With over 600k subscribers on YouTube, 800k followers on Instagram, 200k followers on Facebook, 300k followers on X, 100k followers on TikTok, a NYT Bestselling book with over 1 million copies sold, a chart-topping podcast, a Netflix show, and 800k engaged readers subscribed to my popular email newsletter, I know a thing or two about creating content.
Today I’m going to share 10 simple steps that anyone can follow to get started – the exact advice I would have given myself when I was just starting out.
1. Define what you want to create
Why do you want to become a content creator? Consider your overall goals, skills and passions. Here’s some things to think about:
- Are you a better writer or speaker?
- Do you want a personal brand, faceless, or a business front?
- Do you want to earn a full time income, make it a side hustle, or is this just for fun?
- What could you see yourself doing long term?
- Can any of your skills (think both work and personal), hobbies, unique background & life experience, equipment, location, or any other assets assist in any way?
- Do you want to go it alone, or partner with your friends and family?
It’s important to have a strong direction to focus your efforts, but don’t think about it too hard. You can always change your mind, evolve as you go or start a new channel.
2. Research your niche, audience & fellow creators
It’s best to start with ONE main thing. You likely have an idea already, but this is the point where you refine it. For example, if you want to create content around games, what kind? Why would people want to follow you? Will it be informative, entertaining or both? Here’s my in depth guide to finding your niche.
Second, you need to know who you want to talk to, who you specifically want to help. Dive into their preferences, interests, and the challenges they face. This insight allows you to craft content that resonates and helps them discover you.
You’ll also need to know who else is out there doing what you want to do, and how they do it. Start by doing some research. Type your topic into Google or social media, and follow the top creators, ideally join their email lists.
Look at what’s successful and what isn’t, the language they use, what channels they’re on, how they’re monetizing etc. This is also a great way to stay up to date with your niche’s news, insights and trends for content ideas, so view research as an ongoing process.
3. Pick ONE content channel
After doing some research, you’ll have an idea of which channel you’re most likely going to be successful in. Take into account where your audience hangs out, as well as your preferences and how you want to create. It’s important to stick with just ONE channel at first so you don’t get overwhelmed.
Here’s some more specific guides:
Later, you’ll also want to add an email list to your content channels. You could also simply start with an email list, such as posting ‘blog post style’ emails on Substack. Email is the most successful way to deeply connect one on one with your audience, as well as monetize in the future.
4. Create a content calendar or go with the flow
From there, you should have a general idea of the types of topics you want to cover. Make a list. Then start breaking it down into sub groups, questions, types of content and more. Think about the big ‘who, what, when, where & why’ questions, covering news & relevant stories, solving problems your audience faces and more.
I recommend creating a content calendar to organize and stay on track long term, but you can also develop this later on and just go with the flow.
5. Create consistently & have fun
Consistency is key! You won’t really know what kind of content will resonate with your audience, be posted at the right time to go viral, or a million other factors until you do it. But instead of posting in bursts and burning out, consistency is vital to tell the algorithm that you’re here to stay, and that it should recommend you to new viewers.
You might also have the resources to hire someone to help you straight away, or down the line, such as writers, video editors, graphic designers etc. You’ll need to weigh the cost benefit of trading your time or money — which is more valuable to you?
If your time is more important and it will help you be more consistent, consider offloading some tasks. There’s also plenty of free and paid tools to help you out too.
At this point, it’s more important that you’re having fun to keep your motivation and momentum going!
It’s one of the best things I’ve published (and 100% free), just tell me where to send it:
6. Shape your creator persona
Some of us are here to entertain, while others lean into educating. But you don’t have to box yourself into either of these two choices. Simply pick the vibe that feels right to you, one that matches your personality and values.
The goal is to create an authentic voice that’ll truly resonate with your audience. You can develop this through the type of content you create, the opinions you have, your unique quirks and more.
For example you can:
- Take a stance on controversial topics, which is a great way to stand out and get people talking
- Create your manifesto, or core principles you and your audience will abide by
- Curate content to save time for your audience
- Give your audience quick, actionable wins to help them achieve their goals
- Use proof whenever possible to position yourself as an expert
- React to things in your niche
- Tell stories to entertain or inspire people
- Interview others or be interviewed
- Invite guest to share their expertise
Use the research you did to help guide you here! You’ll do best if you provide an interesting viewpoint, a well-thought out opinion or entertaining personality. Encourage your audience to debate, think deeply, ask questions, and respect diverse opinions. This will help you stand out from the noise.
7. Start building your network
You’re not an island! View your fellow creators not as competition, but your potential allies and friends. Connecting with the right folks can open doors to opportunities you never knew existed.
You might find a mentor, someone to cross promote your content or collaborate with, share ideas, help you reach new audiences and more.
Check out this video on growing your network as well as 2 more strategies to grow your network.
8. Understand your numbers & experiment
After pouring your heart and soul into your content, it’s time to look at the data and see how it’s doing. Start by figuring out what “winning” means to you. Is it about how many people interact with your posts, how fast your follower count is rising, or how long people are watching?
Keep a close eye on your analytics dashboard to help you analyze trends, and use those insights to tweak your content strategy and experiment. Try posting at different days and times, switching up your format, or even something completely crazy. It’s this cycle of creating, measuring, learning, and improving that will elevate your content game to new heights.
9. Monetize your content
You deserve to get paid for your time, even if your goal isn’t to make money. Usually, these are the next logical step from your content. If you’re teaching people how to paint, you might sell your artwork or offer one-on-one coaching.
There are tons of ways you can monetize such as:
- Ads and sponsorships
- Promoting other people’s products as an affiliate
- Selling your content in another format, such as writing and publishing a book
- Create info products
- Start selling online products or your own merch store
- Becoming a consultant or coach to sell your expertise
- And more
If you’re wondering how much money can you expect to make, here’s some of our more in depth guides:
10. Plan for the long term
Finally, you want to plan for the long term. What are your goals in the next six months, a year, five years? How will you achieve them? If you want to write a book, you might want to create blog posts to repurpose them into a book. If you want to branch into a podcast, you might focus on building your network to interview people.
Most importantly, I recommend starting a newsletter. Every piece of your content should lead into your email list. From there, you’ll have the undivided attention of each subscriber in their inbox, which is far more powerful than relying on the algorithm to show your content to people. Better still, it’s the most effective channel for monetization, and directing your audience to your other content or other people’s, which can be used in many different ways.
The time to start is now!
This is the era of content creators. It’s easier than ever to get started, have a go and get out there. So don’t get stuck in the weeds, just get started. You can get it together by going. And if you follow these simple steps, you’ll be on your way to living a Rich Life.
Have you read my NYT Bestselling book yet? If not, watch this 10 minute summary while you’re here!
