If you’ve read all six previous installments in this series about my transition from being an invisible voice over to becoming an on-camera social media person, I admire you! Not only do you have good taste, you’re also an inquisitive and highly intelligent person. We need more people like you in this world!
Joking aside, I think it’s imperative that you don’t take yourself too seriously if you wish to make a mark in social media. You’re building a house of cards that may tumble down any time soon. Why would that be? Here’s the main reason:
You don’t control the platforms. The platforms control you.
Take TikTok. The clock is literally ticking for this Chinese giant. As you may know, there’s been a TikTok ban in place in the USA that keeps on being postponed. But how long will it take before the curtain finally falls? Would you continue to bet on a horse that might drop out of the race any time soon? And when that day comes, what will happen to your carefully curated content and all the followers that took years to attract?
Here’s the bad news: whatever happens, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
As we speak, millions of users with over 10K followers have opened a TikTok shop through which they’re selling anything from rice cookers to drones to handbags to spicy cubes. You don’t have to make the product. You just have to talk about it on the platform (falsely promoted as a “review”), and add a link people can click. Every time someone makes a purchase you earn a small commission, but thousands of clicks can add up to thousands of dollars each month. It’s the ideal side hustle for stay at home moms and underemployed voice actors.
After immense political pressure, TikTok has gone dark in the past, and all those people who were paying their bills with their TikTok shop income, freaked out. According to CBS news:
“Many of TikTok’s 170 million monthly active U.S. users rely on the app to generate secondary and even primary income streams. That includes 7 million small businesses that use the platform to drive growth.”
Remember when Twitter became X, and we saw a mass Xodus of users? All it took was one unstable genius at the helm, to almost drive this platform into the ground. If you don’t own the game, you don’t get to write the rules. Unless you own a website where you can do whatever you want, this makes you utterly dependent on something beyond your control.
Scary, isn’t it? And even if you have your own website like I do, this doesn’t give you the exposure sites like TikTok and Instagram can give you in an instant.
WHO WRITES THE RULES
Listen. Social media platforms change the rules all the time. Just look at their continuously updated user agreements and tweaked algorithms. Content that used to be permitted and was scoring big for months if not years, is being devalued and no longer promoted without any logical explanation. Well, the reason is usually political in nature, but nobody is honest enough to admit that. THE GAME IS RIGGED, and not in our favor.
Some cynics say that social media are nothing but lucrative tools for consumer behavior research, massive distraction, product promotion, and mass manipulation.
Talking about changing the rules… If you were earning ten cents per click on Monday, you could be earning less than half of that on Tuesday. If you need 10K followers to open up a TikTok shop today, it could be 20K next week. Or they change the number of eligible views that are counted in your earnings. Try building a stable business that way…
Fellow users can report you for vague violations you’re not even aware of, and get your profile banned. It may take you years to rebuild your reputation and gain back a massive following. Of course you can always appeal to the powers that be, but don’t expect a high degree of customer service from a platform that’s free to use. Here’s the deal.
Companies like Bytedance and Meta are making millions if not billions thanks to original content you and I produce, but this entitles us to… NOTHING. My original Nethervoice Instagram account with over five thousand followers was hacked, and I didn’t even get to speak to a real person to get this account reinstated. This in spite of the fact that countless faithful followers notified Instagram about it. This now fake account is still up, posting god knows what under my name, and there’s nothing I can do.
LEARNING FROM ONLY FANS
The only advice I can give you is to not put all your eggs in one basket, and to study and use each platform to the best of your ability. Create content you love to create, not to make money, but as your gift to the world. If the world wants to give you something in return, make sure you don’t depend on it to pay the bills. It is nothing more than “hobby income” until you hit it BIG, which is highly unlikely.
Why am I so pessimistic?
There used to be a time when successful Only Fans models would make six figures a month simply by losing some items of clothing to please paying subscribers. These days, everyone with a webcam or a mobile phone is jumping on that bandwagon, and what’s easily available gets cheaper and cheaper. It’s the law of supply and demand. Once your content attracts a wide audience, it gets copied, hacked, repurposed, and distributed for free. You don’t even get credit or royalties. And I haven’t even talked about AI-generated content which is taking over the internet by storm.
Let’s say you have managed to (what they call in the business) “stay relevant.” I know for a fact that you will be pushed to continually grow your audience. How do you do that? You can’t offer them more of the same. Eventually, you’ll either give up, or you’ll be forced to do or say more extreme things to get the clicks. To stay with the OF metaphor, taking off your tank top isn’t going to do it. You need to put some serious skin in the game. And if posting photos isn’t going to do it anymore, you’ve got to start making revealing videos… (click here to learn more).
If the audience yells “JUMP,” you jump, okay? And if the audience doesn’t, your sponsors will. “Your choice,” they say. There are millions of hopefuls waiting to replace you in a heartbeat.
The internet is an insatiable, bottomless pit that does not care about your wellbeing.
It is exploitative, luring you in with promises of lots of money for little effort, preying on the impressionables, those who are underage, and those who are otherwise vulnerable. It’s heaven for people who love picking low-hanging fruit.
Unless…. you’re not driven by money (or need fast cash), unless you have a strong moral compass, and a savvy business manager who looks out for your interests like a hawk.
DID I REACH MY GOALS
Enough about you. Where does this leave me?
Well, as you can tell, I am quite aware of all the threats that come with the willful participation in the digital world. I say “wilful” because I have a choice. I can choose not to do it, just like driving on the road can be a voluntary but dangerous activity. However, it’s also exciting. You get to go to places you’ve never been before and meet people you never knew existed. If you choose to stay at home and don’t go anywhere, you choose to live in a small world.
Just as roads connect us, digital highways are connecting us in ways never seen before. As long as you practice defensive driving skills and stay within the speed limit, your road trip could be the adventure of a lifetime, allowing you to share your experiences along the way. I see myself as kind of a self-appointed tour guide telling people about all things Dutch.
And if some company from the Netherlands is interested in me telling their story, they can make me an offer I can’t refuse, as long as I retain creative control. The other day I was actually approached by a US-based travel platform called TourHero that helps individuals, including creators and travel enthusiasts, plan, customize, and host group trips. The hosts choose a destination from over 80 options and work with TourHero’s planners and local tour operators to build a custom itinerary. The company CEO had seen my social media content, and thought I’d make a good host. He wrote:
“You have zero upfront costs to be there (aside from your airfare), earn 3k-16k per retreat, and spend quality time with your community.”
Had I been thirty years younger and in much better health, this would have been fun to consider. And I must say: It’s nice to be noticed!
MORE OF ME
In another development, I have started posting every single day! All social media platforms reward consistency (which translates to posting at least once a day), and original content. On even days I post stories related to the Netherlands. On odd days I talk about English words and expressions they never bothered to teach me in school. It’s a series of posts for people who are learning English as a second or third language. Doesn’t that get confusing?
Well, if you see the DUTCH flag on my microphone, you know I’ll be talking about Holland. If you see the UK/USA flag on the mic, I’ll be covering uncommon English words and expressions.
And what about the four goals I outlined in chapter 2 of this series? Did I accomplish any of them?
1. I’m definitely more in the picture, especially compared to my days as an invisible voice over artist. Watching me on camera is no longer as painful as it used to be. Some days I am even proud of myself.
2. I’ve also noticed that I’ve become more fluent as an improvisational public speaker. Recording one video a day has helped my memorization skills, which trickles over in daily life. That’s a HUGE bonus!
3. I think I am slowly mastering the art of producing short format content. As you can tell from these blog posts, I still like diving in deep, but I also like the challenge of being constricted and concise.
4. In the process, I managed to redefine myself, creating the alter ego of Paul Holland.
I’ve also strengthened my connection to the Netherlands, and to the many “netherlanders” that are watching and commenting on my videos. And I’ve also discovered that my niche content appeals to people from all over the world. There are so many Dutch expats that reach out to me, as well as people who are learning Dutch or English. My inbox is always full and that’s a good problem to have.
And then there are the people who say:
“I don’t really care about Holland. I just like listening to your voice. Have you ever thought of becoming a voice over artist?”
The irony!
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