How to Become a Full-Time Content Creator and Actually Make a Living Wage

It is a dream for many people to become their own boss. To create something extraordinary and earn money doing what you love. More importantly, earning enough to support yourself so that you can evolve your passion into a full-time career. Whether you want to become a star personality by making videos, or write advice blogs that can offer much-needed help for those who need it.

About me, I have been a content creator for over 8 years and I’ve worked with many brands and creatives to build their own content. I’ve spent several years working in various roles such in-house digital marketer for large companies, creative contractor and self-employed content creator with my blog.

I’ve compiled all the knowledge I’ve gained from my previous work experiences to give you a realistic look at what it takes to make it as a creative professional. Keep reading to discover your comprehensive blueprint guide on how to become a full-time content creator.

What is a Content Creator?

The first thing you need to know from the start is what defines a content creator. Essentially, it is someone who provides digital content which can either be monetized or just for sport. Some of the best content creators have created a thriving community under their brand.

In this day and age, we are entering what is known as the "creator economy." Becoming a content creator is one of the most popular ways of earning money online. You can specialize in many topics, as many creators do. However, don't forget that not only are you in charge of what you create, but you may be fully responsible for its operation.

It takes a modern way of thinking to understand what technology to use and how to make the most of it. This includes learning about social media, web development and SEO, keeping up with trends, using program tools effectively, etc. In short, you need to be a jack of all trades in relation to anything related to the internet.

Figuring Out What Type of Content You Want to Create

Before starting your business, you will need to consider what content you plan to create. Are you an expert on any specific industry or niche? Do you plan to make videos, or do you plan on writing blog posts?

Answering these questions will help you make a more detailed plan on how to get started. You also need to know what kind of audience you anticipate will be drawn to your content. Knowing your target audience can help you build a strong following and community.

Getting Organized & Building Out Your Content Calendar

Once you have your ideas on what to post, the next step is creating a content calendar. Both your audience and platform algorithms like post consistency, it is very key for growth. A content calendar is a great way to get organized and plan your release schedule. Remember to be flexible and update your calendar regularly for anything relevant that could happen in your respective field. You can circle days for special events or particularly timely content such as holidays.

Create Content Based on SEO and Keyword Opportunities

For digital content creators, SEO and keyword opportunities are some of the most essential parts to growing your audience. SEO and keywords are select words and phrases that help potential customers find your content online through organic search. Potential readers will type these queries into the search engine, and the results shown will be listed in order of quality of content and relevance. You need to ensure that the content you are creating is deemed top notch by search engines.

The more people who discover your content, the more traffic you'll acquire and ultimately the more money you will be making. Learning to leverage SEO will be vital in putting you in front of interested readers and viewers. This will give you a higher Domain Authority and more control over site traffic.

Consistently Posting New Content is Crucial

The content calendar is a helpful tool to keep you organized, but you must have the internal motivation to stay consistent with your posting schedule. The reliability will be a huge draw when it comes to retaining your audience. Your blog posts and videos will best perform when they remain consistent and always provides something new to discover. Long periods of no content is a surefire way of losing audience interest.

While posting consistently sounds easy and simple enough, this is probably the single biggest challenge that content creators face. In the beginning creators feel creative and inspired, but after some time goes by, it does begin to feel like work. Getting over this hump and making content creation part of your lifestyle and routine is vital for the longevity of your brand.

How to Monetize and Make Money From Your Content

There are so many ways to make money online. For a content creator, your revenue can come from various sources. It’s important to diversify your income streams so that you’re not reliant on any one platform or type of content to financially support yourself. So I would consider investing time and effort into at least two of the below monetization tactics. Below I have outlined the most common methods of monetizing your content.

Publishers Can Monetize Your Website with Ads

If you’ve been really on top of your SEO game and have accumulated big traffic numbers, you can run ads on your domain for passive income. You are paid by impressions, which means you don’t have depend on buyers to make purchases in order to get paid.

Realistically you really need a minimum of 50K - 100K unique monthly visitors before you can start to see some real income from ads running on your site. In can take a few years to reach these site traffic numbers.

Some of the most common ads to run on your website are:

Monetize Your Content with Affiliate Networks

When you have affiliate links embedded into your content, you make small commissions on any purchases made by your readers. When they click on the link, a cookie follows them for 30 days. If they purchase from that website within the cookie timeframe, a small percentage of the sales goes into your account as cash funds.

To make considerable amounts of money with affiliate networks, you also need significant traffic numbers. Same as above with website ads, you’ll need at least 50K visitors a month to bank any real money with affiliate links.

The affiliate networks that I personally use are:

Media Kits

A content creator media kit is like a resume that you give to potential partnership sponsors on your analytic stats, content strengths and demographics about your audience. It can also include a pricing sheet on what you charge for sponsored content. This information helps the brand decide if you are a good fit to work with. You can find good examples of blogger media kits on Canva.

Sell Content You Create to Other Websites

The ability to make engaging and compelling content is a very marketable skill that many big and small companies are seeking. Many business owners don’t have time to create the necessary content to boost their website’s SEO. So it’s very common to outsource it to content creator contractors. You can sell extra content through other platforms and make it part of your interactive network.

Creator gig marketplaces such as Fiverr connect content creators with business owners looking to pay freelance writers, graphic designers, social media experts, etc. This is an excellent way to gain experience and income.

Sell Services Such as Online Courses or Consulting

If you are an expert in a niche industry, you could potentially have knowledge that people are willing to pay for. You can either create online courses that you sell, or offer private consulting with one on one sessions. But before you get to the point where strangers are willing to give you money, you must establish yourself as a bonafide expert. Creating free content that performs well is how you’ll establish yourself in your respective field.

Sell Physical Products That Complement Your Brand in an Online Store

If you are a creative artisan or maker, then you may have physical items to sell to your audience. Etsy is a popular online marketplace for artists and many successful Etsy sellers have killer blogs and social media accounts showcasing their products.

Fashion bloggers are also often Poshmark sellers which is an app where you can sell new and gently-used clothing and accessories. There’s an thriving culture around thrifting and eco-friendly shopping, and style bloggers can capitalize on this to bring in a new cashflow.

For content creators with a background in e-commerce, once you’ve developed an audience and impressive website traffic numbers, you can open an online store from your domain. Squarespace and Shopify are user-friendly selling platforms for small businesses that can be easily integrated into your content.

Create Content for YouTube

Having a popular YouTube channel provides another avenue for monetization. In order to make money from your content posted on YouTube, you must be enrolled in YouTube's Partner Program. Before being accepted into the program, your content will be reviewed to ensure quality and confirm that your topics are advertiser-friendly. You also must have a minimum of 10,000 lifetime views before being considered for the YouTube ad program.

Patreon

Patreon is a new monetization platform for creators to earn income from loyal followers. This new technology allows creators to create a membership program where viewers must pay to see exclusive content. Patreon is popular with creators who run podcasts, tutorials, cooking and foodie video creators, and more.

Becoming a Social Media Master

Social media is one of the most vital components of any modern business. You will need to master at least a couple social media platforms to cross-promote your content. Some creators will even have their entire business on social media platforms alone. The main benefits of social media are that new people can discover your content and your following can interact with your brand in various ways.

When trying to figure out which social media platforms to focus on, determine what kind of content you want to create and see which social media channel would be the most complimentary to your brand.

Examples of popular social media platforms content creators use are:

Always Have a Domain That You Own

Okay, I’m giving my own two cents here on having a website vs being exclusively on social media. In my opinion it’s very important to have a domain that you own. When all of your content lives on social media platforms, you have very little ownership and control over what happens with your account. The social media company can take down your account, it can get hacked, it can get buried in algorithms and not be very visible, etc.

When you have a blog on a domain that you own, you will always have access and ownership to everything you create. It is my recommendation that the majority of your content lives on your blog, and then you use social media to promote and compliment your blog content. Always add links back to your blog on social media posts to divert traffic to your domain. In this way you’re capitalizing on the best of both worlds and creating a secure and sustainable content strategy.

Don't Discount the Value of High Quality Original Images

Images are a hot topic in the content creator world, mostly because they are often stolen or used without permission. But more importantly, images can be very powerful tools to brand and promote your content. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it can actually be worth thousands of dollars when you strategically create images in your content.

Original images that capture vibes of wanderlust and invoke nostalgic feelings can spread like wildfire on the the internet. For example, I have a Pinterest pin photo of flowers fields from San Diego that receives nearly 600K monthly impressions and over 3.5K saves a month. These types of high-performing images are excellent traffic drivers and bring in many new eyeballs to my blog website.

Networking & Building Relationships is Key

The best way to learn the trade of content creation is by connecting with the pros and closely observing their own growth tactics. Networking with other content creators is a great way to kickstart your business and learn the ins and outs of this world.

Creator conferences are an excellent way to emerge yourself in the culture, meet peers and hear the pros speak. Examples include Alt Summit and the Create + Cultivate conferences. These areas will have many niche or well-known names in content creation who are just as happy as yourself to meet new people. You can use the ideas found at these events as inspiration for your own content.

The Content Creator Lifestyle

Working Remote Provides Great Advantages for Content Creators

If you need to get some money in before your business takes a float, you can create your content around a remote job. The best way for a content creator to have total freedom is by working remotely. With no in-office commitments, you can make your schedule as flexible as you need it to. You can organize your time around the whole day you have and dedicate yourself fully to the process. Traveling and working from remote places is another aspect that is entirely flexible when you're lucky enough to have a flexible remote job.

Always Be Playing the Long Game

When you first get started on your content creator journey, don't quit your day job. To be perfectly honest, it will undoubtedly take some time before you can actually go full-time as a content creator.

In the beginning you will be receiving very small sums of money from affiliate links and working with brands. It takes years to build up an audience and for your content to rank with SEO. It can take a minimum of 5 years to create enough content that delivers high traffic numbers, which converts to money in your pocket.

With all of the content you create, you need to be looking into the future and planning ahead. Because it can take over a year for a blog post to rank on Google, anything that you’re working on in the present won’t likely yield monetary results until later on.

My Final Thoughts on Becoming a Content Creator

If you made it all the way here to the end, congratulations on hanging in there! You’ve taken the first step which is gathering up all the information you need to get started. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed and you’re not sure where to begin, the good news is that there’s no right or wrong way to set forth on this journey.

I’ll tell you a secret, all content creators really suck at the beginning with terrible and cringey writing, images and videos. But you have to start somewhere and you’ll only learn and get better by actively doing it and gaining experience. So just pick a project and delve into it without overly stressing the details or expecting anything major to come of it. Keep working on your craft, learning and making improvements along the way. Eventually it will click and you’ll figure out your natural talents where you shine.