This whole Avoiderdragon thing has been kept alive to give me a reason to exist. I have to pay for domain and hosting every year, and I barely publish blog posts here. I can keep justifying it with various excuses, but the only good way to truly make it worth the effort and expense is to actually become prolific with content creation. This is how I will do it.
I write this as a record of my ideas on how I can do this. While I’m still not sure what kind of content I really want to do (aside from old-fashioned reviews), I have tons of ideas, so I need a way to make use of them right away so they don’t go to waste rotting away in my Google Docs. This is my system—my own formula—for making content creation sustainable as a hobby.
Content Channels
Everything begins in this blog. This is where I publish most of my writing, so this is where my content starts. Every blog post is a potential draft for a video script, so it’s crucial to publish blog posts on a regular basis for this system to work. The key here is being able to write interesting posts as quickly yet comprehensively as possible.
I can also stream on either Twitch or Facebook Live, where I look into stuff that can potentially be turned into content—video games, web articles, etc. Audience reaction can be used to gauge interest, which can then lead to the subject being worked on further. Stream VODs can also be edited and uploaded for even more content.
It’s not necessary for me to have hundreds of people watching my streams. I just need a few people to bounce ideas off of. Streaming is more about using VODs as recordings that can be used for more content, as well as have a reason to play more video games. Upon upgrading my PC, I can then stream video games while also recording them for footage.
Whatever actually turns out to be gold is then worked on for YouTube. I have five-year-old posts on this blog that still have potential to be turned into videos. In online marketing, this is called content repurposing. This is a good way to generate more content as you get to gauge interest, let the ideas stew for a bit, and have ready-made drafts for scripts at the ready.
I have two YouTube channels (because I’m an idiot). There’s the main channel, which is where I uploaded reviews and other videos related to video games and other entertainment media. I’m working on reviving that channel by posting more game reviews, video essays, and so on. It’s the main thing that has been occupying my mind right now.
Then there’s the second channel, where I upload whatever I feel like making whenever I can be bothered. I have way more ideas for that channel, and I can use it as a testing platform for whatever I have in mind. There are things I’ve been wanting to do for a long time that I’m preparing for right now. The strategy for this channel is “shotgun”—quick and messy.
If anything I do on the second channel somehow takes off, that can lead to either focusing on it or creating a new channel for it. For now, the goal is to explore everything I can within the limits of my abilities and resources. Of course, that can only happen if I can actually get prolific.
Social Media Channels
My Facebook page is my main social media outlet. I live in the Philippines, so it’s the main platform I have to be on. The audience in the western hemisphere for Facebook shrunk since the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the platform has since gained a reputation for being a hub for boomers and alt-right people, so it’s not that good for content creators.
However, I did have a couple of videos blow up there due to the algorithm. I feel like I can work with Facebook’s algorithm better than YouTube’s algorithm, but that’s only because I’m not posting that much content on the latter at the moment. Once I get the video train rolling again, that may change and I can get back on what I was doing five years ago.
I barely touch my Twitter and Instagram profiles. I’ve been making an effort to post more statuses and reply to more conversations on Twitter, but it’s not really my thing. As for Instagram, I’m not really much of a photographer. However, once I can pull off what I’m planning to do right now, I may be able to post more content on those channels.
There are plans for TikTok, mainly posting minute-long guides and rants. Once I figure out how the algorithm works on that platform, I should be able to have a bit of presence there. I had been apprehensive about creating a TikTok account due to it being a Chinese company, but I should be fine as long as I don’t post anything that’s too politically incorrect.
Whatever videos I post on TikTok, I may also post them on Twitter and Instagram to spread them out more and increase the chances of discovery. The only problem is getting enough ideas for guides that I can make short videos out of. Of course, they’ll only be watched if they’re both informative and entertaining without regurgitating what’s already there.
A Working Content Creation System is Success in Itself
This system that I wish to make work is the thing unto itself. It’d be nice for my content to blow up, but the reason why I came up with this is for activity and challenge. It’s just something I can do to stave off existential dread while trying to make something out of my situation. If I can make it efficient and sustainable, that’s the biggest win for me.
The short-term goal is to be prolific within the limits of my own capacity, and the long-term mission is for posterity. I can do a lot of things to accomplish the same thing, like writing a book and getting it published. That’s still in the bucket list, but I want to do something that I can do on my own right now. Anything that I can use my writing on, I’ll do it.
Money is great, but I want to make it while also doing something that fulfills me. For me, content creation is an avenue for learning and growth. Whatever I experience, I would like to document as meaningfully as I possibly can. If you read this all the way through, I thank you for looking at this trivial piece. Now that I’ve made my intentions known, all I have to do is to act upon it.
Why Did I Write This?
First, I haven’t published a blog post for a while now, so it’s just more content. Second, it’s a good reason for me to get back on the horse, especially now that I’ve come up with a system that I can follow. After all, I have a YouTube channel to revive, and I won’t rest until it’s back.
I know it’s incredibly foolish to publish this now. It’s something that’s better to put out when I’ve already made it work. However, I feel a need right now to just push out blog posts, and I already have this finished, so I might as well. It comes off as a promise that I have to keep, and it’ll be bad for my mental health if I can’t make it work.
But with how things are going right now, it may not be that far-fetched. As I’m writing this, my plans to upgrade my PC after over five years are going ahead. Getting those upgrades will allow me to do so much more; the things I can’t do right now with my current rig will be possible with a more powerful machine. Also, I will still have this old rig, which is still plenty powerful on its own, so I can repurpose it for other functions.
All of that is just an excuse to wave away the laziness that kept me from writing more on this blog. I’m supposed to have at least 3-4 posts every week, so I’m very much behind. Well, better late than never. I’ll end this now. I have hundreds of drafts to get through.
Got Feedback?
Have something to say? Do you agree or am I off-base? Did I miss a crucial detail or get something wrong? Please leave whatever reactions, questions, or suggestions you may have in the comment section below.
You may also like/follow and leave a message on either Facebook or Twitter. Please subscribe to both the Avoider.net YouTube channel and my personal YouTube channel, as well as my Twitch channel, for more content. Thank you for dropping by.
