Popularity and Influence Aren't The Same
Addressing the struggle between stats and staying power
Earlier this year, I launched my Substack publication. After running blogs on two personal websites, I wanted more people see my work and drill down to a more focused topic for my content.
Besides, Substack has a fantastic one-stop shop toolkit to help creators produce work in a variety of mediums. I feel like I hit the jackpot finding this space to create.
After some years of willy-nilly, unfocused creative work, I knew I needed to zoom in if I wanted to be truly useful to readers. Writing about whatever topics were trendy without creating a common thread wasn’t helping me build a dedicated audience, though some of my posts were popular for a short time.
The truth is, I’d become too fixated on views, likes, and follows and wasn’t really writing with the intent to serve and encourage. I just wanted to broaden my reach. Then I came across someone else’s creative content which opened my eyes to how empty and wasteful that mindset was. It changed everything.
Stats vs. staying power
Some time ago, I completed a devotional plan called Adamant by Lisa Bevere. The overarching aim is to help readers anchor themselves to God’s truth instead of drifting along in a changeable culture.
Bevere posed an important question, one that laid bare something I needed to address:
Do you want to be popular…or do you want to be influential? -Lisa Bevere
Well, dang. That question hurts on so many levels. As a writer, of course, I want to be known and read by many. But I also want to be influential in the long term.
Bevere followed up her stinging question with further explanation.
“Popularity and influence seem similar, but they’re very different. Popularity requires you to follow the masses or tell them what they want to hear. But influence invites you to stand on truth apart from the crowd.” -Lisa Bevere
Apart from the crowd? Absolutely. That is the higher call of Christ on our lives.
I had given little thought to the difference between the two. But as I read on, I realized I had to make this distinction and decision in order to move forward as a writer.
While every writer wants lots of readers, popularity could come at the expense of straying from my purpose—glorifying God. Without laser focus on my purpose, I could risk being popular but not influential for the Kingdom.
Know your purpose
My publication, The Writer’s Garden, is a more focused project than my foray into blogging nearly a decade ago. It’s a place where life, writing, and faith intersect. Through it, I aim to encourage, inform, and inspire writers through the lens of my faith.
While I am a Christian and a writer, not everything I produce is overtly faith-based. However, my faith informs what I will and won’t write about and how I interact with others online.
Some of my Substack content addresses my beliefs as they relate to creative life. Hopefully, non-Christians will still feel welcome and gain insight from my work. I also hope Christians are encouraged in their faith and see how it connects to creativity.
What I’m not doing is hiding what I believe. I’m not clubbing people over the head with it either. That would defeat the real purpose of the publication, which is to encourage writers while staying true to who I am and what I believe.
“Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.” -George Eliot
Creating for long-haul results
Stopping to think about popularity and influence proved to be an opportunity for growth. It’s settled. I want to be influential, even if it means a small sphere of influence. Authenticity and community are too critical to compromise.
I want the way I live my life and use my creative efforts to merit the honor of having influence. My aim is to encourage and bless people, whether or not the content I write is specifically Christian.
The work is my responsibility. The outcome is God’s. I trust Him to connect me to the audience He means for me to have. I trust Him to inspire and guide me as I continue to build a life as a writer. He is the Architect of my plans. I will build as He leads.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16, ESV)
Community Garden:
Join in the conversation by leaving a comment. Let’s get to know one another better as we continue on the writer’s journey.
Who has influenced and encouraged you in your creative life?
What do you write or create? Where can we find it?
