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Hauwa Lawal –or Hauwa Amoke Aduragbemi Williams, as she prefers to be called in her crazy fictional world– is one digital content writer rocking the content space in Nigeria. She uses sarcasm adequately for the series on her fictional Nigerian family and paints bold mythical pictures with her "Esu" newsletter series where she publishes short African stories. In this interview, Hauwa talks about writing, making money, and building a career in content writing, even outside the digital space.
If you're familiar with her; relax, no one is getting into trouble here. If otherwise, this could be the cue you need to explore her kooky world.
What's your creative process like? And we've noticed you use "goats" a lot in your stories
Lol, yeah, my grandmother had many of them, and they were around a lot growing up. I observed them a lot, and they just became a part of my stories. Also, each time I'm on the street and I see something funny, my brain just begins to work out a story. I may not hear the whole gist, but my brain starts to complete the story.
So, some of your content is born out of your personal experience
Yes. Many of them are personal experiences. There's some truth to everything that I write, they might just be little.
How did you get started?
It started from Krakstv. I used to write serious and formal articles because I studied Journalism –I started in India and finished in Germany. I didn't get a job immediately after school, and that was when I got into Krakstv, just to write for them. It was the period Instagram introduced the 10 slides feature into their app, so I started with listicles for KraksTV, and I really enjoyed writing there. I would just sit, write, and crack myself up. They gave me credits, people found my page, and I discovered I could do this on my own. Then, I decided to take it a step further by writing my stories and scripts and putting them on Twitter, and that was it.
So, you studied outside the country, but your content reflects the domestic scenes in Nigeria so well. Genius!
Lol. I grew up in Nigeria and spent all my life here. That's what's popular these days, and to be honest, I'm so glad there is a lot of content original for us. And for KraksTV, I had to do a lot of original Nigerian content, so it just took off from there.
If you had gotten a chance to do Journalism, would you still have gotten into digital creation?
I think that KraksTV was a blessing in my life. I applied there as I applied to other places, although I didn't see myself in this line. But I think that if I had not been with KraksTV, I would have gone ahead to do more serious journalism, but I would have still hated it. And I would have gone ahead to write stories; I used to write short stories before KraksTV, but I didn't see myself as funny, so I didn't use to do funny stuff. So, I would have probably done something literary, not corporate, in that sense.
Most comedy content creators on Instagram do videos, why written content? Is it because of your background in Journalism?
I think it's a mix of everything. I don't think I can do videos. Lol. Nothing is impossible, but I don't think I would be as compelling as the guys on video. And writing comes easily to me, and I knew I would find my audience regardless. I also feel like people who do videos first have to write a script, and I hope that someday I can produce some of the scripts I write or collaborate with someone to produce. But for now, I'm just going to do the writing.
Is Hauwa an introvert? Would that be your reason for not being open to videos?
Why do think I'm an introvert? (laughs). Well, I'm definitely one. Whenever I'm around people, except those I'm close to, I get anxious with people I don't know. I don't see myself dancing and doing skits. It's also one of the reasons why I don't want to show my face on social media. If my face was out there, people may not know me when I walk into a place, but I will still feel anxious. Talking about it now gives me goosebumps; I'm so not looking forward to attention. Let my work just speak for me. I'm largely anonymous
Over the years, the reading culture in Nigeria has diminished. Considering this, what would you say to young people putting out written content?
It's true, a lot of Nigerians don't read, they prefer videos. But I also think that there are people who read. Besides, West Africa is famous for its literary works, so I don't think you should shut yourself out because you think people don't read. There are books out there that have been made into movies, and you meet people who have read these books, and they preferred them to the movies. If that's what you like to do, just so it; there will always be those who would read. There are so many famous and wealthy writers. Like I said before, everything starts from a story, and writers are always needed. They might not be paid as much, but if that's what you like to do, please do it.
Talking about money, how well do you make profit from digital writing?
There's money o! Lol. And I'm not saying I am making money. To be honest, writers are paid very little. But as a writer on your own, there are so many things you can do and put out. Of course, you can't compare it to those who make video skits; that requires another level of skillset. But as a writer, you can do a lot of things. It's not attractive at first, but when you've grown your brand to where you want it to be, you start to dictate your prices. And that's the good thing about social media. The better you get, the more you get attraction and are paid for your skills. But I think you shouldn't focus on money from the start. If you want to build a career in writing, just start and build, the money will always come.
Writing can be a long-term career if writers do not focus on making money from the start?
For anything really, if you have a passion for something and you want to do it well, you have to take your mind off money at first. When I started, nobody was giving me money, and right now, I am getting paid to do work that is not even based on social media. People reach out to me for writing gigs and they pay well. So, just do what you want to do and the money would come after. Also, don't limit yourself to Nigeria, if writers are not paid well here.
But what strategic approach do you recommend to someone who wants to build a profitable career in the long run, even if they don't start out being money-minded?
There are several things you could do actually, which isn't you being focused on money, but it's you being smart enough to know you have bills to pay. Starting out, try to create products (ebooks or a course or anything), and approach brands to sell yourself. Draw out a plan to reach out to people and tell them what you can do.
How did you feel when you made your first million
Lol. Man, It was crazy; I was staring at my account for two days. I couldn't believe I could do it.
Lol
I've built myself to a place where I would rather sleep on my bed if you are not going to offer me what I want. It's better than toiling for 2k or 5k. I would rather drink gari and sleep. Eventually, the good stuff came because I wasn't settling for little. You have to let go of nonsense so you can make space for the good stuff.
Hmm, that's profound, Kabiru must be proud of you
I know! My baby is somewhere, giving me thumbs up. Lol.
Lol. So, are you writing for a film soon?
That's the goal. I want you guys to see my name on huge productions. Lol. I'm going to get there.
You write a newsletter series based on African mythology. Is it fact or fiction?
It's completely fiction.
It's different from what social media knows the crazy Hauwa for, what influenced it?
I'm currently trying to do a mix of both –what people know me for, and the series. I started writing it because I realized a lot of people know Hauwa as the troublemaker. But I also wanted to sell myself as someone who can write a serious piece too; a piece that would keep people engaged regardless. I didn't want to box myself. The newsletter is not getting enough fans like my social media content, but the people that it gets are people that like that kind of piece. Moreover, I like culture, African mythology, and Nigerian stories.
Should we expect a book anytime soon?
Lol. I've been on this since 2020. Will you buy?
Sure!
Good then. Lol
How do you deal with writers' block and the pressure to be published?
It's a lot of pressure, especially because I have built an audience of people who are always looking forward to reading something from me. So it really messes with me. Last year, for instance, was bad. I was just out and dry and thinking of what I could do. But I've dealt with that by not putting myself under pressure to do anything. People will be fine. There are a million content creators out there, and they will be okay if they don't see anything from me. For my kind of content, I need to be in a happy place, not doing it from a place of pressure. If I do, I will not even like my work. About the book, I've been unable to do it cause it seems like a full body of work, I'm more accustomed to shorts. But I have told myself to look at it as short parts of a story, not a full book. And I give myself time, no pressure.
Let's talk about brand influencing. Would you say content creation is different from brand influencing, or are all content creators brand influencers?
Yes, content creators can be brand influencers. But it also depends on who your target audience is. Your brand and the brand you want to influence have to fit. I don't agree to run ads for every brand that comes to me. If our brands don't fit, I won't influence for you. A lot of brands might not do their research to make sure you suit them. I would rather sit and do nothing than put out ads that don't fit. I am deliberate about what I am building. For instance, if you come to me to run an ad, I won't just post a picture and call it a day, I will rope your ad into my content so my audience is entertained and also get to know your brand. So, your brand has to agree with what I'm putting out. I've not really done a lot of influencing because I haven't found many brands that meet this
Is it possible to build a profitable career in content creation without influencing for any brand?
It is. However, it's sweet to have brands to work with–especially international brands. But it is possible to build a career in content creation. It's not limited to social media, you can create content for other platforms. Content is everywhere, and as a content writer, you can build a career outside of influencing. Someone has told me to do stuff outside of brand influencing because I can't always wait for brands to make my daily 2k.
What major challenges do digital content writers face? We know data and electricity are some of them anyway …
You've said it all. Lol. But for me, it's mostly the pressure that comes from social media. Well, electricity is a big one, but I write my content out on a piece of paper, so that's not a major one for me. It's the pressure. You have to be in a good place mentally because social media can wreck you. And I don't even have millions of followers yet, so I just imagine what those who have such go through. Someone told me there's the fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and fear of success. Many people on social media have that fear of success. When I had just 400 followers, I wrote content that they enjoyed. As soon as I hit 100k followers, the pressure set in, and I was so scared of the success I had achieved. I was scared to put out any more content because it was uncertain if 100k followers would enjoy what 400 followers liked. But that's a stupid thing; it's just your brain playing tricks on you.
Tell us about your time with Zikoko
Well, someone at Zikoko reached out to me on Twitter –people loved my stories and they would like to have me write for their website. And Zikoko is so popular in the media space in Nigeria, that it increased my readership. My audience became a lot more diverse, a lot of people knew me because of Zikoko. I left because I wanted to do other things. There's no animosity, and I'm so thankful to have been there because the energy is crazy. I would love to go back to write for Zikoko –I could even go back and do that.
What would you tell a young person who is looking to start a career in digital content writing?
The first thing is to be original to yourself; don't try to do what someone else is doing because you think it will give you the views. Do the content original to you. Second, be consistent; if you believe in what you do, do it all the time. Third, try not to let the algorithm discourage you. Just keep doing you.
We had this conversation with Hauwa virtually. Yet, it felt as though we were present in her creative closet; creating stories, making money, and pulling through the downsides of being creative together. In the end, we could title this The Perfect Brochure for getting started as a Digital Content Writer.
Wait, have you read the feature with JayonAir on building a career in skitmaking?
No? Oya, read here.