A content creator is someone who produces material online for a specific audience. The material created can be in different forms including blog posts, videos and photos. If you love creating content such as this, then why not turn it into your new career. In this post, I provide you with the steps and plenty of tips how to become a content creator.
Content creation is not knew as it has been the cornerstone of marketing for a very long time. Marketing is one of the best ways to get your message out to the world to create a buzz about your services, products or brand. With the advent of the online world, particularly as the internet becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, content creation has become a major part of this online world.
So what exactly is content creation and who creates this content that we are seeing every day and why is it now so important in this digital world we live in? In this post I will explain just that, provide the ins and outs of content creation, who creates it and how you can become a content creator who works from home or abroad.
As a content creator myself, I’ve been able to travel the world while running my online business. In fact, my online content creation business nowadays funds all my travels. If it is your goal to become a digital nomad, content creation is one of the best digital nomad jobs. Or if you want to work from home making an income online, becoming a content creator may be the best job for you. I know it is for me!
What is Content Creation?
Simply put, content creation is the process of creating various forms of content or media that appeals to a target audience. Content creation is often done for entertainment, information and educational purposes.
What is a Content Creator?
A content creator is someone who creates content, either written words or visual videos and photographs. This content is usually shared online via websites or social media channels. Content creators often work for themselves creating content about themselves or their services or on a freelance basis creating content for others.
Do You Need a Qualification to be a Content Creator?
The good news is that NO, you don’t necessarily need a degree or qualification to be a content creator. But what you do need are skills.
What skills do you need to become a content creator?
Firstly and fore mostly, you need a passion for creating engaging and fun content. Content creators need to be creative as they need to be able to think up new ways of creating and sharing content. They need social media skills and an understanding of platforms to be able to share content. Then they need the technical skills to produce it and successfully share it on a platform. And where do you get these skills from? You have probably developed them by using platforms yourself. To become really proficient in them, you may want to do an online course to gain greater skills.
Types of Content Creation
Some of the most common types of content creators include bloggers, freelance writers, streamers, podcasters, vloggers (video bloggers) and social media influencers such as YouTubers, Instagrammers and Tiktokers. The prominent types of content creation come in the forms of written words and visual presentations like videos and photography. So what type of content creation are you good at? Knowing what you are good at will help you to create content and enjoy it. So let’s look at the different type of content creation in a little more detail.
- Content Writer
A content writer creates original and engaging written content for various marketing channels and platforms. These channels and platforms include, but are not limited to, websites, email and social media channels. Blogging is probably the most common content writer job at this time.
- Photographer
A photographer loves taking photos and their photographs appear on websites and social media. Photographers often specialise in taking compelling photos in different fields such as fashion, beauty and travel. Photographers shoot photos for themselves which they might sell or publish on their own websites or social media or they will shoot photographs for clients who want specific photos, and this may be less interesting than what they love to shoot.
- Videographer
Videographers film and edit video content. YouTube is the current preferred platform for video content creators, but many are also sharing video on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. And if people cannot do this themselves they outsource to a videographer or specialist YouTube content creator who can help them to provide video content for this popular social media outlets or blogs.
- Podcast host
Podcasts are a great way to share messages and information. The host of the podcast may need help with creating content for their listeners. They may require people for researching ideas, putting the idea into a written form so the podcaster can then use the scripted content in their podcast.
- Social media influencer
Though it may look like social media influencers are doing everything themselves, often they are not. They often need help from writers to write content, photographers to provide photos and video and social media managers to help get their content out there. But when you first start out, you probably are. Most social media influencers choose one platform to share their content at first. It is better to be proficient in one than mediocre in many.
- Social media manager
Social media managers are often the content creator behind the content creator! They work in conjunction with a content creator. Social media managers come in different forms. They can specialise in designing pins, they can write Facebook posts and they can write and send out emails. This is what a social media content creator does.
Why Become a Content Creator?
Like all work done in person and online, there are pros and cons. There are many pros to becoming a content creator.
Pros of being a Content Creator
- Get to do what you are good at doing and probably love doing.
- Make money doing what you love doing.
- Creating content can be done from anywhere. You can work from home or abroad. You can stay put in one country or longer on a digital nomad visa, work from a van, or work remotely from the comfort of your home.
- You have the flexibility to work your own hours, particularly if you are a freelance content creator or creating content for yourself.
Cons of being a Content Creator
- Being a content creator can be hard work.
- You are always thinking about what content to create next.
- It may take a while to build up a strong online presence and to find client.
- You may feel like giving up at times.
TIP: You will spend a lot of time online so ensure you have the right equipment.
How to become a Content Creator?
Lucky for you, anyone can become a content creator. In this age of digital information, content creators are an essential part of the online landscape. And many of us spend hours (sometimes) scrolling through the different social media outlets and unbeknown to us, we are getting skills. We have learnt how to post not only photos but reels and video. We are learning how to monetise our social media channels. Right! This is great news so if you are serious about becoming a content creator, there are a number of steps you need to follow to turn this interest into a money making career.
Steps for how to be a Content Creator
Requirements to Become a Content Creator
- Decide on what type of content creator you want to be. What are you good at. Most content creators will specialise in one, maybe two areas. Take me for instance, I have been a travel writer for some 30 years, so I specialise in content creation of the written word. I write blog posts and I also proofread and edit them. What are you good at or enjoy?
- Understand your why and your audience. People are attracted to certain things because it answers a question they have. So understand what answers to questions you will be providing and who is the audience? Research your market. You need to understand your chosen market so you can provide the appropriate content. Follow those who may be already doing what you want to do and do similar but different so you stand out!
- Choose a platform. There are a few social media channels – Facebook (with over 2 billion active users) is great for businesses to promote themselves with written posts, ads and short videos. YouTube (with some 2.6 billion users) is perfect for vlogging (video blogging). – Instagram (with an estimated 2 billion users) is great for images and short video. Other platforms include TikTok,Twitter and Pinterest to name a few. For me, my chosen platform is this website. I provide written content that provides ‘how to’ information, like how to become a content creator. And I promote my website on Facebook and Pinterest – these are the two markets that currently work for me to get my words out there. What is your chosen platform? Also, not all social platforms are created equally. Not only do they attract different audiences, but some platforms have been created for a specific type of content. WordPress is synonymous with blogs. YouTube is the home of video. You get the idea.
- Decide on your business structure? I suggest you think about this here because you need to decide if you will be the content creator for yourself creating things like a blog or are you going to offer freelance services where you will be providing creative content for other people as a virtual assistant (VA). There is no harm in doing both. I have my own blogs and websites but I also write and proofread articles for other bloggers.
- Create your personal brand. Your brand is usually your name, your own name or a business name. My brand name is Live Work Play Travel and my target audience is people who want to travel, live and work abroad either at home working remotely or on the road as a digital nomad.
- Start creating regular content. People crave new content and it is up to you to provide it. Posting new content regularly, which could be daily, is a must. So as not to be posting blindly, many people write themselves a social media strategy which includes ideas of what they will post for the next week, month, or even year. Once you start creating regular content you could consider monetising your content. Monetising your content basically means, making money from your content.
- Monetise your content. There are different ways to monetise your content. You may want to work with brands where you promote products such as hotels or clothes. You will need to put together a media kit or UGC (User-Generated Content) portfolio, so you can secure partnerships and collaborations. Some influencer platforms like Social Native, is a great place to find brands looking for influencers or to connect with content creators. Or you could join affiliate programs which is what I have done with my website. For promoting organisations, known as affiliate marketing, such as Booking.com (for accommodation) or GetYourGuide (for tours) I receive a commission for every sale made via my website. A good thing about affiliate marketing is you don’t need to have a huge audience to get started with this. Consulting is another option to make money from your passion. If you are proficient in your field people may want to learn from you. This can be anything from teaching classes on certain software programs, social media outlets or freelance writing.
- Focus on quality over quantity. In the meantime, keep posting quality content or help someone to post quality content to build up followers so you can start making an online income. Even if you aren’t making any, or much money at first keep practising as practice makes you better.
- Market Yourself. If you create content you need to let people know you are creating content. So set up those social media accounts and start spreading the word. Even have your own website to advertise yourself and your services. Join Facebook groups or advertise your services on such sites as Fiverr.
- Measure success through KPI tracking Keeping track of your key performance indicators (KPIs) is important as these will tell you what is and isn’t working. I use Google Analytics to help me know which of my posts are popular.
TIP: Invest in tools to help you succeed. Tools such as Canva to create many visual. Grammarly to ensure your writing makes sense. Physical camera and video equipment to capture photos and video with clarity. And don’t forget your office set up.
Can you make a living from creating content?
Sure can! Follow the above steps, provide quality content and you should be able to make a living from creating content either for yourself or other people or organisations. But how much do content creators make I hear you ask? Well how long is a piece of string. It is too hard to give a specific figure as I am not privy to content creators income. But many content creators are making very decent incomes from providing content. Enough to live on and enough to fund their travels as they live and work abroad as digital nomads.
Are You Ready to Become a Content Creator?
When you have decided what your focus will be – writing, video, blog posts, podcasts, etc. and follow the above steps, you can increase your chances of becoming a successful content creator. Being a digital content creator creating content is a great way to turn a passion or hobby into a full-time career allowing you to work remotely from home or anywhere. So if you are wanting to live a remote or digital nomad lifestyle, consider becoming a content creator. Are you ready to get started?

0 Comments