INTRODUCTION

Finding success as a content creator is actually the easiest task. Some relevant skills, a spoonful of knowledge about the platforms, and  a  plateful of dedication can make you a very successful content creator. Allow us to take you to this step-by-step guide to the career path of content creation,  and we promise that by the end, you will be fully equipped with all the information you might need to start your journey. Starting with a little about content.

The word content is anything and everything that is created, from written words to videos to designs, books, etc. Good content is scripted to provide some information, entertainment or motivation to people in a language and area of their understanding and interest.

WHAT IS CONTENT CREATION

Content Creation is the act of creating and sharing content  which includes everything from written articles, videos, podcasts, music, designs, books and more with an audience.  It takes a series of steps to create a piece of content, right from research, finding your niche, sketching a script, determining the format of the presentation, using the right keywords, and sharing your content. 

Two points of importance in this journey are consistency and originality. Production and sharing of original content that incorporates the unique style of the creator regularly helps them to grow and create a reliable following that can be monetized later.

Why Content Creation is important

Influence them with Content: 

Any kind of product, be it physical or virtual is produced and sold for monetization. When we say influence them with content, it simply means the quality of your content and how it makes you different from other creators. Creators are on your page seeking basically three things, entertainment, motivation, or information. Using data analysis and getting to know your audience, you must curate and tailor your content so that it is consumed by more people. As you research and study some really established creators in any niche of your choice, you will find that the audience follows quality and that is how a loyal following is built.

Explore Yourself:  

Aligning the areas of your interests and expertise to the needs and problems (basically demand) of your audience shall help you to come up with unique and original ways to format your content. This way, your content will surely grow to be more relatable, in tune with the latest trends and simple. Remember the purpose of any content should be very clear right from the start.

Help others with engaging content:  

Engaging content can only be produced if you as a creator are totally acquainted with your audience. With (by) acquaintance, we mean that a creator must know everything about their audience,  including  their interests, their occupation, their location, their routines, their age, gender and more. This is how you can zero in on their problems and help resolve them and in return, your audience will be able to relate with you and hence, shall engage through likes, comments, shares and DMs.

Build a personal brand: 

In the world of physical products, time and again we have witnessed that brands build their authority based on a single niche. A very good example that comes to mind  is the online shopping giants, Myntra and Nykaa. Both of them have their respective authorities in clothing and beauty respectively. Just like that, when we create virtual content, we can have our own set of separate audiences if we stick to our unique style and follow a pattern of theme because it is what makes us stand out from the crowd. Us! It is right there in the word, personal brand.

Monetization: 

Content creation is a paying career. Your investment is your practice. To find success as a content creator, monetization is the ultimate goal. Through the process of knowing your niche, the interests of your audience, helping them, engaging with them and building a personal brand, you get equipped with all the arrows in your quiver to monetize products that might be yours or you can collaborate with brands, take up sponsored projects or even use affiliate marketing, you can choose to provide paid services as well. Patience and consistency are   all it takes to reach  this point. 

Content Creation Process

Step 1. Idea

Content creation involves several crucial steps. There is so much content on a single topic that ideation itself may take you some time, research and a keen eye. At this stage, not only the content idea is finalised but one also has to decide about the format of presentation, the time of sharing etc.

Step 2. Writing and scripting

After ideation, any content format needs a structure. Hence,  the outer structure should be written down so as to get a clarity on the orientation and purpose of the content. Later, a script should be made. Remember, a hook at the start to glue the audience to the content, a main body that carries the main purpose of the content and a clear call to action are the core of your content. 

Step 3. In the case of a visual content, after scripting, a shoot is needed

This particular step is a game of patience and persistence. Once you do it regularly, the number of takes go down and you take that perfect shot in one go. Delivery is a very important part of such content as in this format your tone of speech and your physical appearance play an important role.

Step 4. Editing 

After the shoot is done, editing your content shall help you to  engage your audience even more. You can correct some mistakes that you might have overlooked during the shoot also. You can beautify and add attractive quirks. Don’t forget to add subtitles as it eases helps the audience enjoy your content and even hooks them. Done? 

Step 5: Publishing Go ahead and publish 

There is one catch though. The timing. During your research, analyse when your audience is available and post on your content accordingly. The recall is really crucial. Post at the same time and analyse the content’s performance for further posting strategies. All the best!

Types of Content Creation

Curating your product/content according to various platforms is very crucial for the content creation process. Different ideas serve different purposes as are projected towards different audiences. One must learn how to use it.

1. Blog Posts: 

Blogs have existed  as the earliest form of content. In the beginning, they were mostly used for information, as comments on major events of the world etc. However as the market evolved, blogs now not only serve to educate but also to drive customer traffic to websites, build brand value and awareness.

2. Videos: 

Videos are the present and shall be the future of social media marketing of products for quite some time. These can be used for a variety of purposes such as product awareness, demos, education etc. Videos serve best to establish trust and emotional connect with the relevant audience. Hence a brand’s values and authority are better built through this mode of content creation.

3. Infographics: 

Infographics are the most ideal way of presenting information that contains a lot of information in the simplest of ways with a clear structure and call to action. This can be shared on many social media platforms and helps increase the brand’s visibility and reach. 

4. Carousels

Various platforms allow you to upload a series of pictures, videos and infographics together or in separate sets to form a carousel. A user can structure the series in such a way that a prospect not only gets hooked in the beginning but also gets the exact message that is intended and takes the call to action. Above anything, all social media ideas must provide information with or without the product one intends to promote. 

5. E-books: 

E-books are books that serve different purposes according to your brand’s needs. Let’s say, you are an author, an E-book may serve as a sneak peak to your actual book. Such books are longer forms of content. Many authors as a matter of fact publish their whole content through this medium. With the right keywords, e-books are ideal for lead generation too.

 

Tools For Content Creation

Visual content creation tools 

Over the years, designing of content has gone through some major evolution. It has provided ease for everyone with no knowledge of the field to ace their content, make them look presentable and catchy. The tools and applications have been made such that they can be learnt better through practice. Formats like videos, images, audios, infographics all can ideally be structured on such tools through pre-designed or custom templates.

If you want to Learn & Earn with ChatGPT AI :- Click Here

Canva: 

Canva has gained a lot of popularity in the market. Through a user-friendly interface that provides vast stock for graphics, fonts, templates, free conversions from pdfs to presentations and jpg formats, Canva is ideal to create videos, infographics, various social media posts, presentations, posters, logos, resumes, profiles and much more.

Remove.bg:  

Repeatedly we find ourselves searching for that one perfect image for our social media posts. For marketers and designers dealing with several images daily, Remove.bg helps them to remove picture backgrounds easily without any complex technical skills. So, you too can get the best edit to achieve the same.

Piktochart: 

A web based infographic programme is a user friendly tool that includes a HTML publisher to create visuals to view online or embedded to a website. It provides web publish ready infographics using  600+ templates. One can include multiple interactive elements like charts, videos, map visualisation, and animated icons too.

Unsplash:   

You would agree that searching for images while figuring out the best designs for our posts has always been tricky. Uplash’s website has a vast library of royalty free images. Yes! It can be used for commercial and personal purposes equally. Now a very popular tool providing high quality images.

Streamyard:   

Streaming professional, high-quality live videos to audiences is crucial. With this web based platform, users can stream their video directly to multiple platforms with live interactions at minimum costs. The tool allows you to set virtual backgrounds, add brand logos and even download your stream with a separate audio file.

Biteable:  

Shooting and sharing videos has been the most popular format to share ideas. Original and presentable video content has more engagement. This web based tool helps to create professional videos easily. You can customise them using a relevant library of graphics and audios through a user-friendly interface at affordable prices.

Animoto:  

Animoto is another video tool that  produces professional video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows, and customised web-based presentations. It allows users to easily share the content over a range of social media platforms. The software’s online and mobile versions offer both, free and paid upgraded accounts.

Inshot:

Inshot is one of the most popular photo video editing tools among content creators. It carries rich professional features, stores drafts and complete projects, helps to add overlay music and much more. Its user interface is highly friendly. Hence, great to start with. The premium version of the tool removes watermarks. 

AI Content creation tools 

There are many benefits for AI tools when it comes to content creation. Some of them include fast delivery of content, almost no errors, sharing unbiased information and more. Some most popular AI tools for content creation are as follows, 

1. GPT-3: 

Third generation Pre-trained transformer is a neural network machine learning model i.e. a method that teaches computers to learn through data as a human brain. It requires some text and then provides large relevant data. Hence, this tool is ideal for content creators.

 2. Grammarly: 

We all have experienced the pain of correcting grammatical errors. Isn’t it highly wonderful that we now have a tool that will do us this great favour and we sit back and free our to just write as it comes to us!

3. Article Forge: 

Processing through hundreds of web pages, this AI tool generates content on any given topic in just a few minutes.

4. Copyscape: 

This tool shall help you to keep plagiarism in your content in check and helps you provide original content to your consumers.

5.WordAI:  

A more human-like rewrite is the superpower of this impressive AI tool. The tool uses advanced NLP techniques to retain the actual meaning of the text and rephrase the sentences.

Other Tools

While the internet was growing, the tools to manage it were also rising and to update consumers, tutorials were needed. Nimbus screenshot and screen recording chrome extension is one such tool that allows users to simultaneously capture screen, webcams and even the microphones. Its audio interpretation tool, blur option and the ability to capture entire web pages is what makes it ideal for content creation.

Excel for content calendar  

If you are just starting your journey to content creation, manage it through Excel from day 1. Right from curating ideas to keywords research, audience details, posting dates to insights of performance of content can be dissected and put to good use throughout your journey. The built in features in the tool that help to sort data make it even ideal to plan content strategy.

Notion writing content and management   

With a customizable interface, notion becomes an ideal tool to manage lengthy data. It can be used to manage a range of tasks from notes to task and project management and of course content creation. Through an array of features the interface can be made easy to manage loads of information.

Content Creation Audience

Content creation is the process of producing written words (in form of blogs, articles, copies etc.), designs, videos, audios or an amalgamation of more formats together to share information with a target audience through a media (social platforms, websites etc.) This process involves ideation, research, writing, editing and finally publishing the final outcome. 

Now since any content is made for an audience, it is crucial to know everything about them. Yes. Everything. Right from their active hours to their routines, occupations, their age group, their interests, their cultural inclination, their geographical location, their perception and more. Analytics tools help you to find detailed data about your target audience using which you can curate your content and try to solve their issues and engage them. 

 

Always remember to provide some information to the audience irrespective of the product mentioned. This simple step helps your brand to build trust and relate to it.

How To Make a Content Creation Calendar?

Content creation calendar is a tool that enables creators to schedule their content- time and format. It helps them to be fairly regular in their publishing journey and organise their time and data. 

There are two things that a content creator should consider before beginning to create their calendar. (1) Purpose of the content (2) Research of the target audience. 

As mentioned before, ideally there are 3 broad niches of content- Information, motivation and entertainment. Research of the target audience on the other hand helps us to organise content formats and time of publishing of our content to the least. 

Once the above two points are clear, content formats can be finalised in addition to the time of publishing to avoid gaps in addition to the platforms where the content needs to be shared. An ideal research of the target audience helps to create relatable content. Ideally a mixture of all content formats can be posted. Slowly and steadily based on the type of content one finds their audience to engage with, content can be organised in the calendar. It is important that in the beginning of every month or based on the frequency of publishing, important events and holidays are also marked in the content calendar to add up to an even relatable content.

Top Content Creation Platforms For Social Media

The top social media platforms that help you not only create content but also provide monetary gains are below. The best advice we can provide is to be consistent and learn through insights to create better strategy and improve performance.

Three social media platforms for content creation:

1.Instagram 

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms that creators and consumers use to connect with each other through various features of the platform. Some ways are mentioned below-

1.1 Share content: 

Instagram provides many features to share content for a wide range of its users. Users can post articles, photos, infographics or videos. For maximum visibility, Instagram asks its users to use all or most of its features that includes stories, highlights, live, and status and the best way to attract more audience is the regular use of reels feature and create engaging content.

1.2. Make reels: 

It is no news that Instagram algorithm promotes reel content on its platform. Hence, as we have mentioned before, videos are the future of marketing and as the social media giants have tweaked their interface so as to make videos easier to interact with, the visibility of such content that is original and informative and relevant to the audience shall surely increase. Also, don’t forget to use relevant hashtags.

1.3. Connect with followers: 

Instagram provides multiple ways to connect with followers. These could be comments, dms, stories, lives or even sharing cross content. Posting relevant and relatable content with your followers, asking them engaging questions and going live are some great ways of direct interaction too.

1.4. Collaborate with other creators: 

Back in the day when collaboration feature was not yet introduced on Instagram, creators either physically met to create a content and posted separately on their pages or they created separate videos, merged them in one and again shared separately. If none of it, simply sharing a collaborated content on each other’s stories meant that the two creators have produced something together and as an end result, got exposed to each other’s audience. Now, the collaboration feature has eased the process for creators and both can benefit from each other’s following.

1.5. Promote products or services: 

Creators can monetize their services and products through the process of content creation. They can also use subscription models, sponsorships or affiliate marketing for that matter. The best way to do so is writing a well structured script with a hook element in the beginning, the main body mentioning the features of the product and a clear call to action in the end.

1.6. Insights and analytics: 

Insights and analytics is one of the best features of Instagram. It helps track the performance of different kinds of content a creator posts on his/her feed. Metrics that show data about audiences who engage with their content and the overall performance of content can help a creator to strategize content and the content calendar as well.

2. Facebook 

Facebook is another important and of course very popular social media platform that has gotten pretty good for marketers as it has been promoting businesses through Ads and content creators. Here are some ways to interact over Facebook.

2.1. Share content:

 Just like Instagram, publishing regularly on Facebook in the form of articles, graphics and videos and relevant hashtags shall help creators to interact better with their audience and even attract new ones. Do not forget to connect your Instagram and facebook accounts and posting on both platforms together to gain maximum benefit. 

 

2.2. Connect with followers: 

Facebook also allows creators to connect with followers through comments, messenger and the latest story feature. Engage your audience on this platform too. Sometimes you find the same audience on Instagram and facebook alike. Interact on both platforms.

2.3. Facebook Groups: 

Unlike Instagram, facebook groups and pages have a different interface and are used very well by marketers and creators to connect with like minded people. Such groups increase your visibility and connections. Use them wisely.

2.4. Facebook Live: 

Facebook lives can be a very powerful tool to connect with your audience and talk about your work or even showcase the same. Many workshops and webinars are popularly steamed through multiple social media platforms for the same purpose.

2.5. Insights and analytics: 

Use Facebook insights and analytics like you do with that of Instagram. Analyse your performance and strategize your content accordingly.

2.6. Facebook Ads: 

Facebook is a great place to sell. Use the Facebook Ads tool and you are great to go. Remember to structure your sales pitch clearly mentioning the features, and the issue your product resolves. Curate the content in  the language your audience understands and give a clear call to action.

 

3.LinkedIn 

LinkedIn is a very professional social media platform where professionals from every industry can connect by showcasing their expertise. This platform interfaces with the audience through a bit different content format but regular posting with relevant and original content is really helpful for growth.

3.1. Share content: 

Regular publishing of content of your expertise shall help you grow as a content creator professional and even help you bag gigs. 

3.2. Connect with other professionals: 

LinkedIn helps professionals to connect and how? When you use LinkedIn, a very impressive feature of the platform is its grade connection when it clearly marks if a particular person is your 1st, 2nd or 3rd connection. Hence you can connect with different people through connections you build on your own. Use relevant hashtags to get visible in the industry of your expertise.

3.3. LinkedIn Groups: 

You can share information and indulge in relevant discussions through LinkedIn groups and can learn a lot about your industry or can be updated as well.

3.4. LinkedIn Pulse: 

LinkedIn Pulse is a long form content sharing platform where as a creator you can establish yourself as an expert and connect with others in the industry.

3.5. Insights and analytics: 

Like most of the giant social media platforms, you can analyse your content performance on the platform and strategize to create max impact.

3.6. Job opportunities: 

As mentioned in the beginning, content creators can leverage the platform by bagging gigs relevant to them by showing their work. Also, if you are a professional seeking for a job opportunity, LinkedIn is one of the best places to find your place. All the best!            

 What Is A Digital Content Creator?

 

A digital content creator is someone who creates any content be it written words like a blog, article or script, video content, graphics or audio like in podcasts or music on a social media platform and shares it with relevant audience is called a digital content creator. Even if you have a physical content and through the medium of content, you seek to promote the same over social media, count yourself as a content creator.

Digital content creators can work as a freelancer, a job professional or an influencer. Audience is prime for the creator just as much as the platform. In addition to technical skill, a content creator is expected and shall be successful only based on his/her knowledge of their audience. That is exactly how they can curate their content to make it relatable and original.

Types of Digital Content Creators

 Based on the content format one holds expertise is the type of content creator he is. 

1.Social Media Content Creator:
Such creators create content on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn

2. Video Content Creator: 

These creators focus on video content. Hence their choice of platform is also where such content is promoted like YouTube, Instagram etc.

3. Bloggers: 

Bloggers create written content for websites, even social media, Ad agencies etc.

4. Podcasters: 

These creators specialise in audio content and are found on such platforms like spotify, Libsyn, Buzzsprout stc. Mark that such content are also shared over other social media platforms so as to lead the traffic.

5. Graphic Designers: 

These creators expertise in creating infographics, illustrations, logos, graphics for digital agencies. Might work as freelancers or job professionals as well.

6. Copywriters: 

Written content for the purpose to sell is called copywriting and copywriters specialise in the same. This is one of the most popular of the creators.

7. E-commerce Content Creators: 

Creators holding expertise in content for E-commerce through product details, images and videos have gained substantial popularity as consumers continue to buy online.

Habits And Qualities Of A Digital Content Creator

 Here are some habits and qualities that are important for a successful digital content creator:

1.Creativity: A digital content creator must be creative and able to come up with unique ideas and perspectives for their content.

2.Attention to Detail: Attention to detail is crucial in digital content creation, from writing copy to designing graphics and video editing.

3.Technical Proficiency: A digital content creator needs to be proficient in using various tools such as photo and video editing software, design tools, and writing software.

4.Adaptability: The digital landscape is constantly changing, and a digital content creator must be able to adapt to new trends and technologies.

5.Time Management: Creating high-quality digital content takes time and effort, and digital content creators must be able to manage their time effectively.

6.Collaborative: Digital content creation often involves collaboration with others, including other creators, writers, designers, and clients.

7.Strong Communication Skills: A digital content creator must have strong communication skills to convey their ideas and collaborate with others effectively.

8.Audience Focused: A digital content creator must have a deep understanding of their target audience and be able to create content that is engaging, informative, and relevant to them.

Overall,  these habits and qualities are essential for a digital content creator to create high-quality and effective digital content that resonates with their target audience.

 Skills of A Digital Content Creator

 Here is a list of some essential skills of a content creator, 

• Content Creation: A digital content creator should be able to create all kinds of content formats like blogs, videos, infographics etc.

1. Writing:  Writing is a very essential part of content writing as it helps promote your physical or digital product. The ability to write a strong copy can take you places.

• Graphic Design: Tools like Adobe photoshop and Illustrator help to create compelling designs that stand out.

• Video Editing: As the video content has gained substantial popularity, editing of such content has also become a crucial skill. Softwares like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro are essential for digital content creators.

• SEO: Search engine optimisation is a very important skill that decides the traffic and searchability of the content produced.

• Social Media Management: includes management of social media platforms or rather social media profile, analysis of data and the ability to decipher what shall work best for the target audience.

• Analytics: Analysis of content performance is a crucial skill to be a successful content creator as it helps them to strategize their content accordingly.

• Project Management: Project management includes everything from time management to content strategy and the ability to communicate the requests and deliverables clearly.

Monetise

The ultimate goal of content creation is monetization. There are various ways to do so like affiliate marketing, paid promotions, sponsored promotions, collaborations, advertisements etc.

Steps To Become Paid Content Creator 

In today’s time and age, choosing a career in content creation is a very impressive move and can certainly gain you benefits in personality and in pockets. If you are passionate about content of any kind, are willing to give your best, your time and energy, it is the right way to launch your path. Read below to find some steps you can take to become a paid content creator.

• Choose a Niche: 

Researching about your hobbies, interests and expertise and aligning with your audience in order to serve them the best shall help you to choose your niche. Be prepared to be able to learn and work on the niche for an extended period of time so as to be able to create maximum impact.

 

• Build a Following: 

Creating original content regularly and publishing the same based on your audience needs and availability respectively shall surely build you a loyal following.

 

• Engage with Your Audience: 

Respond to comments and Dms to engage with your audience. You can even hold live or Q&A sessions to keep the communication alive and flowing. This simple task builds trust in your brand.

• Collaborate with Brands: 

Brand collaborations help you gain monetary benefits. Connect with brands directly, join agencies that can connect you to these brands and negotiate a fair deal.

 

• Create a Media Kit: 

A media kit is nothing but a resume of your social media page that shows your online worth by listing your niche, audience, metrics and opportunities. This shall establish your pay worth. Make one now!

• Negotiate Compensation: 

Negotiate a proper compensation with your brand based on the deliverables and the time involved. Be clear, direct and respectful.

 

Becoming a paid content creator is an exciting journey that requires patience and consistency. It happens with time. Trust. Learn. Practice. Repeat.

How Much Content Creators Earn?

 

The earnings of a content creator depends highly on their niche, audience size and above all, the quality of their content. It can vary from 25k to a lac a month. However, the same can be earned per project depending on the factors mentioned above. Let’s dive in details,

 

Niche: Some niches do better than the others. For example, the beauty and fashion industry has more monetary results than their counterparts. Food and travel are next in line. So if you choose such niches, your monetary gains shall start faster and in folds.

 

Audience size: This one is simple. A greater audience size will automatically give more opportunities and hence shall help creators with more capital gain. Having said that, remember that your audience is as beneficial to you as is your content so create mindfully.

 

Type of content: Just like the niches, all types of content do not create capital at the same speed. For example, as we know that video content is more trending than the written content. Hence, the same has more ability to generate money. Hence the choice of content format and the platform to leverage is very important.

 

Collaboration and sponsorships: After you have gained a substantial following that shall happen through consistent creation of content, you now have a profile to showcase your work and your brand worth. You can start pitching for sponsored partnerships, collaborations and brand dealings and start earning! 

Future Of Content Creation

 The future of content creation is without a doubt very bright. As the social media fever is on the rise and more and more people come online, the media shall only create more benefits. Some pathways for the same are as below,

• Video Content Creation:

As it has been mentioned many times before, the video content format is only increasing and so is the demand for creators who can bring to the table highly engaging content. 

• Social Media Content Creation:

With more and more consumers joining social media, the industry is most likely to gain even more momentum. With that, there shall be a need of social media managers who can manage such content, can create, analyse and strategise content according to its performance.

• Podcasting:

Although podcasting requires a range of skills, its rapid growth in recent times cannot be overlooked. Research shows that more people are turning to podcasts for entertainment, education and information. Hence the requirement of such creators is on the rise who can produce engaging audio creatives and shall continue to be so.

• Content Marketing:

Content marketing is the practice of creating content such that a target audience is attracted, and retained so as to convert them into customers. As businesses continue to perceive content marketing as a business strategy, the industry shall continue to grow. Creators who have a promising skill to hook, retain and convert prospects through any mode of content like written content i.e. blogs or copies or video content or designs/infographics shall have a great authority over the market in the recent coming times.

• Copywriting:

Right from the start, copywriting has remained to be a very promising career path. What is copywriting you might ask? Well, a write up that urges a consumer to take action which is most likely to buy a product, subscription etc. is called copywriting. The best part of this niche is that its demand is present over a vast number of industries and promises to only grow.

Conclusion

This was a complete ‘Guide to content creation: Finding success as a content creator’. All the relevant information is mentioned here and we hope that after reading this article, you shall start learning the relevant skills needed for you to start your journey as a content creator. 

With the ever evolving technologies, the future of content creation shall only rise as the demand shall keep rising. Hence, the future is bright in all of the above fields. A lot of dedication and a relentless consistency is the price for a great career path. 

Keep creating. Keep growing.