Who can you emulate?
SHAKING THE TREE #148
These days, succeeding as a content creator can feel a little overwhelming.
From getting started to making your initial impression, there’s a lot to take on and there’s a lot to take in.
Added to this is the 600 lb. gorilla in the middle of the room: in an increasingly cluttered online landscape, how do you stand out?
Whether you’re creating a blog, making and sharing videos or audio, or simply trying to build a brand on social media, the landscape can often feel as saturated with talent as it’s overrun with material. So, how do you carve out your own path?
While it might seem easy for certain people to fly their own particular freak flag, if you’re more reserved, one strategy that’s just as effective but that’s a little less out there is the art of emulation.
Now, to be clear here, let’s not confuse emulation with copying—you’re not going to simply do what other people are doing.
Instead, you’re going to find inspiring people and sources and you’re going to learn from those who have already walked the path you’re looking to follow.
Emulation is not about imitation, copying, or duplication; it’s about learning, honing, and applying.
On the other hand, imitation is a surface-level act. It’s a cosmetic copying job, one of riding someone else’s coattails, style, tone, or ideas without being authentically yourself, and without adding anything original of your own.
Copying is a lame-assed shortcut that won’t do you any good and that rarely works because what you’re doing is creating a rather hollow duplicate of someone else that’ll stand out like a sore thumb.
Look, your audience isn’t stupid. Your readers, viewers, and listeners can and will spot your fake bullshit from a mile away, and, what’s worse (for you), they’ll probably be less shy about calling you out on it that you might think.
Let’s not kid ourselves, eh? We’ve all come across material or messaging that feels thin, forced, inauthentic, or derivative.
We’ve all had our time wasted. We’ve all given our attention (or worse, our money) only wind up feeling robbed or cheated in some way.
Conversely, emulation is about recognizing what makes a content creator successful, and it’s about drilling down and analyzing their processes, their delivery, and their approach, and then using that knowledge to then direct, inform, and shape your own unique voice and style.
Think of it this way: if you were learning to play a musical instrument or to paint, you might start by studying the styles and techniques of a handful of great virtuosos and artists.
You’d examine how they use rhythm, chord structures, and timing, you’d look at the way they use light, shade, texture, space, and colour, and then you’d try incorporating those lessons into your own work.
You’re not copying their playing style or their painting technique.Instead, you’re learning how to apply the things you’re learning in order to improve your own craft.
Whether you’re writing articles, making videos, or recording audios, the same rules apply for your content creation efforts.
Emulate, don’t imitate.
But how do you do this?
Well, your first step lies in finding a content creator who resonates with you in some way—not just someone popular or trendy, but a creator whose approach aligns with your interests, values, and style.
Maybe you admire how they engage with their audience? Or how consistently they post, or the way they tell stories? Perhaps they have a unique way of blending humor with education, or maybe there’s something their visual style that catches your eye?
Whatever it is, it needs to be something you can relate to.
Rather than mindlessly duplicating what works for someone else, the key here is to be thoughtful in your choice, focusing on what you can believe you can learn from them.
Take YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), for example.
His tech reviews are crisp, informative, and beautifully shot.
Aspiring tech reviewers might admire his production quality or how he explains complex topics in a simple way.
Emulating Marques doesn’t mean filming identical videos, but it could mean learning how to improve the technical quality of your content or how to structure your reviews in a more digestible format.
Then there’s the question of what to emulate, which is where we venture into the world of principles rather than that of specifics.
What does the person you want to emulate stand for? What are they against? How does their stance on a range of social, business, and ethical issues connect with your core beliefs?
Once you’ve found a creator you feel you want to learn more about, it’s time to focus on basic principles rather than specifics. Rather than fixating on their exact s=tyle of writing or video scripts, and instead of getting too attached to their post formats, or camera angles, instead, you need to ask yourself:
What is their content strategy?
Do they post consistently on a schedule?
Do they interact frequently with their audience?
Do they listen to comments and feedback and do they respond in an appropriate way?
How do they engage their audience?
What tone do they use?
How do they build their brand?
What’s their unique voice or perspective?
How do they position themselves in their niche?
Emulating this person’s process—rather than copying their product outright—allows you to develop your own unique voice while learning more about what makes them successful.
You can be inspired by how they innovate in their niche, how they tell their story, or how they’ve built a loyal following, but the goal is always to apply these lessons in your own way.
Remember that emulation isn’t about copying, it’s more of a stepping stone to finding your own unique form of originality.
Every great creator starts by being inspired by someone else.
Even the most original voices often find their footing by emulating the creators they admire.
Comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien once said that as a young writer, he initially imitated his comedy idols, like David Letterman.
But in trying to replicate what they did, he realized he wasn’t them—and that instead, he had his own style, his own voice, and his own form of sensibility.
Over time, emulation led him to discover his own comedic identity, which ultimately became far more original than anything he could have copied.
For you as a content creator, emulation needs to work in the same way: you need to see it as a starting point rather than as an end game.
You might start off by mirroring aspects of a creator you admire, but over time, you’ll begin developing your own style and voice, and you’ll find ways to inject your life experiences, beliefs, and personality into your content.
Through this process, your voice will naturally evolve into something distinctly your own as you progress.
These days, authenticity matters more than ever.
Because audiences the world over crave authenticity, emulation shouldn’t be about pretending to be something you’re not or in being someone else. If that’s the way you wind up using emulation, you’re doing it wrong
More than anything, emulation is about learning, experimenting, and finding your own style, presence, and voice.
Audiences want to connect with material they can relate to and that feels genuine, true, and sincere. Those are traits you can’t and shouldn’t fake.
Audiences are drawn to creators who are real and relatable, and who bring their own take on life, and their personal experiences, personality, and perspective to the table.
If you try to mimic another creator too closely, you risk losing your own identity in the process.
The key to success isn’t about recreating someone else’s success—it’s about applying what you’ve learned in a way that feels true to you.
We tend to follow creators for their individuality, for their quirks, and for their perspective. Don’t lose sight of that as you learn from others. The trick is to use emulation as a platform from which to elevate and innovate rather than copy.
Ultimately, succeeding as a content creator means constantly learning and evolving. Applied properly and thoughtfully, emulation can be a powerful tool to get you started or to push you through those inevitable creative slumps.
But it’s only valuable and effective when used purposefully and thoughtfully.
When you emulate, you should aim to elevate the content you admire, adding your own twist, perspective, or insight to make it fresh.
From there, you can innovate—pushing the boundaries of your own creativity and discovering what makes your content stand out in a crowded field.
The goal isn’t to be the next Marques Brownlee, Casey Neistat, or Emma Chamberlain. The goal is to be you—a content creator who has learned from the best but has developed a style and voice that’s entirely your own.
As always, thanks for reading.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn
If you’ve like what you’ve seen here, why not share this post with a friend?
P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … Where will you be a year from now?