing my work. Because ultimately, I want to partner on interesting projects and create work that is sold around the world.
So, with that as my focus, I need to put my energy into getting better at what I do so that I’m ready when opportunities cross my path.
Sure, there are going to be days when exciting things happen. You get exposure, your work is shared, and tons of people comment and say you would be perfect for a project they have.
However, some days are just the grind. Your ability to weather those days directly correlates to what you are focusing on.
Be clear with yourself about why you are doing this work.
What are your goals? Are you really doing this work for the “likes” or to get tons of followers on social media?
It’s not that there is anything wrong with wanting recognition or having an impressive social media presence, if those are your goals. It’s just that those are fickle variables and if we are putting so much weight into those numbers we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.
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