“Content is the new candy"

The more you consume, the  worse  you become. 

The more you create, the  richer  you become.  

And the best part? You could guess these blanks on your own. But, what you can’t guess is the right way to become a content creator. 

No worries, this comprehensive guide can help you become a pro get started. 

So without any further ado, let’s begin with: 

Learning the Basics 

Figure Out Your Unique Style As a Creator

This is what I heard a lot while growing up:

❌“You can’t be a jack of all trades” 

This is what it’s like in reality: 

✅“Sharp what you’re born with while also being a jack of all trades” 

In the last 6 years, I’ve worked as a content writer, graphics designer, video editor, and a voiceover artist. 

Even though I'm natural at writing, knowing other things helped me adapt to every social media.

Now you must be wondering what made me so sure I’ve got a knack for content writing, right?  

Here are a few things that rang the bell 🔔 for me: 

✔️ Getting appreciation for my write ups from day 1 

✔️ Always enjoyed writing in my spare time 

✔️ First client told me I’m pro at it (was novice though) 

✔️ Friends always used to cheat from my sheet in exams  

And… This one might sound weird. 

Since the very beginning, I believe I’m one of the best content writers in the world. To be honest, I was nowhere near my best version when I started. 

But hey, I’m not the only one 😬

Muhammad Ali, Jim Carrey, Russ, Kanye West, and many other well-known figures thought the same way before they were even famous. 

This reminded me of a saying: “fake it till you make it.” 

Do some of these indicators apply to you as well? If not, you haven’t found your calling yet and you need to explore as much as possible. 

As a content creator, I think everything fits within these 3 categories. So, why don’t you start exploring from here? 

Surefire Way to Find A Niche That Suits You

Most new creators post random content. This is because they either get bored too early or everything seems so exciting! 

Whatever may be the case, they end up with zero results. 

Random doesn’t work. 

Tell me: 

Do you remember any social media handle that talks about food, cars, or 36 other things? 

Can you name at least 5 such social media handles? 

No, right? 

Hence proved, random doesn’t work! 

When you work in a niche you like, you study it on a daily basis. More importantly, you appear as an expert. So, trust is a factor too.

Just in case you don’t know your niche, it’s okay I’ve got a solution. 

Unlike others, I won’t write down a list of 101 niches for beginners. That you can look up on Google. 

Instead, let me tell you what helped me pick a few niches for myself. 

Back in 2021, I read a book called 'Redefine Your Reality' by Shafin De Zane. In that book, I found these 3 questions which actually helped me pick my niche. 

Q1: What do you do in your spare time? 

Q2: You have unlimited money in your bank account and don't need to work anymore, how would you pass your time? 

Q3: When you return home exhausted, what activities do you engage in besides sleeping? 

Write an answer to these questions and I’m sure you’ll find what niches might work for you in the long-term. 

Don’t worry if you get too many ideas in one go, pick the top 3 most profitable and interesting niches, and forget the rest! 

Learn More: How to Choose A Niche As a Content Creator

Choose Your Go-to Platform for Marketing

Before you start creating content, you must know what works on one platform doesn’t work on another. 

Based on my 10 years of observation, let me tell you what works on every social media and what doesn’t. 

Instagram

✅ Slides, GIF/Memes, and Reels (Short-Form)

❌ Posts 

Several studies suggest that Instagram reels perform 67% better than standard posts. 

In fact, Brayden Cohen, a social media strategist at Hootsuite, observed a substantial increase in follower count within 1-3 days of posting reels.

So being a new creator, lean more into reels instead of posts.

What’s working on Instagram: 

• Inspiration
• User-generated content 
• Money 
• Memes
• Behind the scenes
• Stories 
• How-tos
• Experiences
• Quizzes and fun facts 
• Travel 
• Art 

YouTube

✅ Long and short-form videos 

❌ Community posts 

Many YouTubers believe that shorts are the fastest way to grow on YouTube. I personally believe that both long and short videos can help. 

Shorts are displayed automatically and deliver an instant gratification to viewers. 

On the contrary, viewers must take action to watch your long videos. So it’s more of a slow and steady growth. 

If users coming from the search bar find your long videos useful, they’ll definitely like, share, and stay as subscribers. 

If they don't, they’ll leave in an instant. 

You don’t have to make shorts if your long videos have a lot of value. Doesn’t make sense? I’ll talk more on this when we reach the content creation part. 

Meanwhile, let me tell you that community posts are only seen by your visitors and subscribers. It’s not something that YouTube curates a lot. 

There’s no point in prioritizing these. 

What’s working on YouTube: 

• Game walkthroughs
• Guides & tutorials
• Unboxing 
• Educational 
• Animals
• Product Reviews
• Celebrity gossip 
• Vlogs
• Comedy
• Travel 
• Art 

Linkedin

✅ Short posts, polls, slides, videos, and images 

❌ Long videos, articles, and infographics 

In 2024, every creator is seeking authority on LinkedIn. Just take a look at the conversation I had with my client a couple of months ago: 

So whether you’re a job-seeker, freelancer, or a founder, you can brag your achievements and skills here. 

Another Tip: Make sure you keep the content short and simple. 

When recruiters or clients check your profile, they avoid long-form content. Of course, time is of the essence here. 

As a matter of fact, all these posts that are trending on LinkedIn right now are a mix of text, videos, and images. Guess what? It’s all short-form content. 

What’s working on LinkedIn: 

• Stories 
• Personal experiences 
• Winning moments 
• Case studies
• Encouragement 
• Debates
• Empathy 

Facebook 

✅ Short texts, images, and videos

❌ Long-form posts or text-heavy images with no value

Let’s be honest here! 

Organic reach on Facebook is almost dead. It’s not what it once used to be. However, posting in groups or publishing videos is still working to some extent. 

But still, in many communities I’ve noticed that Facebook has become a pay-to-play social media platform.

So aspiring 'sales creators' can explore Facebook Ads Library for out of the box ideas.

It consists of ads from different categories and geographics. Get familiar with the type of ads brands are posting, study seriously, and make something similar. 

Who knows? You might land your first client based on your portfolio. 

A Secret Tip 🕵🏻: Copying isn’t unethical as long as you don’t get caught. Pablo Picasso once said, “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” 

I talked about something similar on LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago:

What’s working on Facebook: 

• User-generated content 
• Giveaways 
• Inspirational & motivational 
• Memes
• Quotes
• Latest news
• Adventure
• Causes 

Pinterest 

✅ Blogs, images, videos, and infographics

❌ Anything that’s low resolution 

Pinterest is a visual platform. It’s all about pinning high-quality content, especially anything that attracts women. 

After all, 69.5% users on Pinterest are women. 

Pinterest’s algorithm pushes your content based on these factors: 

• The domain quality of the website you linked
• How much relevant content you’ve been posting lately 
• Pin quality as nobody wants to engage with a pixelated image. 
• Your consistency 
• Keywords in your pin or board’s description as it works from the SEO perspective 

What’s working on Pinterest: 

• Fashion 
• DIY
• Recipes 
• Aesthetics
• Home decor
• Luxury 
• Food & Drinks
• Beauty 
• Art 
• Animals
• And anything that’s cute :) 

X (Twitter)

✅ Engaging short texts, polls, valuable threads, funny images, videos, and gifs 

❌ Long texts and videos unless you’re a premium member 

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the entire game changed. Before him, there were no premium features and everyone was following the same rules. 

But after 27th October 2023, he gave premium users the power to publish long texts and videos. 

On one end, you can only post 300 character tweets and 2 minutes and 20 seconds video. On the other hand, you can go up to 25K characters and 3 hours. 

How would you survive as a new creator? 

Look, this doesn’t affect you. As long as you tweet the latest and relevant stuff, the algorithm will prefer you over others. 

And if I have to break it down in one sentence, I’d say Twitter is a newspaper of the modern era. The only difference is people can communicate with each other. 

What’s working on X (Twitter): 

• News 
• User-generated content 
• Personal opinions 
• Questions
• Announcements 
• GIFs & memes
• Quick tips
• Testimonials 
• Step-by-step threads

Have a Winning Mindset! 

It’s okay if you don’t have a professional microphone, camera, or laptop. 

• MrBeast from the US filmed his first video on phone and started with no equipment (247 million)
• Bhuvan Bam from India shot his first video on iPhone (26.4 million)  
• Pewdiepie from Sweden started from his room with a basic setup (111 million) 
• Marques Brownlee started his channel with a laptop webcam review (18.6 million) 

All these famous creators had the same problem as you. The only reason they’re who they’re is because of their consistency and resilience. 

Let me share a personal story with you. 

Being a 12 years old, I wanted to become a famous singer. At that time, I couldn’t afford a professional microphone. 

First, I used to record from my mobile phone. 

Later I purchased this: 

This type of mic isn’t made for singing but it helped me deal with performance hesitation. Not only this, I’ve used my creativity to put it on something like this: 

So when the real mic came in, I already knew how to handle it like a pro. 

So what I’m really trying to say here is - just start!  

In the end, that’s all that matters. 

My journey as a singer? It’s still in progress.. 

Till then, let’s just: 

Start Creating Content 

Gather Must-Have Tools for Content Creation

Get Basic Gears 

• A mobile phone
• Desktop or laptop 
• Tripod 
• Microphone 
• Camera 
• Headphones 

Install Apps You Need As A New Creator (Tested) 

Video Editing: 

• Youcut (Mobile) 
• CapCut (PC, Mobile) 
• Wondershare Filmora (PC) 

Audio Editing: 

• Audacity (PC) 
• Lexis Audio Editor (Mobile) 

Image Editing: 

• Adobe Photoshop (PC) 

Productivity: 

• TickTick (Mobile, PC) 
• Google Keep (Mobile, PC) 
• Notion (PC, Mobile) 
• Buffer (PC, Mobile) 
• Ambience Chaos (Web-based) 

Most Useful Online Content Creation Tools

Image & Video Editing: 

• Canva
• Dall-E
• Freepik
• Picmonkey 

Creative Commons for Free Images, Video, and Audio (No-Copyright) 

• Pexels 
• Pixabay 
• Unsplash 

A Secret Tip 🕵🏻: Most editors use sites like GetYarn.io and Playphrase.me to get short film clips for their videos. 

Text Editing: 

• Google Docs
• ChatGPT 
• Grammarly 

Now that you have all the tools and websites, let’s figure out:

Type of Content You Should Create

Play around images, videos, text, or audio. Most likely, you won’t like your content. Just know that it’s all trial and error.

Don’t get discouraged! 

Some people are really good at recording their voice, while others are better at filming themselves. 

Some have a talent for editing cool videos, and others are awesome at doing voiceovers. Basically, everyone has something they're naturally good at.

This reminds me of a quote from Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” 

So test and know what you’re naturally good at. Once that’s done, start making long-form content. 

Why so? I’ll show you later in the ‘bonus’ section. 

Now after testing yourself, you want to create something serious, right? 

Then I guess you should: 

Study Viral Content for Ideas

Many new creators say, “algorithm isn’t working in my favor.” 

Those who know the game stay quiet and study. Every morning, they observe and dissect the elements that make a post go viral in their niche. 

This observation includes hook, tone, emotional triggers, originality, message, efforts involved, and anything that we can’t even think of right now. 

Based on this analysis, they study for a few weeks, or even months. And finally, their ideas start flooding. See, that’s the power of being invested. 

Here’s a step by step process for you to do this right:

1. Make new accounts on every social media
2. Follow or subscribe to those who are most relevant to your niche 
3. Now let the algorithm help you study your niche effectively
4. Keep learning
5. Note down the ideas you like
6. Make your own list
7. Repeat from step 3

Making Money As a New Creator 

Getting famous and making money are two different things. Most new creators have a mindset that a large following equals money. 

To some extent that’s true, but it’s not the entire truth. 

As long as you have a real following, you can make money with just 500 or 1000 followers. 

It’s all about knowing the right tactics. 

Let me show you how it’s done: 

Sponsored Posts or Promotions 

New brands are always on a tight budget. They don’t have enough funds to run ads. Most likely, they end up hiring creators like you for their campaigns. 

What they do is - they buy a few affordable promos from new creators. 

This is how it works: 

Let’s suppose you have an audience of a thousand people on your Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Here, you have two ways to make money. 

1. Write ‘DM for collab or promotions’ in your bio. 

If any brand notices you’re doing great lately, they’ll pick you up for a promotion. 

2. Reach out to relevant brands with a personalized pitch. Make sure you keep it short like this one: 

This strategy only works for creators who have a strong engagement ratio. Nobody likes to pay inactive accounts. 

It’s also possible that you might not get deals initially. 

Before you switch to another strategy, you should at least send your pitch to 100 brands. That’s a magic number for many creators. 

Caution: Sending too many DMs in a single day might result in a ban, so stick to only 2-3 DMs per day. 

Affiliate Marketing 

Have you ever heard of Clickbank or Digistore24? 

It’s okay if you haven’t. I don’t want you to know about these either. 

The products you get here are mostly digital and tough to sell. And even if you find something physical, you can’t sell it as people buy from places they trust. 

So what should you focus on then? Well, we both know that Amazon is quite popular and people buy from here every single day. 

What’s more interesting? Being an Amazon associate, you can set up an Amazon storefront page to promote hot deals.

When starting out, I’d suggest posting reels, shorts, and TikTok videos related to your niche on a regular basis.

You can post how-tos, product reviews, facts, stories, or anything that’s relevant to your niche. 

In the end, put this storefront’s link in your bio. 

If Amazon ever discontinues this storefront feature, there are still a lot of alternatives such as Kit.co and Linktree. 

See, how easy it is? 

This is how you convert organic traffic into affiliate sales. This same method works for dropshipping as well. Just be creative! 

Sell Your Services, Consultation, or Coaching 

The stage you’re at - people have no reason to trust you. In that case, you have to show that you know what you’re doing. 

For that, you have to create a jaw-dropping portfolio. Here are a few sites where you can build a portfolio for free: 

• Visual: Behance, YouTube, and Dribbble
• Text: Contently, JournoPortfolio, Cardd, and Medium
• Audio: Google Drive, Mega, and Dropbox

Apart from this, publish your case studies, stories, knowledge, and experiences on YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

Once you’ve got a strong online presence, start marketing with these strategies: 

#1 - Start A Newsletter 

Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms are not yours. 

Getting banned for any reason = Losing your hard earned audience 

Starting a newsletter makes you incharge. Even if any platform discontinues, you won’t lose your audience. 

This can get you a step closer to your audience. You can provide them with free value while promoting your courses, promotions, and affiliate products. 

#2 - Cold outreach via Linkedin, Twitter, and Email

Getting inbound leads as a new creator is like dreaming. So when they can’t come to you, you get to them. That’s how most creators start making money. 

You might not believe this but I also get such cold DMs and emails everyday: 

#3 - Make Use of the Comment Box

As a 15 year old, I loved to hear Gary Vaynerchuk a lot. 

In many videos, he talked about ‘$1.80 Instagram or Linkedin strategy’ which really makes sense to me now.

He said, “the way to be discovered is either put out great content and have a piece go viral, or the way I like it - become part of the community” 

In actuality, the $1.80 strategy means dropping two cents 90 times a day. In other words, writing a valuable comment 90 times a day. 

This is like what goes around comes around. 

Do this for 30 days and see your overall impressions going up. 

Also, avoid commenting ‘nice’ or ‘great.’ 

Make sure you add value like this: 

#4 - Make Some Noise in the Bio 

Commenting sparks curiosity in your prospects. Anyone who is coming to your profile after reading your comment wants to learn what you’re up to. 

So whatever you’re doing, give yourself a shoutout in the bio. For instance, take a look at mine: 

Post content regularly and stay consistent with the ‘two cents’ strategy, you’ll get such inquiries too: 

Print on Demand 

Imagine you’re a creator with solid graphics designing skills, but you don’t have space or money to stock a lot of t-shirts, mugs, bags and other similar items. 

This is where a POD company comes in! 

Let me tell you how it works: 

Step 1: You design a product like t-shirt and decide the profit margin

Step 2: Wait for customers to place orders for your products 

Step 3: Let the POD company print, stitch, package, and ship your item 

Although I’ve used a lot of print on demand sites, these 3 are my most favorite: 

• Printify 
• Printful
• Redbubble

Leverage Ads 

Monetizing on YouTube is the easiest and hardest way to make money as a new creator. 

Easiest because you don’t have to worry about sales. As long as people are coming, ads are automatically served to them and you get a part of the revenue. 

Hardest because you have to fulfill the criteria: 

• 500 subscribers 
• At least 3 videos in the last 90 days 
• 3,000 watch hours on YouTube videos or 3 million views on shorts 

Bonus Tip: Automation & Tracking

Diversify and scale 

Alright, this is the part you have been waiting for I guess! 

Gary Vee said, “You should absolutely start flirting with broader content.” 

That’s not helping, right? 

Just keep reading and it will all make sense! 

You’re good at writing? 

👉🏻 Write an ebook or a detailed blog post like this one. 

You’re good at voiceovers? 

👉🏻 Make a large audio clip. 

You’re good at speaking in front of a camera? 

👉🏻 Record an hour long video. 

Looks time-consuming?

No, this makes your work easier and better than ever. 

Here’s the hack: 

When we create big, it takes anywhere between a few days to a couple of weeks. 

All this time you think about only one topic, which gives you a chance to dive deeper than 90% of people. 

And that’s not it, the real hack is - you can leverage AI to diversify and turn your long-form content into: 

• Shorts or reels 
• Memes
• Social media posts 
• Infographics 
• Polls
• Email newsletters

Isn’t this amazing? You can complete days of work within hours. 

From text, audio, or video, you can pick anything you’re great at. The point here is to make something great and then convert it into chunks or other formats. 

Here are a few AI tools that can help you speed up your content curation process: 

• Text to Video: Fliki and InVideo 
• Video/Audio to Text: Vizard and Whisper
• Social Media Posts, Polls, Memes, or Newsletters: ChatGPT (Plus recommended)  
• Videos to Shorts: Opus Pro, Vizard, and Klap

AI is all about experimentation. The more you play trial and error, the better you get at it. 

My purpose here is served, I leave the figure out part on you. Try different ways and make a bunch of content from a single piece. 

Schedule 

Posting over and again kills creativity. Why not schedule your social media posts for a week? 

Although there are many apps for this, I’m in love with Buffer. Its paid plan is cheap and the free version is good enough to get started. 

These videos can help you schedule your posts using Buffer.

Track KPIs 

This might sound like some pro level stuff but it’s not, trust me! 

You might already know what it is. 

KPI is just a term that is thrown around a lot among marketers, which means key performance indicators. 

As a creator, we focus on these KPIs mostly: 

1. Reach 
2. Engagement (likes, comments, and shares) 
3. Followers or Subscribers 
4. Traffic 
5. Conversion

That’s it, anything else you see apart from this falls within these 5 KPIs. 

Some FAQs Creators Ask At the Beginning of Their Journey