Content creator Dharna Durga is known for her relatable videos about Indian households and her quirkiness has garnered her an immense fanbase. She now works with brands including Veet and The Face Shop.
Her journey as a content creator started during the coronavirus lockdown. "I had done theatre in college, so when I was bored during the lockdown and didn’t know what to do to keep the actor in me alive, I started creating videos. That’s how I uploaded my first IGTV video."
The 23-year-old creator says she never thought of it as a career, but did it just for "fun". However as luck would have it, a million followers and three years later, she secured the top rank in Forbes India-GOAT 2023 list of India's top 100 digital stars. "As time passed I realised there is a scope of doing it full time and growing in this space."
However there is no tried and tested formula to make a viral reel, Dharna says. "With time we get to know what the audience is liking. It comes naturally over time and there is no recipe for it. Sometimes we have high expectations from a particular video and it does not perform whereas something shot randomly crosses millions. So as content creators, all we can do is trust our content and eventually, we get to know what works for us."
Dharna explains that the journey of content creation has a slow start given the competition. "It takes time for people to start noticing you. The key to the journey is patience." According to Dharna, it's important to focus on content, rather than stressing about views and likes. "You need to ensure you add an element of you to your content and not just copy to attract eyeballs."
On monetisation of content, Dharna feels that one shouldn’t start making content with the sole aim of making money. "If your content ticks boxes like creativity, uniqueness, relatability then eventually it will get monetised. If the audience likes your content, brands will also recognise you."
However, she stresses that there is no tested formula for these things. "All we can do as content creators is focus on our content and then engagement and monetisation will naturally follow."
So is content creation a feasible career option?
"When you are passionate and are willing to put your heart and soul into something, then you barely doubt yourself," says Dharna. She says that she loves everything about the profession, and even a day without shooting feels incomplete to her. "I think the same is the case for every profession. If you are sure about yourself then uncertainty can be battled. With the ever-growing competition, the uncertainty is inevitable but all that is in our control is giving our best."
