Cringe to Credibility: Getting started with content creation

Write a tweet. Hit publish - oh no, why did I do that? Wait, this could be cool. No, it’s definitely terrifying.

Sound familiar?

Yeah, me too.

In late 2021, I decided to dive into posting on Twitter with nothing but 50 bookmarked threads of opposite advice.

3…2…1…post!

… and nothing happened.

That feeling of cringe feels especially intense when you're just starting and your audience is, well, practically non-existent.

The problem is way bigger than that feeling, though. It's a gatekeeper. If you let the fear of embarrassment or perfectionism stop you from posting that first video or launching your project, you're basically setting yourself up for a guaranteed fail - if you don’t ever put your content out there, no one’s going to see it, period.

Why embrace the cringe?

Because CRINGE MEANS YOU’RE TRYING SOMETHING NEW.

No, really. Think about it—if you're not cringing, you're probably not pushing boundaries. I had a hunch that if I kept at it, the cringe would turn into something cool. Guess what? It did. I turned my initial embarrassment into some of my closest friends and colleagues.

Pretty much every good thing that has happened to me in the last few years has been thanks to 'internet friends'.

You start thinking nobody will watch, but someone, somewhere, clicks on your stuff. And maybe they find it helpful. Maybe they even share it. It's not an overnight miracle. In my case, a tweet turned into a follower, who turned into a close friend or a client. That’s the magic of just going for it.

Look, Nathaniel Drew, aged 17, posted the first video on his channel with just an out-of-focus camera and 2 minutes of pure, unfiltered honesty. He looked like a conspiracy theorist but his content was had raw value. This video started his journey to over 1 million subscribers and becoming known as one of Youtube's great cinematographers only a few years later. Here’s why: Nathaniel was real. He said he wanted to learn, to share, to challenge himself. He always stayed true to that. And people loved him for it.

If your first video looks good, let alone perfect, you've launched way too late. Producing and uploading is part of the iterative cycle that allows you to refine your art. The imperfect product is as much part of the art as the final polished product.

But, Elliot, how do you actually get past the initial cringe & embarrassment?

I get it, no amount of philosophizing gets rid of that feeling.

Start simple. Like, really simple. Kick off with whatever you have. Your phone. A cheap mic. A sock puppet. Don’t sweat the production value. Treat it like a test run. Things might flop. Will anyone tune in? Will the audio suck? Is my backdrop a mess? (You don’t want to spend hours setting up)

Actually, let's take that one step further. Forget the whole "the best camera is the one you have" thing. We're going another level scrappier.

Whatever kind of content you want to make - do it now. Record a 30 second YouTube video saying something like this:

"Hi! I'm Elliot and this is my first video. I'm going to start posting videos on this channel talking about the stories behind how startups got their first 100 customers".

No script, no planning, no editing. Upload it.

I can guarantee two things about that video:

1. It will be the worst things you will ever publish on the internet.

2. You won't care that it doesn't get any views.

You've just hit rock bottom

but you've also broken the perfection barrier.

You're now a ✨ creator ✨

Every piece of content you create from here will be better. Make it your mission to have each piece of content be a little better than the last.

Maybe it's audio,

maybe color grading,

maybe the hook of your Twitter thread.

As long as there's one improvement in each deliverable, you're winning.

So what’s stopping you? Hit record, post it, and watch every single tweet, video, or post improve. Become the creator you're meant to be.