Content creation can be fun but involves plenty of hard work. It is rare for a content creator to become successful by just winging it. Effective creators follow habits such as writing regularly, developing their voice, and studying their industry’s audience. That holds whether they typically produce videos, photos, ebooks, blog posts, or other types of content. Let’s look at the top habits that great content creators share.
1. They Seek Out Creative Spaces
Creative spaces can make all the difference in the world. For example, if you’re a podcaster, you can get a podcast studio for rent that offers shared workspaces, high-quality equipment, and access to other creatives in videography and photography. Shared workspaces are excellent ways to network, grow in your niche, and keep the creative juices flowing.
Retreats, workshops, conferences, online groups, and even poetry slam nights are other places where creators find communities. Communities also offer an anchor of sorts and a sense of belonging.
2. They Write Regularly
Even videographers and photographers who don’t write for a living write on the regular. That doesn’t mean they put together gleaming blog posts or novellas every week.
Rather, they write in the ways that work for them to help clarify mental tangles and follow inspiration. Poetry, brainstorming maps, and free-form writing are examples. You can write about interesting news articles you saw yesterday or the funniest videos you saw and what makes them so funny. You can also write about things blocking your creativity, what you’d like to learn, and aspects of your industry you do not understand.
Write about anything, really. Something seemingly not related unlocks a lot of potential. Even old headlines make for fruitful jumping-off places.
3. They Develop Their Voice
You are far from the only content creator in your industry, and voice is a big part of what helps you stand out. Your voice is what you bring personally to your content. You can establish a persona by treating your brand as if it were a real person, but remain authentic. If you try to be something you’re not, that is risky.
It also helps to hang out where your ideal audience hangs. You can test your voice out there and refine it.
4. They Study Their Industry’s Audience
Who are your readers and/or viewers? What do they find funny? What problems do they have that you could acknowledge or solve? What needs do they have that are not being filled? What unique attributes do you have that could help?
Demographic data can be helpful too. lt includes age, gender, location, family makeup, family size, job, and income.
5. They Read Industry News Every Day
Details on what’s going on in your industry, including the latest trends, offer you the necessary context for current audience needs. You learn more about the history of the industry and how it has led to the present audience mindset.
To stay on top of the news, set up RSS feeds, ask other content creators and folks you trust what they read, and discover what your audience reads (and watches).
6. They Curate Content
Content curation can take many forms and includes resharing or reposting links to other people’s articles, videos, and content. Retweet, repost, and pin it. Your audience appreciates the additional content, and it gives you more to post with minimal investment. It encourages other creators to share your work, too.
7. They Keep Key Performance Indicators in Mind
KPIs are critical for creators who care about more than just posting content. In other words, virtually all content creators should focus on KPIs. Data to keep an eye on include social media traffic, organic traffic, number of followers, number of shares, and number of comments. You want to know which pieces of content your audience loves and which they don’t care about.
8. They Seek Out New Experiences
Variety is the spice of life and of content creation. New experiences spark new ideas and can deepen and add meaning to content. Experiences also mean more opportunities for networking and community-building. If you stagnate, your well of ideas to draw from may eventually run dry.
9. They Focus On Their Health
Due to the low barriers to entry, most people could become content creators. When you’re just getting started with creating content, it can be tempting to throw yourself into it and neglect other aspects of your life. This single-minded focus makes sense and may even be necessary temporarily.
Overall, though, good content creators focus on their health. They cultivate a work-life balance and understand that the richness of life lets them create better content, gain more followers, and earn more money.
For example, if your social media channel draws heavily on the adventures of your family, then your content remains as charming and authentic as possible when you work hard behind the scenes to keep your family together. If you just focused on the content and ignored your family except when you needed them for videos, it would likely cause ruptures that carried over into the content.
Good content creators follow habits such as finding a community, reading industry news regularly, and seeking new experiences. These habits enrich their content and set them up for more success.