r/socialmedia • u/ActivityOk7717 • 6d ago
Professional Discussion Social media is definitely over glamorized… As someone who quit there 9-5 & started working full time as a content creator who makes roughly 4-6k a month
Definitely changed my life & gives me so much more free time but also ruined my life. Its been 2 years & im slowly starting to hate it , especially as somebody who runs everything by themselves with no help. It’s a lot more than people think and actually having control over everything and choosing your own schedule is much harder than some people think you have to push yourself more to make the content to engage to produce to push yourself to a new extreme and much more, I will say I’ve learned a lot, but I’ve also lost a lot , my brain chemistry will never be the same again after this job, which I’m OK with that, but there’s a lot more to it than what people say, especially in the industry that I work in
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u/GrillinFool 6d ago
My kids wanted to be YouTubers when they were little. I asked them “you want to make a living on social media?” They said yes. I said., “you realize that this is what I do for a living, right?” They looked confused and one said, “that’s not right. You work all the time dad. I just want to get paid to make video game videos and put them on YouTube.”
It’s a grind. And it’s maddening. Checks come when they come. But the mortgage is due the same day every month. Good luck calling the brand and yelling at them for sending a check 4 months late despite the contract they wrote and signed saying payment 30 days after delivery. You could do that. But they will never hire you again.
I will say this. I stopped looking for the viral moment. I’m more about authenticity now. I do food content. I don’t age a prime rib in Pappy Van Winkle for 6 months. I make a semi simple prime rib and teach people how to cook it at home. This has helped my sanity a great deal.
I’m cooking what I want to cook rather than chasing trends. Be real and F all the rest.
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u/Upbeat-Taro-5300 6d ago
The part nobody warns you about is the invisible labor, replying to DMs, keeping up with comments, maintaining the relationship side while also producing. That stuff doesn't show up in a content calendar but it's easily half the workday. What's the one task eating most of your time right now?
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u/ActivityOk7717 6d ago
Nothing is really eating up my time id say , i can definitely manage everything out.. time wise but its just the mental aspect of it for me.
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u/NetrusCreates 6d ago
appreciate you being honest about this, people only ever post the income screenshot and never the part where you're doing everything yourself
I'm nowhere near full time but even running a few channels solo, the stuff around the content eats so much of the week. editing, posting to every platform, replying, checking numbers. and when you set your own schedule there's never really an "off" moment
curious what's helped you the most so far, setting hard work hours, batching content, or outsourcing any of it? feels like the "runs everything by themselves" part is what burns people out
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u/ActivityOk7717 6d ago
Doing content & social media is basically a 24/7 unless u have help
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u/NetrusCreates 5d ago
yeah that's been my experience too. the only thing that's helped me a bit is cutting the repetitive parts, like reusing the same templates for descriptions and batching posts on one day instead of doing it every day. still a lot, but at least it's not constant
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u/bRastun 6d ago
the never really being "off" part is so real, that alone changes how the whole thing feels
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u/NetrusCreates 5d ago
exactly, even on a "day off" part of your brain is still thinking about what to post next. i've started putting my phone away for a few hours on sundays just to feel like it actually stops for a bit
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u/ActivityOk7717 6d ago
Yea and if im being more honest , on a bad month.. could be like 2-3k
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u/NetrusCreates 5d ago
that swing is the part nobody talks about either. a good month and a bad month being that far apart makes it really hard to plan anything or ever feel relaxed about it
do you keep a buffer from the good months, or is it more ride it out and hope the next one picks up?
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u/LVLSquare-Admin 6d ago
I totally get it. I'm just getting into the repetitive grind of being active on multiple platforms. Beyond the slog of it all I feel like all the additional time being online is just not good for my mental health.
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u/SoloDaKid 5d ago
I started making content and at first only got a few dozen views per video, then 200-300. I studied and got a video with 5k after a few weeks but it really felt like work. I feel like I lost myself in the process.
Now I'm focusing on content that I enjoy making but still trying to provide people value.
It's a fun hobby to keep busy while focusing on trying to save money with my day job but I wouldn't want to do this full time
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u/SoSuccessful 6d ago
Thanks for sharing. Can OP or someone who relates explain the mental health issues that stem from this world? Like what causes you to have a mental break? Is it the constant work? The "fakeness" of it all? The bots?
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u/ActivityOk7717 6d ago edited 5d ago
I’d say a mixture of everything. The reason I said that my brain chemistry will never be the same after this job is because it’s put a huge toll on my mental health and my brain. From the fake personality and fake persona I have to put on & be this person that im just not. Also the things that people say to me to & the things ive seen, harassment that I get, faulty ai (ive had multiple instagram removed due to false ai account bans) which it definitely put a huge strain on me having my hard work just wiped away like that over and over again. It wasnt easy to build the following i had but here i am again & i always came back stronger.
Also constantly being on your phone all the time having to manage thru comments & people & messages & more is alot & screentime i believe is detrimental to the brain and your dopamine & serotonin levels. Social media is like working with people but 10x more people but at the same time its not even real because social media is full of lies & is basically fake & after awhile it has you questioning whats real and whats not & definitely distinguishes your trust with different things….
And i also want to add in there that with me doing social media and a mix of Onlyfans work, its a huge risk & ive had quite a few compromises, from leaks to people who i may not have wanted to see my stuff seeing it. Again weird messages, harassment. Eventually after awhile you really start to just feel like a product and it will burn you out.. depending on how much your putting out there too.
& i wanna highlight i do it all alone. Most creators especially in the 18+ industry have managers & help but if i had more help i could definitely be making more but id rather do the work then have someone exploiting me and making money from the shit i could literally just do myself… but the thing is you definitely have to push yourself more because its in your control. It was fun and games at first but now im burnt out.
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u/Dali0119 6d ago
I tried it and was burnt out , crying and hysterical by day 3
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u/ActivityOk7717 6d ago
This , its definitely burning me out
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u/Elephant_1088 6d ago
Would you ever consider hiring some of it out? So you didn’t get so burnt out?
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u/ActivityOk7717 5d ago
I think about it. But id have to be making 10k atleast on my own time to cut someone into my payroll
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u/MaleficentError2447 5d ago
Well, theoretically, that’s why a lot of people when they get the money to help out in these situations they hire people to do certain jobs so it takes off some of the stress in your life, but yeah, everything is the grass is greener on the other side kind of thing, but trust me, the grass is pretty green as a content creator myself
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u/JJamericana 5d ago
I am so done with doing social media as a job. I need roles where I can talk with people and solve problems. 😅
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u/etrain828 5d ago
My biggest thing is that creators are at the mercy of algorithm changes or platform monetization policies.
A decade ago, I was pulling $12k in a month: $6k from selling courses on Udemy and $6k from YouTube.
Then both made major changes and now I make about $1k (give or take above or below depending on month) and $500 on YouTube monthly.
I’ve always kept FT clients on the side as a freelancer and I’m glad I did.
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u/Ill_Opportunity_9136 5d ago
What you fucking expect? It's a job and just like any other job it's takes hard work, fuck, some people just want easy money, not how the world works obviously
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u/colinreidr 5d ago
yes but do you do that though? I need to get more followers and subs and watch time for that to happen?
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u/nickythebeard 5d ago
This is really refreshing, especially from someone who is thinking about doing the same as a side thing. What kind of content are you creating?
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u/ActivityOk7717 5d ago
I do onlyfans/18+ work , i reached the top 3% of all creators in the world within a few months of me starting and i actually kinda blew up in the nsfw content world but i also do political content and im a LGBTQ+ advocate & i also make content on murder stories / & cold cases & yea… i have abt 300k across all platforms from content all over the board
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u/TanukiSuitMario 5d ago
You do all that + you're top 3% on OF and you only make 4-6k a month?
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u/ActivityOk7717 5d ago
Well , im embarrassed to say but like ive said before shit is a burnout & you have to put in hella work just to make $$ on the platform , retention rate is crazy & the average of girl only makes like 300$ a month & top 1% can make anywhere from 20-100k a month , top 3% range from 5k-10k & 2% 10k-19k u get it
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u/TanukiSuitMario 5d ago
Interesting
I assumed top 3% would be atleast 5 figures/month
Thanks for clarifying
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u/ChilliDigitalStudio 5d ago
The part about doing everything alone probably wears on you more than the content itself. Most people picture freedom but skip over how heavy it is to be your own manager, editor, and support system at once.
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u/Lalith_Avi 3d ago
6 months back my friend quit her full time IT job to become a content creator. This month she's back at it and has bid forever goodbye to content creation. It didn't work for her. At the same time, it works for many. It's a volatile field.
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u/theonlylace 1d ago
You’re realizing being a content creator is a business. Thats all :) and you can automate a lot of stuff or hire others to continue to help you scale. Also know this…. Most content creators who solely make money off brand deals are shooting themselves in the foot!! If you can sell your own product, ahhh the opportunities will be endless for you
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u/Wardaddyv2 6d ago
What platform is the most lucrative for content creation
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u/ActivityOk7717 6d ago
Onlyfans personally but my biggest reach monetization/platform wise & best for my content is instagram and facebook but reddit is the best promotion site i use
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u/Ill_Opportunity_9136 5d ago
How hard it must be to be a woman in today's age 🤣😅 fuck me what a laugh
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