How to find your "why" as a content creator
Currently, the global creator economy is valued at around $155 billion.
By 2030 it’s expected to surpass $525 billion.
That’s a lot of wig wams.
And I know it might seem like every person and their pet is a “creator” these days, but it shouldn’t stop you from exploring this option for yourself too.
Being a content creator can mean many different things and encompass a variety of industries. It’s not all about selling the latest products, jumping on the newest trends and vlogging about your latest dental checkup.
There is nuance to this industry. It’s fun, creative, explorative, educational and thinking of yourself as a creator will open you up to delivering more valuable content for your audience.
No doubt you’ll also make more money as a result.
But the first step needs to be answering the all-important “why”.
Finding your “why” when you’re creating content for yourself can leave you with too many conflicting ideas, and no closer to recording anything.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro considering a new medium or a total newbie wondering where you fit into the content creator economy, you'll need to answer one fundamental question: What kind of content do you want to create?
To get your creative juices flowing, start by looking at who inspires you. What type of content are you currently consuming? This doesn’t mean you should replicate this content, but it serves as a great starting point. Ask yourself, where do you personally go to consume information or content? What draws you to these creators or platforms?
For instance, as a podcast producer for almost a decade, my natural progression was to start my own podcast. I had the tools and the know-how, plus I enjoy consuming podcasts myself. This made it easier for me to produce content that felt genuine and valuable to my target audience.
But I also thought beyond my primary interest in podcasting. I find inspiration in musicians too, especially those undiscovered gems on TikTok creating innovative and fun music. The way they produce their content, often uniquely and on a minimal budget, sparks ideas that I can incorporate into my own work.
When I was deciding the type of content I wanted to create, I took inventory of the aspects and qualities I appreciated in other creators. It's not about copying them, but rather about finding those elements that resonate with you and moulding them into something that feels authentic to you.
Practical Steps to Clarify Your Vision
So, how do you make this mindset shift practical? Here’s a step-by-step guide I recommend:
Create a List of Inspirations: Take a few days to list 10-15 creators who inspire you. Quickly jot down names, then expand your list as more inspirations come to mind.
Analyse Their Content: Go beyond just writing down names. Watch, listen, and absorb their content. Notice their setup – camera angles, the type of equipment they use, their lighting, and the locations they choose. Pay close attention to whether they work solo or with friends, and if they've mentioned outsourcing their editing.
Engage with the Details: What specifically about their content draws you in? Is it their personality, their thorough research, their production quality, or perhaps the emotional response their content evokes in you? Maybe it's their community engagement that keeps you coming back.
Reflect on Your Aspirations: With your list in hand, ask yourself: What elements do you want to incorporate into your content? How do you want to make your audience feel? Do you want to educate, entertain, inspire, or do something else entirely?
Defining Your Medium: Think about the format that suits your vision – is it a podcast, YouTube videos, written blogs, or something else? How can you leverage your strengths to create content that stands out and aligns with your goals?
Once you've answered these questions, you’ll have a clearer picture of the type of content you want to create. This clarity will guide you as you begin producing content. Remember, your "why" is a blend of inspiration and authentic self-expression. It’s about crafting content that not only reflects who you are but also resonates deeply with your audience.
Take the time to explore these ideas, write down your thoughts, and let your creative vision take shape. I find that it’s much better to have a clear direction, even if it may change over time (and it absolutely will). If you’re working from a stronger vision, your content will be better for it.
Happy creating!
Transcript:
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[00:00:00] Now I know I talk about podcasting here at the pump up your pod podcast, because this whole show is about podcasting. It makes sense for me to talk about podcasting, right? I want to talk about something a little bit more broad today. And that is about actually just content creators in general. One of the first questions that I kind of try and get people to answer when I'm having consultations with, Want to be podcasters or, you know, want to be creators is, well, why, why do you want to be a podcaster?
[00:00:32] Why do you want to be a content creator? What does that actually even look like to you? And what kind of creator do you actually want to be? And a lot of the time I met with just like a blank stare, like, Oh, I don't know. I don't actually quite know that. Can you tell me? And then the consult goes deeper into, you know, all the layers and We start to ask and answer some questions that get them to a place where they feel like they're then solid in the information, in the reasons why they want to start shows, why they want to start YouTube channels, why they want to start anything in a creative sense.
[00:01:09] And so today I'm going to get into finding the actual why of you being a content creator and how you can draw on inspiration that you feel will really help you establish how you actually want to portray yourself.
[00:01:23] Brianna: the first thing I want you to think about when you're wanting to kind of go down this path of being a content creator is what kind of content do you want to create? That seems like a really basic question, but the amount of people that don't fully think about it before they actually hit record is quite baffling to me.
[00:01:50] So Look at who inspires you. what kind of content are you consuming at the moment? Now, it doesn't mean that's the content you want to create, but it is something that you need to think [00:02:00] about. What are the things, where are the places that you go to consume information or content?
[00:02:05] And what do you like about those people, those places? For me personally, I love listening to podcasts. I'm a podcast producer and have been for almost a decade. so it was a natural progression for me to start my own podcast here, knowing that we work with clients all over the world, producing their podcasts for many, many years, even before I got into the game myself.
[00:02:27] It felt like an easy jump for me, because I had that kind of unfair advantage of having all the equipment, knowing how everything worked already. And then it was easier for me to just hit record and do content like this because a podcast just makes sense for me. It also makes sense for my target market, who I'm trying to reach.
[00:02:46] What they might want to know is the things that I also know about. So that to me wasn't a big stretch. But it's not just podcasters that I like. I also love to listen to music and I find many musicians really inspiring. I love a lot of content that I see on TikTok of just musicians that people don't know about too much yet, but they're producing music that I find really interesting and fun. It's fun and great to listen to and they produce things in a way that's different to other stuff that I see.
[00:03:16] When I was deciding what kind of content I wanted to create, I just went through what are the aspects of these people that I look to, that I listen to, that I watch already.
[00:03:26] What are the aspects of those that I feel like I really want to Create content around and it's not to copy at all. I just use them as the inspiration, as the jumping off point, as the, I like the way they deliver things. How can I deliver my content in a way that's true to who I am and is fun.
[00:03:46] Yeah. So when you're thinking about yourself, then you need to sit down now with a piece of paper and you need to go through and decide, okay, I'm going to make a list of, let's say 10 to 15 creators that [00:04:00] inspire me at the moment.
[00:04:01] And this might take you a couple of days to establish. You could have a jumping off point writing down really quickly. And then over the next couple of days, add to that list as well. And I want you to not stop there. So instead of just writing down these people, I want you to go and watch, listen to some of their content and get some ideas from there. So really look at the way they produce things. Do they have multiple camera angles? Are they just using their phones? Do they have microphones?
[00:04:32] Do they appear to have good lighting? Or are they recording outside? Is it more vlogging style? Are they working with friends? Or are they solo creators? Do they appear to edit all their stuff themselves? Or have they mentioned that they do? Or do they outsource that? I want you to sort of compile a little bit of a list in this beginning phase, this content creation journey phase of what you're actually going to create and how you're going to create it.
[00:05:02] When you're looking at these people and this list that you've created, the next thing I want you to establish is what about these creators do you really love? So is it their personality? Do they just have a really fun, engaging personality that you feel like you could listen or watch all day long?
[00:05:21] is it that they've thoroughly researched a topic and you feel like they've really gone down a rabbit hole of information that they've spent a lot of time in, and then you've been able to learn a lot from that person?
[00:05:34] Perhaps it's just that the content is really well presented, so they have, again, like I said, good lighting, good microphone, good camera. Can you see that? The fact that you keep coming back because the production value is just so good that you just want to keep watching it.
[00:05:51] Maybe it's that the content makes you feel something specifically, whether that's sadness or happiness or excitement or a sense of [00:06:00] being a part of something, something that they're doing, but you feel like you're coming along for the ride.
[00:06:05] Or maybe it's the community that they've built. So you keep coming back to them because they engage with you and, and people in their community via a platform like discord, or there's just a lot of comments on their YouTube channel and people are really discussing things and getting into the nitty gritty of something.
[00:06:22] Does that make you keep coming back? so I want you to sit down and write out not only the person or the. group of people or whatever it is, the inspiration,
[00:06:32] then go deeper than that. Sit there and go, okay, what about that person? What about that creator makes me want to keep coming back?
[00:06:40] Once that's been established, then it's much easier for you to sit there and think about, well, what elements do I want to actually incorporate into my own work? Content. Do I wanna make people feel a certain way? Do I wanna get really into the research of a particular topic and just disseminate things in a way that feels like people would really understand it and would keep coming back for.
[00:07:06] Do I want to be able to just have fun with my friends and have people witness that? Because that creates a sense of joy as well. Do I want to show people more about my life and encourage them to change the way they're living as well? Am I super into sustainability and I want to showcase for people how our actions are damaging the climate or the things that we can do to create a world that is happier.
[00:07:33] So take this time now, write out these things and get a really clear picture as to What kind of content you want to create? Is it a podcast? Is it YouTube videos? Is instructional content? Is it audio book narration? Something dramatic? Is it comedy? Is it something just fun and lighthearted? Is it interviews?
[00:07:54] What kind of content do you want to create? Who do you look to for inspiration currently? [00:08:00] Why do you keep coming back to their content and what do you want to do with your own content? How do you want people to feel? why would they keep coming back to you? And once you've established all of those things, then you are free to move on to how to actually find the topics that are going to suit that content.
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