After Hours© 007

Welcome back to another After Hours where we discuss how to start, scale and run a business as a creative.

This week, there were a lot of submissions around building an online presence, standing out against the “AI slop”, and presenting yourself in a time that seemingly does not favour creatives.

Todays topic: Standing out on social media
Estimated read time: ~4 minutes (Skim time: ~90 seconds)

What kind of problem is this?

Standing out on social media is a confidence problem.

You might think this is an economic problem, or a planning or direction problem. But no, my friend, it’s mostly in your head.

Read on for two stories or skip ahead to the solution section.

But there’s no work in 2026?

When I was fresh out of university, I was looking for journalism jobs. Well, any job really that would allow me to write.

I also looked for content creation work like designing social tiles and posters.

• I took on tons of free work to build a portfolio
• I cold-emailed every online magazine and print newspaper in Australia and overseas
• I messaged every freelance or contract listing I could find, offering to write speeches, website copy, blogs, or create social tiles and posters

I also charged like I didn’t care. $50 here, $500 there. I had no idea what I was worth.

If pricing is something you struggle with, use our free Creative Pricing Calculator.

So how often did I land jobs back then?
Once a fortnight. Maybe once a month.

And this was long before AI slop became the thing to blame.

The truth is, it’s always been hard to find work as a creative and it always will be.

The world is constantly shifting, so you either give up or shift with it.

AI is hype. Another thing for people to obsess over.

AI will never be sentient. And if it ever is, finding clients will be the least of your worries.

There will always be something new to panic about.

Instead of being blinded by hype, understand your worth as a creative.

You can’t stand out against AI slop if you don’t even believe in your own human skillset.

It’s not an economy problem. It’s a confidence problem.

How did Boring Studios grow on social media?

When we first started posting, we:

• Posted across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn
• Copied what others were doing
• Spoke and acted in a personality that wasn’t ours
• Dressed how we thought we should

What happened?
Nothing.
No growth. No following.
And honestly, it was painful.

One day, we had enough and decided to:

• Focus only on Instagram
• Post about what we actually wanted to talk about
• Dress and speak like ourselves
• Make up our own content ideas

As people like to say, we posted “authentic content”.

The content finally became enjoyable to make.

What happened?
Our following hit 20k+ in a couple of months.
It kept growing.
We had more clients than we could handle.

So what’s the solution for creatives to stand out in 2026?
Being yourself and believing that your work is good.

This week you will

Step one: Pick your platform

• Choose the platform that feels the most you
• Clients are on every platform
• Pick one to focus on: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or LinkedIn

Step two: Write opinions

• No tips, trends or education
• This is how you stop sounding like everyone else
• Topics could include design, writing, creativity, AI
• No ideas? Read the news, watch long videos, read articles
• Example: “AI isn’t killing creativity, boring people are.”

Step three: Turn opinions into 3–5 posts

• Talking to camera
• Text posts
• Short rants
• Stories

Step four: Show up like yourself

• No performance
• Wear what you normally wear
• Speak how you normally speak
• Write how you actually think

Step five: Mix in work-related content

• Want branding clients? Talk about branding
• Want writing work? Post your writing
• Want strategy work? Share how you think

Step six: Post

• You don’t need to post every day
• Ignore the numbers for 2–3 months
• You’re not posting to get famous
• You’re posting so the right people can find you

This mix shows people that you’re real and skilled.
And you won’t burn out from creating.

Tip:
Don’t delete posts that flop. Who cares. They might gain traction later.

Social media isn’t a marketing platform first.
Use it to connect with like-minded people.

And just be yourself.

I think you’re pretty great. And that usually works out.

Chat soon,

Penelope
Co-Founder of Boring Studios, Writer, Myself