“I feel like there has been a rule book of how to become a successful creator over the last two years. I don't know if fighting is the right word, but I'm just not going to be following that rule book. I don't have an upload schedule. I stopped worrying about retention, and instead of asking myself ‘how can I get the most clicks on this thumbnail,’ I started asking myself ‘how could I best reflect the emotions of the video in this thumbnail,’” Ng said. “Once I started thinking this way, I found myself taking inspiration from places I never thought of looking before—like movie posters, album covers, and short films.” 

Instead of focusing on metrics like CTR and AVD, Ng followed his own rules in his latest video Dear YouTube, I Hate You, where he describes his push and pull with the platform’s demands.

Another way Ng stays creative is by diversifying his output, whether that be posting on other sites or bringing in non-YouTube revenue from his film school. “De-risking the process of being an artist is, in my opinion, the best way to stay creative and authentic on the platform,” Ng said.

Ng has developed a close group of creator friends including heyxnatalie, Beau Miles, Anthpo, and 8illy who support each other through the relentless process of creating videos. “We started de-risking the artistic process by using our platforms to build businesses. None of us want to be financially reliant on our YouTube channels anymore, and because we're no longer worried about putting food on the table, this allows us to tell riskier stories.” 

How to manage your job when it’s someone else's hobby: “Even if you LOVE your job, you need to give yourself space to switch off. And when your passion becomes your work, the lines get blurred. For me, that means whenever I draw, color, or do anything creative, I’m wondering if I should turn on a camera just in case it’s useful for YouTube,” Clark said. “So I’ve learned to find other hobbies, like puzzles, gardening, and video games, that are completely unrelated. And I refuse to monetize these, or I’ll have nothing to escape to in those moments when the job IS too much.”

Know your end-game. “I think it’s a great exercise for creators to stop and think about your ‘why.’ Why are you doing this? What is the motivation beyond just numbers? What would you do if the algorithm didn’t matter? And find a way to realign everything else with THIS as the focus, NOT the vanity numbers. For me, there were a lot of things I started saying ‘no’ to and a lot of opportunities I decided not to chase when I really thought about the kind of creator I wanted to be, instead of always just trying to gain more followers.”

“I get burned out when I’m in a reading slump…whenever I’m not reading it’s hard for me to create content. But usually, I'll just take a couple of days off to regroup! I try not to be too hard on myself because at the end of the day, I read and make content for fun,” Lola said.

Set success on your own terms: “I determine my videos’ ‘success’ on how much interaction they receive,” Lola said. “If my followers comment/save my content, it makes me feel fulfilled….like I’m helping someone. This also causes TikTok's algorithm to push my videos, so I'm able to be creative and serve my followers while also working with the algorithm.”

“I fundamentally believe that in order to create art, you must consume it. If you’re constantly consuming or constantly creating art, you’re going to be stuck in the same spot—never evolving, experimenting, or growing as a creative,” Bagg said.

And to consume art, you have to walk away from creating it for a while. “Music artists make their albums then go on a hiatus for years or more just to experience life so they can write and record better songs,” Bagg said. “However, content creators don’t have the luxury of being able to go away for years and experience life.”

So creators have to carve out that time for themselves. “I love my job and I wouldn’t have any other in the world, but it’s very easy to let your life get caught up entirely into YouTube, get burnt out, or lose passion entirely if you put too much time into it. If I was constantly creating and not consuming, I would’ve quit years ago,” Bagg said. “It’s crucial to spend time away from a computer and hang out with family and friends. That’s how you inspire and influence others.”

Q: First of all, your newsletter on Bill C-11 was fantastic. But as a Canadian creator, now I have some concerns.

I'm a Canadian YouTuber in Canada, but I make Japanese content. Is this bill going to prioritize recommending my videos to Canadians rather than my core audience in Japan? I actually had this problem on TikTok at first, filling my inboxes with confused English comments. 

Even though I’ve been blessed with a large audience, if my content stops being recommended to the right audience, I know that’s going to lead to some problems. I’d love to hear what you guys think.

Thank you so much for the work you do! You've played a big part in my YouTube journey.

(I go by えばそん (ebason) on YouTube btw)

A: Evan—we’re so glad you liked our piece on Canada Bill C-11. We hope it was informative and empowering.

While the proposed bill doesn’t have specific line items that directly address your concern of what will happen to Canadian creators’ content outside Canadian borders, we can piece together a few things from what we know about the intent of the bill.

Bill C-11 is meant to lift up Canadian-made programming within Canada and protect Canadian content from being ignored or undervalued by foreign companies. Its priority is improving the citizen experience, not imposing rules on the Canadian media companies that aim to reach Canada and beyond.

In terms of how your content is perceived, you should still be able to find your audience outside of Canada. The bill would mostly affect what Canadian citizens see. That said, if your content is served up to them just because it’s Canadian, not because it’s relevant to their specific interests, then you’re right that it could hurt your channel’s performance. 

And depending on the size of your channel, C-11 could require you to prioritize government criteria for domestic distribution over global audiences, though that’s still in question as the terms for creators that make user-generated-content (UGC) are still up for debate.

If you want to be part of amending C-11 so it removes the requirements for UGC creators like you, you can share your story here. In the meantime, give your audience a heads up. Tell them the situation and make sure your presence can be easily found elsewhere.