Speaking as someone who's been doing content for 7ish years and who now works in the industry I keep an eye on all the great creators in our niche and I worry.

My advice? Be like Dory.

Yes. The fish.

(Clipping because I don't want to derail Sam's great point.)

If you're out there making stuff, feeling the love (or not), and doing the work... but sometimes feel tired or discouraged or rudderless...

Ask yourself this:

What do you want to get out of being a content creator?

(And be really honest with yourself.)

Have fun?
Give back to the community?
Be a bigger part of the community?
Influence the industry?
Free games?
Popularity?
Side cash?
Get "board game famous"?
Fill a gap you see in existing content?
Spread your unique voice?
Get an industry job?
Make a mark?
Express yourself?

Can you answer the goals question? If not - think about it. And be really honest with yourself.

Because content - even paid - becomes a grind for hobbyists if ANY of your goals involves building an audience. And the platforms are not your friend on this front.

Algorithms and audience attention spans are not friendly to content creators. Grabbing attention is one thing. Maintaining an audience - let alone building credibility - is big work. Consistent frequent output lest you slide down the algorithm is brutal. And it's not your job.

I see a lot of creators cranking out content, following flash trends to catch eyes, doing all the "right" things... and burning the hell out. Because it becomes a second full time job that may be partially paid. Is that what you want? Cool. Tho I bet in a year you'll be tired.

What I'm not sure I see are that many folks whose efforts seem focused on a goal. Lots who sacrifice boundaries and pacing for hopes of growth. (And maybe it's worth it to you.) But if you burn out - that does no one any good - not you, your community, or the industry.

Aimless burnout pace? You get exhausted and something you love gets tainted. Your community loses your content. The industry loses an outlet they're vested in. That's a lotta suck.

Have clear goals, craft a content strategy around those, and check your progress towards them.

Goals don't have to be lofty. "I really just want to have fun and be creative within my hobby" is a very cool goal.

(But if you find yourself thinking "I gotta get a video up!" or "I didn't enough regrams!" then your feelings don't match your goals and it's time to ask why.)

I know I'm rambling.

I just feel really awful for folks who are doing great stuff but are also tired and stressed about that stuff. I get it - I've been there. I quit doing the KS coverage for a reason. 12-16 hours a week unpaid on top of day job and fam was not healthy for me.

I guess my point is - you'll make smarter choices if you know what you're truly trying to accomplish by being a content creator and check in on that once in awhile. If nothing else you can feel accomplished as you make progress to those goals.

Just churning content and having your satisfaction be at the whims of likes and follows and the vagaries of shitty algorithms and fickle consumers is a formula for unhappiness and burnout. Having goals that help you take a step back once in awhile can really help.

So that is why I say: Be like Dory.

She said "just keep swimmin" but Dory also stopped and checked in on why and where she was swimming to.

(Dory also had a friends who cared about her and supported her. So the rest of y'all - do like Sam said and support those makers and shakers out there in board game land. They need you. )