WTF is Creator Gravity?
The art and science of becoming magnetic online–and why it has nothing to do with traditional influence.
If I got one more email that started with “Unfortunately…” I was going to hurl myself off my balcony. Luckily for me, I didn’t have a balcony so I just did the next best thing (cry to my mom).
It was the summer of 2020, and my search for writing jobs was turning up dry. Like, Sahara Desert in June dry. I don’t even blame BuzzFeed, Vice, and Mashable for rejecting me. I had zero relevant writing experience—only a resume peppered with hospitality and music stints.
“If no one is going to hire me, I’ll hire myself,” I decided.
So I posted articles on Medium as if I was a journalist (I wasn’t). I read The Boron Letters and The Adweek Copywriting Handbook as if I had clients to impress (I didn’t). I listened to freelance business podcasts like I’d built a business (I hadn’t).
But more importantly, I also started posting on Twitter. I shared what I learned at copywriting webinars. I posted about my small wins and Medium articles. Slowly, I built a “planet" on Twitter: an online presence with a gravitational force.
It wasn’t long before that force started to pull people—and their opportunities—into my orbit. (“Every opportunity is attached to a person. Opportunities do not float like clouds in the sky. They’re attached to people.” - Ben Casnocha)
By December, I was fully booked with freelance writing projects (90% of them inbound) all because I’d built “gravity:” a force around my social media that pulled in the right opportunities.
And the best part? Building gravity felt fun. It came easily. I was just, well, me.
That was four years ago, but this idea of “gravity” still influences everything I do. And anyone can build it—including you.
Wait. What The Hell is Creator Gravity?
A “creator” is anyone who shares their ideas online—whether through newsletters, YouTube videos, TikToks, LinkedIn posts, a blog, whatever. “Gravity” is a commanding online presence.
Combine the two, and you get “creator gravity”—the distinct magnetic force around a creator that allows them to captivate an audience and pull in opportunities through delivering high-quality, authentic content.
Ever feel like you just know a creator even though you discovered them 7 minutes ago? Read an article and go, “I have to find out who wrote this?” Have that one podcaster whose voice has been the soundtrack of your commute for years?
That’s creator gravity.
A creator with gravity has three pillars:
Purpose: There is a clear mission.
Health: The content is "nutritionally rich."
Energy: The work is undeniably theirs.
(To read about these pillars in more depth, go here).
People with gravity are a bug light for life-changing opportunities:
Gravity is the Substack creator with 3,500 subscribers who happily pay him $8 a month to read his thoughts.
Gravity is the CEO who shares her ideas on LinkedIn and attracts new investors who believe in her mission.
Gravity is the software developer sharing coding tips on Instagram and landing high-paying job offers without ever applying.
Gravity is the freelance writer who starts posting on Twitter and suddenly has writing opportunities flooding her inbox.
I can already hear you protesting. “But Alice, those people have gravity because of [insert excuse here].”
I’m here to tell you: That’s just not true.
The Biggest Misconceptions About Gravity
The first thing people get wrong is that you need to be an “expert” or “incredibly talented.” Nope. Even the newbiest of newbies can build gravity.
How? Because beginners have a story people can get emotionally invested in. Of course, subject matter expertise is one way to command gravity (Dr. Huberman, anyone?) but a beginner sharing their journey piques our story-hungry brains.
We need to know: Will they succeed? Face-plant spectacularly? Pull off the unfathomable? Just like how it’s near impossible to quit a Netflix episode halfway through, we can’t ignore the hero’s journey.
Another myth is that you need to be active on dozens of social media platforms. Nuh-uh. If you want to focus on just one—say, YouTube—you can.
Lastly, you don’t need a huge following. When you stumble on someone’s content you like, do you go to their profile and go: “Only 6,000 followers? Ha! I’ll pass.”
Probably not. (Unless you’re that kind of person, which…side eye).
The point is: Gravity isn’t about scale. It’s about connection. Plenty of creators have millions of followers but zero sway or connection with their audience.
Which brings me to my next point: Gravity is not your traditional influence.
Gravity is Not Your Traditional Influence
There’s a big difference between someone who has “gravity” versus “influence.”
The latter belongs to what I consider the “old internet.” It’s defined by manufactured moments of intimacy, bogus growth tactics, and relentless consumerism.
It’s the TikToker filming herself crying before pitching us BetterHelp. It’s the YouTuber dropping “game-changing strategies” that inevitably leads to their $997 course. It’s the LinkedIn bro whose every personal milestone leads to a pitch for their B2B SaaS (admit it—you’re thinking of this guy).
Sure, these tactics work from time to time. And they might even go viral!
But we’re all so, so tired of it.
People are done orbiting these banalified, transactional, plastic planets. They want to lose themselves in Earth-like worlds; worlds teeming with genuine thoughts, lush with curiosity, pulsing with personality.
This is the “new” internet—and people are ravenous for it.
Honestly, I’m ecstatic about this. And you should be, too! This shift towards building gravity will benefit people by providing them real, rich information, and creators who no longer have to pretend or perform.
And that’s something we can all look forward to.
This newsletter is part of a six-part series.
WTF is Creator Gravity? (This Isn’t Your Traditional Influence)
3 Ways to Amplify Your Creator Gravity (For Creators With 5,000 Followers)
How to Have a Lucrative Career From Gravity
Alice, I love this so much that we're featuring your first piece in our @weareinternetpeople weekly email that goes out to 3000+ creators next week! I found it enormously helpful and I'm excited to share it with our audience. You've got gravity on your side :)
Alice, your thinking and sharing here is essential, and embodies your message. It seems to me the new gravity is being of service - focus on others - first and for foremost. Without wanting/asking for something in return. Focus external rather than internal.
Service in this realm is nourishing to the one providing the service. Gravity of others will come back but that’s not the reason for the service. It is simply to be a contribution to others.
For me, this is the distinction that illuminates for me in your writing.
I’m grateful to you for helping me, and others see it. 🙏