Opening Creator Lab: Let's Figure Out “How to Creator” Together
Being a creator is fun and exciting. It's a great way to learn about yourself and connect with others. But like any other path that no one has walked before, it can also be difficult, confusing and sometimes a little bit lonely.
The good news is that doing it yourself doesn't have to mean doing it alone. Every day, more and more creators are embarking on this journey—becoming peers who can inspire and learn from one another. There’s no better way to learn than from the people who have walked in your shoes.
To do our part in supporting this, we're excited to open the Instagram Creator Lab: an education portal for creators, by creators. We've asked some of our favorite creators to share what they wish they had known when they got started and what they've learned along the way through trial and error. This isn't a guide to guaranteed success as a creator, but our hope is that these proven tips and best practices can give you a place to start— a few jumping off points to experiment and see what works best for the unique ways you create.
“As a creator, you're always gradually building up so many different skills. You can start with being on camera, then you get into editing, they you might get into presenting, you work on your writing, you work on your modeling, you work on your PR skills. [...] You're always learning and that's exciting. There's something new and different to do and to learn every single day.”
— Megan Jane Crabbe (@meganjaynecrabbe)
Lab creators will share takeaways around 3 themes that are essential to achieving sustained success:
- Expressing yourself: figure out why you create—how to find and refine your voice and improve your content
- Building community: how to create meaningful connections and build a loyal following
- Growing long-term: how to play the long game, monetize your content and set yourself up for a sustainable career
Creator Lab will be available in English only at first. We will keep working to add new languages, topics and community programming in the coming months, and want to thank our first group of creators who opened up about their experiences:
- @carolinagelen
- @deepica
- @kali.ledger
- @karenxcheng
- @kerwinfrost
- @lauriseirl
- @meganjaynecrabbe
- @newyorknico
- @nicolemclaughlin
- @plantkween
- @presidentkennedy
We hope Creator Lab inspires you to experiment and follow your creativity wherever it takes you. Let's figure this out together!
