How to get started with content creation?

Did you know that there are more than 200 million content creators worldwide??

Yeah!?

In their 2022 Creator Report, Linktree defined “creators” as individuals who use their influence, creativity, and skills to engage their audience and monetize their diverse content.?

What is content creation?

Why is it important??

How can you get started with it??

Read all about it in this blog post.?

What is content creation??

First things first, let’s try to define content creation.?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, content is " the principal substance (such as written matter, illustrations, or music) offered by a website".

With that in mind, we can conclude that content creation is the act of generating information or media content in relation to specific topics and with the aim of addressing specific audiences, especially in the digital space.?

If you ask me, content creation is also a great responsibility and enjoyment – one of its main goals is to establish you, the content creator, as an expert or authority on a certain subject matter.?

It’s also a complex process that can help you address your audience’s problems, provide solutions to them, and connect to them in the long term.?

Let’s take a look at an example of content creation.??

Content creation example?

Let’s do a little game.?

What comes to your mind first when someone mentions “content creation”??

For me, it’s a content writer! If that was your answer, too, it’s probably because one of the most popular forms of content creation is blog post writing.?

Why?

Mostly because blogs go a long way in helping companies establish their credibility on a certain topic and provide concrete answers to their readers.?

For example, someone wants to know what types of content creation there are. To find that out, they are probably going to google it.?

Once they do that, Google will offer them a list of websites that can provide an answer to their question. Among those, there will probably be a few blog posts that match your search intent.?

A few examples that might appear for this search include:

• HubSpot’s Ultimate Guide to Content Creation
• CoSchedule’s 113 Types Of Content Marketing You Can Add To Your Calendar Now
• Digital Marketing Institute’s 7 Popular Content Types and How to Use Them

All these represent examples of one form of content creation – blog post writing.??

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Let’s move on to see why content creation matters.?

Why is content creation important??

For about ?40% of marketers, content creation makes a key part of an effective marketing strategy.?

Double that number, and you have 81% of digital marketers who say that content represents a business strategy in their company.?

Other content creators, myself included, would completely agree with this.?

Content creation is of utmost importance for helping businesses grow and expand their markets.?

According to a market analysis report by Grand View Research, the global digital content creation market was valued at $25.6 billion in 2022. It’s also estimated to expand at a CAGR of 13.5% from 2023 to 2030.?

The great demand for the digital content creation market is fueled by various factors, such as:?

• The growing use of AI technologies,?
• The continued investments in IT, and?
• The increasing adoption of cloud computing.

All in all, content creation seems like a nice field to be in, right??

Check out my tips below to get you started with content creation.?

10 tips for getting started with content creation?

Okay, so you’ve decided you’re going to start creating content. Yet, you don’t know where to start or what to focus on first.?

I’ve been there, too, so I’d like to share with you what helped me move from the idea of creating content to actually making it.?

#1 Identify your target audience?

Identifying your target audience is an essential part of content creation, though I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s what you should do first.?

If you’re just starting out with content creation, you probably aren’t completely sure about what audience you want to address.?

To demonstrate this on a personal example, I identify myself as:

• A remote worker,?
• A work-from-home mom, and
• A content creator.?

Belonging to more than one group makes my content creation process much harder. However, choosing what content to post on what social media network helped me address more than one audience.?

For example:?

• To write about remote work and content creation, I mostly use LinkedIn.?
• When it comes to parenting, I mostly use Instagram but also post on LinkedIn sometimes.?

Testing your audience to see what platform they use to engage with your content can help you target them better in the long run.?

Make sure to keep your content diverse and attention-grabbing. This will help you learn what works in which social media scenario.

#2 Pick one topic

To succeed as a content creator, you should pick one topic to focus on and establish yourself as an expert in it.?

It can really be anything you’re interested in or passionate about:?

• Parenting,?
• Social media marketing,?
• Wellness and self-care,?
• Business and finance,?
• Sustainability and ecology, etc.?

Once you've chosen the topic, you should make sure to immerse yourself in it and find improve your knowledge of it so you could provide valuable content to your audience.?

Connect with other content creators who are already experts on the same topic and make sure to stay up to date with current events that closely relate to what you want to write about.?

#3 Establish a unique voice and tone?

After choosing a topic, you would want to be clear on how you want to present yourself to your audience.?

This means that you should decide what tone and voice you’ll be using to discuss that topic online.?

Let’s explain what voice and tone actually are.?

Voice is the description of your brand personality in an adjective. For example, voices can be:

• Positive,?
• Professional,??
• Cynical, etc.

Tone represents a subset of your brand’s voice. You should adjust your tone depending on the audience you’re addressing or the social media platform you’re using.

In other words, your voice should always be the same and you should adjust the tone when necessary.?

I know this might sound hard now, but with time and practice, you’ll learn how to make your voice and tone support your topic and speak volumes to your audience.?

#4 Choose the best platform?

To continue with the social media story, picking the right platform to promote your content on is another important step for you as a beginner.?

Some content creators get carried away and try to conquer all social media platforms from the start.?

Let me stop you right there. Don’t do it!?

When you’re new to content creation, the last thing you need is to overwhelm yourself with constant social media planning and posting. It will drain you and you won’t achieve your goals.?

Why not try one or two platforms instead??

• If your idea is to create serious, professional content – try LinkedIn.?
• If you’re more of a creative type who likes to post a lot of content supported by visuals – go with Instagram.?
• If you like to engage in online discussions and connect with other people in the digital world – Twitter might be the best platform to start from.?

Remember, choosing just ONE platform is okay. Once you’ve conquered that and things are still going your way, you can think of expanding to other social media platforms, too.?

#5 Do your research well?

In the era of fake news and AI technology, the last thing you want to be in the digital space is an unreliable source of information.?

Especially if you’ve decided to go with content writing.?

People don’t have the time to fast check your content, you have to do it for them.?

So, before you publish anything online, make sure to do your research well and give them the facts.?

To do this, you should:

• Find credible sources in your writing, such as Statista, JSTOR, The New York Times, etc.
• Always cite your sources, and
• Use concrete facts, numbers, and information to support your views and ideas.

If you’re going to create content in the long term, you should do it right.?

#6 Make your content relatable and honest?

You remember that there are more than 200 million content creators in this world??

Yeah…well, that means that you can’t afford to copy anyone and create generic content for your audience.?

In the beginning, though, you might make a few mistakes in this area but over time, you’ll learn to speak your mind in an honest and relatable way.?

Most people are struggling with something and they feel less lonely when they know other people are struggling with similar issues, too.?

So, don’t be afraid to share your experiences with your audience. This will:

• Help you connect and engage with your audience on a deeper level,?
• Allow them to see you in a relatable light, and?
• Create a safe space your everyone to share and discuss their experience.??

Being relatable and honest doesn’t mean you have to share every single detail of your life online. It just means that you should use your personal experience to draw conclusions and create analogies that can help others work on similar problems in real life.?

#7 Engage with others

For about 85% of creators, generating content is an enjoyable activity.?

Yet, we have to understand that content creation isn’t a one-way street.?

It doesn't end with writing and publishing content. It goes a step further and allows you to engage with your audience and build a community of like-minded people.?

This means that, apart from planning, creating, and publishing, you should devote a lot of time to engaging with your followers online.?

Make sure to respond to all their comments and ask them additional questions to keep the discussion going. Do this regularly and see your community expand and grow.?

#8 Post consistently?

You don’t have to be an expert in content creation to know that social media presence is essential.?

If you want to succeed, you have to post consistently.?

But, watch out!?

Posting just for the sake of posting won’t lead anywhere.?

Your posts should make sense and be related to the topic you’ve chosen to write about.?

You can have a monthly or weekly content plan to avoid social media gaps and be present on social media platforms.?

#9 Ignore your inner critic

Exposing yourself to the digital space isn’t easy. But you have to realize that your audience isn’t your biggest critic.?

You are.?

Yes, you read that well.?

You are your biggest enemy – especially if you’re a recovering perfectionist like me.?

So, take my advice – ignore your inner critic as much as possible!?

Don’t let it prevent you from creating diverse content for your readers.?

Don’t let it shatter your confidence and make you feel incompetent.?

You will find a way to do this right, it just takes time. Don’t be afraid to fail and start all over again. I’ve done that a few times and it’s helped me realize what is for me and what’s not.?

It’s also helped me understand that my inner critic isn’t always right. So now I’m always cautious when listening to it.?

#10 Analyze and improve?

Did you know that it takes content creators about six and a half months to earn their first dollar??

It sounds scary, I know.?

But you don’t have to do content creation to make money from it. It can also be your side hustle.?

However, if you want to monetize your content, you should make sure to analyze and improve it regularly.?

How?

• Follow how the audience reacts to what you post on social media (likes, comments, shares, etc),
• Diversify your content to see what they respond to best (short forms, visuals, video material, etc.),
• Ask your followers what they like and dislike (you can use the poll feature for this),
• Take a look at what other content creators are doing at the moment, and?
• Follow current trends to stay up to date with your content creation strategy.?

If you know what you want to achieve with your content, make sure to audit your content often and find actionable ways to improve it. As time goes by, you’ll be doing this easily and effortlessly.??

Final thoughts

Today, being in content creation isn’t reserved for a few privileged ones.?

The competition is tough, that’s for sure, but if you’re passionate about something, just do it.

If you have something to say, say it.?

If you have an idea to visualize something differently, do it – put it out there.?

Although there’s no way to know if you’ll earn money from it, that shouldn’t stop you to become a content creator.?

Try some of the steps laid out here and see how it goes.?

Remember, baby steps!?