A few years ago I heard a lecture from poet laureate and teacher Ted Kooser. He told the story of a student who came up to him after class and showed him some poems, saying, "I wrote this for myself. Would you mind taking a look?"
If you're creating content for yourself that's great. We all have hobbbies. You never know, someday your novels or videos may be found by historians or critics and you will become famous for your art after death, just like Emily Dickinson, who never sent her poems to be published while she was alive.
But if you want success while you're alive, keep in mind Ted Kooser's advice about writing poetry. It is great advice for creating stories in all media. He said to "write with the reader in mind." Remember, at some point you're going to share your video, your story, or your film with someone. Is it going to make sense to them? Will your work engage your audience, transport them to a place they'd always wanted to go, and give them a satisfying surprise when they're there? If not, you might want to revise your work.
It's great if you want to express yourself. But creating successful content -- content that reaches the audience and moves them -- is not about you and your feelings. It's about the effect you have on your audience. Can you make them laugh? Or cry? Can you change the way they think or feel about their lives? Can you make them forget their problems, even for a few minutes?
Create your content with your audience in mind. Think about the effect you want to achieve. How do you know if you've achieved it? You'll know when your audience starts recommending it to their friends either buy e-mailing links, buying books as presents, or just posting positive reviews on Facebook.
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