Why You Can Trust CNET I Became a Creator 10 Years Ago. How AI Makes It More Possible Than Ever
AI tools for video, audio and information management help me spend less time on tasks and more time connecting with other humans.
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Long before AI became mainstream, I knew I wanted to quit my 9-to-5 job and pursue a different career path. I hadn't heard of the "creator economy," and I wasn't sure what was available to me as a Chinese immigrant living in the US.
The pursuit of entrepreneurship became an even higher priority for me when my father passed away from cancer in 2009. When he was first diagnosed two years prior, I arranged my work schedule to visit him as much as I could, only to find myself working on my laptop outside the ICU because I was worried about his medical expenses. "What if I could find a way to have more freedom in work and in life?" I wondered.
To me, freedom meant the ability to spend quality time with loved ones without the permission of another person or company. What was once a distant dream is now the reality I live in today, and one I feel eternally grateful for.
If being a creator is something you want to explore someday, AI-powered tools can help you on your journey while still letting you be authentically yourself. Here's how my path unfolded -- and how embracing some of today's AI technologies can help you shorten your learning curve.
Audio production and editing
Since 2009, and over a decade before AI was a household name, I wanted to launch my podcast. But it wasn't until 2014 that I overcame perfectionism and finally published my first episode.
There was no strategy, no plan and no more than that first episode when I announced the Feisworld Podcast to the public. It was far from perfect. I sounded like a scared chipmunk with a nervously high-pitched voice. Yet it opened up a world of possibilities within months of releasing the show. I interviewed anyone who inspired me as an unsung hero and self-made artist.
Without AI, learning how to record, produce and market my podcast was the most challenging part. Each one of these skills takes time to master, and you're often on your own without help when you start.
New AI-powered audio tools speed this process up. Adobe Podcast is a suite that can enhance poor sound quality, edit audio and incorporate royalty-free music seamlessly. And Descript's Text-to-Speech feature lets you create a realistic AI voice of your own.
Film preparation and pitching
In 2018, I gathered a small team of producers and videographers to shoot a docuseries with some of my show's best-known guests and eventually launched the series on Amazon Prime the following year. The process was lengthy and costly, but connecting in person with other creators like Sarah Cooper, Seth Godin and Chris Voss was invaluable.
Today's AI tools would have made both storyboarding and post-production easier to conceptualize.
- Applications like Midjourney and DALL-E can help filmmakers storyboard ideas, develop visuals and even prepare fundraising proposals and pitch decks.
- OpenAI's ChatGPT can help with script generation and speed up the scriptwriting process without replacing the human touch.
- Voice AI tools like Murf.ai and Voice.ai can narrate your footage and even translate voice overs into multiple languages without breaking the bank.
Additionally, music AI tools like Beatoven, Aiva and Suno can make audio production and sound effects more possible, even for low-cost production films.
Growing an audience on YouTube
After the docuseries, I still had the video storytelling itch, so I dove into the world of YouTube. It was slow at first; the first dozen videos I published received single-digit views. It was only when a video took off unexpectedly in March 2020 that our channel became monetized and brand deals began rolling in. Our journey, as humble and slow going as it is, was featured in Dorie Clark's bestselling book Entrepreneurial You as well as other news outlets.
Nowadays, my team and I use TubeBuddy to help optimize on YouTube. The tool's new AI features include a title generator, suggested Shorts and a thumbnail analyzer to help you create that eye-catching image.
The key benefits of AI for creators today
It's easy to argue that AI tools aren't necessary to become a creator. That's true. I just told you about my journey, which I navigated over several years without any AI tools.
However, AI would have saved me not just days or weeks, but months of effort in many aspects of the content creation journey. For example, cutting out the "ums" and "uhs" in my unedited podcast recordings would take hours of work, and now that cleanup is just one click away. Poor recording quality was another struggle, since it depended on the guest, location and time of day. Yet, AI makes it straightforward to improve audio quality and make it sound like you were recording inside a professional studio.
This was unthinkable not long ago but available in many accessible and affordable tools today.
AI has fundamentally changed the way we are as creators
It's no longer about working harder but smarter. Quality content creation is no longer reserved for the rich and established creators; many more of us can join in, make a difference and have our work seen. AI has leveled the playing field.
It's exciting, but also a little scary. It means that we have to learn the new rules of being a content creator in a world where significantly more people can produce content consistently on multiple platforms, engaging with their audience strategically based on analytics.