Why I've started the Creatorville blog
I'm Sam Barcroft. I'm a successful digital media entrepreneur, having built and sold Barcroft Studios over an amazing, seventeen-year adventure.
By the end of that journey, my colleagues and I had developed original video shows with over 70 million followers across YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat. We were getting 500 million video views per month across those platforms. We were making original television shows for Netflix, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery and others.
This all came from a passion for amazing true stories. We produced thousands of pieces of original content, and learned how to share those in a commercially successful way.
Over the course of that journey, I developed a broad range of knowledge, an extended network of contacts, and a deep understanding of how to succeed in digital media.
I also had to deal with a great deal of pressure, disappointment, challenge and exhaustion along the way. But that was tempered by all the excitement of growing an incredible team, making fantastic content and entertaining and informing huge audiences.
I've now left the company, and realise I have a lot of knowledge that may prove valuable to others on similar journeys.
And I'm passionate about helping others achieve their goals.
So the objective of Creatorville is to assist those wishing to succeed in the creator economy.
We are currently at a great crossroads in both society and in the media, which has arisen partly due to the emergence of the internet.
The ability for the world to communicate in words, pictures and sound in real time has brought many walls crashing down. Communities have been built. Injustices exposed. Remarkable tools have changed our lives. And deep inequalities have been revealed.
This has also birthed the creator economy - the ability for individuals and organisations to publish content globally for free, and to directly monetise their audiences.
Many millions of individuals are now building movements and businesses by creating content that others are deeply interested in.
And media companies are learning to add original digital content to their output in clever ways to grow new audiences and additive revenue streams.
But the creator economy is a complicated and fast changing world. New platforms and ways of telling stories are emerging all the time. There is content overwhelm, which means it can be challenging to build audiences, and tough to get quick returns on investment in digital content.
All of us are coming into this world from a different starting point, often with a specific objective.
- If you are just starting your journey as a content creator, it's likely you won't be applying for a traditional job at a TV station. You're going to be busy figuring out the people, places and platforms to work with that offer you the best chance of doing your thing.
- If you are a young company, keen to make a mark in the world of content, you'll be fighting to find your ideal clients, audiences and initial commercial opportunities.
- And if you are part of a large organisation, you'll be figuring out how to use the explosion in content distribution and access to new audiences as quickly and efficiently as possible.
As creators strive towards reaching their objectives, it's really important that they are supported.
One of the best ways I achieved this on my journey was to stand on the shoulders of giants - to learn from those who had already taken the path I was headed down.
And I'm on a mission to pay that forward.
This blog aims to offer my insights, ideas and understanding to help support the incredible world of creators. I hope you find your time here well spent.