The Gravitation Towards Self-Help
And why content creators often start off with self-help
How do you feel about Moroccan Podcasts?
I hate them and no, it’s not because they’re Moroccan.
Instead, it is the fact that the average Moroccan podcast discusses saturated topics such as “mindset” and “hustle” and frames it as the superior elite minority for knowing these topics despite that opinion being common sense.
Phew, that was a long sentence.
There’s this TikTok I saw a while back that commented on this self-help podcast phenomenon by mocking it with comments such as: “Sat hadshi gha l mindset a sat. Sat khas l E-commerce a sat”
While I can poke jabs at this whole content scene (both nationally and internationally) for the rest of this newsletter, I cannot act as if I’m not guilty when it comes to this.
Original Lessons and Obsessions readers can probably remember that I initially started as a Moroccan self-help blog. My growth strategy was to capitalize on this “niche”.
Except, it never worked.
My voice was generic and I was competing in a saturated market that would only yield a low-quality audience.
Thankfully, things are much better now and I can say I’ve kind of found my voice.
But the point remains, why do so many creators —when starting— start with self-help, regurgitating the same 5 concepts to their audience?
Well, here’s why.
1- It’s Low-Entry
If there’s one thing I learned after being in contact with so many creators, '“Fake it until you make it” is the key motto to convincing others that you’re an expert at something.
Given that the self-help genre does not require any academic or scientific knowledge,—except maybe some basic psychology and philosophy— it creates a low-barrier entry where anyone can gospel to anyone.
2-It’s Profitable (Kinda)
Back when I first started Lessons and Obsessions, I was convinced that catering to the self-help Moroccan audience would guarantee growth and attention for me.
However, that’s far from the truth. Not only that, the percentage of that niche group that did convert and read my work did not stick around — especially when I started divulging towards culture and Gen-Z topics.
At the same time, I cannot deny that there are some benefits when tailoring content to that group as proven by the self-help and entrepreneurship movement.
3- We’ve Been on a Self-Improvement Trend
With the rise in popularity of content such as fitness, mental health, investment, etc. Self-improvement has been —and will probably continue to be— a trending topic.
So it’s only right that self-help content will be the first thing that people think of when starting their creation career.
I’ve previously written an article about the problems of self-help content, feel free to check it out here!
In conclusion, it can be tempting to start yapping about self-improvement when starting your content creation career. But after a while, you need to find your voice so you can stand out amongst the sea of creators.
The same thing applies to content consumers, just alter voice with content preferences.
That’s it for this newsletter, I hope you enjoyed it.
Can you do a favor for me?
Let me know you liked this edition by sharing this newsletter on social media and tagging me (@abdonejam or @Lessonsandobsessions)
I’ll reply to you, I swear :)
What I’ve been up to
It has been a slow week for me. While I am tempted to start sinking my teeth into a new project or article, I want this feeling of peace to last for just a while longer.
Nonetheless, here’s what I’ve been up to:
Shared some of my failures on Instagram to encourage transparency and real expectations
Submitted an article and waiting for feedback
Finished a video game (The Mageseeker) and started another one
What have you been up to?