Complete Guide for Brands AND Creators

Content creators who want to monetize their personal brand may be called influencers or brand ambassadors. These creators may be life coaches, speakers, or anything else that allows you to profit from your personal brand.

“Social media manager” is a broad title and is often treated as a catch-all for social media tasks.

Copywriters and content writers cover a huge spectrum of content creation. As a writer, you can monetize articles, blog posts, brochures, web copy, email marketing copy, news pieces, voice-over scripts, social copy, ebooks, or white papers, to name a few.

The opportunities are vast, and, like I always told my mom, every industry needs a good writer.

For example, Elna Cain is a writer and content creator who shares daily tips about writing and freelancing.

Social media apps require engaging images. That means the digital world always needs more photographers and videographers.

Photo and video freelancers often choose to become Instagram content creators, and bigger brands often outsource some of their social media asset production to creators.

Websites, blogs, and e-commerce sites are great sources for potential work. Stock imagery sites also need visual content.

Below is an example of a freelance photographer who shares his work on the free stock image website Unsplash.

Thinking about monetizing your daily life? Vlogging or streaming might be for you.

The difference between the two is slight. A vlogger is someone who creates and publishes video blogs. A streamer, however, is someone who broadcasts themselves on a live stream or posts a video after the fact. Streamers may play video games, put on tutorials, or conduct interviews, while vloggers typically share long-form videos that have been edited.

Take Rachel Aust, for example. She is a YouTube content creator who publishes vlogs that show her daily life.

Artists and designers have always been visual innovators. Those skills are even more important in creating content for the online world.

To be successful, you’ll need to know how to tell a story through your posts. You’ll use elements like color, light, and composition to create visually appealing content.

Instagram is a natural place to flex your artistic muscles. With a beautifully designed feed, you can reach a wide audience and generate some buzz for your brand. Many designers use the platform as an online portfolio to showcase their work.

Take Bonnie Christine, for example. Bonnie is a surface designer who shares her work on Instagram, but she’s also a creative business coach for creators.

Ad revenue is another common way to make money as a content creator. This is especially common on video platforms like YouTube, where ads can be displayed throughout a video.

Another way to diversify your income as a content creator is by creating merch. Think mugs, t-shirts, and stickers. This avenue works well if you have an identifiable logo or have coined a tagline that your audience associates with you.

You can also create merch that relates to your niche or industry. For example, freelance writer Kat Boogaard offers freelance-related mugs and other merchandise in her online shop.

While the specific skillset you need depends on your niche, there are some skills that every content creator must hone to succeed.

These skills will help you build your audience, share your work, and run a business effectively.

No matter which medium you create with — whether that’s writing, design, or social media videos — you have to be a good storyteller.

Being able to captivate your audience is the key to building relationships with them.

To become a better storyteller, start by consuming stories from your favorite creators and influencers. Find people who captivate you and make note of how they do it.

Do they reel you in with a dramatic hook? Or do they share relatable anecdotes that make you feel seen? Maybe they grab your attention with humor.

Identify your favorite storytelling methods and practice using them in your own content.

Even if you aren’t a social media influencer, you still need to understand the ins and outs of social media to be a successful creator.

Social media channels help you build an audience. If you plan to use community platforms like Patreon or email marketing tools like Mailchimp to share more direct content with your most loyal fans and subscribers, you need social media to attract those subscribers in the first place.

Not to mention, most brands that partner with creators expect you to promote them on social media, so it pays to be savvy on at least *one* channel.

Some social media content creation skills worth practicing are recording Reels, writing engaging captions, and creating simple graphics.

If you want to land brand partnerships or collaborations, you must know how to pitch yourself and your work, especially when starting out.

You’ll need to have an elevator pitch ready to share when conducting brand outreach or talking to a potential partner. Make sure your pitch is succinct yet covers all of your skills and accomplishments as a content creator — while also showcasing your personality.

This is another reason why an influencer media kit is essential to have. Keep your kit updated with your audience metrics and recent projects so it’s ready to send whenever a brand reaches out.

While the paths to different positions may vary, there’s a general process you can follow to become a social media content creator.

Here are four steps on how to become a content creator.

You probably already have an idea of what type of content creator you want to be. Now, you just have to hone or develop your skills.

Practice creating content for brands you know and love. Say you want to be a copywriter, for example. Try executing a mock creative brief to show off your skills. For example, you could write a product description, a social media post, and a headline to promote a new shoe launch. Or, if you want to be a graphic designer, you could create a mock advertisement to promote said shoe launch.

You can continue to develop your skills through courses. There are plenty of online courses that will walk you through different types of content creation.

Or, reach out to other content creators whose work you admire. Ask them for advice on how they developed their skills or (if they’re open to it) to look at your work and provide feedback.

Once you’ve started building those skills, it’s time to show off your work. Start an online portfolio to share some of your best samples with prospective clients or employers.

Just starting out and don’t have anything to show? Share some speculative work (that just means “make something up”). Or, if you created anything noteworthy while developing your skills, you can publish it here.

Your portfolio doesn’t have to be fancy. You can even host them for free on Squarespace or Wix.

You can find prospective clients almost anywhere. Start by networking or reaching out to job postings or freelancer-needed ads.

You could even try pursuing opportunities you see in your daily life.

Perhaps there’s a website you’ve noticed that needs new banner ads. As a burgeoning graphic designer, you could cold email them and pitch your services.

Here are five more ideas for finding new work:

1. Join as many freelance Facebook Groups as you can. Clients may post work needed, or you could forge valuable professional relationships.
2. Post your portfolio or your elevator pitch in relevant online spaces. If you specialize in travel photography, look for travel groups online.
3. Niche Slack groups are a great place to network with other content creators and potential clients.
4. Actively share the content you create on social media, whether that’s YouTube videos, photography, or writing.
5. Be active on LinkedIn and create posts with keywords relevant to your industry and title so potential clients and collaborators can find you.

Pricing yourself when you’re just starting out can be tough. Take a look at your market average to get an idea of what others in your experience range are charging. While it’s tempting to offer a low price to get your foot in the door, try not to undersell yourself at first! Content creation is a valuable skill that the right brands will pay for.

If you’re looking to get hired in-house at a corporation as a content creator, research the industry average for your position. That way, you can weed out job positions with salaries that are too high (expectations may be beyond your skill set) and too low (get paid what you’re worth).

If you’re looking to freelance, be sure to have signed written contracts with your clients. Include your payment terms and penalties for late payments.

We’ve gone over the ways you can become a content creator, but what about brands that want to work with content creators?

Start by looking at your followers to find people who are already fans of your brand. Partnering with people who know, like, and trust your company helps the partnership feel authentic because the creator will be excited to promote you.

Check out your tags and mentions to see who’s already talking about your brand and showcasing it on their page. Once you’ve identified a few possible creators, analyze their following, audience, activity, and engagement to see if they could be a good fit.

Keep in mind that they don’t need to be mega influencers. If they seem to have a lot of influence with their audience, you can work with content creators with a smaller following.

Next, go deeper by analyzing your social listening data. Social listening goes beyond monitoring your posts by examining the overall social landscape, which can include industry trends, brand sentiment, and competitive analysis.

If you’re ready to take your influencer marketing to the next level, consider using a dedicated platform to help you manage your program.