What is a digital creator? 

Today at The Creators’ Diary, we’re taking a closer look at what it takes to become a digital content creator and offering several tips on how to get started with your own creative project.

What is a digital content creator?

In basic terms, a digital creator is someone who produces content for one or more online platforms. It can be a broad and versatile term encompassing any project that lives and grows online. Whilst the overall goal may not be to make money, plenty of creators focus on reaching a point where they make their full-time livelihoods in the digital realm – and many do this very successfully.

Initially, a  digital content creator must be their own marketing team – combining knowledge of social media, SEO, website creation, and CRM systems to drive their brand forward before reaching a stage where they can outsource to freelancers or agencies. Utilizing various tools and platforms to promote yourself is a key part of what it takes to be a digital content creator, so it can involve taking time to learn about these before fully diving into the life of a creator. 

What does a digital creator do?

The definition of digital creator covers an immense scope of projects and possibilities for online creation, and this can range from the largest, most profitable digital creator accounts to small, local creators. To give you a taste of what a digital content creator does, here’s a selection of examples of creators and what they can offer: 

• Beauty & fashion influencers providing make-up tutorials and outfit ideas

• Graphic designers creating & showcasing designs for potential e-commerce or retail customers

• A podcaster interviewing people on specific topics or about their lives

• A commentator on popular culture giving video reviews of the latest music, film, or TV shows

There are also offline creators who branch into the digital world when they are perhaps makers of physical items or have expertise in an area but also then become active on social platforms. 

An example of this offline/online overlap includes qualified experts in the mental health field who may practice therapy or counseling with real-life clients offline, but also offer tools such as downloadable worksheets on wellbeing techniques, and build up a profile for themselves online. Another example of this is skilled embroiderers or crafters who may produce embroidery kits to be purchased online as gifts. The initial content that they create is offline, but they do have a digital aspect.

Consumers support what digital content creators do by following their social media accounts, interacting with their posts regularly, sharing their online content with their own audience, and purchasing their products.

Essentially, online creators are reliant on other internet users to aid their success, especially when it comes to boosting engagement with a comment or a share. These will benefit the social media platform algorithm and therefore benefit the creator as they know this engagement will be favored and increase their overall visibility online.

We also support digital creators by directly investing in their businesses by buying their creations. 

How to become a digital creator 

If you’re wondering how to be a digital creator, you’ll need to have an idea of what you’re planning to have as your ‘product’ or niche as a starting point. From there, you can build upon how to move forward with various tasks focused on brand building, product development, and marketing. 

Let’s take a look at what potential online creators should be aware of before beginning this journey.

5 key factors a digital content creator needs to consider to get started

1. Be clear in your goals 

What do you hope to achieve with your digital content, and how would you define your success? 

You may wish to be a digital creator who provides expert knowledge in the form of online courses that your target audience can purchase, and you would define ‘success’ to be 15 courses sold per month. A fashion influencer may have a goal to achieve their first brand sponsorship within three months, so it is important to build your following and engage with online brands regularly. 

Additionally, focus on identifying your niche or making it clear how you are different from others doing similar projects. You may have hopes of securing collaborations in the future, so think about how you can use your platform to appeal to those individuals or businesses and make them want to work with you.

2. Do your research 

Perhaps you’ve been inspired by other digital creators to start up your own brand or project, or maybe you’ve been struck by an exciting idea that you can’t wait to get started with. In either situation, getting a good look at what similar creators are doing will no doubt help to further refine your ideas and decide what you do and do not want from this new project. 

Explore your brand tone of voice, design, or logo options, and learn about consistency in order to be easily recognizable. This will help you to stand out from the crowd.

3. Know your audience 

Getting to know your target audience as a digital content creator is key to growing your audience or customer base! Learn where your potential audience ‘hang out’ virtually, and get to know their likes and dislikes, in order to devise a content strategy that will appeal to them. Without knowing your audience, you run the risk of putting time, energy, and expense into an area that will bring little to no return for your effort. 

Tip: If you already have an online shop and would like to invest more in your social media, check out customer demographics such as age and location – you may already have key information at your fingertips that can be used to refine your social media strategy.

4. Broaden your scope 

There are so many social media and e-commerce platforms available at our fingertips, so why limit yourself to just one? 

You could be missing the chance to reach a whole new audience segment by focusing on growing your Instagram followers and ignoring the potential of TikTok. 

Adapting your content for different platforms is a worthwhile task – for example, utilizing shareable infographics and turning them into a shareable video. This allows you to personalize your content further by speaking on camera and connecting with your audience or customer base directly. 

Likewise, selling an online product on one platform such as SquareSpace without also utilizing Etsy could cost you important sales. Check out where your competitors or similar brands have an e-commerce presence to get a better picture of what is out there.

5. Consider revenue options 

If you seek to treat your digital creator activities as an actual business with e-commerce channels, it’s a great idea to carefully consider your revenue options. Digital influencers also have the opportunity to grow businesses online stemming from their initial content offering.

Different revenue streams are available from sponsorship opportunities, merchandise, and ad potential for those without e-commerce projects. 

Whether you’re selling a digital or physical product, as previously mentioned, look into having a standalone website that allows for efficient customer checkout alongside being a stockist on other websites or having a presence on Etsy. You can then drive referral traffic from your social media platforms to various outlets in order to enhance your revenue opportunities.

Digital content creators are an important part of so many industries and often play key roles in the marketing strategies of various household brands. 

Those considering becoming a digital content creator will be able to build their way up to the level of success that they aspire to achieve with creativity, dedication, consistency, and a finely-tuned awareness of their audience.

Ensure that your online content appeals to the right people who will fit with your vision and direction, and who knows where your digital creatorship will take you! You could be bringing in healthy profits and even working with dream brands. 

The future of digital content creation

The creator economy will almost double in size in the next five years, according to Goldman Sachs, to $480 billion by 2027 from $250 billion today. 

Clearly, there has been a significant uplift in digital content creators in recent years as individuals learn to monetize skills, expertise, and even lifestyles online. Learning to leverage your digital offering can be the next step in your business, and right now, there are more tools and support than ever available to help you grow online. 

However, when looking into how to become a digital creator, it is important to be mindful of potential challenges, such as a saturated market – unless you can carve out your niche and stand out from the crowd, you may get lost amongst so many other creators. So emphasize your unique points – what makes your offering different? – and promote your work accordingly. 

There’s also the additional challenge of new platforms emerging frequently. Keep up to date with what is new and trending by signing up to newsletters relevant to your industry, or general marketing newsletters, to stay ahead of the curve and adapt as needed. 

_{Featured image by Brooke Cagle}

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Here at The Creators’ Diary, we are dedicated to celebrating and supporting a whole host of digital creators. We hope that this article provides inspiration on your journey if you’d like to become a digital content creator or if you’re just starting. 

If you’d like more information, be sure to check out other articles on our blog which includes insights into what it’s like to be a creator with interviews and profiles with both online and offline creators.