Episode 115: The Biggest Mistakes New Creators Are Making in 2026

In this episode of The Creator Passport Podcast, we’re breaking down the biggest mistakes new creators are making in 2026, and why most people aren’t actually failing because of the algorithm.

After auditing over 150 Instagram accounts in the past two months, we started noticing the same patterns over and over again. Creators feeling stuck, not growing, and blaming the platform when in reality, it comes down to a handful of fixable mistakes.

So in this episode, we’re walking you through the 20 most common mistakes we’re seeing right now and exactly how to avoid them so you can grow faster, build a real audience, and actually start making money from your content.

We’re covering:

- Why not knowing your target audience is holding you back more than you think

- The mistake of copying big creators and why it’s hurting your growth

- How to create repeatable formats and a signature series that actually works

- The biggest storytelling mistake killing your watch time

- Why chasing trends alone won’t help you monetize

- The real reason your content feels harder than it should

- How overthinking, perfectionism, and inconsistency are slowing your progress

- What metrics you should actually be paying attention to (hint: not just views)

- Why most creators quit too early and how to push past it

- How to start monetizing even with a small audience

If you’ve been posting consistently but not seeing the growth you expected, this episode will help you identify exactly what’s going wrong and what to fix next.

If you want more support, we also put together a free 5-day Creator Success Training linked below to help you grow faster and start monetizing your content. And if this episode helped you, it would mean the world if you left a 5-star review and shared it

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