@evcoop on doing hard things with the world as your witness

Evan Cooper’s top tips for creators:

• Keep going without expecting results
  I don't really focus on the end goal. I just focus on the process of making videos and learning something every single day. Boring work over a long period of time leads to incredible results. To be successful at anything, you just have to continue doing it over and over.

• Lean into who you are
  People can tell when you aren’t being yourself in front of the camera. In my first couple videos I was trying so hard to be cool. My videos started doing well the minute I quit trying to be someone I’m not.

• Provide context and raise the stakes
  Your followers will already know what you’re all about, but if you want to grow, you have to create content that anyone can enjoy. Provide context at the beginning of your reels, and then introduce unexpected elements to keep people invested.

Evan Cooper is a Charleston-based creator who is driven by a relentless passion. After losing his full-time job in 2024, he dove headfirst into content creation, experimenting with content that centered around the idea of trying new things. Over the next year, his account grew to 1M followers.

We sat down with Evan to learn more about his love for content creation and the methods behind his self-described “obsessive” madness.

What’s your creator origin story?

So I have this extremely delusional confidence that everything is going to work out.

When I made the decision to become a content creator full time, I’d just gotten fired and I only had around 2,000 followers on Instagram. It’s fun to talk about now, but it was a really tough time of my life. It took me a good nine or ten months of posting before I finally figured out a real creative direction. It may sound dramatic and cheesy, but I just felt so strongly that this is what I was meant to do.

Where do you think that confidence comes from?

I love biographies, and I spend a lot of my free time reading about successful people. One thing I’ve noticed is that most of these entrepreneurs and leaders don’t wait. They don’t wait for permission or for the perfect moment. They just do. And that’s how I am, too. I want to just jump out of the plane and figure it out as I go.

What kind of content were you making when you first started posting?

I was pretty fearful and insecure when I first started posting. In my brain, I thought, “All my friends are on Instagram, so if I only post on other platforms, they won’t see it.” And you know what? They still saw it. Looking back, I wish I would have jumped to Instagram sooner.

Once I did, it was a lot of trial and error, over and over. I was relentless in my posting and editing, and obsessive about looking at my analytics. For the first 9 months, I really only had two videos perform well. And that's all it took for me to be like, “I'm going all in.”

What were those early reels that performed well?

They were pretty much the same thing I do now: trying to get out of my comfort zone. One of my first successful reels was one where I went to the movies by myself and then another where I tried hot yoga for the first time.

What storytelling advice do you have for Instagram?

Provide context and raise the stakes.

I believe the best stories are told in context. When you scroll on Instagram, the first two seconds are the creative equivalent of a thumbnail. So I make sure to use that time to tell my audience what they can expect. My followers already know what I’m all about, but I want anyone who stumbles across my reels to be able to enjoy it. Providing enough context could be as simple as an opening hook like, “Day 43 of my road trip across America.” Boom, that’s all you need for people to understand the story.

Secondly, I structure all my videos like mini stories. After the hook and the context, I try to raise the stakes around the 18 second mark. A curveball or something unexpected can help keep viewers engaged.

You also run a separate account (@buildwithev) dedicated to helping other creators grow on Instagram. Can you tell us about that?

I get so locked in making short-form videos. It’s really all I think about. I could talk for hours about hooks and stakes and storytelling and all the intricate details of my goofy little videos. That second account is for other creators who want to learn, but it’s also for me because it’s just what I love talking about—both the human elements and the analytical parts. And it seemed like a good way to stop me from bringing it up in every conversation.

What’s your top priority when it comes to your content?

I know that word “authentic” is tossed around a lot, but I hold it so near and dear to my heart. When I’m planning my content, that's the thing I’m focused on. The more thought I put into my videos, the less authentic they feel—almost like I’m playing a character. It’s totally possible that character might perform well, but that’s not the kind of content I want to create.

I don't post for other people. I make videos I would want to watch. And if I like it, then there have to be other people out there who will like it, too.

How do you plan your content?

For me, content planning is simple. I do it twice a month, and I just think about high-level concepts. Six or seven words max. That's it. Then I just see what pops in my brain when I start filming.

The less I plan or try to script myself, the better. My brain is all over the place and my videos reflect that chaos. That's what I want! If a video isn’t coming together the way I thought, I’ll just tell my audience, and I think that’s led to a lot of trust. Some of my favorite comments are people telling me my content feels like a FaceTime.

Looking back on this past year and a half, can you share one moment where you stepped outside of your comfort zone and it led to something great?

My pilates video. I paid three separate deposits for this pilates class, and each time I drove to the parking lot, got scared, and turned around. Then the fourth time, I finally took the class. It wasn’t this big grand a-ha moment, but that did make me realize that fear is an inch deep and a mile wide.

How do you define success beyond metrics like views, likes, or follows?

It goes back to my why: making people feel seen and heard by what I make. I want people to watch my videos and think “yeah, I know that feeling well.” The human interactions and my larger impact are ultimately how I measure success.

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