Dylan discussed being multi passionate, some of the challenges of being creative and solutions that he has found. We also thought about some more questions and ideas around creativity in general.  We talked about overcoming fear to become a content creator. And Dylan shared some lessons about online business, podcasting and choosing your niche, or target avatar. Dylan also shared his framework “CLIPS” for creating great short form content.

You don’t have to overthink learning and posting.  We talked about the continuum between being an expert vs being an enthusiast and how we can create from either side, or anywhere in between. 

Making Creativity Sustainable

There is a blessing and a curse of having a lot of creative ideas. But you need to take care of yourself first. We discussed this foundation we need as creatives to keep us in check. You have to prioritize and let some things go. And, if you’re multi passionate, it’s definitely important to embrace your identity, incorporate a few aspects, but not give in to too many shiny objects.

Social media and procrastination can be addictive. The only way to achieve work is to find a personal solution to this problem. 

You do have an incredible message, and social media use does have a powerful role to play in helping spread messages. 

But we have to be mindful about how much.

How can you go from doom scrolling and consuming content to making it instead? 

Be mindful and intentional about how you’re spending your time. 

Whenever you’re spending time, think through the lens of What do you want to make? What are you making? Why are you making it? Who are you making it for? And what impact will it have?

Mental Health For Creatives

Being a creator can be an ongoing battle to find balance. Figuring out when to push toward your goals and when to give yourself the space to pause, relax and recharge.

It was actually Dylan’s therapist who helped guide to continue with podcasting. We talked about a lot of his career, school journey and how he sets goals with mental health in mind.

Dylan shared the value of mindfulness, and how he got into stuff like meditation and breathwork. We also discussed the value of deep work beyond our online personas. Which ultimately comes down to self awareness. 

There are so many options to being a creator. For example, we can build successful businesses, books and achieve big goals completely offline without sharing publicly. We could build exclusively online like livestream, or social posts. Or anywhere in between. And in any order. 

There are successful examples everywhere on this continuum. So don’t stress. Do what works for you.

And be patient. The business of creativity is a step by step climb. You build up and up to certain levels of success in the content creation space. 

Maybe someday you will have large successful brand deals. But you build up to it. Not to say you can’t start now, but it may not be the amounts, or brands you have in your big dreams. You start out small and continue to build. By the time we see creators, we see them as an “overnight success”. But really that overnight success took five, or ten years to get to.

And of course, Dylan is the Digital Podcaster, so we had to talk about clip creation and podcasting. He shared a few pretty unique tips in case you want to start your own show, or short form content.

How To Make Great Short Form Videos (CLIPS)

One of Dylan’s expertise is creating powerful short form content that stands on its own. He shared that the best videos don’t have much extra information. They can be a complete story all on their own. To make the process of creating short clips more simple he uses an acronym “CLIPS”.

“CLIPS” stands for
C: capture key moments
L: length optimization
I: improve visual appeal
P: promote on social media and
S: study performance.

13 Things To Keep In Mind When  Podcasting

1.  Less can be better because we get paralyzed by analysis and fear. Get your first idea and get started as soon as possible.
2. Build your foundation on the right niche for you that you can sustain (for you) long form and long term.
3. If you want to create the show to teach in a binge-worthy way, by going more and more niche, recognize you might not have long term recurring listeners. But if you create categories that are a bit more broad, it can expand and be more sustainable over time.
4. On the flipside, you don’t need a super clear niche, but the less specific it is, the longer it might take to grow an audience.
5. Know your why and goals for creating the show. This will change the format and cadence of your schedule and workflow.
6. Be authentic by following your curiosity and sharing what you learn. The more interested the host is the more interested the audience will be.
7. Don’t define the direction, the workflow, or try to make the show perfect in the early days. 
8. Build consistency as soon as possible. See more and more episodes through and get to the 100th episode.
9. The first year, the first hundred episodes will be most challenging, but then you’ll really understand the direction and workflow. Keep going. 
10.  Always be improving your general creativity, because even once you have the technical elements of podcasting, the need to be creative will always be there.
11.  Continue to create, improve and network. Keep growing the show and opportunities to monetize will come to mind. You could definitely monetize early on, but that requires specific skills in terms of business, such as niche selection, outreach, coaching, advertising, or an existing audience.
12.  Everything starts with great content, so just keep learning how to get better and better at creating.
13.  With every decision you make, think through the lens of “are you adding value to your audience?”

Memorable Quotes

“You can do things your way! And if you take a step back a lot of your best ideas will come about naturally which is always the best way.”

“My tattoo means stay focused and spend time on what really matters most to me in life.”

“You can’t fake being interested when it comes to hosting a podcast.”

“Sure someone else could make the creative thing you thought of, but you have the pull to make it, you had the idea, you need to be the one to make it.”

Guest Bio

Dylan Schmidt specializes in digital content creation.

He builds his own creative content, but also helps other businesses and individuals create their own content too.

Since 2022 his company Content Clips has produced tens of thousands of social media posts, podcasts, and newsletters for New York Times Bestselling authors, TED speakers, Ivy League professors, and 7-figure entrepreneurs. His content has been viewed nearing a billion times.

He is also a creator himself as host of the Top Apple Podcast “Digital Creator”.

Dylan’s passion lies in assisting those with a message to share the resources they need to produce and profit from their digital content.

That’s why he started a membership site called the Creator Club to bring brand new and experienced writers and podcasters to support each other.

Want to connect with Dylan? You can hit him up at his website: DylanSchmidt.Com

Follow Dylan

LinkedIn – @DylanSchmidtPodcast
Youtube – @DigitalPodcaster
Website – DylanSchmidt.Com