Bill Gates once said, “Content is king.” The rise of the creator economy today is proof of that. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the global influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to US$21.1B in 2023.

Despite the optimistic market outlook, many creators start producing content as a way to explore their passions. Creating great content requires interaction with your followers, otherwise, it’s hard to stick with it. But not everyone is lucky enough to be noticed. When you have a large online following, creators need to face the question of how to balance content creation and their everyday lives. In ConvertKit’s 2022 State of the Creator Economy report, almost 30% of full-time creators worked more than 40 hours a week on content in 2021, but less than 25% planned to do so in 2022. Furthermore, close to 25% spent 30 to 40 hours per week, while over 20% spent 20 to 30 hours per week, and less than 10% devoted less than 20 hours a week to their social content. In this regard, Justin Piercy sets a really good example for us. Born in 1986, he saw the rise and development of social media while he was in school. He started to create on Instagram in November 2020 due to his hobby of coffee and photography. He first got into coffee with work friends in about 2010. Like many others, he fell in love with coffee when he had a great cup.

“Sometime around 2013-2014, I had a crazy single origin from Pilot Coffee Roasters in Toronto that tasted exactly like strawberries. That was when I realized coffee could be so much more than I thought.” He has a background in technical audio and video production and has worked as a creative director at a church near him. While in this role he discovered a passion for digital communications strategy, which really helped him embark on his journey into the world of content creation. As of July 31, he has 59,000 followers on Instagram and 8,200 followers on YouTube.

This year, he decided to become a full-time content creator focused on coffee, because he realized it was probably time to make the jump when he was putting some nights and about a day of focused work it per week and the income started to eclipse what he was making at his day job. But fatherhood always comes first. This summer, he didn’t change too much content-wise because he wanted to be available to enjoy the summer with his family.

Known as a Content Creator

What was the general attitude toward content creators in Toronto? What were the attitudes of your parents and loved ones toward this?

Before I started doing it, I never really gave it much thought. I grew up in a time when no one could make a living from “content creation”. And even when that started to happen, professional Youtubers were almost a kind of joke. Even I would borderline mock people doing this. After I sort of fell into that world and had some success with it, everyone around me encouraged me to keep going.

Have you done any data analysis on your followers? What are their characteristics?

Well – most of them love coffee! Lol! Besides that, I tend to reach a lot of people like me, busy parents and spouses. My reach tends to reflect Instagram and Youtube general user base geographically, with the United States being the largest demographic.

Can you give us some examples of how you approach the sharing of coffee knowledge differently to people with different profiles such as Instagram, Youtube followers and your children?

I really try to capture coffee “in real life”. I don’t really do the super polished or aesthetic thing because my life isn’t like that! It’s noisy with the kids, the house is sometimes a mess – this is the real life of most people’s existence and that should be ok! I try to capture and broadcast that in the midst of sharing coffee knowledge.

Your video covers on YouTube are designed with emojis, do you think visuals play a dominant role in getting people to click play?

Absolutely! A good thumbnail image should communicate an idea clearly and quickly. If it does, you help people make the right decision of whether to click or not.

If working with brands, how do you balance that if they expect marketing results to take precedence, which doesn’t fit with your adherence to a personal priority philosophy?

When taking on a partner, I’m looking for exactly that, a partner. I need to align with them, and they with me, and they need to be a great fit for my followers. If they and I feel that this is the case, we explore a partnership. If all they are looking for is sales, I don’t go down that road. I never guarantee sales or conversions as a part of my partnerships.

You run different content on Instagram and You- Tube, how do you feel about the limitations of social media?

Social media does some things well, and others poorly. This is true in general as well as network to network. My Instagram content doesn’t work as well on Youtube, and vice versa. But, there are things I like to do on each platform.

Has there been some changes in work and life since becoming a full-time content creator?

There has been a lot more flexibility and opportunity for focus, which has been really fun.

You have achieved some success as a content creator. What do you feel are the conditions that have made it possible for you to succeed as an individual in attracting the attention of many people? (speaking in terms of the context of the times).

These days, everything is online. COVID-19 really dialed that up even more and I started my account around November of 2020. I think the extra time people were spending at home and online fueled both the interest in coffee at home, as well as gave me an opportunity to share what I love and grow while doing that.

How do you see the at-home coffee market growing? What role do you think coffee lovers and KOL like yourself play in it?

I really enjoy opening people to the world of high-quality home specialty coffee. This market will only grow as time goes on and work from home becomes more common across the global economy. I think people like me can effect a positive change and help steer people toward coffee and consumer habits that not only give them better coffee but are more equitable for the people growing coffee at origin as well.

Fatherhood Is a Top Priority

Canada is a country that values family relationships, and you mentioned in your video that “you’re a father before you’re a content creator”, does this have anything to do with your experiences growing up?

I’ve wanted to be a dad for as long as I can remember – this came ahead of any career aspirations for me!

A person has multiple identities. In your video, you mention that “you are a father first and then a content creator”, does this mean that you strongly identify with these two specific identities?

I’m curious, where do you place the “I”? Of course, there’s the identity of being a husband, a son, etc. When you meet a new person, two things that often come up first are work and family. I guess in some way these things become a part of your identity. For me, faith is certainly an anchoring part of that identity as well.

At first on Instagram you mainly shared pictures and videos of coffee making with your kids, then you adjusted it to coffee video clips, out of what opportunity did you decide to make this change?

I love, love, love my kids, but I don’t want them ever to look back and think that I leveraged them for likes on social media. When it became obvious that the account was gaining steam, I shifted to be sure that I was not growing it by taking advantage of them. I still include them as stories but my main video content tries to capture the essence of being a dad and husband without relying on my kids for clicks.

What is your ultimate goal in life if you envisage the future? If social media were to decline in the future, do you think that’s a possibility, and if so, what do you think you would do then?

My first goal is my family. As long as I can do something I enjoy and make a living doing it, I’m content. I found plenty of things to do that I enjoyed before social media, should it decline for some reason I would have no problem finding a new career pursuit.

What Connects Us

The 2000s was the time of your schooling and the time when social media started to become popular. Can you recall the habits of your community in using social media during that time?

I’m going to date myself here but my first social networks were MySpace and MSN Messenger. It was the era when everyone built a geocitiessite and carefully selected the song to play on their space profile. Shortly after came Facebook, then Instagram! At that time, social media was purely a way to stay connected with your real-life friends.

Do you remember your first video that got a lot of likes? Can you describe how you felt that day and how people reacted?

I remember being totally shocked because it was a throwaway video that was not about coffee at all, but about my relationship with Sarah (my wife)! It was then that I realized one of the most powerful things to share on social media was shared experiences and real-life moments – that’s what connects us!

You’ve mentioned that you have a strong drive and passion for community development, you volunteer at a church and have also connected with I’m Not A Barista have you ever wondered where that passion came from?

Personally, I believe a lot of that is rooted in my faith – I believe we should treat all those around us well and leave the world better than we found it.

How do you see the relationship between online and offline communities?

Creating a dedicated channel on Instagram for coffee stuff was a natural progression for me. I live in a relatively rural area so as social media has become more developed over time, it has been a great way to connect with others who share my interests!

You’ve mentioned Authenticity Matters over and over again, and Keeping it Real is also a hip-hop culture and hip-hop is also a culture in Toronto, so I’m curious if you’re influenced by that.

I enjoy hip hop but wouldn’t say it’s a major influence for me. That being said, I believe authenticity is a core concept that transcends genre!

You recently did a video (What “Creators” DON’T Talk About – Brand Deals, Bias, Partnerships & Content Creation as a Job), featuring stories of content creators and your attitude towards it, and it got a lot of recognition. Can you talk to us about the opportunity you had to do this video?

This was a bit of an unusual video for my channel but I felt it was important for me to create. There are a lot of approaches to making content and generating income (or not) through a content creation platform. I want this to be my sole focus, which involves generating an income. It was important for me to be fully transparent about how I do this – I don’t ever want to feel like I’m hiding anything. Also, I get a lot of questions about this from other creators – and I love helping them!

When did you first become consciously interested in the topic of mental health?

I have struggled with anxiety and depression throughout my life to varying degrees at different times. I believe that this can be navigated in a much more healthy way when you approach mental health as an open conversation. It’s not just okay to talk about – it’s healthy to talk about it.