Digitalisation has created many new fields in the job market that did not exist or was not recognised before; one of them is that of a content creator.
Content creators have always existed for as long as marketing and advertising have; it just was not the focus, but today, a content creator’s worth is invaluable.
The average salary of a content creator is $50,000 a year, and all you need to begin your journey as one, are these five essential skills:
Research
Googling is a skill, and you can learn it just by constantly doing it. Finding what is relevant and useful to what you are trying to create is a process and requires patience.
A good researcher is patient, inquisitive and interested in details.
Know your audience
As a content creator, you should always know who you are creating for, the audience. To connect with the people you aim to impact, you have to put yourself in their shoes. What is their demographic? What do they like? What are their problems? Etc. Understanding the consumer of your content goes a long way in making it successful.
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is a polarising topic, but it is still a handy skill to have, as long as you are not going out of your way to fit keywords or messages into your content. Great content will always rise to the top; that is the unspoken rule.
Rankings and appearing on search engines from the start is great, but consumers will quickly lose interest and trust if they get only clickbait content.
SEO works well when you know your audience.
Value feedback
As a content creator, if people do not care about your content, they won’t leave feedback. Feedback is a great way to review and evaluate your content because the parties involved are neutral and ideally unbiased, and it gives you a better idea of what your audience wants.
Feedback must not only come from your audience; you can also ask friends to chime in. This is a great way to refine and improve your content before sending it out to your audience.
Consistency
Most of us tend to start things and lose motivation just as quick and end up not seeing them through. If you are seriously considering a content creator path, you will need to be determined and intentional. Like every other venture, being a content creator can get difficult, stressful, messy, and have rough patches, but remember that it is like every other business.
Have a schedule, draw up a plan, set a strategy and do your best to stick to them.
These five essentials should get you started, alongside others like taking free online courses, reading work by other creators, etc.
Good luck!
