I often find it crazy how long content takes to create versus how quickly it can be consumed. For example, a movie requires hundreds of people to spend months to move a project from development to completion. However, when it’s completed, a viewer can watch the whole thing in a just few hundred minutes.
This can be discouraging for me sometimes as a creator, because the thing that I think of when I want to create something is the end or viewer experience: “I want to create a five-minute short film” or “I want to create a page really cool graphic”. What entices me is the product. I think of the hilarious five minutes or the amazing image that someone might look at on social media for a few seconds before scrolling on. Then it hits me. “Creating this thing is going to take FOREVER.” And sometimes – but thankfully not always – whatever project I was thinking of undertaking dies there.
So, as a way to soothe that voice inside of me that gets indignant about just how LONG things take, I’ve come up with an arbitrary but useful way of measuring success.
Creative success occurs when something is enjoyed for more time than it took to produce.
As an example, if it takes me 300 hours of work to craft a 1 hour standup routine, then I need 300 people to see my standup routine to break even on the creative investment.
1 creator x 300 production hours = 300 audience members x 1 enjoyment hour
If 600 people see it, I’m doing great, and if 1000 people see it I’ve knocked it out of the park.
Now I’ll admit that this isn’t something that I keep track of too closely. I’ve never calculated when or if I’ve ever broken even on production vs. enjoyment hours on CHALK. However, I think that the gift of this way of thinking is that it forces me to really consider the audience. It pushes me to think of all the individuals giving me an enjoyment hour of their time, and to appreciate that.
Now, if I spend 10 hours rehearsing for a performance of CHALK, and there are 10 people in the audience, I don’t think, “I spent 10 hours getting ready for 1 show and there were only 10 people there!” Which is a crummy way of looking at it, and it makes me feel just as crummy as your might expect. Instead I think, “I spent 10 hours working to give these 10 people the best experience possible. I gave them my time, they gave me their time, we’re even”.
That’s the thing to remember. As a creator, you’re giving something to your audience, but they’re giving you something too. This way of measuring success keeps me mindful of the the gift that I’m receiving when someone gives me their attention. No matter what, my audience will be able to consume content faster that I can create it. But, if I can get enough reach, it will all come out in the wash and I may even end up ahead.