If you can’t be a creator, be a facilitator

Creator: a person or thing that brings something into existence.
Facilitator: a person or thing that makes an action or process easy or easier.

If you can’t be a creator, be a facilitator. What does that even mean?

I am going to explain what being a facilitator means to you in two ways:

1. Facilitator as a persona

2. Facilitator as a role

The Facilitator as a Persona

When you assume the persona of a facilitator, you don’t describe yourself as a creator. You create the impression that you’re an enabler.

Here is an example:

• Creator: I create content for b2b SaaS founders

• Facilitator: I help b2b SaaS founders retain customers with empathy-driven content.

What’s the difference?

• The creator persona is connected to a task

• The facilitator persona is connected to an outcome.

The Facilitator as a Role

When you assume the role of a facilitator, you’re not creating anything. Your job is to enable creators to do their thing.

That is: if you can’t be the person:

• holding the pen,

• recording the videos,

• fighting impostor syndrome,

• overthinking tiny details

• putting yourself out there,

Be the one who enables others to do it.

And you know what?

The world needs more facilitators.

Have you ever heard the saying that 1% of people make the internet? It’s true. But 1% is not 5,800, or 580,000, or 5,800,000– but 58,000,000 people hitting publish on Tweets, LinkedIn posts, Blog articles, news content, etc. every day.

But despite that number, more creators still struggle to create content. That’s marketing teams, founders, and content writers still struggling to find what to create.

That’s why they need a facilitator.

The facilitator finds an opportunity to enable creators to create without stress. They are the glue holding everything together on the internet. If a bread baker is a creator, and you are the consumer, the oven is the facilitator. The facilitator enables creators to create and consumers to consume.

Facilitators don’t have to stretch themselves thin; they just create a platform for creators to create.

Think about Joe Rogan.

The man makes more than 100 million from his Podcast every year. He’s not a content creator; he's a facilitator. He enables people to come on his show and talk about their experiences, sometimes to their audience. Youtube short and Tiktok creators then spin Rogan’s videos into 100 pieces of content.

He enables the process.

If you can’t be a creator, the next best thing you can become is a facilitator.

Here is an idea I’ve been considering concerning how to be a facilitator even if you don’t have a platform.

One Facilitator Idea That Might Work For You.

Founders want to create thought leadership. Publishers (like Vice, MIT, NYT, etc.) want to publish original feature reports. But the founder is too busy building, so he can't reach the publication editor. And same goes for the pub editor.

What does a facilitator do? He connects the founder and the editor. See this email draft.

“Hi, Scott,

I want to talk to Lauren, CEO and Founder of AlloyInc., about her experience after ten years building Alloy. She recently made a LinkedIn post about the paradox of time management.

If I quiz her about this issue and related content that fits your audience, will you be willing to publish it?”

When the editor replies yes, the facilitator goes to the founder and says

“Hi, Lauren,
I talked to Scott, Chief Editor at NYT, about publishing your story on the paradox of time management with a link back to your site. Would you be interested in this?”

Now, the facilitator has connected two people with interest and a burning need. What does the facilitator do next?
The facilitator outsources the content creation to a creator– enabling them to do what they do best while repeating the process for 20 more clients.

And if they assume the facilitator persona, they might create the content themselves.

The advantage of playing the role of a facilitator is this:

• You pass an opportunity to the actual creator

• You’’ facilitate partnerships between businesses

• You’ll connect people to opportunities

• You’ll make great connections

• You’ll make money for doing less than half the job.

Simple ways you can be a facilitator today

• Share this newsletter with a friend

• Share a job opportunity on your TL

• Tag someone on a LinkedIn post you know they’ll love

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Do you now understand what it means to be a facilitator when you can’t be a creator?

I’ll seek more ideas to facilitate content creation and share them with you. In the meantime, here is some good news: I signed my first client for the content repurposing experiment. Full details will be shared next week. 
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Here is what I’m reading this weekend:

1. Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler

2. Find a position of leverage, by ERIC JORGENSON