5 Compelling Reasons to Publish Content Online (Even if You’re a Private Person)
Hint: It’s not about being an internet celebrity
Your voice has the power to inspire, connect, and create opportunities you never imagined possible.
But many people still refrain from publishing content online.
Why?
A common belief they adopt is: “For what I create to be worth sharing, it must attract a large number of views, shares, or comments.”
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Thinking this way often discourages people from ever starting their content journey — they fear their efforts will be wasted.
Here’s a quick newsflash if you fall into this category…
Content doesn’t need mass appeal to be valuable!
Every large creator you see online started with an audience of 0.
They found success by catering to niche communities with specific interests.
For example, KSI is one of the most popular YouTubers globally.
If you search him up on Google, it would say he’s a social media influencer, professional boxer, and musician.
But he initially gained fame with his FIFA gameplay and commentary — something that doesn’t appeal to everyone.
The point I’m making is this:
Being of value doesn’t mean you must have mass appeal.
It means you’re beneficial to a select group of people.
And as you grow, your niche will grow with you (like what happened to KSI, Hormozi, Justin Welsh, etc.).
“But I don’t like putting myself out there…”
And I get it.
Being in the public eye is daunting — especially because we all know people can be quite mean.
But you’ve got to change your perspective about what it means to publish content online.
You’re NOT putting yourself in the shop window to be slandered and judged…
You’re sharing ideas, perspectives, and thoughts to help others grow and overcome challenges (including boredom) — something you probably already do in your private life with your friends.
Bringing that same act to the internet is simply scaling your support.
In other words, the internet helps you do what you’re already doing at scale.
And get rewarded handsomely for it!
Now that we’ve debunked the most common myth and objection, let’s get into 5 compelling reasons to publish content online.
1. Earn 2 of the most valuable life assets
When you publish content online, you earn two life-enhancing assets:
Trust
Credibility
Forget about what school taught you.
Life is not a meritocracy.
What you achieve with your time on this earth is heavily influenced by your access to resources and your social connections.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying you don’t need to have some individual talent and put in effort…
What I am saying is that those attributes alone will only get you so far.
The degree of trust and credibility you accumulate forms the foundation of what you have access to.
If people don’t trust you, they won’t make provisions for you — just think back to feelings of doubt you had the last time your shady cousin asked to borrow money or when they asked you to introduce them to your friend.
Credibility is just as important…
It gives people the assurance that the information and claims you make are accurate and reliable.
This is why people put on their LinkedIn profiles that they’re “ex-Google” or “ex-Microsoft…”
By affiliating themselves with a credible institution, they’re making themselves come off as more reliable.
2. Keeps you accountable
Believe it or not, I had to retake my English exams when I was 15.
I failed the first time round.
And yes, I’m a native speaker.
But today, I’ve earned well over 6 figures from my writing.
What changed?
I learned how to write.
Mind you, I didn’t learn this skill from reading a bunch of books (even though I wouldn’t discount the value of doing so).
I improved my writing by writing, discovering what works and cutting out what doesn’t.
And learning this skill has paid me more than 2x what I was earning in my full-time career.
Here’s the gist:
Sharing content online makes you accountable for your personal development.
If you want to attract opportunities from what you share, you must improve your ability to:
Articulate ideas
Manage projects
Utilize digital tools
etc.
All of these skills make you extremely valuable in the new digital marketplace that’s been emerging.
3. Create a legacy
I’m a millennial.
Growing up, my parents always used to tell me about their upbringing back home in Ghana…
One of their favorite stories was about how they would trek through all kinds of terrain barefoot just to get to school.
But I always struggled to relate because they never had anything tangible to show me — bar a few pictures from their adolescent years.
Sharing content online solves this problem.
Everything you publish is added to your digital repository that exists in cyberspace.
This means your ideas, insights, and stories can contribute to a broader discussion or provide value to others long after you’ve created them.
People still reach out to me about the content I created in 2020 when I used to talk about data science.
Some of these have started conversations that have developed into lucrative opportunities that propelled my career.
So reason number 3 to publish content online:
You can influence or inspire people well beyond your immediate circle, long into the future.
In other words, you can create a legacy.
4. Open doors to lucrative opportunities
There was never a point in my life when I said, “I want to run a ghostwriting business when I grow up,” but here we are…
My family always asks me how on earth I got into this line of work.
And I tell them, “Just from meeting people online.”
The in-depth story is I was creating content online and got a few gigs as a freelance writer.
This extended my reach and put me in contact with a guy who showed me that freelance writing is one of the worst ways to make money online.
He showed me ghostwriting, and the rest is history.
There’s two lessons you can take from this:
People give other people opportunities
The more discoverable you are, the more likely you are to connect with someone who can give you an opportunity.
Making your knowledge and skills accessible increases the likelihood of connecting with others who share your interests or need your expertise.
And this is what expands your network.
As the popular adage goes, “Your network is your net worth.”
5. Enjoy the fulfillment of creative expression
Research suggests engaging in activities that enable you to express yourself and feel emotion stimulates your mind and decreases stress.
Basically, you can get a positive kick out of:
Bettering yourself
Building your legacy
Earning people’s trust
Becoming a credible source
If that’s not killing multiple birds with one stone, I don’t know what is.
By exploring and expressing your passions in a structured way, you create a deep sense of fulfillment, joy, and accomplishment for yourself.
In other words, as much as you’re doing it to meet the needs of others, you’re also doing it for your own good.
Anyways, that’s all from me…
Thanks for reading!