Information in this blog post contains information from HubSpot, Semrush, and Copyblogger.
"Zero to Hero" -- I personally think of Marvel's Iron Man. Tony Stark was not always Iron Man. Growing up as an intelligent person who messed up numerous things and being held captive in an Afghan Cave is where the creation of Iron Man started. Eventually, after trial and error, Tony Stark was able to utilize his intelligence for good and potentially save the city. In a different universe, "zero to hero" is seen abundantly. Now, in the content creation outlook, we are not saving the world by creating a superhuman from spare parts and metal, but we are starting from nothing to potentially create something magnificent -- whether it is landing an outstanding career, creating an organized content board and planner, or even developing a key strategy for SEO.
In the content creation career realm, let's think about how to organize all the information you have obtained from content creation classes, blogs, videos, etc. An unorganized book of knowledge is useless if other individuals cannot comprehend or utilize the information, after all. As with all worthwhile endeavors, a change cannot occur instantaneously; however, a beginning can be made.
As you look into a career in content creation, organize your thoughts and see what skills you have and what type of content creation job you are looking for. Create a landing page to identify yourself as a content creator and develop habits to have as a new content creator. As we make a trek into the sports content creation or even general content creation careers, let's head over to Semrush and see how to become a qualified content creator for a career.
Skills and Types of Content Creation Jobs
Since you have made it this far you are probably interested in a career in content creation or even sports content creation. Before a career is established, Semrush has provided a list of skills necessary for a career in content creation. For sports, the list would be similar, however, the content would be more sport-related instead of general marketing. Skills in writing, videography, and analysis are key components that employers are looking for.
When looking for a career in content creation decide if you want to be an "in-house," freelance, or even manager.
In-House means that the content creation for the business/organization is created by its employees, rather than external people such as agency lines. Typically, this form of content creation requires an undergraduate degree in marketing, English, journalism, or communications. Some businesses will allow certificates and/or prior experience w/o a degree in that particular region based on difficulty and requirements. An entry-level job will mean that the employee will be working as part of a larger team as you learn the ropes/trade. For individuals obtaining their first job in content creation, Semrush highly recommends looking for positions titles "Content Marketing Intern," "Content Marketing Specialist," or "Junior Content Marketer." Starting at an entry level will educate and give many beneficial opportunities to grow in the marketing and content creation aspect. The picture below features a snapshot of a Junior Content Marketer example with the revenue, job description, and responsibilities. As a coffee lover myself, this job sounds highly appealing as a new content creator.
Freelance: starting out as only. freelancer is not the best option for a newbie and does require some experience. Freelance content creation is typically a destination for former journalists, PR professionals, and copywriters who want more downtime or to work for themselves. Skills will be the same but with more marketing, less assistance, and a whole contact book filled with commissioning editors. If freelancing is something you would be interested in, check out platforms such as Markethire, Freelancer.com, and Upwork.
Manager: typically a harder position to obtain in larger companies, but very common for content creators to be managers in smaller companies. Most likely, the content manager position will only be given to someone who has had years of experience. In accordance with Semrush, to obtain a management role, it’s key that you can create great content and ensure content marketing generates revenue for the company.
As we now know what to search for when looking for content careers, let's see what Maggie Butler, a HubSpot Content Writer, has in store as she has identified 5 essential habits that new content creators can adopt to enhance their success in a career.
Habits of Top-Tier Content Creators
Tom Corley, an accountant and successful, self-made billionaire, surveyed 233 wealthy individuals, mostly self-made millionaires, on their daily habits. Correlated habits among the individuals included rising up 3-4 hours early, reading several pages of a book or journal based on interests or occupation, relaxing, and taking time to organize their workday prior. Search Steve Jobs, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or Oprah Winfrey, and dive into their habits and analyze what makes them successful, for there are numerous habits that are quite interesting. However, despite the research performed Maggie Butler, a content creator at Hubspot, has already devised five habits to help establish a potential or current content creator as a top-tier content creator:
Write on the regular
Study your industry's target audience
Establish your own voice
Curate other people's content (when it makes sense to)
Read news about your industry. This is quite the key, for an individual creating content about a company should understand and know the company from the perspective of an employee and the target audience. As Butler states, "...the best content creators scour -- not just read but scour -- the internet for industry news and trends. This sets them up nicely to understand the context behind what's happened historically in their industry and how that shapes their target audience's mindset in the present."
As she brilliantly stated, don't guess about information for whichever business you are with, you must know the trends, the news and the "talk." Obtain the habit of reading by setting time aside to read or set up an RSS feed with Feedly for blogs that contain relevant information.
Write on the regular. Use it or lose it. Keep the ideas flowing or jot them down somewhere. This does not mean writing 1,200-word articles, but more of writing for 10-15 minutes whether it is a paragraph for a blog post or even jotting down ideas for content. Figure out when your mind is the clearest and set aside a bit of time in that region.
Know your industry's audience. Find the target audience and focus most content on them. At the end of the day, the audience is the ones paying your bills. Study the target audience, and know their age/gender, location (city, beach, small town, country) interests, and the problem or reason why they would want the company's product or service. Find the niche that speaks to them and something that would compel their interest.
Establish your own voice. Be honest. You are not the only content creator in the industry. Standing out from the crowd is one way to increase audience potential. Diversifying into a new content medium, promoting content on different social media channels, and naturally building trust over time are key ways to stand out. As a content creator, how can you bring out content that no one else can? Butler noted that another strategy would be to analyze your employer's content guidelines with your own creativity.
Curate other people's content. Do not just comment, share, or retweet someone else's post. Describe why this content is valuable to the company and genuinely interacts with your community when curating other content. Get into the habit of curating content only when you have something valuable to share related to that topic.
Now that we have these habits to create successful profiles as content creators, let us take a look into what Copyblogger content writer, Stephanie Flaxman has to say on creating a platform for yourself when searching for careers in content creation.
Create a Platform to Market Yourself
In a Copyblogger blog post by Stephanie Flaxman, she identifies the importance of setting up a platform for yourself when seeking a career in content creation. By having a platform such as a website or social media channel when applying for job interviews, you can place your URL or channel to allow the potential employer to look at previous and current work. Obtaining a website or social media channel is KEY for individuals in or looking into freelance content creation careers.
Start by creating a website page with a blog, portfolio, contact page, and an "About You" page. Establishing a website of your own writing samples with SEO keywords is one of the best ways to get your name displayed in search engine results and to get discovered as a writer.
Next, select social media platforms to use, considering the niche high-performing platforms including TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Recommendations are to not necessarily utilize every platform. Rather, pick two to start and go from there. Obtain an audience and then slowly build on to branch out to a different platform. Starting a business, Copyblogger would suggest LinkedIn promote the writing. Based on the target audience, would select Instagram with a link to your website in your bio.
In conclusion, becoming a content creator can be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding career choice. Not only does it allow you to express your creativity and share your knowledge with the world, but it can also provide you with the flexibility to work from anywhere and the potential to earn a good income.
Obtaining a career in content creation is daunting, but setting yourself apart from others and displaying your strengths and portfolio can be one way to emphasize to employers what you can do and if you would be equipped for the job position.
By organizing your skills and selecting which type of job you are desiring as a content creator, you can position yourself as a valuable asset to any business or brand. Whether you choose to focus on writing, video production, social media, or any other type of content, the skills and knowledge you acquire can open up a world of opportunities. So take the time to develop your skills, explore your passions, and pursue a career in content creation. Who knows where it might lead you!
Resources
Butler, M. (2022, May 3). The 9 Habits of highly successful content creators. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/5-habits-of-highly-successful-content-creators-list
Flaxman, S. (2023, January 3rd). How to get discovered as a writer: 3 simple search engine hacks. Copyblogger. Copyblogger Media LLC. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://copyblogger.com/how-to-get-discovered-as-a-writer/
Loktionova, M. (n.d.). What's a content marketer? exploring skills, roles, and salaries. Semrush Blog. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketer/what-do-content-marketers-do
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