A content creator is a person who specializes in generating relevant content, usually for websites, blogs, or e-commerce stores. Most content creators happen to be writers. Which explains why the phrases “content creator” and “content writer” are often used interchangeably.
Every website, whether blog or e-commerce platform, has its specific target audience. A content creator must identify this audience and generate content that appeals to their pain points.
Besides relevancy, keyword integration is another crucial element of content creation. Keywords are specific business-related terms that search engines like Google and Bing use to assign websites their respective rankings on search engine result pages (SERPs).
For instance, when an internet user enters a search phrase like “portable wheelchair,” search engine bots immediately crawl websites with content containing this keyword. Sites with the most relevant content on, as well as fair distribution of the keyword “portable wheelchair” rank highest on SERPs. This process whereby content is ranked based on content and keyword relevance is known as search engine optimization (SEO).
Roles of a Content Creator
The primary role of a content creator is to develop and write content according to the needs of a website. At the very least, that content should be relevant, original, informative, factually correct, and engaging.
The following are other core duties of most content creators;
i. Researching keyword relevancy and limitations
ii. Editing content pre- or post-publication
NB: Editing work generally includes fine-tuning published content to make it relevant to the target audience.
A content creator can also edit published work to make it grammatically correct. This includes fixing typos, checking coherence and readability, checking the language and tone, and reducing fluff.
Other reasons for editing content include aligning it with a brand’s new vision, integrating new keywords and links, and updating old content to make it timeless.
iii. Promoting the products or services a company or website deals in
iv. Integrating calls to action (CTA) so that readers can take further steps, such as visiting a specific e-commerce platform
Various Types of Content
Content appears in various forms, including;
• Blogs
• E-books
• Social media copies
• SEO
• Newsletters
• Promotional mails (for email marketing)
• White papers
• Checklists
• Instructional content/How-to guides
• Interviews
• Video-based content
• GIFs
• Infographics
• Picture-based content
• Memes
• Brochures
• Flyers
• Case studies
How to Become a Content Creator
1. Identify a Platform
A content creator needs a platform. The good news is that there are numerous websites where you can launch your content creation career (1). Examples include Upwork, Freelancer.com, and Guru.com. These websites teem with thousands of clients constantly looking for content creators.
If you’re a newbie, it’s advisable to enroll in a training program first and learn a few basics on content creation. And when you finally join a content creation platform, start off by bidding on entry-level projects. That will help you to hone your content creation skills while also preventing your account from receiving multiple initial rejections, which could diminish your chances of advancing your career on the website.
Besides the above-listed platforms, you can also launch your content creation career from your personal blog or social media platform. The primary benefit of choosing a blog or social networking site is their low entry barriers.
2. Choose a Niche
The saying “a jack of all trades is a master of none” makes perfect sense when you’re a content creator. You can’t go experimenting with different areas of knowledge and expect to excel in all.
Therefore, it’s important to choose a niche. Your niche is simply an area of study which you’re most knowledgeable and passionate about.
The following are examples of popular niches for content creators;
• Personal Finance
• Personal Security
• Politics and Governance
• Travel and Tourism
• Alternative Health
• Real estate
• Home Automation
• Home Improvement
• Interior Design
• Agri-business
• Self-improvement
• Youth Empowerment
• Wedding Planning
• Family and Relationships
• Art and Photography
• Fashion and Beauty
• Energy Efficiency
• Blockchain/Cryptocurrency
• Tech Gadgets
• Cars and Automobiles
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
• Digital Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Social Media Marketing (SMM)
• How-to Guides
But knowledge and passion shouldn’t be the only key considerations while choosing your niche. You should also bear in mind factors like popularity, legal-political landscapes, and socio-cultural trends.
For instance, you may be passionate about cannabis. However, you’ll realize that major search engines and social networking platforms prohibit cannabis-related advertising on their sites. Plus, cannabis remains illegal in many jurisdictions around the world. These limitations may cause you to drop the cannabis niche and explore other more favorable niches.
3. Know Your Audience
A content creator must understand his audience. That’s the only way to generate content that addresses their pain points.
To better understand your audience, you’ll need to establish aspects like their age and gender, as well as their socio-cultural beliefs and political inclinations. For instance, content on fashion and beauty tend to appeal more to the female gender.
If you’re creating content for an e-commerce store, you’ll also need to factor in aspects like your target audience’s spending patterns. It would defy logic to target content on cars and automobiles to college students still grappling with settling their tuition debts.
4. Conduct Keyword Search
We already highlighted the significance of incorporating relevant keywords in a piece of content.
But finding the most compelling keywords to use is not a walk in the park. It requires in-depth research. Sometimes, you may need to engage a content ideation team to help you brainstorm the most suitable keywords to use.
Fortunately, there are numerous keyword research tools you can take advantage of to generate relevant keywords for your content (2). Examples include WordStream’s Keyword Tool, Soovle, Search Term/Query Reports, and Serpstat.
Keyword research tools are incredibly easy to use. Most of them simply require you to enter your industry or the topic you’re creating content on. After that, the tools pull up a massive list of all the keywords relevant to your topic or niche.
5. Ensure Your Content Meets the Seven Cardinal Rules
There are seven unwritten rules that every content must satisfy to be deemed compelling.
They include;
i. Relevancy
Your content should be relevant to the topic it’s based on. Unnecessary digressions only cause distractions.
The content should also be relevant to your target audience. That includes, among other things, using audience-specific tone and lingo.
ii. Informative
Content needs to be fresh and informative. If possible, every sentence should convey facts that the reader probably didn’t already know.
iii. Factual Correctness
Content can be informative but factually incorrect. For instance, it’s possible for a journalist to misrepresent facts while reporting on a developing story.
But the goal isn’t only to share new information. You must also ensure the information is factual. If possible, back up all claims with links from authority platforms.
iv. Grammatical Correctness
The quickest way to spark disinterest in your content is to lace it with typos and incoherent sentences. Your audience shouldn’t struggle to grasp your message.
As a general rule, use the simplest language possible, unless creating technical content. Most importantly, proofread your content multiple times to correct typos, incoherence, redundancy, and other aspects that could affect its overall readability.
v. Engaging
Whipping grammatically correct content is pretty much a waste of time if the content is dull and boring.
Invest much time in your introduction as it’s what will capture your reader’s interest or make them bounce off your website.
You might also consider incorporating rhetorical questions, real-life examples, quotes, and visual elements to increase engagement.
vi. Timelessness
The best way to generate timeless content is to ensure you’re knowledgeable about all aspects of your niche. That requires staying updated on new trends, innovations, and regulations.
You can also achieve timelessness by regularly updating aspects like dates and statistical data.
vii. Originality
You can’t simply go importing paragraphs from already published works and presenting them as your own. Instead, ensure that your work is as original as it can be.
You can use services like Grammarly, Copyscape, and Hemmingway Editor to check for plagiarism before submitting your work for publication.
Wrap Up
Mastering the art of content creation isn’t as easy as many people imagine. But it’s not a hard nut to crack either.
It requires patience and a desire to learn new skills each day. We hope you can implement the above-listed tips to become an expert content creator.
