How To Become a Content Creator in 2024 (+Tips for Success)

So you want to learn how to become a content creator? Well, you’re in luck! In this article, we deep dive into our best tips for becoming a successful content creator.

A content creator is someone who does content creation on a consistent basis across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. The type of content can vary from videos and blog posts to cooking tutorials, ebooks, or even newsletters.

Whether you’re wondering how to become a content creator on Instagram or how to become a content creator on TikTok or YouTube, the only thing you need to get started is a desire to be creative and to connect with others.

Read on to learn more tips about how to become a successful content creator and create content like a pro.

What is a content creator?

A content creator, well, makes content! Whether it’s YouTube videos, TikToks, or Instagram posts, they make stuff that entertains or educates people (or both). The type of content can range from comedy to makeup tutorials to relationship advice, or just plain old sharing of life experiences.

What does a content creator do?

While most people post some kind of content online, content creators make it a side hustle or a full-time career. They work at improving their content creation skills so they can build an audience and make money.

If you have a passion for something, becoming a content creator is a great career option, because essentially it allows you to do more and talk more about your passion — not to mention make money from it too.

What are some different types of content creators?

When it comes to content, the world is your oyster. And by that, we mean that there are so many different methods to create content.

For example, you can be a writer, video content creator, or podcast creator. Or maybe you’re an artist, hairdresser, or farmer who creates content to introduce online audiences to your IRL creations and to share your knowledge with them.

While there’s an endless amount of content niches and several popular platforms for content creators to choose from, ultimately, content creators can be divided into two general categories: the creator educator and the creator entertainer.

Creator educators

A creator educator is in the content creation game with the intent of helping their audience learn, upskill, or just generally become better versions of themselves. From cooks to relationship or career coaches, to fitness or finance experts and social media managers, there’s a broad amount of content niches to choose from within the creator educator category.

As a creator educator, you obviously want to educate your audience on a topic, but you also don’t want to emulate the monotone teaching style of your sixth-grade history teacher. While a creator educator’s main goal is to (surprise!) educate, keep in mind that engagement is just as important.

At the end of the day, high-value education comes with high engagement rates.

Creator entertainers

While creator educators are focused on enlightening their audience through education, creator entertainers put all their content creation energy into enlightening their audience by way of entertainment.

The goal of the creator entertainer is to fill all those voids in the day where viewers might need a little boost. Successful content creators like MrBeast, Charli D’Amelio, and Emma Chamberlain have massive followings and make a mind-blowing amount of cash, but even creator entertainers with smaller audiences have a lot of potential to produce viral content.

This potential for viral content and large audiences puts the creator entertainer into a very lucrative position for brand partnership deals.

How to become a content creator in 9 steps

Becoming a content creator is as simple as picking your platform, figuring out what you’re going to create, and just starting. Here’s our step-by-step guide to getting you from wannabe to full-fledged creator.

1. Pick a niche

What lights you up? What’s your passion? Whatever you answer, that’s probably what your niche should be. While there are creators who latch on to every trend they see and create bombastic videos with a massive budget, that’s not going to be most creators. Most start by making content about something they’re really passionate about.

Do you have a career? How about sharing the ins and outs of what a workday is like for you? There are probably tons of people out there who’d love to know more about what you do — whether they aspire to do the same or they’re just curious.

Have a hobby? Social media channels are great for sharing your passion and finding like-minded hobbyists. If you’re an expert you can show people how to get started and what they’ll need to start. If you’re a beginner, you can share content about your journey as you improve.

Have a specific interest? Whether it’s sports, music, politics, or just about anything else, you can find an audience ready to hear your take on it — especially if you’re knowledgeable.

Just because you pick a niche at the start of your content creation career doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you can create content for. Lots of creators hop from niche to niche throughout their careers. You just need to pick something so you can start.

2. Pick a platform

As a content creator, there are tons of digital platforms to choose from. Social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are popular options for emerging content creators because they’re free to use and have massive social networks.

That means not only is there lots of potential to gain many followers, but there’s also lots of potential for your content to go viral.

Membership-based platforms like Patreon and Substack are also great options. Usually, these platforms are best for creators who have already generated at least a modest amount of loyal followers.

3. Start creating content

Once you’ve got your niche and your platform, it’s content creation time! Have a look at what other content creators in your niche are making so you know what your potential target audience is expecting. You can try to copy what works or come in with a completely new angle.

If you’re making video content, don’t worry if you don’t have a great filming setup or an expensive camera. With most platforms, you can just start filming on your phone. As long as you’ve got a great take and a strong voice, you’ll build your own following in no time.

If you’re making other sorts of content, whether it’s writing, photography, or audio, the same rule applies. Focus less on the gear or skills you need and more on just starting.

Make the best quality content you can with the skills and resources you have, but get it done and published.

4. Find your voice

The easiest answer to how to become a content creator is pretty basic: be authentic.

Sure, you should stay on top of trends and keep an eye on other content creators within your content niche, but your content should always be unique to you.

As a creator, your voice is unique. It’s what will make you stand out from the thousands of other creators in your niche. It can be reflected in the way you edit video content, the way you move, and the way you speak.

Finding your voice can take time. Lots of creators start out trying to imitate the creators they love, and that’s ok. Over time, you’ll find out what feels like you and what feels more like someone else — and you’ll learn to go for the former. Stay authentic to you and the passion that drives your content, and your voice should come pretty easily. It’s a lot like having your own brand.

Throughout your content creation journey, just remember that the more authentic you are, the more successful you’ll become as a content creator.

5. Create consistently

It’s no secret to anyone that the average human’s attention span is dwindling. As a content creator, you also have to recognize that your audience is being exposed to an onslaught of content on a daily basis. Think about your own content consumption. What creators really draw you in and why? If you trace it back to any one thing, it’s likely this: consistency.

If you want to be a successful content creator, you should absolutely ensure that you stick to your content plan and post content on a regular basis.

By the way, the measurement meter for “regular” is totally up to you. It could mean once a week, twice a week, five times a week — really whatever works best for you and your schedule on both a creative and logistics level. You don’t need to be online 24/7, but the time you do spend online should be productive. Set realistic expectations for yourself, and you’ll be golden.

6. Set an initial performance goal

Do you want to reach 1,000 YouTube subscribers as quickly as possible? Maybe you want to make that first dollar from creating content in your first month? Or maybe you just want to be able to say you made one piece of content every day for a month.

Setting that initial goal — beyond publishing your first piece of content — is crucial to staying motivated. Not sure how to do it? Try using a SMART goal:

S for specific: Pick something specific, like getting more followers on Instagram.
M for measurable: Put a number on it, like getting your first 500 Instagram followers.
A for achievable: As you pick your goal, ensure it’s something you can actually achieve. “Get 1,000,000 Instagram followers by next year” isn’t achievable for most creators just starting out.
R for relevant: Whatever your goal is, it should be relevant to your ultimate objective of becoming a successful content creator.
T for time-bound: Put a deadline on your goal, like “get 500 Instagram followers within three months.”

Make this goal your North Star. As you create content, always be thinking about how you’re building towards that goal.

7. Review your content to find what works (and who doesn’t)

Creating content consistently is just one part of making it as a creator. You also need to work on improving the way you make content so you can keep growing. The best way to do that is to look over what you’ve published so far and review the numbers.

In the first few months, you probably won’t have much in the way of numbers. A few hundred views here or there, maybe even 100 subscribers. But if you stick with it, you’ll eventually start catching people’s attention. Then you can look over the content that worked well, look at what you did, and try to do it again. Content that bombed can teach its own lessons, too. Maybe you filmed things in a way that didn’t vibe with viewers. Maybe the subject line of that blog post or newsletter just didn’t catch people’s attention.

There are tons of lessons to be learned as you create, make sure to put time aside to learn them.

8. Keep setting and hitting goals

After creating content consistently and looking for ways to improve for some time, you’re bound to hit that initial performance goal. Celebrate, take a little break, and do whatever makes you feel great. After that’s done, it’s time to set your next goal!

Try to pick something that’ll allow you to either double down on one of your strengths as a creator or find a way to make up for a weakness. Say you’re great at brainstorming ideas. What’s a goal you could set that represents the next step in improving that skill? If you’re struggling to edit your videos, for example, set a goal that helps you make up for that.

Having a goal constantly in front of you will keep you motivated and growing. Just make sure you plan it as rigorously as your first goal.

9. Start looking for earning opportunities

When you’ve been creating content regularly for a while and your audience grows to a certain size, you’re going to want to start to make money out of this thing. Lots of creators make the mistake of trying to monetize too much, too early, but that doesn’t mean smaller creators can’t still make bank.

Monetization shouldn’t take up a huge part of your time; most of what you do should still be making the best content you can. But once you’re ready to monetize, you have plenty of options.

How do content creators make money?

One of the best parts about content creation is the potential for a diverse range of income streams. Read on to learn about the different revenue streams available to you as a content creator.

Brand deals and partnerships

Brand deals and partnerships are one of the most popular ways for content creators to make money: 69% of content creators say it’s their best revenue source. If your content and brand voice align with a brand’s vibe and mission, they might pay you to promote their products or services.

Before you jump in, make sure the brand you want to work with is a good fit. Whatever you promote on your platform should be authentic to you and your content. Otherwise, you run the risk of alienating your audience as a sellout.

Ask yourself these questions when working with a new brand:

Would my audience use this product or service?
Would I use this product or service?
Can I test this product or service before promoting it?

If the answer is yes to all of the above, then you’re on the right track!

How do you get a brand sponsor?

Sometimes brand sponsors will reach out to you, but oftentimes — especially when you’re first getting started as a content creator — you’ll need to pitch yourself to a brand.

Additionally, it can be difficult to figure out the value of a brand sponsorship at first. If you have a network of other content creators within your niche that you can rely on for help, definitely reach out to them. Otherwise, keep in mind that there should always be room for negotiation in a brand partnership contract.

Creator funds

If you didn’t know already, there are plenty of ways to make money as a creator directly from the platform you’re using to produce content.

For example, TikTok has the Creativity Program Beta, which offers incentives for creators to gain more TikTok followers and monetize their video content on the platform. Instagram also offers bonuses, which reward creators for making engaging content over specific periods.

These aren’t available on all platforms, but you should definitely take advantage of them where you can!

Ad revenue sharing

Most social media platforms have ad revenue-sharing models that usually have certain requirements for monetization eligibility, like minimum subscribers or watch hours. Once you meet these requirements, you earn a share of the revenue generated from ads displayed with your content. The higher the engagement you receive from your audience, the more ads they’ll watch — which means more revenue for you.

The “sharing” element of ad revenue is an important factor to keep in mind. While every platform is different, generally, you should expect to be splitting your revenue with your platform host.

For example, on YouTube, the revenue split is generally 55% for creators and 45% for YouTube. That means, for every dollar your video content earns from ad revenue, you will receive $0.55 and YouTube will keep $0.45.

It’s no surprise, then, that only 7% of creators say ad revenue sharing is their most lucrative income stream.

Memberships and subscriptions

Today, many creators sell memberships and subscriptions to their content as a way to make recurring income online. Platforms like Patreon kickstarted this trend, but now most platforms have some way for creators to offer subscriptions. Here are just a few examples:

Patreon: The original membership platform, Patreon allows creators to monetize their audience by sharing gated content. Posting content to Patreon is not that much different than on other platforms, except you have way more control over how much you can earn from your content.
Substack This subscription-based newsletter service is most commonly used by creators with writing skills to monetize their ideas without needing to rely on media companies for a wage. While it’s relatively recent compared to other platforms, there’s a lot of money to be made there. Some of the top-earning newsletters earn more than $500K a year.
YouTube: YouTube memberships allow subscribers to pay a monthly fee to their favorite creators in exchange for exclusive content, badges, and more.
TikTok: TikTok Subscriptions, once only available for LIVE creators, have recently been expanded to everyone. In exchange for a monthly fee, subscribers can get exclusive perks, content, and a members-only community.
Instagram: Instagram’s Subscriptions allow creators to build tighter communities with exclusive content and more.

Selling digital products

Quickly becoming one of the most popular ways for content creators to make money online, a digital product is anything you can sell online as a downloadable file. Think ebooks, online courses, templates, etc. These products can quite literally help you make money overnight!

One of the main benefits of selling digital products is that it’s a great way to generate passive income, i.e. lucrative earnings made from minimal labor. Who doesn’t love that?

If that doesn’t already get you going, some other major benefits of selling digital products include:

Low production costs: Since digital products are mainly created and sold using digital tools, you’re cutting out the high costs usually associated with producing, storing, and moving tangible merchandise.
Higher profit margins: Because you don’t need to invest any time, space, or money into managing a physical inventory, your profit margins will be higher.
No shipping logistics: When your followers order your digital product, they receive it online right away, making everyone’s life easier. That means no time wasted waiting in line at the post office.
Scalable: A business that sells digital products is significantly easier to scale than a physical merchandise business that relies on tangible tools and services like warehouses and shipping costs.
Global audience: Since you don’t have to deal with international shipping costs or currency conversions, your digital products can reach a broader audience.

Where should you sell digital products?

Most content platforms don’t have a built-in way of selling digital products. That means you need some online platform for keeping your products, accepting payments, and actually sending products to your buyers.

What if you could do all that in one place? And it helped you build your product too?

That’s where The Leap comes in.

The Leap is an AI-powered product builder and online storefront you can use to brainstorm, build, and sell your digital products, all for free. Whether you want to set up your first course, start selling templates, or share your digital art, The Leap’s got your back. The best part? You can get started for free.

Build, market, and sell digital products all in one spot with The Leap!

Make UGC for brands

UGC is organic-looking content made for brands that appears user-generated, except the creators making it get paid. UGC is most popular in content niches like travel, beauty, fashion, and wellness.

What’s the difference between UGC and sponsored content?

While creators are usually transparent about their brand partnerships, UGC content is intended to look and feel more authentic.

UGC content is a particularly popular marketing tactic in today’s social media-driven world. Many brands even feature UGC content prominently on their websites.

Back in the day, we might have seen a big-time actor promoting their favorite whiskey or perfume. Nowadays, that marketing looks more like influencers casually test-driving new cosmetic products or setting up a brand new couch in their living room.

If you’re wondering how to become a UGC content creator, get started by following these steps.

Do your research: Look up brands you’d like to work with and study their user-generated content.
Invest in quality film equipment: Say “yes” to that ring light!
Practice making UGC content: Practice makes perfect.
Build up your UGC portfolio: Here’s where that practice comes in handy. Even if you’ve yet to get an official UGC contract, you can still build a portfolio with your practice content.
Find opportunities on UGC creator platforms: There are several platforms like Trend or UGC Shop that help creators land UGC deals.

6 Tips for becoming a better content creator

Want some quick and dirty tips for stepping up your content creation game? Here are a few things you should be aiming for.

Become an expert in your niche

It’s ok to not be an expert in whatever niche it is you’re creating for at the beginning. While you can get a lot of mileage out of being a curious beginner sharing your journey, you should aim to eventually become an expert.

Experts can bring in a huge audience as they become the go-to person for valuable content in their niche. So look for opportunities to build up your expertise where you can.

Be curious

Content creators should always be learning something. Whether it’s a new skill, a bit of business strategy, or even a new platform, ongoing learning is essential to your growth. And you can’t learn if you’re not curious.

Not only that, but curiosity can help you jump on viral trends or learn about new niches you can create for.

Stay organized

Being a content creator can involve a lot of moving pieces. Even if you’re not at the stage where you’re outsourcing your video editing or using a virtual assistant, it’s important to keep track of everything that’s going on.

Lots of creators in the productivity niche, like Ali Abdaal and Matt D’Avella, have tons of content about being more productive and organized. Have a look and adopt some of their tricks!

Outsource as needed

Eventually, every creator reaches a point where there’s just too much work to do and not enough day to do it in. If you’re starting to see money come in but you’re going to bed later and later and the empty energy drink cans start to pile up, you need to start outsourcing.

Start small, maybe just hiring a virtual assistant for a few hours or trying to have someone else edit one of your videos. You can start to rely on these people more and more as your needs increase.

Become data-driven

Looking over how your content performs is essential for learning to become a better creator. But as your target audience grows and the data starts to pile in, you need to become more adept at using that data.

Don’t just look at views and likes anymore. Start looking at conversion rates and average time watched. Compare how your content does across various platforms. Being data-driven means making decisions based on what the people who follow you want to see and being just a bit more technical about how you use the data they give you.

Build a strong network

They say no man is an island, and the same is true of content creators. Building a network can unlock opportunities for growth and collabs, as well as just help you find your people. When your growth starts to plateau and you have no idea what to do, a strong network can help you figure out what you need to do next — and deal with the frustration that comes with it!

Ready to make bank?

Content creation might seem glamorous and borderline unattainable, but it’s absolutely within your reach. The moment you decide to publish your first piece of content and make it a habit, you’re on the path to becoming a content creator.

Think you’re ready to monetize your content creation career? Download our FREE guide on 12 ways to make your first $100 online.

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FAQ

How much money do content creators make?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. How much a content creator makes depends on several factors, including the size of their following, their engagement rate, what platform they use, and their number of revenue streams. But don’t get us wrong here — you don’t need to have a massive following to make a lot of money. Plenty of content creators with smaller audiences make a living from their content.

Ultimately, it depends on what type of revenue streams (and how many) a content creator relies on for their income. Different revenue streams include brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, AdSense revenue, selling digital products like ebooks or online courses, or selling merch.

Just remember, it takes time to build up to multiple dollar signs. But if you put in the work, there’s always potential to make some cash as a content creator!

Can I become a content creator with no experience?

The answer is 100%, yes! One of the best parts about being a content creator is that you don’t need to have a university degree, be one of many social media influencers, or have any particular experience other than being a human (and TBH even that’s debatable) to become one.

If you’ve ever taken a photo with a smartphone, created a post on Instagram, or even just watched a YouTube video, chances are you already have more experience than you think.

Our best advice? Start small, find your passion, and practice regularly. Learn from others, adapt, and — above all else — be authentic. Over time, you’ll refine your skills and develop that unique brand voice and style that will keep your audience coming back for more. Remember, everyone starts somewhere — ultimately, it’s your journey that will make you stand out.

What qualifications do content creators need?

Unlike applying for any job ever, the qualifications for becoming a content creator aren’t rigid. You don’t need a university degree, multiple years of experience, or even a specific number of followers.

If you’re looking to dive into the world of content creation, the qualifications are more about skills and passion than traditional degrees or direct experience. While formal education and social media or marketing experience can help, it’s not a must-have. What truly counts are your creativity, authenticity, and dedication. That being said, certain skills can help you in your content creator journey.

First off, hone your creative skills. Whether it’s video editing, graphic design, writing, or photography, practice makes perfect. Learning how to use tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or even your smartphone will help you create content that stands out.

Next, understand your target audience and find your niche. What do you love talking about? What does your audience want to see? Authenticity and relatability are key. You’ll want to stay tech-savvy and adaptable. Social media trends change fast, so be ready to learn and pivot. Collaboration skills are also crucial — networking and brand partnerships can boost your reach.

Lastly, passion fuels consistency. Being a content creator requires time and effort. If you’re passionate, authentic, and adaptable, you’re already on the right track — no formal qualifications needed!

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