If you arrived in 2024 without asking yourself at least once how to become a content creator on the internet and profit from it, wow, you are certainly an exception.
With the rise of social networks and thousands of people monetizing their profiles and pages, whether by making silly videos, teaching something or debating serious topics, nowadays there are dozens of ways to leverage your income by creating online content, and that’s what we’re going to talk about in this post.
What is a content creator?
Many people associate being an online content creator with becoming an influencer.
But the truth is that, long before social networks became popular and opened the doors to this new profession, creating content on the internet was already running wild through blogs and other news portals.
Influencer marketing also was already old news, with famous personalities doing commercials in magazines, newspapers, radio and TV in the pre-internet era.
It was only in 2008 that social networks began to gain an audience, and being a content creator ended up becoming part of many people’s routine, giving rise to the first influencers.
These new sub-celebrities began to build their own audiences, attracting the attention of brands with increasingly elaborate content.
And so we arrive in 2024, with thousands of young people making money on the internet by doing dances on Tiktok, product reviews on YouTube, posting beautiful photos on Instagram and so on.
But this is just the most apparent layer of the vast world of opportunities to be a content creator offers.
Nowadays, 50 million people around the world consider themselves creators, and many of them make money sharing exclusive content that educates and entertains their audience.
– 10 content ideas for social media
6 ways to become a content creator
You don’t need special skills or training to become a successful content creator.
If you are able to produce content consistently and share your ideas in a genuine way, you will be able to win over your own audience.
Leverage your strengths and choose content formats and digital platforms that can help you reach the right audience.
Don’t know how to start? See below six ways to become a digital content creator.
1. Influencer
Let’s start with the much talked about influencers, who are nothing more than content creators who have already achieved some fame.
Here are also celebrities who work in the most diverse areas and are hired by brands to appear on the internet talking about or simply using their products.
You can easily think of models, actors/actresses, athletes, presenters, and even people who don’t even appear in the mainstream media, but are considered authority in the niche they operate, and produce this type of commercial content.
The greater the fame, the greater the person’s ability to influence others to do/use the same thing as them, which is why they are usually paid very well.
But there are also micro influencers, ordinary people who talk about the most diverse subjects and have gained an interested audience willing to follow their tips and recommendations.
These micro influencers operate mainly on social media, creating content that varies depending on the platform they use, such as videos, photos and texts.
2. Blogger
A few years ago, this was the name given to any content creator on the internet, precisely because blogs were the first way of sharing content online.
With the decline in attention span that we are suffering due to the large amount of information we’re receiving every day, longer readings have lost space to short videos and photos, but don’t be fooled if you think that blogs are dead.
Not only many people continue to do research and follow their favorite blogs daily, but it is a very important tool for anyone who wants to stand out in search results, since Google and other search engines can only determine the relevance of a page by “reading” its textual content.
– Step by step to create a blog
According to data from the HubSpot platform, companies with updated blogs have 434% more pages indexed on Google and 97% more inbound links compared to those that do not use this feature.
With dominance of at least 86% of the global search engine market (there are estimates that suggest 93% market share), Google is a big fan of quality content.
So, if you have research and writing skills, you can be a blogger and publish articles on your own website or on third-party platforms.
There are many ways to monetize blogs, such as placing paid advertisements, making reviews, using affiliate links, etc.
Companies and other creators in your niche can also pay you to write a blog post for them, called a guest post.
Blogs take longer to get attention, so publish new, genuine content as often as you can.
The more you write, the more Google (and the rest of the world) will notice you and the sooner you’ll start earning money.
– Tips for writing an effective guest post
3. Podcaster
Podcasts are like radio shows in the digital age.
Content primarily in audio, as a podcaster you sit in front of a microphone alone or with guests and share your thoughts and opinions on a wide range of topics.
Very simple media format, all the content creator needs to do is have a good microphone, charisma to communicate, debate, interview and pass on knowledge from an interesting point of view and then publish the result on platforms such as Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.
With the growing popularity of podcasts, with many already having a regular audience of thousands of listeners, videocasts began to emerge, which are nothing more than podcasts with image recording as well.
With videocasts, in addition to listening, the public can watch their favorite personalities chatting.
Example: Call Her Daddy Videocast
As your podcast gains traction, you can start making money with promotions paid and sponsorships.
– How to Record and Release a Videocast
4. Photographers and Videographers
Photos and videos are the currency of social media, and if you already have experience in these areas, you are halfway there as a content creator.
But if you don’t have it, don’t worry, the vast majority of people (about 98%) usually start with just the smartphone camera and good ideas.
The first thing to do is lose the shame of appearing, because unless you are a nature photographer or just want to show your art, your face will be in all the content produced.
Do you need to show up? No, but videos and images in which real people appear are the ones that gain more engagement by the public.
Even through the internet, people are looking for someone with whom they can identify and connect. In an age of AI, the need for reality becomes even greater.
Don’t hold back thinking about the imperfections that the camera can capture, it’s precisely your particularities that will make the public see you as someone real and genuine, who they can relate to.
Now, if you already create this type of content professionally, you can earn money by sharing your work or helping other creators with their posts for a fee.
It is still possible to follow the path of the freelance content creator and sell these visual assets for image banks and licensing platforms.
– 9 Tips for Recording Professional-Looking Videos
5. Vlogger
This type of video content also attracts a lot of fans out there.
You’ve probably come across “get ready with me” or “travel with me” videos on YouTube. These are great examples of vlogs.
A vlogger – or videoblogger – focuses on creating videos that portray the creator’s personal experiences, such as travel, shopping or professional journeys. They are often shared on platforms such as YouTube, Twitch and TikTok.
Example: Mr Beast Vlog
In this case, the content creator needs to understand a little about video editing and, preferably, have good equipment for capturing images and audio.
A well-made vlog, with the potential to gain more audiences and attract the attention of brands and sponsors, takes work and needs:
- Good lighting
- Clear audio
- Good filming angles
No one needs to start out already being a film director. Unless you already work in this area or hire professional help, the normal thing is to start anyway and improve your content as you gain experience.
The vlogger’s secret is to be good at editing. Cut out what you don’t need, put music in the background, subtitles, effects that highlight the message you want to convey, and so on.
There is excellent softwares to help content creators with this mission, the point is to start and improve.
– Basic video editing techniques
6. Online Course Creator
This profession has existed for a long time, but especially after the pandemic, the online course market boomed and continues to expand.
Everyone must have already learned something on the internet, even if it’s how to clean salad correctly. And, in case of any type of doubt, we also go to the internet, certain that there will be at least 5 videos and 3 blog posts teaching how to resolve this issue.
The cool thing is that if you want to delve deeper into a subject, learn something without leaving home, there are online courses.
A content creator for online courses is nothing more than someone who is an expert in something and has resolved to share their knowledge through online classes, which can be recorded in videos, audios, handouts, among others.
The advantage of the online course is that, although it takes more work to create this type of material, you only need to do it once. Once it’s ready, there’s no deadline to stop selling it, which can generate income for years. Just update it if necessary.
You also define the amount you want to receive for it, without depending on any brand discovering you, and you can generate recurring income through monthly payment plans, if you intend to launch new modules.
– 8 Tips for creating successful online courses
How much can I earn as a content creator?
It depends! Kylie Jenner reportedly does US$ 1.835.000 on average per sponsored post. But, for those who are not a Kardashian, there is another research from Hype Auditor which says Instagram micro influencers (with less than 10,000 followers) earn an average of $2,970 per month.
YouTube and other social networks do not disclose how much they pay their creators and it all depends on the number of subscribers and views on the channel, but we got some numbers:
- Big Instagram influencers (with over 1 million followers) earn around $15,356 per month.
- TikTok influencers with up to 100,000 followers earn on average $793 per post.
- The money online course creators make varies depending on the value they provide. Well-established professionals, who launch new classes regularly, obtain large sums easily.
Not every content creator will make millions of dollars, but one thing is for sure: you can make a decent amount of money from content creation, and the numbers above prove it.
Complete eLearning platform, Coursify.me is the ideal solution for those who want to create, sell and promote courses on the internet.
Serving companies and professionals in more than 60 countries, Coursify.me is a dynamic, intuitive and customizable Learning Management System (LMS).
– Whats is a Learning Management System
To learn more, visit our website, test the platform and see why we are the best option for you to create online courses.