How to become a content creator

By Jaqui Sabnal

In today's digital age, the concept of content creation has become a powerful and accessible route for self-expression and professional growth. Whether you aspire to be a vlogger, blogger, podcaster, or influencer, adopting the right habits is crucial for success. Let's explore how you can follow these six tips to become a content creator and thrive in the ever-evolving digital era.

What is a content creator?
To become a content creator, it’s important to note what that role truly entails. A content creator is an individual who produces educational or entertaining content with the goal of reaching their target audience’s interests or even a potential obstacle. The content produced can come in a variety of different ways, such as static images/graphics, blog posts, podcasts, and videos.

There are a few different forms of content creators, which include, but are not limited to:

• Short-form video creators (TikTok, Instagram Reels)
• Long-form video creators (YouTubers)
• Podcasters
• Streamers (Twitch, Kick, YouTube)
• Bloggers (Pinterest)
• Influencers (Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, LinkedIn)
• Artists
• Writers

​To serve as a reminder, reaching success as a content creator does not happen overnight. However, by following these simple steps, you’ll soon be finding yourself on the path to achieving greatness as a content creator.

Tip #1: Choose a niche
When getting started with the process of content creation, it is suggested that you should have an idea of what topics you want to focus your coverage on. This could be a hobby you have strong interest in, a skill you’ve honed your expertise on, or even a personal experience that resulted in learning important tips that you want to share with your audience. Whatever your choice of topic may be, ensure that the content you make is relevant to your niche. 

Tip #2: Stay caught up with industry news and trends
The best content creators are those who actively research their industry and trends within it. The reasoning behind this? It’s simple. Those who are “in-the-know” are positioned in a place where the content they are producing is relevant in not only a topical matter, but a timely one as well. This can be done through keeping up with newsletters, publications, or media relating to your industry.

Tip #3: Know your audience
Knowing your audience is extremely important in content creation. By having awareness of your audience, you are able to create content that resonates with their preferences and interests. Tailoring your content not only results in catching your audience’s attention, but also builds a sense of credibility. Understanding their needs allows you to address potential pain points, which in turn, positions you as a valuable resource that they are able to trust. In addition, by knowing your audience, you are able to base your content strategy off of their feedback. An example of this could be obtaining the knowledge of what platforms and formatting are performing well and building your strategy based on that insight. 

Tip #4: Find and implement a unique voice
In a world full of pre-templated tips and tricks, finding and implementing your own, unique voice is crucial as it sets you apart from potential competitors and also allows you to create a unique identity within your industry. Your voice is the tone and style that you create and in turn, makes the content that you create recognizable and gives off a sense of authenticity. This fosters a personable connection within your audience and results in a community that is more likely to interact and engage with your content.

Tip #5: Focus on your KPIs
A KPI, otherwise known as a key performance indicator, is a quantifiable metric used to measure performance for a specific objective. Here are a few examples of what a KPI could look like in content creation:

• Engagement metrics: Average time spent, comments, interactions, times content has been shared
• Traffic metrics: Views and unique visitors
• Conversion metrics: Conversion rate and click through rate
• Follower/subscriber metrics: Growth

KPIs serve as a roadmap, and by understanding your KPIs, you are able to get a clear understanding of what works well with your audience and optimize your content strategy accordingly.

Tip #6: Write down your ideas
Brainstorming is crucial when working in the realm of content creation, but writing them down is equally as important. Writing down different ideas allows you to solidify your thoughts, clarifying bits and pieces of information into tangible ideas. The process helps in visualizing what content could result from the sole idea that was thought of and serves as a point of reference in relation to thinking about what form of content you want to produce next. Overall, it is an important step within the creative process.

Embarking on the content creation journey involves more than just creating engaging pieces and hitting “share”. This process is a thoughtful approach that involves key principles and knowledge that create a foundation for further success within the growing digital landscape. By following these six tips, your dream of becoming an aspiring content creator is closer than you might even realize.