Why every digital creator needs a powerful website

I admire you because I admire courageous people. And the courage to put yourself in front of the camera, and share your ideas, your insight, or your ability to make people laugh, is a true form of courage. Most people can’t do this. It’s not an easy thing to do.

I’ve spent the better part of a decade helping creators — ones who are building businesses using digital and social platforms — create value, mostly from one place: their website. It’s the place that no platform controls; the place that requires no permissions. And I think it’s the best place for creators to build empires.

What’s special about the website is that it remains the best place for a creator to deepen their relationship with their audience in a way that the platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, etc.) don’t allow. A website is still the best destination to:

• Engage users and bring them into a community
• Sign them up to a newsletter
• Sell them something you’ve been working tirelessly on to share with the world
• Visually communicate yourself without the constraints of a platform

After almost 5 years working elbow-to-elbow with some of the world’s largest creators through my work at Course Studio, here are a few things every creator should be mindful of.

Going further with a small team

The fundamental economic force that has made the creator economy so special and disruptive is that it’s made the cost of distributing content almost zero. You write one blog post, film one video, or record one podcast, and it can reach 50 people or 50,000 people. There’s no additional cost to you. This is your competitive advantage over traditional media, like NBC, Fox, the NYT, or Washington Post.

Similarly, when you are thinking about your website, you’ll  want to build something where the cost of administration is as low as possible. This means having a set up where you don’t need someone on payroll with a Computer Science degree or advanced coding skills to make minor tweaks to your site. This is the beauty and power behind tools like Webflow. It empowers anyone — including creators — to build a website, without constraints, and do so with a small team, keeping costs really low.

If you want to share a new campaign, sell a new course, or get people to sign up for a specific offer, you want to do as much as possible to keep time and cost on your side.

Create a hub for your universe

Most creators are creating content across a variety of channels: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc. The job of these platforms is to help you and other creators acquire a new audience and drive awareness. They want someone to engage with your content, and then swipe onto the next person’s post.

Where do you send folks who want to go deeper than just the content you create for these platforms?

A website with a hub for all of your content is a space where new audience members can learn about you, find all the places you make content, and serve as a navigable place for your entire universe. It’s where people can subscribe to a newsletter or find a podcast you’re on. Best of all, it’s something that you control, end-to-end, and is a powerful tool to deepen your audience’s relationship with you. I view it as a necessary, legitimizing step, for any creator looking to build a great business.

Turn a rented audience into an owned audience

Most creators build their audience due to A) great content that they control, and B) algorithms completely out of their control. One of the most important motions that any creator can take is to build the muscle of converting a rented audience into an owned one. This means giving your audience valuable content off platform. This almost always starts with a website.

This often means giving your audience something really valuable in exchange for their email — a place you can communicate with them without an intermediary.

The value in this lies in control. If an algorithm changes, the person who loves you and your content may begin to inadvertently get less of you, but they know they can always still find you on your website, in their inbox, and in your community.

Remember: as a creator, you’ve already taken the bold step of sharing your voice with the world. It’s clear to me that it’s just as important to control how that voice resonates and grows. Your website is your stage, your gallery, your store, and your community center all in one. It’s where your rented audience becomes your owned audience, and where fleeting engagements can transform into lasting relationships.