In the last week, I hopped on calls with some really cool people:

• Andrew - a UGC program manager (the program is $4k, he’s got 128k followers)

• Jess - a creator whose first post got 4.6m views (125k followers)

• Annika - a creator who gets 50k - 100k views almost every post (200k followers)

Because tbh, I’ve been struggling a little…

Feeling uninspired, stuck, and overwhelmed.

I’m discouraged every time I post, because the view count is lower than I’m used to.

I constantly feel ashamed for “low” views (when in the past I would’ve been so happy with the numbers).

But I know I really shouldn’t base my self-worth on view count. Because all that’s gonna do is make me want to quit.

So with that mindset, I went into these calls…and here’s what happened.

Andrew - UGC program manager (128k)

Why I reached out: I’m managing UGC creators rn and needed help seeing what worked and what didn’t

Key takeaway: people who are hungry and will stay consistent with developing their skills and building their business are the ones who usually succeed

Other thoughts: we shared experiences coaching creators and usually it’s the ones who we feel like we barely help (bc they’re so proactive and do most things themselves) that succeed the most. Then they tell us “you changed my life, you helped me so much” when we coaches feel like we just answered a few questions and they did most of the work.

This got me thinking that usually people who blame external circumstances nonstop (“the algorithm”) are not usually the ones I see succeed. It inspired me to focus on my own sense of agency, what I can control (posting and analyzing hooks, not view counts), and how to be more proactive/”hungry”.

Btw I’m hosting another call with more UGC program managers next week! Excited for that one.

Jess - Creator who went viral with her first post (125k)

Why I reached out: I thought she was cool. She’s Taiwanese like me and also moved from Australia to USA (I did the opposite, moved from Canada to Australia). Plus I know the struggle of going viral suddenly, and thought we could connect and share experiences

Key takeaway: authenticity wins - people can see if you have ulterior motives

Other thoughts: I was shocked she replied to me because I messaged her when she was going viral. She actually appreciated that I reached out bc she felt like I was very authentic and genuine so my message stood out (I didn’t even ask a question I was just sharing ALL CAPS excitement at our similarities). She even offered to help me promote my course (I didn’t take her up on it haha I felt it would be weird for her audience), which I never asked for but it was soooo nice of her to offer 🥺 

The thing with sudden virality is that you don’t know what to do after the hype wears off. Every number is going down and it’s discouraging. You also feel pressured with so many eyes on you - like you have to keep creating content that’s related to what’s viral.

So this creator used to be a lawyer, and I thought it would be cool for her to do something like reading the fine print so you don’t have to. But then she didn’t exactly light up when she talked about that - she was only super excited for this health and wellness dream business she had that she didn’t tell many people.

I was so honoured she shared it with me and I could really see the energy she had there. I feel like a big theme of our chat was just the energy - the authentic passion and excitement that you have will be better for your content business than any niche you pivot into.

Annika - a creator who gets 50-100k views (200k)

Why I reached out: she’s doing something similar to me - rewiring her brain to bring back her childlike wonder. For me I’m learning a new skill every month to give my random hobbies a structure + help brain health. She also went viral suddenly and I thought it’d be good to connect and share experiences

Key takeaway: consistency is what’s important - most competition falls away if you focus on your (calculated) inputs rather than the outcomes

Other thoughts: she felt unqualified to be on the call but I learned so much from her. She voiced exactly the stuff I was too scared to put into action: that it’s about being consistent and ignoring the numbers.

I let the view counts get to me so much - feeling worthless and discouraged if I don’t get a certain number so I stop posting things I’m excited about. But I see her share her random posts and there’s so much good energy there that each post does well.

It’s because she focuses on inputs (post once every day) rather than outcomes, so if a post flops she’s still staying consistent.

“If the post flops, I still had fun making it” - her mindset really inspired me and made me want to post more things I’m excited about.

Another thing she said really stuck out to me: “content creation has a low barrier to entry so it’s very saturated. But most people give up after 6-12 months, so if you stay consistent, you’ll grow.”

I knew this in my heart but sometimes you just need someone to say it to you so you feel inspired and motivated again 🥺

How I felt after these calls

I feel kinda bad cuz I was yapping for most of the calls 😭 like sharing my stories, struggles, etc.

I felt the pressure cuz I was the one who set up these calls so I had to facilitate and lead the direction.

But tbh I’m proud of myself too. Who knew just DMing people could lead to so many cool insights? Just gotta shoot your shot, right?

I think every call I learn so much not just from the people I talk to, but also from myself - the things I share with them. Like I didn’t realize how far I’ve come until I chatted with some of them and realize they were in my position from 1 year ago.

Then I’m able to share some mistakes I wish I knew how to avoid (like setting up a strong back-end offer and continuation offers for my flagship product).

Your key takeaway

Just be bold and follow what energizes you 🫶

Til next week,

Jennifer

P.S. if you wanna get a head start on 2026, I’m opening up a few more coaching spots! I specialize in helping ADHD content creators get sales (offer creation, program structure, funnels, etc.) 🫶 Just reply “sales” and I’ll send over next steps.