.png)
The Creator Economy is booming, with over 200 million creators globally. Content creation has become a powerful and rewarding way to express yourself, share knowledge, and even build a thriving career.
Whether you dream of becoming a blogger, vlogger, podcaster, or social media influencer, this comprehensive checklist will guide you through the essential steps to kickstart your journey as a content creator.
We'll cover everything from defining your niche and setting goals to acquiring the right tools and honing your storytelling skills. So, grab a pen and paper because we're about to embark on an exciting adventure of unleashing your creativity and making a meaningful impact in the online world.
What You'll Learn:
The Different Types of Content
When we talk about content, we refer to the various ways to communicate a message or information to an audience. Content creation has evolved over the years to cater to different mediums and audience preferences, with the industry now worth over $250bn. With forecasts for it to double by 2027, content creation has become one of the fastest-growing industries.
The three forms of content that creators make are either:
Written
Visual
Audio
Under each of these, dozens of formats and types of content can be created.
Written Content
Written content is considered the cornerstone of online communication. It can include:
Blog Posts
Articles
Whitepapers
Social Media Captions
Emails
Website Copy
Sales and Advertising Copy
Technical Writing
User Manuals
UX Writing
Case Studies
Written content creation requires a strong command of language, the ability to craft engaging narratives, and a knack for structuring information effectively. Written content creators have the power to inform, educate, and entertain readers through their words, making it a versatile and widely embraced form of content creation.
There are many different careers for written content creators, such as:
Copywriters
Content Writers
Technical Writers
Journalists
Website Writers
Ghostwriters
Screenwriters
Speech Writers
Medical Writers
Visual Content
Visual Content has evolved over the years and can either accompany written content or communicate a message on its own. It can involve:
Images
Photographs
Infographics
Videos
Graphic Design
Animations and Motion Graphics
Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest thrive on visual content, making it essential to modern content creation strategies. Aesthetics, composition, and design principles are all important pieces to convey information, evoke emotions, and captivate audiences.
Visual content creators are typically one of these:
Graphic Designers
Photographers
Illustrators
Graphic Designers
Animators
Audio Content
Audio Content has gained significant popularity in recent years. It can include:
Podcasts
Audiobooks
Voiceovers
Audiograms
Audio Blogs
Jingles
Radio Content
Audio content offers a unique experience, allowing people to consume information and stories while on the go or while performing other activities. It requires strong storytelling abilities, captivating voices, and a knack for creating engaging audio experiences.
There are several career paths for audio content creators, including:
Podcasters
Voiceover Artists
Singers
Radio Hosts
Whether you choose to specialize in written, visual, or audio content, it's essential to understand the nuances of each type and tailor your content creation strategies accordingly. Each medium has its strengths and has the ability to communicate messages and build meaningful connections with audiences.
How to Choose the Type of Content You Want to Create
The type of content you choose to create will depend a lot on the type of content your target audience typically consumes. Say you want to create content for skincare brands. The type of content they need is very visual, and you'll typically find them active on social media, like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and even Pinterest. So you'd want to focus on creating photo, video, and graphics content.
Or, if you're targeting business coaches, they typically communicate with their customers through predominantly written content, such as emails, website copy, and captions. They may need visual content to accompany the written content, but they're selling a service rather than a product, so a wordsmith will be more valuable to them.
You could also decide on the type of content you enjoy creating the most and then look for clients who would need your services. While there's nothing wrong with this strategy, it's a competitive world out there, and if you're choosing the content based on what you like to do rather than what needs to be done, you might find yourself fighting to find work.
Finding Underserved Industries
I know I just gave you an example of creating content for skincare brands, but the beauty industry is one of the most competitive for content creators, as are the home and lifestyle niches. So it can sometimes be worthwhile to research the industries that need content but are underserved. These will usually be industries that are either up and coming or are considered "uninteresting" to the average person.
Some of the less competitive industries for creators are:
Cybersecurity
Manufacturing
Real Estate
Finance
Sustainability
Try researching some of these industries and finding gaps in their content marketing strategies. Then create some content for your portfolio that fits into those gaps so that when you pitch brands in that niche, you'll have some examples to show them.
Do You Need Qualifications to Be a Content Creator?
One of the greatest things about being a content creator is you don't need formal qualifications to be successful. What you need, however, is the knowledge and skills to create content.
That's not to say that you shouldn't get qualifications. If you're thinking about a career as a photographer or a graphic designer, for example, doing some formal study in these areas will be worthwhile as they are more technical.
Whereas careers in content writing or voiceovers, for example, are less technical but require a lot of practice.
The thing to realize is that anyone can pick up their iPhone and start recording a video or open a Google Doc and start writing a blog post. But that doesn't mean someone's going to pay for that content.
To be a successful content creator (the keyword here is "successful"), you must understand the industry, your niche, and your ideal client's audience and learn how to create excellent content.
It's not enough to just be an OK creator. As mentioned, content creation is competitive, so you need to be exceptional to stand out. But how?
Practice, practice, practice.
Buying and using the right tools for the job.
Learning from others.
Being open to feedback.
Considering formal study.
So, although you don't need qualifications to become a creator, it can benefit your career.
Is Content Creation a Lucrative Career?
Content creation can be a lucrative career, but it's not guaranteed. When competing for creator jobs in competitive industries like beauty and wellness, you may find it harder to make a career out of it.
A career as a Content Creator is not the kind of career where you can create a portfolio, sit on your hands, and wait for the work to fall into your lap. You have to be out there looking for prospects and pitching your services and doing it in a way that isn't pushy or icky and that effectively portrays the value you give.
Pitching your services is another skill that not everyone is good at it. In fact, most creators are terrible at it. We're creators, not salespeople, after all. But to be successful in this industry, you need to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Most coaches and pros will tell you to pitch 30, 50, or even up to 100 brands a day. But pitching is a numbers game, and even if you pitch just five or ten brands a day, you'll eventually get some traction from that. The idea is to do it so often that it becomes a habit.
How to Get Started as a Content Creator
Here are eight steps to get started as a Content Creator. Take notes, and let's dive in:
1. Identify Your Niche
As I've already mentioned, it's critical to identify your niche. Once you've determined this, you can find and research brands and businesses in that niche.
Choosing a niche may sound restrictive, but it positions you as more of an expert once you've been in the industry for a while. And without having a niche decided, knowing what direction you want your career to take can be difficult.
2. Choose Your Channels
You want to be active on the channels where your ideal customers are. For simplicity purposes, let's say you're targeting skincare brands. You'll want to make sure you're active on the channels that they're most active on.
This not only puts you in a position to interact directly with the brand through engaging with and tagging them, but you can also keep an eye on what they're up to with their content strategy.
3. Plan Your Content Strategy
Speaking of content strategies, as a creator, it's essential to understand how to create and manage one. A great upsell to brands is—not only content creation–but offering content strategy as a service. And the best way to learn how to do this is to create one for your business.
A solid content strategy entails the following:
Auditing all channels
Determining the goals
Creating a content calendar
Defining content pillars
Researching and planning content
Creating content
Managing the content
Tracking metrics
Optimizing content
It seems like a lot to manage, and it can be, which is why it's an excellent service to offer brands. It takes a large chunk of important work off their plate while complementing your creation services. Honing this skill will elevate your services beyond being a *just* content creator.
4. Define Your Brand Voice
A brand voice is a business's distinct personality to communicate with its target audience. A common misconception I see often is that solopreneurs, freelancers, and contractors don't need a brand voice. This is just not true.
If you're a one-(wo)man-show, you should still define your brand voice. Doing so will give your brand a stronger presence, and you'll be able to speak more directly to your target audience.
5. Optimize With Apps & Tools
A mistake I see many freelancers and contractors make is not optimizing their workflow. What I mean by this is they do everything the hard or long way because they don't want to spend any money on anything. But by not utilizing tools and apps, you're spending more time on tasks that you could be spending on making money.
There are so many apps and programs out there that are free or very inexpensive that help you with your business.
Apps and Programs I Recommend
Google Docs for cloud-based note-taking and writing.
Google Sheets for a cloud-based content calendar.
Google Drive for cloud-based file storage and sharing.
Notion for productivity.
Canva for content creation and creating a portfolio.
InShot for editing videos on your phone.
CapCut for editing videos on your computer (and phone).
Grammarly for proofreading and editing your written work.
Riverside.FM for recording video interviews.
Email Octopus for email marketing.
GreenGeeks for domain hosting.
Wix for website hosting and design.
Linktree for the link in bio on social media.
Products I Recommend
Lume Cube Edge Lighting for video.
Ring lamp for mobile lighting.
Vlogging microphone.
Auto-tracking Gimbal for hands-free shooting.
Nikon Creator Kit for shooting videos and photos.
SanDisk External hard drive for storage.
6. Create a Portfolio
As a creator, you will need a portfolio to showcase your abilities and skills. If you're brand new to content creation, you'll need to either do some work pro-bono for the experience and portfolio pieces, or you can fake it til you make it.
You want your portfolio to reflect the niche or industry you're targeting. For example, for skincare, you can offer some content to a few skincare brands in exchange for a testimonial and content to use in your portfolio. This is a great way to get some real hands-on experience working with a brand before you start charging for your work.
The other alternative is to use products you already have at home and create content using those products.
Here are some ideas of content you could create:
Film a product shoot of the product (visual)
Film a UGC ad-style video using the product (visual)
Write a product review as a blog post (written)
Create a sales landing page promoting the product (visual)
Record a voiceover ad promoting the product (audio)
Creating with products you own is excellent practice and costs you virtually nothing to do, but it doesn't give you the experience of working with a brand. So if you can, opt for the first suggestion where possible.
But even if you're offering the content for free, I always advise you to have an agreement that includes usage limitations. This restricts the brand from using the content in perpetuity (i.e., forever), and you can also stipulate where they can use the content.
Once you have some content you're proud of, create a portfolio using an app like Canva. It's completely free, and they have dozens of templates to choose from. One word of advice, though; when sharing your portfolio, share it as a website link, not as a presentation.
7. Start Promoting Yourself
For creators, self-promotion is usually the most challenging part of their business. But it's critical to your success. You don't have to be pushy or salesy, but you do have to put yourself out there.
The best strategy is to cold pitch your services to brands in your niche. You can email or DM them on social media. And as mentioned above, you want to get into a habit of doing it every day so that it gets easier and easier.
8. Grow Your Audience
This is not necessarily a top priority for creators as long as you have a solid portfolio. But growing an audience is definitely something you want to start working on as it provides the following:
Credibility: the more time you devote to your social presence, the more credible you'll appear to your audience.
Accessibility: growing your account with ideal clients gives you direct access to a pool of work prospects.
Optionality: if you grow your account to a decent following, you can also start offering influencer services, like paid promotions and boosted posts.
Growing your audience has become one of the trickier things to achieve on social media. But with consistency and following some engagement guidelines, it is possible.
A Challenging, Yet Rewarding Career
A career in content creation doesn't happen overnight. You have to be patient, proactive, consistent, and willing to learn and grow continuously. With an ever-changing digital landscape and new apps and technology constantly hitting the market, it's critical that you stay ahead of the curve by independently studying, trying, and testing them out.
This industry, although challenging and competitive, has some awesome perks, like the ability to work for yourself from anywhere in the world, and it can be an incredibly lucrative career.
If you've started your career as a creator already, then I wish you nothing but success. And if you're new to the industry, welcome. You're going to love it here!
Comments