How To Guide: start your content creator career in 2024

Written by: Abigail Ayisi Duodu

It’s been quite some time since the internet revolutionized the prospects of careers for people all over the world. Content creation as we know it to be in this era, simplifies the barriers that individuals need to break into certain fields and gain an opportunity to make money from it. To put this into better perspective,  we see the role of content creators in various ways all the time as an audience: results from making search queries on Google or Bing is one, watching a YouTube video on fish farming, or an educational course about project management -all fall under the umbrella term content creation.

What is content Creation?

To understand the basis of content creation, we first of all have to know what content creation is not – Influencing. The role of influencers differs from creators when it comes to building brands and working with businesses. A content creator and an influencer have varying career objectives although they are typically used interchangeably. Simply put, to create content means to generate media (video, photography, streaming content, podcasts, blogs) for brands and businesses who want to inspire, inform and engage with a target audience. Influencing is just that – to influence an audience to purchase products from a business looking to drive its sales with its high social media following.

Why You Should Become a Content Creator

Well, there is a high demand for content creators in all industries these days. Businesses are looking to expand their reach online but may have limited expertise in creating suitable content for their social media. This is where you come in as a content creator; 

1. Leveraging your skills to make money

Choosing to become a creator means you get to exist outside of the traditional 9-5 work economy, using your skills to generate income. Knowing that your digital media skills are valuable to many businesses and brands, you get to bank on that to attain career success.

2. Build a portfolio

Working with businesses as an independent creator or within a team provides a learning-based approach to your career. Each project done well gives you a career boost and much more diverse experiences than traditional workplaces. Your growth will not be limited to promotions but rather how well you can ensure your clients get the results they paid for.  

3. Become an Industry Expert in a few years

Depending on your capabilities and openness to learn, your career as a content creator can take just a few years to hold. More than enough information is out there for you to follow, including more mentors, and industry trends. So doing the necessary work for your career and building a great portfolio and work ethic, is more than likely going to hasten your growth in the creator economy.

4. Network

Content creation has its many perks and networking is one of them. Creators in this industry are more open to collaborations than any other field. Being open to meeting new creators and brands, really doubles your value and career growth. That aside, you get to make better connections and friendships with people who have the same interests.

5. Have an early Retirement

Creating content is in no way a get-rich scheme but has the potential to help you create wealth faster than in corporate jobs. As more and more platforms are moving towards monetization, now is the best time for you to start your content creator career to enjoy a comfortable life and possibly an early retirement.

Starting now is simpler but not necessarily easier. According to this Linktree creator report, 59% of beginning creators haven’t monetized their content yet. What this means for you is that starting your creator career in 2024, and choosing to monetize now as you experiment can ensure a higher ROI (return on investment) for the time spent utilizing your skills. However, before dreaming of monetization, as a beginner content creator, you must implement these key steps to ensure success in your newfound career. 

1. Find a niche: A niche as you will come to know is a topic of interest that a creator focuses on and creates content around. Your niche could be street photography, microblogging on X, YouTube chef series on African cuisines. This step is very important for beginner creators like you to double down on what to focus attention on. 

2. Identify your audience: Street photography will take off on Instagram than it would on X since X is a more text-based platform. Knowing this before you start is beneficial to your growth as a creator

3. Research topic ideas: Knowing what content to explore to build a personal brand and attract a clientele is also important. Following the right industry trends and topics to create content for your audience 

4. Choose a platform: Next on the list of things put in place for your content creation is the right platform to build your brand and attract an audience. There are various platforms out there (Twitch, YouTube, Udemy, Pinterest, etc.) catering to the needs of creators. Researching the right platform for you while considering that the right policies are in place for you to confidently create and monetize.

5. Monetization: This stage is not necessarily the last before your career takes off. Choosing to monetize now rather than later would not determine your success. However, considering that the platforms you choose have suitable monetization policies that can help your growth is important.    

6. POST content consistently: Have a plan for producing content or simply follow industry trends to give you a head start

The bottom line is content creation creates limitless opportunities for everyone. With an economy looking to reach nearly half a trillion in market value by 2027 (Forbes), considering a career in content creation now in 2024 can only help you attain your career growth and build wealth within these peak years.