Throughout the last 365 days, my YouTube channel has been climbing rapidly to nearly 100,000 subscribers.
And yet...
For the past few months, I'd been dealing with a pretty hefty creative block. 😓
It all started with a break from content creation I took in November to create the Composing Career Bootcamp.
As more time went on, I found it nearly impossible to resume the types of videos I'd been making that had been growing my viewership so quickly - mostly theory videos and pop culture reactions.
Even though I'd "cracked the code" and knew the content would perform well...
I just couldn't bring myself to make those videos anymore.
(Seeing loads of other creators quitting YouTube at the start of 2024 didn't help.)
After weeks of creative paralysis, I finally made a decision.
The path forward wasn't to try and resume my previous content at all.
It was to drop the pressure, stop trying to appease the "algorithm gods", and start making the content I truly wanted to make.
My metric for success needed to shift away from my view count, and back to my personal creative enjoyment. ❤️🩹
So...
A few weeks ago, I took the first step and made a video on a topic I was actually interested in:
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Now...
It may not have felt like a seismic shift to my audience, but for me, it was the first video I wanted to make in months.
How did it go?
Funny enough, within the first 24 hours, that video has already gotten more engagement and support from my community than the content I'd been making before!
(Silly Zach. 🙈)
So why am I sharing this with you?
I believe that as we create things that are successful "on paper", it's easy to grow anxious about changing (or abandoning) the model over time.
But this experience has made me realize something:
Our audiences grow WITH us.
No one expects us to do the same thing forever, and when we make things we're genuinely passionate about, we cultivate a deeper relationship with the people who love what we do.
I hope my story inspires you to value your passion for what you create as the highest metric for the health of your career.
(And a HUGE thank-you to every one of you for being such a great, supportive community. 🥰)
👋 Ready for more?
When you're ready, here's 4 ways I can help:
- 🎥 My YouTube. Watch 350+ videos including music tutorials, career tips, and more.
- 🗞️ The Newsletter Archive. Read articles from previous weeks of this newsletter.
- 🎬 Composing Career Bootcamp. Join my 6-week cohort-based course to learn how to land paid composing work from anywhere in the world. (100+ students, 5 stars)
- 👋 Work Directly with Me. I'm offering private mentorship to a handful of select media composers. If you're interested, click the link to apply.
That's all for now!
Hit reply to share your thoughts, questions, or just to say hi.
(I love hearing from my readers. 🙂)
Otherwise, happy music-making and I'll see you next Tuesday!
- Zach
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