You’re either a builder or a content hamster in digital media
During my time working in the corporate digital media world, I came to one startling realization: I was nothing more than content fodder.
Nobody wants to be content fodder. That’s one major reason I left the sportswriting world behind in favor of building my own lore, products, and systems.
If you’re in digital media, even if you have a kick-ass following and monthly traffic in the hundreds of thousands, if not into the millions, you need to ask yourself this: Am I maximizing my time?
If you’re making the company you’re writing or freelancing for $50 or more an article but you’re making pennies on the dollar or even a salary that isn’t where you want it to be, you’re short-changing yourself.
In Dec. 2025, I wrote a piece on Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks that generated roughly $2,100, yet I didn’t get anything more for such a viral piece. It pissed me off. But I didn’t go online and complain about how the company I was working for robbed me of a bonus or something “special” like that.
Know what I did? I quit chasing butterflies and started building a garden to attract them. I showed myself the door (figuratively) and embarked on my own journey. I asked myself: “how can I create content that makes me thousands of dollars over?”
Digital media is a cartel of scam artists
Here’s the truth: digital media wants to pay you scraps while they bring in the dough. But what they don’t know is this: you have the power that they don’t have.
Do people follow you or the platform you’re writing for? There’s a good chance they follow both of you. But the point is, I’ve never gotten an email that said, “Hey, TC, I love Platform X. You guys are great.”
Instead, I’ve gotten emails that said, “Hey, TC, I love your work.” In other words, they came to the platform to read my work, not because Platform X was linked to a strong sports media brand.
But if I said that to them and other digital media outlets out there, what do you think would’ve happened? They’d have lied their asses off. I can see one of my old higher-ups right now giving the longest, most drawn-out excuse for why they’re not the exact thing I’m saying they are. That’s a “company man” right there.
Trust me, I spent two years baked into that ecosystem. It sucked. “Oh, but TC, they gave you a salary and benefits,” you might say. My Response: I was selling my soul to the devil. But since I’m a better con man than Satan himself, I knew when to exit when he had his back turned.
Digital media survives by convincing creators that exposure is leverage until the moment you try to cash it in. Then their so-called “dogma” falls flat on its face.
No Marxian or labor talks here and that’s a good thing
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not about to go all Karl Marx or start shouting that full-time sportswriters need to unionize. Nah, that’s the loser’s mentality, plain and simple.
You’ve been taught that same loser’s mentality in public schools because they’re designed to prevent you from reaching your potential. They indoctrinate; they don’t educate. In other words, you have a “right” to indoctrination, not education.
Instead, you need to get out of the bubble you’ve been living in since public school. One that you carried over into adulthood and probably saw the same thing I did in your chosen line of work.
You need to adopt a winner’s mentality
Complaining about your misfortune doesn’t solve the issue. Doing something about it does. That’s why you need to take advantage of your following, your traffic, and those you engage with. But not in a bad way.
Instead, build digital products that last and will make you passive income starting right now. If you’re staring at your analytics and wondering why none of it changes your life, Online Success Coaching shows you how to turn attention into assets.
So, start being a builder, quit being a content hamster in the world of digital media, and get started with OSC today.
