How to Be a Successful Content Creator

Y’all might be hearing a lot about content creation these days—it’s become a popular way for people to build their brand, grow their audience, and drive more sales. But what is content, really?

First, here are the basics: Content is just information. That’s it! It’s not complicated or fancy, but there’s a difference between content and good content. And as a content creator for your brand, it’s important to know what that difference is. Let’s talk about what it means to be a content creator and go over some principles for creating super valuable content your audience will love.

What Is a Content Creator?

A content creator is someone who produces information that’s relevant, entertaining, educational and/or useful for their target audience. Pretty simple, right?

We usually think about content as being a blog or social media post, but there are actually many different things that count as content: from emails to videos to charts and graphs. Even spoken communication can be content.

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As a content creator, it’s your job to provide interesting material to the people who engage with your brand. And you’ll find that content is one of the best ways to reach people because it allows you to tell a story and make your business a lot more personal. Good content makes the consumer feel like they’re talking to a real human being and not just a formal company. That helps them connect with your brand and makes them want to keep coming back.

10 Popular Types of Content You Can Create for Your Business

Here’s a breakdown of some types of content that are most popular for content creators and their customers. Don’t let this overwhelm you—you don’t have to try and master all of these. In fact, I recommend really focusing on just one or two. As you grow your business and get more experience in content creation, it’ll become clear which ones make the most sense for your strengths and your brand.

1. Blogs and Articles

This is one of my favorite types of content because it allows so much space for storytelling and practical tips like the ones you’re reading right now. When you use this to its full potential and take advantage of tools like Search Engine Optimization (SEO)—where you use strategic keywords and structure to help your content show up on Google—more and more traffic will be sent to your website. That can mean a huge boost in engagement and sales!

2. Digital Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is anything valuable that’s offered in exchange for someone’s email address. For example, I might come across a lead magnet that offers a list of 25 meals you can make in 15 minutes or less, and in order to download that PDF, I just need to put in my email address. Y’all better believe they’re getting my contact info! Something like this can really help you grow your email list so more people will be in the loop about what’s going on with your business.

3. E-books

Have you ever had a great idea for a book but didn’t want to go through the stress and hassle of the typical publishing process? Well, fellow content creators, that’s where e-books come in. E-books are completely digital and easy to create, and they are a simple, effective product to sell or give away. You can make them yourself in PDF format, and a big bonus is that they don’t require shipping charges.

4. Email

This one’s pretty straightforward: Grow your list of email addresses, then start sending them content about your business. You get to decide how often to send them content—just remember nobody likes for their inbox to be flooded. And here’s a hint: At Ramsey Solutions, we’ve found shorter emails tend to perform better. When it comes to the types of emails you’re sending, it’s a good idea to have a mix of gives (things like giveaways, teaching content or links to articles) and asks (promotions, products you’re selling or surveys).

5. Infographics

An infographic is an image that presents stats, numbers or other facts in an easy-to-read way. Usually, infographics include illustrations, labels and fun colors that make the data easier to understand. These can be a great way to add authority to your brand or back up your points with some research. I’ve seen lots of small businesses succeed by sharing these on Pinterest.

6. Photography

Great photos can really liven up a website, Instagram account or email—and if you have a product-based business, you’ll need to showcase your products with some creative lighting and staging. Bonus points if you take the photos yourself and save some money (but only if they’re good photos)!

7. Podcasts

I know, I know. It might seem like everyone and their mom has a podcast—including me. But seriously, y’all, this is a fantastic way for content creators to get their brand and message out there. It’s also a fairly inexpensive way to deliver valuable content to your tribe (aka the people who regularly engage with your business).

8. Product copy

Your product copy is any of the written content that’s tied to your products. Even if the copy doesn’t seem like a big deal—like product descriptions or store pages on your website—the words should never be boring. Your brand’s voice, tone and personality can and should come through in every piece of written content.

9. Social media content

Good news: You don’t actually have to be super tech savvy to post on social media. You just have to learn how to write engaging captions, plan out your content in a way that makes sense for your brand, and post it. Social media does have its pros and cons, but I like it as a way to showcase both the cool things that are going on as well as the less glamorous moments from my life as a wife and mom.

10. Videos

Sometimes you can say more with a video than you ever could with a text post, and it’s great for your audience to be able to see and hear you or get a closer look at your products in action. I’m a big fan of stories, reels, shorts and even long-form YouTube content! Jumping on your Insta story to share a funny picture or a quick glimpse into your life is a fun way to boost engagement.

4 Things Your Content Needs to Be

It’s important to have fun with your content creation, so there aren’t too many rules about what you can or can’t do as a content creator. But here are a few guidelines on how to make sure you’re sharing content your audience cares about. Your content should be these four things:

Relevant

The information needs to be relevant to your business. If you’re in the gardening business, then you might post an article about how to keep the bugs out of your flower bed. You would not want to post a blog about how to knock $10 off your grocery list. That would confuse your customers because it’s not relevant to your business. Become known for one area and stay focused on that one area in your business and content.

Helpful 

Your content should teach or help people in some way. What needs do they have that you can fill for them, or what problems can you solve for them? If you’re in the fitness business, maybe you should write a blog post titled How to Kick-Start Your Metabolism Before You Ever Get Out of Bed. (I don’t know how to do that, but if you have a way, let me know!)

Current 

Don’t post dated techniques or methods. Your content needs to be new and cutting edge in order to keep up with our culture, where information is available instantaneously. Staying current also sets you up as a trusted source on your topic of expertise.

Relatable 

Your content should be something that your audience reads and thinks, Me too. In fact, within the first five minutes of speaking, it’s my goal to get everyone in the audience to think, Me too. When you post content that your audience identifies with, they’re likely to save it and, more importantly, share it. 

And when your content is relatable, your audience naturally wants to share it because it represents them in some way. Make it easy on your audience and post content that’s easily sharable—images, blog posts or videos are the best formats for sharing.

How to Be Strategic With Content Creation

When it comes to your content, a little strategic planning goes a long way. Putting these tips to good use can really help boost engagement and build your brand without a ton of effort. Try these strategies:

Repurpose your content.

It’s time to work smarter, not harder. Believe it or not, it’s totally fine to repurpose your content across all your different platforms. For example, you might create a social media caption where you tell a fun parenting story. You can then expand on that story and add some teaching for a blog article, and then do a YouTube video on parenting hacks where you also reference that same story.

You can also try other techniques like transcribing your video content or condensing your blog content to use for social media posts. The options are endless! The odds that someone will see all that content on all of your platforms are pretty slim, plus it helps make your messaging more consistent.

Make sure your content always points to your business.

Every piece of content you create should direct people back to your business in some way, even if it’s subtle. Don’t send an email just for the sake of sending an email—really make it count and draw attention to some aspect of your business. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown sales pitch, but remember the goal of the content is ultimately to generate more business for you!

Have a clear voice.

Some brands are chic and sophisticated, some are fun and cheerful, and others are bold and witty. This personality is reflected in the copy, design and overall presentation of your business, and it really does matter. So, take some time to think about what you want your brand’s voice to sound like.

If you get stuck, think about some of your favorite brands and what you like about how they present themselves to the world. Read some of their marketing copy and try to identify why it’s good. And keep in mind that brands connect with people most when they’re authentic, so don’t be afraid to let your own personality shine through when creating content.

Stick to a scheduled content calendar.

Y’all, consistency is so important, especially when it comes to your brand’s content. If you’re trying to build trust with your customers, you don’t want to post on social media once a month and then suddenly spam them with three posts a day during the holiday season. I’ve found it’s helpful to schedule exactly what content I’m posting and when so I don’t have to constantly worry about when is a good time to release content. Plus, scheduling allows you to create your posts and emails in advance to make the whole process less stressful and more productive.

Read up on your niche or industry.

You can never go wrong with being up-to-date on what’s happening in the industry you’re a part of. Subscribing to newsletters or following other accounts that are in the same space your business is in can help you stay informed and current.

Know your audience.

Don’t do what I did during a speaking gig and ask an auditorium full of people to raise their hands if they love coffee—not realizing that the audience was almost entirely Mormon. (Mormons don’t drink coffee. And yes, I really did that.) That’s a classic example of not knowing your audience. Keep track of the people who are following and interacting with your business and get to know their likes, dislikes, needs and problems—that way, you’ll have a clearer picture of how you can serve them. Sending out a quick survey or poll, or even just talking with your customers one-on-one, is a great way to know your audience.

Make time to brainstorm.

If you’re going to be creating fresh, original content, then you need to give yourself time and space to have fresh, original ideas. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that inspiration doesn’t always just strike on demand (no matter how much I wish it would), so it’s a good idea to build brainstorming time into your daily or weekly routine. If you’re in the habit of sitting down and getting all the ideas out, you’re way more likely to have some good ones.

Engage with others’ content.

Yes, your content is designed to help your business grow, but it’s also important to remember that truly great content is all about serving others. And one way to serve others is by engaging with their content! That could mean commenting on others’ posts or videos, sharing someone else’s article, or personally responding to your emails or DMs as time allows. (This is another awesome way to learn more about your audience.) I hope these tips help y’all get started on creating some life-changing content that makes your business thrive!