The best antidote against confusion for first time creators is...

The best antidote against confusion for first time creators is choosing your "media format".

Media format is simply a well defined piece of media like newsletter, podcast, essays, books, blogs, vlogs, tweet threads and countless others formats.

In the last 10 years as a creator, I have worked on all of the above types (except vlogs & books). And it all depends on what is possible for you in the moment.

Why should you find your "creator-format fit"?

1. You apply constraints on the things that are possible to do within the boundaries of the format you have chosen.

2. This frees up a lot of mind space for what matters. Your message. You will be able to focus more on your messaging than distracting yourself with learning new skills for different media types

3. These constraints force you to focus more on mastering the medium

4. The time you take to master that medium shortens drastically

5. You can quickly judge if the format is working or not and move on to next one in a more systematic way

Test to find yours.

How to find your "creator-format" fit?

There is a perfect format out there that is waiting to be discovered by the right creator. I call this the "creator-format fit". But how do you find it? Tried to visualize this simple concept in Google Slides (check the cover image).

Whenever I get confused while initiating a project, I use this framework to help me make it easy to choose a format.

STEP 1 : Choose a channel where your audience hangs out..

(Twitter, IndieHackers, Instagram, Reddit etc.)

STEP 2 : Choose “media type” you’re comfortable with and it is feasible for you to produce it,

• Text
• Audio
• Video
• Design & Illustrations
• Images
• Combination of Above

STEP 3 : Choose a media format at the intersection of these two.

• Podcasts (Audio + Spotify)
• Newsletter (Text + Substack + Twitter)
• Vlogs (Video + YouTube)
• Visualizations (Design & Illustrations)
• Memes (Image + Instagram)
• Tweet Threads (Text + Twitter)
• Comics (Illustrations + Text + Relevant Social Platform)
• & Countless Other Formats

Once you choose a high level format, you can start digging deeper to find the treatment that works well for you.

For example, let's say you choose Podcasts.

Are you comfortable with having a conversations on mic?

• Do interviews

Do you like to record your voice talking about a certain topic?

• Record solo

You get the drift. I hope this helps.

I have been investing a lot of time into exploring how to apply "product mindset" to media. If something like this interests you as well, shoot me a DM at twitter.com/prakrisang