How to Become a Content Creator: Where to Start and How to Find Your Niche
Being a content creator is about more than just producing videos, writing articles, or sharing posts. It’s a journey of self-expression, creativity, and entrepreneurship that comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities.
If you’ve dreamt of becoming a content creator but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. There are many platforms, formats, and niches to choose from.
In this guide, we’ll help you learn how to become a content creator, where to start, and how to find your niche.
What Is a Content Creator?
According to PartnerStack, a content creator is anyone who creates educational or entertaining material to be shared through any medium or digital channel. Content creates worlds and conveys ideas. A content creator is the one who makes it their business to share these ideas with those interested in consuming them.
This can be done physically, such as in the production of magazines, posters, billboards, and ads. Or digitally, in formats such as blog posts, infographics, memes, videos, and social media posts.
As a content creator, you can choose to be an influencer, blogger, vlogger, podcaster, creator-educator, etc. Your content can be educational, entertaining, promotional, creative, or made for fun. Apparently, the internet is made of content.
What are Some Common Content Formats?
What comes to mind when you hear the word “content?” Is it a YouTube video? An Instagram reel? A blog post? A commercial?
The following are examples of content creation ideas:
- Mixed media: Content that combines elements of text, visual, audio, and video formats
- Video: Videos, animations, tutorials, vlogs, documentaries, and webinars
- Interactive: Quizzes, polls, games, surveys, and interactive graphics
- Audio: Podcasts, music, sound effects, and spoken-word recordings
- Text: Articles, blog posts, essays, stories, and other written content
- Visual: Authentic images, infographics, illustrations, diagrams, and graphics
How To Become a Content Creator
To become a content creator, you’ll need to decide what type of content you want to create and for what audience. Then, it’s a matter of consistently generating quality content that drives audience engagement so that users keep coming back for more.
Let’s explore the details of this process.
#1 Choose Your Format
If you’re thinking about how to become a content creator, you probably already have a format in mind. And truthfully, you’ll probably use more than one throughout your content creator journey.
But there should be one that’s primary to start with.
For instance, if you want to create a personal finance course, you’ll need to start by asking yourself some questions.
Do you want your course to be text, visual, or audio?
Answering the first questions will determine what format you need to use to create your content.
- If video content is the goal, you’ll need a basic camera and lighting setup.
- In the case of audio, you’ll need a microphone and a digital audio workstation (DAW) such as Pro Tools or Audacity.
- If text, you’ll need a good old-fashioned word processor and design software to make it look pretty. Or a content management system to post it on a website, depending on how you want to deliver your course.
As mentioned before, you may use all three at one point or another. For instance, you may create your course as a series of videos but later add a workbook or transcripts to your course materials.
Another key factor in selecting the best format for you is understanding your comfort level with the various formats.
If you are camera-shy, for instance, your course could be a series of e-books or podcasts. Video could come later, or not be involved at all.
You get to decide what’s right for you—To help you out, answer these questions:
- What is the primary product I want to make?
- Which format best serves this goal?
- Which format am I the most comfortable with?
- Which format do I have the most technical skill in?
- Which format do I already have the resources for?
#2 Choose Your Platform
Your platform is determined by the type of content you choose as your format and the kind of creator you want to be. If you want to create comedic and entertaining content, such as a video, it will be your best format. Therefore, you’ll want to focus on short-form video social media channels like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok.
Pro tip: Keep in mind that you should repurpose your content. This means creating one piece of content that works for you on multiple platforms.
For instance, you can make one comedic skit and upload it to all three video content social media platforms. You’ll achieve greater reach with a single piece of content. But be wary of spreading yourself too thin, too fast.
Choose one to start with. Then, expand as you get a larger viewer base and become more comfortable with content production.
These questions should help you decide which platform you should go for:
- Which platform(s) best suit the content formats you’ve chosen?
- Which platform are you most familiar with?
- Which platform is best for your goals? (monetization, reach, rapid growth, etc.)
- Which platforms make content distribution easy?
Choose Your Niche
A content “niche” is a specialization. Your niche will be your area of concentration for content topics.
For instance, mental health, personal finance, content marketing, parenting, and DIY home repair are all niches.
Instead of choosing a general niche, you want to focus on narrowing it down.
This means taking a broader category and breaking it down into a topic that’s more targeted and specific.
Take, for example, Severine Diaz, owner of Beaches of Normandy Tours.
“Touring” is a broad category. WWII tours are specific. Díaz channeled her passion for WWII history into creating a company focused on WWII tours and content, such as “The Liberation of Paris,” which honors those who fought.
Many creators struggle to find their niche, so we’re dedicating the next section to it.
How To Find Your Niche
Finding your niche can take a little time. And you don’t have to choose one and be married to it forever. It’s okay to make a variety of content at first until you find your groove.
Start finding your niche by clarifying the following questions.
The first step in choosing a niche is to assess your existing knowledge.
Have you worked in publishing for a decade? Did your parents own a restaurant when you were growing up? Have you been fascinated by the history of a specific time or place?
Your areas of knowledge are a perfect place to start when choosing your niche.
How Specific Can You Get?
Creativity thrives under constraints. You may think you’ve picked a niche, but when you sit down to create your content calendar, you discover it’s still too broad — you don’t know where to start.
This is why your niche needs specificity.
Moreover, many people in your target audience will be looking for content on a specific topic, not a general one.
For example, creator Tori Dunlap’s podcast The Financial Feminist isn’t about personal finance in general. Her niche is specifically financial best practices for women.
Agencies like Fusion Medical Staffing don’t offer recruitment in general. They specifically target the medical field, creating content for particular job roles, such as travel physical therapy, nursing, CT technology, and more.
Here’s what to do:
- Narrow down your list of potential niches into specifics
- Analyze how many niches hit all four considerations
- Choose your favorite as your new niche OR
- Start making content in two or more until you find your favorite
The more you do, the more you’ll know. One niche may start clicking with you more than the others, and you’ll know you’ve found your content home.
(You can also make a list of your greatest areas of knowledge, like academics, hobbies or experiences).
#4 Grow Your Audience
Once you’ve worked out your format, platform, and niche, it’s time to start building your audience. As we mentioned earlier, your niche helps determine who your target audience is. Now, the work of attracting them begins.
The trick to this is multifaceted. To start, you’ll want to focus on a few key things:
- Competitor research
- Organic traffic
- Your email list
Analyzing What Competitors are Doing
Competitor research will tell you several things you need to know.
- What content and keywords your competitors are ranking for (that you aren’t)
- What keywords your target audience searches for most often
- What content is most valuable to your competitors
The results of this research will provide you with the answers you need to start creating content that will not only satisfy your target audience but also help you rank alongside (or outrank) your competitors. And that brings us to the next piece of the puzzle: organic traffic.
Organic traffic will flow your way once you start ranking for valuable keywords. Visitors will click on your content, read it, and share it. You’re on your way to growing a loyal audience and customer base.
Finally, you’ll need to include a subscription form on your website to start building your email list. It’s the best way for you to bridge the gap from website visitors to brand ambassadors.
Collaborating With Other Creators
Partner with other creators in your niche for guest posts, podcast interviews, joint webinars, or social-media takeovers. You’ll tap into each other’s audiences, build authority by association, and spark fresh interest in your content.
Creating Shareable Content
Invest in memorable formats—interactive quizzes, infographics, or short video explainers. Content that educates, entertains, or solves a pressing problem is more likely to be shared, increasing reach organically. End each piece with a clear call-to-action: “Tag a friend,” “Share this post,” or “Leave a comment.”
Engaging Offline and In Real Time
Speak at industry events, host local meetups or virtual workshops, and participate in panel discussions. These live interactions deepen connections, drive sign-ups for your online channels, and often lead to shareable video clips or blog recaps.
#5 Monetize your content
The presence of 8 billion people on Earth guarantees that somebody somewhere is going to be interested in just about anything.
But if your goal is to grow your subscriber base and monetize your content, there are some key points to consider.
- According to Exploding Topics, it takes the average creator over six months to earn their first dollar online. But, after 17 months, they earn enough to support their lifestyles
- The more niche your topic and audience, the more expert you and your content must be
- A whopping 59% of beginner content creators haven’t monetized yet
- There are many ways to monetize your content:
- Affiliate marketing
- Selling products
- Sponsorships
- Memberships
- Ads
You can use one, some, or all of these tactics. Explore each one and see which is the best fit for you, your content, and your audience. If you change your mind, you can always switch it up later.
To sum up…
Content is an integral part of business in the 21st century. You have as much right as anyone else to share your content creation skills and amplify your voice.
Think carefully about what format and platform is best for your content. Next, choose your niche by clarifying the crucial questions we outlined above. Finally, grow your audience and decide whether you’re ready to monetize your content. If and when you are, follow the steps we outlined and experiment until you find the right fit for you and your audience.
You’re on your way to becoming someone’s favorite content creator. So get your ducks in a row and start creating!