Introduction
Owning a smart phone and posting all kinds of content on social media does not make you an established content creator. Let me submit to your displeasure that content creation is an art or science reserved for creative minds that can influence an audience with a desired product or service.
To qualify as a content creator, you need to pass the following tests:
1. Integrity
Are you posting quality content or garbage content on social media?
Publishing content online is like passing a public announcement about yourself in the middle of a busy street saying: “this is who I am, this is what I do, or this is what I value.”
Posting online content unconsciously reveals your true self. It amuses me when some “content creators” pose with a new outfit on Facebook or announce what they have taken for breakfast on social media platforms and call it content. Only a weak-minded attention seeker will take their private life to a public space for people to like and comment. Obviously, many people will leave comments because they feel entertained by your stupidity.
Real content creators generate leads, nurture them and convert followers into super fans. This process takes time. It is not for those who seek cheap popularity on social media through self-promotion, cheap gossips, or irrelevant content. Hence, reconsider your motivation for being a content creator.
Be meticulous about what you publish online or post on social media. It puts your integrity on the line. Next time, before you hit the send button, make sure it reflects a positive trait about you, your current job or your skills or business. This has nothing to do with self-projection or self-promotion. Coin your content in a voice that says: “this is how I can help you achieve your goals based on what I have learned, experienced or I can provide.
Lifelong learner
I cannot teach you everything about content creation in a single book because the subject changes every day with the advancement of science, technology, and artificial intelligence. What I have taught you today might be obsolete tomorrow. Hence, you need to be a continuous learner to stay relevant in the content creation world.
When I lost my job immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak, I was determined to own a blog. I contacted a friend experienced in designing a website. I remember paying him some money to get me a domain and a website host. I knew nothing about blogging or how to manipulate the WordPress dashboard. The only thing he taught me was how to publish a blog post. And in less than a month, I could navigate through the dashboard with ease. I learned everything by trial and error.
Passion
If you lack passion for what you create, you will soon lose interest because the online space is saturated with content in almost every conceivable subject. You may wonder, “who cares about what I creating online?” It’s normal to feel that way as a content creator. I had the same feeling when I started writing this book. I searched up online and saw many books on content creation probably better than what you are currently reading. But what kept me going is the passion I have for the craft, knowing that nothing you sow in the world goes in vain. God always has a way to give back to you what you have invested in the universe. Hence, if you step into the content creation business solely to make money, you might quit before your breakthrough moment. Content creation is not for easy hearted or unmotivated people.
Consistency
With passion comes consistency. The more you create and distribute content online, the more visible you become. Google, for instance, likes when your content solves the problem of their searchers. They perceive you as trustworthy and consequently improve your rankings organically in their online space.
I created my first blog in 2020 immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak. For close to seven months after publishing over 50 blogs on my website, I received less than ten comments for all the labour I had put in all these while. Suddenly, it took Google less than a month to index my website and expose it to people all over the world. It was such a joyous moment for me to realise that I influenced people from different parts of the world. Through this website, I could find ghostwriting clients for my freelance business and also land other digital marketing opportunities.
Reflection
What went well? What went wrong? How can I improve? These three questions should be at the back of your mind each time you create, publish, and promote your content. They help you to reflect on your failures and question the actions you will take to improve on them. If you want to improve on yourself continuously, you must regularly face these tough questions without fear. Every successful content creator learns 95% of the entire business by themselves and through reflection on failures. In short, refine your skills through reflection. Question the actions you will take and always improve on your failures.
