📵 Do Composers NEED to Post Content?

Students of my Composing Career Bootcamp know that content creation has played a big part in me getting the work I’ve gotten over the years.

I encourage my students to give it a try to help build “social proof”: to show interested directors/composers/producers that other people are interested in our work.

But one of my Bootcamp students asked a very fair question:

“Do you think [posting content] is necessary at all to build a career as a composer, or is it rather an addition to the [other skills we’ve learned] for those who want to go down that road?”

Here’s my response.

The most impactful things we'll do in the beginning of our composing career journey will be centered around building trust.

HOW you go about building trust is honestly up to you and each composer, but the biggest barrier most remote composers deal with is not having the opportunity to have a face-to-face dialogue with prospective leads/clients (except by video).

The way I see it, that essentially leaves us with two options: ✌️

OPTION 1: Create "social proof" about the validity of our work by having some form of an online presence (doesn't need to be big, but just consistent in some form)

OPTION 2: Double down HARD on creating and expanding your network, person by person

There's pros and cons to both. ⚖️

Option 1 helps us to connect with people beyond email and builds trust in that space/platform, but requires a different skillset and division of focus.

Option 2 is more direct in the short-term, but lacks the "social proof" and "top-of-mind" aspect that comes with being online.

Ultimately, both methods are "numbers games".

You need a lot of people in your network before work opportunities happen regularly, and you need a lot of audience members before they'll convert to leads.

So which option is right for you?

The best way to figure it out is to try both, but the second best way is to ask yourself a simple question:

"Do I want the SUCCESSFUL version of this?"

Do you want to have an online presence/audience? If not, stick with networking. ❌

If having an audience excites you, try posting online. ✅

If you're not sure, give posting content a try and see how it feels for you.

Ultimately, there's no "right way" to approach the career. The only universal truth is that however you do it, you have to build trust with the people that want to work with you.