Posting Even When No One Is Watching (The Artist's Rise #047)

How to Stay Motivated to Post When Nobody is Watching

Picture this:

You spend minutes, maybe even hours on a post that you're proud of.

Filmed it, edited it, came up with a creative caption, and you hit post.

....

Crickets.

Everyone has been there, and it sucks every time.

When you create something you're proud of, you want other people to enjoy it too.

So the whole post feels like it wasn't worth it, and you're discouraged from ever putting time into social media again.

Sound familiar?

It happens all of the time, especially when you're starting out or coming back after a break.

But there's a key shift in your mindset on it that will unlock the growth you're actually chasing.

Why "nobody's watching" is usually wrong

First things first: a silent audience doesn't mean there isn't an audience.

Social media has grown to be such a big part of our normal day-to-day, so likes and comments aren't always your best indication of how your post was received.

I'm a cuplrit of it too, I've watched several videos all the way through, taking away value from the video, but just scrolled on by without engaging whatsoever.

So if you're watching likes and waiting for comments and you find it discouraging when you're not getting the result you want, know that those metrics don't mean what they used to.

Instead, look for things like watch time and shares. That's a better stat for what your audience actually likes and engages with.

If they watch it all the way through, you kept them engaged and your post did its job. If they share it with someone else, they found enough value in it that they wanted to spread that value to someone else.

Always dig deeper, stats need context.

The real problem: motivation based on what you can't control

There's another big piece to this puzzle that applies far beyond social media: your motivation can't depend on something that is outside of your control.

Don't get me wrong. Posts performing poorly can definitely be discouraging. But you can't put all of the weight on the level of response you get.

Social media is as algorithmic as it has ever been. Your content is getting spit out to new people every time you post, and they're taking a guess on who they think might enjoy it.

The algorithms are constantly shifting, and by the time you think you have it figured out, it changes again. It's a frustrating game.

All that to say that your motivation and the value you find in your own content can't be dependent on your audience.

You made this because you found value in it. A poor performing post could mean several things. It could be that you didn't lock in your audience's attention and they scrolled away. It could be that the video was way too long and engagement trickled off. Or it could just be a random flop.

(Seriously, I've seen cases of people making a post, watching it flop, posting it another time, and then it performs well. The algorithms are guessing just as much as we are.)

Bottom line: stay consistent on providing what you find valuable, and don't let low metrics deter you. Everyone starts from 0.

Fail, fail, and fail again until you succeed

I saw a video the other day where the creator framed this statement:

"If you knew you had to fail 1,000 more times before you could succeed, you'd be thrilled about every failure".

(I'm paraphrasing; wish I saved this so I could give proper credit)

This is how you need to think about content.

You don't know your number, there's no rule out there that says after you reach 1,000 posts that you'll have the moment you've been chasing. But if you stop now, you'll never know.

Let that sink in.

Playing the long game

Let's take a step back and look at the big picture here. Content isn't the end all be all, social media isn't your main focus here. This is just a piece of the puzzle in trying to build your artist career.

So put these "failing" videos in perspective:

If a video gets 150 views, that's a small venue packed to the brim.

Maybe it didn't go viral, but you just found yourself in front of 150 people that probably have never seen you before.

With every post you make, you're getting in front of at least 100 more people. That starts to add up fast when you think about it.

In a week, you could get in front of 1,000 people. That's huge!

And odds with an audience that size that there are some future fans out there in that crowd that'll stick around for the ride.

If you build over time, those numbers will inevitably climb. But even if they take awhile to do so, just think about how many future fans you've stumbled in front of.

And if you quit on it now, you'll never get the chance to meet them.

Bottom line

The last thing I want to say is this:

If you treat content and social media like a chore, you'll hate it forever and constantly find reasons to stop trying to make it work.

But if you treat content and social media like an opportunity, you'll build a healthier relationship with it and feel less resistant to use it to build your audience.

It's not an easy game to play, and it does require consistent work, but it's the best tool for your music in the modern era.

Show your future fans the artist that you are and help get your music to the ears that need to hear it.

Social media can be sustainable.

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