Editorial continued...

In a recent Forbes Article written by Naimeesha Murthy, Creator at Products by Women & Full Ritúal, entitiled, "The Continuous Growth And Future Of The Creator Economy", there are interesting insights about how creativity is now more affordable than ever with technology enabling better tools to create and deliver visual content, film, and music.  Content Creation, as a business model, often referred to as the creator economy, which represents a mere fraction of the total US gig economy, is expected to exceed more than one hundred billion in 2021.

      Content creators that consistently produce and publish fresh material have the opportunity to truly engage with authenticity.  Creators in almost any niche are building audiences that identify with them, want to learn from them, or even aspire to even emulate those creators.  Creators' brands are in part their own, in part the clothing they wear, the materials they are using to create, their mode(s) of transportation, where they are staying, their own lifestyle can truly be part of their own brand curation. Brands want to be associated with the types of creators that they believe perpetuate the lifestyle image(s) of their own products, services, brands, etc.  'Repping a brand' today can be truly authentic without lowering any standards that the creators believe in.  In today's market, in the creator economy, creators need not worry about corporate sponsorships turning them into 'sellouts'.

      There are opportunities for artists, musicians, content creators to earn money in ways that have not been as readily available in the past.  With that being said, it isn't necessarily easy to accomplish monetization for artists that lack certain aspects of technical proficiency.  While today there are freelancers sites a plenty, the ability to monetize beyond earning project only based compensation truly requires a dedication to a craft and the marketing to go along with it for optimal monetization.  the Essentials has strived to produce meaningful content that is interesting, informative and insightful. 

      To stay on top of your game and excel in a career where competition is always changing, always adapting and continuing to incorporate new technology, we must keep evolving and pushing ourselves. Thought and creativity coupled with constant learning, be it with tech or in cooperation with technically proficient allies, team members or partnerships allow us to keep pushing past previous creative boundaries.

      Brands have been able to build from inception to prominence while creating brand equity and efficacy through social media.  A brand truly has reached the level of true recognition when it has the power to elicit a response.  A response does not necessarily mean a purchase!  An emotional or even a visceral response means that our brain has received stimuli that has created associations strong enough to engage our consciousness and attention beyond that of a brand's name, logo, or slogan.  While the term Brand Ambassador or Influencer have perhaps taken on negative connotations in some circles, a true Content Creator has the ability to separate themselves an possibly their team  through effectively combining their artistic vision with businesses and brands that are on message and on point with proper collaboration.