When the Platform You Love Starts Hurting You: A Creator’s Crisis
What do you do when the thing you love starts destroying you? That’s the question beauty creator Glam Girl Gabi recently posed to her 600,000 YouTube subscribers. And her raw, vulnerable answer? It’s exposing a silent crisis happening to creators everywhere.
“There is such a dark side to it that people don’t see… The more shocking, usually the more negative… the more people click.”
As a YouTube strategist and coach for over a decade, I’ve seen this existential YouTuber crisis again and again. Creators, especially women, are being pushed into a cycle of content that burns them out – not just physically, but ethically. It’s not just about working hard. It’s about compromising values just to stay visible.
We’re seeing a wave of seasoned creators – Gabi, Anna Bey, Raw Beauty Kristi, even Angie from Hot & Flashy – wrestling with whether they even belong anymore. But here’s the truth: They do. And so does Gabi.
After working with thousands of women on YouTube, here’s what I know:
- You don’t have to sell your soul to grow.
- You can build a sustainable, joyful career rooted in purpose, not performance.
- Mindset is strategy.
Gabi’s courage to speak up is her superpower. Her authenticity? That’s what builds legacy—not just followers.
So to every creator feeling burned out, lost, or “not enough”—you are not alone. The future of content creation isn’t about chasing the loudest trend. It’s about choosing purpose, protecting your joy, and showing up as your whole self.
The algorithm follows the audience. But the audience follows authenticity.
Let’s build something real.
Resources
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YOUTUBE OPTIMIZATION PLUG-IN I RECOMMEND
TubeBuddy [Use the code ErikasBuddy to get 20% off]
MY FAVORITE BUSINESS TOOLS
Course Creation: Looking to create a course? Kajabi is the BEST platform hands down. I use this for my course after extensive research on all the other platforms.
Live Calls and Interviews: I use Ecamm for my podcast interviews, both audio and for YouTube that you see here on YouTube. It makes it super easy to share my screen and create the split-screen with my guest. I’m not super techie and this software is really easy to use!
Webinars and Live calls: I use Zoom.us for my group coaching calls in my private membership group for female YouTube creators. It’s also the software I use to record my Road to 100k YouTube Subscribers Masterclass!
THE BEST YOUTUBE/PODCASTING EQUIPMENT
After interviewing HUNDREDS of successful YouTube creators, and being asked all the time what equipment I recommend for YouTubers, I created a list! Click here to see all my recommended equipment for YouTubers!
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**Disclaimers: all opinions are my own, sponsors are acknowledged. Links in the description are typically affiliate links that let you help support the podcast at no extra cost.
