Is now the best time to be an artist?

Hey honeys and hustlers,

My days of feeling obligated to post daily—or even multiple times per day—on social media are behind me. While social media platforms remain valuable for discovery and connection, the return on time invested isn't what it once was. The algorithm-driven approach that elevated virality over consistency has pushed creators like me to search for something more sustainable and human-centered. I haven’t completely abandoned posting on social media, as much as I want to at times, but I have definitely shifted how I spend time on each platform.

Many of the predictions I made in my 2025 creative trends article have come to pass. This year, I decided to make a major departure from creating daily “content” to focusing more on long-form creative projects in film and writing. In this article, I’m sharing how this change in focus is affecting how I’m spending my time online and why I believe that now is the best time to be an artist.

I posted almost daily from late 2021 through the end of last year. It yielded some great results at first, but after a while, I reached a point of diminishing returns. Since the start of this year, I've found that posting 3-5 times per week with intentional, high-quality content yields better results than maintaining a relentless daily schedule. These platforms still serve as valuable discovery tools for new audience acquisition, so I’m not abandoning them cold turkey. However, they're now a smaller part of a broader marketing strategy rather than the entire marketing strategy itself.

I also used to post on a lot more platforms than I do now (Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads, YouTube community posts, and TikTok to varying degrees). Let’s just say I tried them all. Instead of spreading myself thin across every platform, I'm concentrating on spaces that foster deeper connections:

• Substack Live: I’ve mostly done these with other people, but I’m not ruling out some solo episodes in the future. It feels like a much more fun and healthy use of my time.

• YouTube: Long-form video content allows for more nuanced discussions and creates a visual archive of ideas that continues to provide value over time.

• In-person events: There's simply no replacement for face-to-face interactions. Events like Podcast Movement Evolutions, Black Writers Weekend Atlanta, PRX Podcast Summit, SlossTech, and Resonate Podcast Festival offer opportunities to connect with people in meaningful ways.

• Podcasting and newsletters: These formats continue to be the backbone of my media business, offering depth and fostering community in ways that short-form content cannot.

I still maintain a presence on LinkedIn and Threads, but I view these platforms primarily as discovery tools rather than primary content homes.

One of the most interesting developments in 2025 is the relationship between art and content. Previously, these were often viewed as separate categories: art was made for expression, while content was made for consumption. But this distinction is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Compelling content often embodies artistic and creative qualities, while art that resonates widely shares characteristics with effective content. The key differences now revolve around:

• Access to the creator: Content often provides a window into the creator's process, personality, or thoughts. This access creates a connection and builds community.

• Promotion: Even the most brilliant art needs to find its audience. Content strategies help artistic work reach the people who will appreciate it most.

• Time to create: Perhaps the most significant difference is the time horizon. Content is often made in shorter periods, while artistic projects often require longer periods of development, reflection, and refinement.

Rather than seeing these as two opposite things, I've come to view them as complementary aspects of creative work. I believe we may be entering one of the best periods to be an artist. The democratization of tools, distribution channels, and business models has removed many traditional gatekeepers. Artists now have unprecedented access to:

• Direct relationships with their audiences

• Global reach without massive infrastructure

• Multiple revenue streams

• Creative tools that were once available only to professionals or institutions

• Communities of like-minded creators for support and collaboration

This doesn't mean it's easy—far from it. But the possibilities are expansive in ways that would have been difficult to imagine even a decade ago. Artists who embrace both the creative and entrepreneurial aspects of their work have opportunities that previous generations could only dream of. If you’re here, I don’t have to convince you of that.

The flip side of these expanded opportunities is the increased competition. As barriers to entry have fallen, the number of creators vying for attention has skyrocketed. With content available 24/7 across multiple platforms, capturing and maintaining audience attention is increasingly difficult. We're not just competing with other creators in our niche—we're competing with everything from streaming services to social media to the daily demands of life. Finding a truly unique angle or voice becomes more challenging as more creators enter the space. The pressure to differentiate is constant (i.e. the debate between being a generalist and having a niche). Money and attention are finite resources. Even with the abundance of monetization options, there's a limit to how many creators a single person can financially support. Rather than trying to compete on all fronts, I believe that successful creators are finding specific combinations of topic, format, voice, and audience that allow them to create distinctive work.

The opportunities are vast, the tools are powerful, and the potential for connection is extraordinary. At the same time, the challenges of competition, platform volatility, and attention scarcity are very real. The creators who thrive will be those who can balance artistic integrity with strategic thinking, technology with human connection, and ambition with sustainability. As I continue to develop and implement my own marketing strategy in 2025, these are the tensions I'm working to balance—creating work that feels authentic to me while resonating with the community I'm building.

The future of content creation isn't about more—it's about better. Better connections, better expressions, better experiences. And that's a future worth creating for.