HOW TO SUCCEED AS A CONTENT CREATOR IN 2018 - toogit.com€¦  · Web viewHOW TO SUCCEED AS A CONTENT CREATOR IN 2018. Content is a large part of our world today, it keeps us informed,

HOW TO SUCCEED AS A CONTENT CREATOR IN 2018

Content is a large part of our world today, it keeps us informed, answers our questions (most of which we’d never imagine asking our own mothers), it helps us make decisions and so much more.

Any good marketer or business owner knows that content creation is a powerful tool in the world of digital marketing, especially in 2018 where Internet and social media are at their peaks. They know that if they’re not creating content, they’re actually lagging behind their growing competitors.

Content marketing brings in thrice as many leads and costs 62% less. 61% online purchases are the direct result of a customer reading a blog. Companies that post 16+ articles per month get 3.5 times more traffic than those than

publish fewer than four articles per month.Therefore, content equals growth. But how does one go about creating content?

Here’s where content creators come into the picture.

But who is a content creator, and what does he do? What exactly is content creation? Let me answer the latter first – content is everything you see on any medium, be it the internet or the billboards, in the form of words or pictures or videos, and content creation is creating the right content for the right platform. A content creator will do just that, it could mean writing a blog article like this one, or it could be making a vlog.

Creating relevant content is especially necessary today since people are tired of seeing the same old things again and again. To succeed as a content creator, one must first understand what content they can create best.

For example, if writing is your forte, you should look into writing blogs, but if you’re better at making videos, you could consider vlogging, both equally opportune forms of content.

A lot of people confuse content creators with content writers, but they’re not exactly the same thing. A content writer is one whose area of expertise is the written form of content, while a content creator is a generalized term for all sorts of content, audio, visual or both.

Here are a few things all successful content creators have in common –

1. They know their strengths. Being able to create something out of nothing is a very unique skill to have, and successful content creators know what they’re good at, and use those skills to their full benefit. Some might be able to write humorous content, others might be able to design amazing graphics, for example. Being able to identify your strengths is extremely important to decide what kind of content you can make. This strength could also be having expert knowledge on a field of interest.

2. They also know their weaknesses. Content creation isn’t easy, but knowing what you’re not the best at helps you understand which areas you need to work on, and whether you want to bring in external help, if necessary. A lot of bloggers hire editors to proofread their blogs before anything goes online. Sometimes you might find that you lack a certain skillset, in this case you can always work on acquiring that skillset, which in turn will help build your profile as a content creator.

3. Their actual work starts before they set their fingers on the keyboard.Good content is successful content, and time is given to prepare this content. Only when there’s a detailed plan will these content creators actually turn the ideas into content. There’s just one word you need to focus on before you sit down to create some content – RESEARCH. Do your research well and no force on earth can stop you from creating good content. Doing your research is not just a skill, but also a necessity for all creators. You must be aware of what type of content you want to create, what will go into creating that content, and how you can target audience effectively. Your success or failure depends on how strong your research is. Lets consider a scenario with two bloggers: blogger A and blogger B. Blogger A decides to talk about how to lose weight. But she doesn’t do her research correctly and people

find inaccuracies in her blog, along with misleading information that could actually harm somebody following her advice. As a result, blogger A loses her credibility and cannot be called a good content creator. Another blogger, blogger B, puts up a highly informative and scientifically accurate blog on how to lose weight, and consequently, she is considered a creator of good content. Moral of the story: Do your research, kids.

4. They know this isn’t just about 15 minutes of fame.Creators work on content diligently and meticulously. Hours and days are put in not to create just one piece of content, but to keep creating more and keep improving on older content. Consistency is key, and simply putting up one article and calling it a day isn’t enough, a content creator is required to be diligent and consistent with work. Keep your eyes peeled for any exciting things or events around you that you could turn into content. In a sense, a content creator’s job is never a typical nine to five job, but then again, the rewards aren’t typical either.

5. They also know creating content doesn’t mean an overnight success.Don’t expect your very first blog to hit a million views in a day. Today there are millions of content creators out there and the odds of you making it big in just a day are extremely less. All the successful content creators started from nothing, but constant diligence and hard work reaped benefits and today they’re at the top. Don’t be upset if your content doesn’t go recognized at first. Instead, keep working on it and keep giving your best, eventually you will succeed.

6. They are creative.I think this one goes without saying. Creativity doesn’t mean just doing something well, it means being able to think of things nobody has before. Out-of-the-box thinking can go a long way. Creativity also means being able to offer something unoriginal in an original way. When content creators cannot create, they curate. This means they recycle old content and produce something new for their followers. This is most commonly seen on meme pages. Recycling content could also mean giving a twist to content that already exists. For example, a lot of Instagrammers and YouTubers will give their spin on any challenge going around, and make it their own.

7. They have something to offer.Before starting off as a content creator, ask yourself these questions. Why do I want to create content?What will this content offer others?Why should somebody take time out of his or her day to see this content?What’s in it for my audience?What am I offering that a thousand other content creators haven’t?The minute you can answer these questions with confidence is the minute you’re on your path to becoming a successful content creator.Successful content creators aren’t always inspired to write, but they always write something inspiring. Your followers will only come back to you if they’re getting something out of your content. This could be expert insight, meaningful advice, knowledge, uncommon ideas or facts, or just a unique way of thinking. This helps not only retain current followers, but also acquire more followers. And a lot of times, these very followers can offer content creators content to create. For example, on YouTube, there is a popular trend going on where a content creator’s followers decide what the creator will do for a day, commonly titled, “My Followers Control My Day”. This not only means more content for you, but it also means building a stronger connection with your audience, which brings me to my next point.

8. They network.A successful content creator will endeavor to create a circle of those who inspire him/ her, mentors, like-minded individuals and fellow mates in the same industry. Networking helps a content creator broaden his horizons. A content creator knows that there is always more knowledge to gain, more experiences to experience, and one must never think of oneself as a know-it-all. Networking with other people, even their own audience, means soaking in all sorts of new ideas and information, because when you’re a content creator, you’re also an information giver. Networking also means getting your name out there. When two content creators collaborate, both get access to the other’s audience, which is almost always a win-win situation.

9. They know how to market themselves.Content creation isn’t just about creating content, it is also about marketing that content. A successful content creator knows the ins and outs of the marketing world, especially today where digital marketing is on a hyperbolic growth curve. Marketing can be done by anybody as long as they know what they’re doing, and most of the times content creators market themselves, unless they get so big that someone else does it for them i.e. they outsource a marketer for themselves. But the key point is, creating content isn’t enough, if you want people to notice you, you have to reach out to them via marketing.

So these are a few habits any content creator must adopt if he wishes to be good at his work. But how does one start one’s content creation process? Its not as simple as sitting down in front of the computer and tapping away at the keyboard for a couple of hours till something wow-worthy has been made.Let’s break down the content creation process into the following steps-

1. Research! Decide on what content you want to create and do ample research on how to go about it. This step is actually your make-or-break step when it comes to content creation. Research includes but is not limited to topic understanding, surveys, SEO, market analysis and trends.

2. Ideate! You have all your research done, but it isn’t organized nor do you know what to focus on and what not. So sit down, and brainstorm content ideas. Fixate on the most plausible one, and sort all the relevant matter for it. You now not only have a good idea, but also strong supporting matter for it.

3. Write ! … Or draw, whatever floats your boat. This is the step where you sit down and tap away at the keyboard to actually create your piece of content. Don’t worry about the minute details for now; just give your content a crude form.

4. Edit! Here’s where you go over every minute detail. Refine your content. You could do this or another person could do it - just to get a fresh perspective on your content. Editing is essential to minimize all the mistakes your content might have.

5. Upload! Share it with the world. This is when your audience can access your content. However, your work isn’t done. Keep an eye out for all the feedback given on your content, especially in the first few hours, so that if there’s anything gone wrong you could tweak it to minimize damage.

Of course, there are a lot more minute steps when it comes to content creation, but those steps depend on what kind of content creator you want to be. These steps are a generalized bunch that can be applied to almost every kind of content.

Congratulations! You now have a brief idea about content creation and know what it takes to be a good content creator. But the true experience will only begin once you set out to create content you love. So go ahead, don’t be afraid to enter the world of content creation.