How it started vs. How it’s going

This community has been around for just about 18 months. It’s a good time to reflect a bit on where things started and where they’re going.

Before I begin, thank you to each and every one of you who have been a part of this community, whether you’re participating in discussions, quietly observing, or somewhere in between. I appreciate all of you! I only hope that being a part of this community has been at least somewhat helpful to you in whatever journey you are on. May it continue to be.

If you don’t want to get into a very lengthy post, you can stop here and enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheers!

How It Started:

This wasn’t really part of a plan, or at least none I’m aware of.

In fall of 2022, I’d just started to recover from an awful breakup. To help me get over it, I posted a request to find a Creator to take my mind off my woes. Of all the respondents, one stood out. She was phenomenal! She was incredibly personable, super sweet, and unquestionably gorgeous! She was The Holy Grail of Creators!

We hit it off really well, and carried on a Creator-Fan relationship for about 5 months, when she just quit without any warning. I was absolutely devastated. That’s not hyperbole. I’ll explain:

I’ve written before about being opposed to trauma dumping, but I want to tell you all this as a means of establishing some context. I have a condition known as RSD, which is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Any form of rejection, even if it’s only perceived, is excruciatingly painful (sometimes even physically).

Remembering how the last devastating event had been overcome by striking up a relationship with a content Creator, I went on a brief search to find a new one.

The one I found was relatively new, super cute, and lots of fun. She asked me what I do for a living. I told her I was in marketing. She told me she really needed some help with it. I told her that I firmly believe reviews are probably the most impactful means of marketing and asked her if I could write a review of my experience on her page. She agreed.

I created this reddit account and posted her review. It proved to be a success! She got a wave of new subscribers, was contacted by an agency who began representing her (yay?), and was making her desired income within a couple months. Great for her! She stopped communicating with me, but it was ok this time. She was not the one who could replace the perfect Creator from before.

Also, my review had also attracted the attention of some Creators who asked for my opinion on their respective pages. I told them that I didn’t want them to know it was me reviewing them, so I wouldn’t take any trials, and I wouldn’t let them know when I subscribed.

After I posted a couple of those reviews, I was contacted by a man named RJ, who worked for a website that hosts reviews of Creator pages and experiences. He asked if I would check out their page and possibly post my reviews there. I did. I also messaged him back with some unsolicited opinions I had about the page. A couple days later, he said the CEO wanted to talk with me.

I had a Zoom meeting with a gentleman named Leo, whom you hopefully “met” during his AMA. We talked about my ideas for the site. He seemed to like them and asked me if I had any other ideas for helping out. We discussed starting a subreddit where Creators and fans alike could come together to discuss the Creator-Fan dynamic and how to make it a more pleasant experience for all parties involved.

We were off to a great start!

How It’s Going:

The site is experiencing exponential growth, seeing over 200,000 visitors each month and growing by 60% month-over-month! We’re on the verge of launching some new features that will begin to revolutionize the ways that fans can find their new favorite Creator(s)!

The enhanced search is now live! Feel free to try it out and see what Creators you can discover. If you’re a Creator who has not yet claimed your page and added your badges, do that so you can be included in the search!

If you haven’t yet joined the site, you should! For fans, it’s a great place to search for Creators, check their review scores, and leave your own feedback after your own experience. For Creators, it really is a great and passive form of promotion. Claim your page, add the relevant badges, and let the fans see a bit about you before they head over to subscribe. Encourage them to leave you reviews, so other fans can find you and have their own great experience!

As the site continues to evolve, we’ll make sure to highlight it here.

As for my own quest to find the next Holy Grail of Creators, I’m happy to report that I found her!

I’m also sad to report that I let the demons in my mind got the best of me, I made some terrible choices, and it didn’t work out. Again.

Don’t feel bad for me; I stuck around in the story long enough to see myself become the villain.

I caused her to hurt.

It wasn’t intentional, but it’s the end result and not the intent that matters most.

So it’s sort of come full circle.

And with that, it’s with mixed emotions that I tell you that we’ve reached the point where it’s time for me to exit the stage.

I’ve already told all my good ideas about the site to Leo, so that should be good.

I should step away from Creators for at least a while. I can use that time to perfect my Arthur Dimmesdale impression.

I’ll stick around here for a bit to roll out the huge site news that’s coming within the next month, but after that I’ll ride off into the sunset for an indefinite period. Maybe I’ll be back; maybe I won’t. 

Whatever happens, I’m grateful for the time we’ve spent together. I hope that this community continues to grow and help both Fans and Creators.

Smooches,

ofreviewdude

P.S. Does anyone want to step into the “Guy who works too much” role?