How to Become the Most In-Demand Creator in Your Niche Using the "Curiosity Queue" Effect 🪄
From trendy restaurants to "it girls", they all use a phenomenon known as the "curiosity que" to drum up hype. But what is it and how can you use it, no matter your niche?
We’ve all seen it happen. You’re walking down the street, and there are two restaurants—one has a line out the door, the other is empty. Without knowing anything else, you assume the busy restaurant must be better. Maybe it has better food, better service, or just a cooler vibe. Either way, you’re intrigued, and suddenly, you’re willing to wait. Not only are you willing to wait, but you are willing to spend more money and justify it because you feel like you are one of the “lucky ones” who at least got inside as the line forms longer outside.
The LA Times wrote a fascinating article about why people wait in lines which you can read here.
(Pictured above: People waiting in line for Courage Bagels in LA 📍 From the LA Times article)
This is a trick some restaurants and clubs do to create hype for their trendy spots, but it is something creators can do, too.
Not only will becoming “exclusive” help create hype for your content, but it will also allow you to charge for it, too.
This is the “curiosity que” in action—a psychological phenomenon that plays a huge role in how we perceive value. A club with a long-line down the block. A product that says “sold out” the same day it is listed online. The creator who makes $5 million annually by charging people to comment on her Substack.
You put tons of work into your content. You post it for free. Sometimes for it to get little to no views.
The gamble of posting to social media has now turned into penny stocks. In the beginning of social apps like YouTube in 2007 or even TikTok in 2020, the work you put into a video had a much bigger payoff if it “went viral”. However now, you could spend hours working at a TikTok and because there are so many people uploading to the platform every day, your chances of going viral are diminished compared to the early years of the app. Especially as they lean into TikTok LIVE and TikTok Shop to monetize an app that has no mid-roll ads (in my opinion).
Posting your content for free to an oversaturated platform is like having an unluckily placed restaurant in a dying strip mall with signs all over the store saying, “please come in and eat!” Even though it is earnest, the desperation can be felt by those driving by. I myself have been the desperate strip mall restaurant trying to post my content to whatever platform is trending and posting dozens of videos a day for free, essentially holding a sign that says, “please! videos for free! come watch!”
Coconuts, what are other examples of the desperation vs hype in the real world? Leave a comment below!
But no matter your niche, creating the hype online can be done by making your content exclusive. Various creators are able to create the “curiosity que” by putting their content behind pay walls. Some examples include: food creator like Nara Smith, who was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 last year for her Substack, Heather Cox Richardson, who is a historian that has 1+ million subscribers and now Aaron Parnas, a political reporter who posted dozens of videos for free to TikTok a day but now has 300k+ subscribers on Substack just a month after joining the platform.
Here are 4 reasons you should make your content more exclusive:
1. Free Content Devalues Your Work
For years, creators have been told that free content is the best way to build an audience. The more eyes on your work, the better—right? But here’s the problem: when content is too accessible, it loses perceived value.
Think about it: luxury brands don’t give their products away for free. Exclusive clubs don’t let just anyone in. The best restaurants don’t offer unlimited free meals. Why? Because scarcity creates demand.
One of my favorite niche, rabbit holes to fall down on TikTok is about the Berlin club. It is in Berlin and regarded as, “the most exclusive club in the world”. During a performance, SZA once told the audience about how she was not even let into the club when visiting Germany.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
The club doesn’t look like anything special compared to every other club in the world. But people are drawn to things that feel exclusive. Not only are they excited if they finally get access to it, but they will go above and beyond to do the bidding for you. It becomes a social status symbol to let others know they had access to the club, product or creator that is not available to everyone.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Not only does charging making it exclusive but it also raises the bar of value. When you charge for your best content, you’re sending a clear message: this is valuable. And people want what they perceive as valuable. Free content might get views, but paid content gets commitment. Your audience doesn’t just consume it—they invest in it.
2. Paid Content Attracts a Higher-Quality Audience
There’s a reason why the best discussions happen in members-only communities. When people have to pay to be part of something, they take it more seriously. A free audience might be large, but it’s also full of bots, trolls, and passive consumers who never engage.
When you introduce a paywall, you filter out the noise. The people who stick around are the ones who actually care about your work. They’re the ones who will engage thoughtfully, support you long-term, and help build a true community.
I see more and more creators turning away from the free content model of the first generation of the creator world. One of the biggest qualms of creators and brands online is the vitriol hate you deal with anytime you go viral. It is almost impossible to not get negativity after going viral and reaching an audience outside of those who know and understand you.
Snark pages are a great example of how awful the internet can be to influencers. Or take the Poppi super bowl scandal. People were more mad at middle-class influencers getting a rented vending machine for a couple hours than Ben Affleck getting $10,000,000 for a 30-second Dunkin ad.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Take Heather Cox Richardson, the historian behind Letters from an American. She makes upwards of $5 million a year—by charging people just to comment on her posts. Instead of moderating trolls or dealing with internet drama, she’s built a dedicated, intelligent readership that’s willing to pay to be part of the conversation.
Plus, it is less likely that her comment section will fall into toxic shambles because of the paywall. And even if she does get mean comments, imagine if people had to pay. How great would it be if someone had to pay you $5 before telling you everything wrong with your content you uploaded to the internet for FREE?! At least you would get something out of it other than emotional duress.
In the paid portion of this trend report, I will talk about:
Why paying leads to higher engagement
The future of content. Scarcity = Value.
Plus a sneak peak at what Monday’s episode of “The Brilliant Branding of ____” on the “Ahead of the Curve” podcast. What pop star or brand might we talk about next? 👀
Want Exclusive Content? Become a Coconut! 🥥
If you’re loving this deep dive into why people pay for content, you’ll love what’s coming next. But here’s the thing—the best insights are for my paid subscribers.
By subscribing to my best-selling Substack, you unlock exclusive content, in-depth strategies, and a private community of like-minded creators. Plus, you get to officially become a Coconut—which, let’s be honest, is the best part. 🥥
Subscribe Now and Unlock the Rest of the Article ⬇️
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Coco Mocoe to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.