If you could give advice to someone wanting to do something creative, what would you say to them? If you could talk to your younger self before you yourself took that first step, what would you say? What made you take that step? What gave you that spark to start? Was it a friend, a family member, someone you look up to or did it just come from within. I recently wrote an article on creative motivation and if you haven’t read that, check it out after this
Every one of us is on a journey, whether you are at the start of your journey as a beginner or you’re a seasoned pro who has been creating for ages.
I’ll give you my top 5 tips for creating content, these won’t be the definitive 5 tips but if just 1 tip works for you then this article is successful.
My goal with the content that I create is that I try to offer insights to anyone watching or reading any of my content, hopefully helping them make an informed decision, whether that’s about creating something, using products or trying new features fuelled by my passion to help others intertwined with my love for tech.
Tip 1: Choose a niche
The first step in the creating process is to choose a niche. If you’re stuck, ask yourself, What are you passionate about? What do you know a lot about? What is the topic that you can talk forever about?
Once you know your niche, you can start to focus your content on that topic. It’s easy to fall into the trap of, this is too boring? or who’s going to like this? You don’t need to worry about that at this stage, generally, if there’s a topic out there that you enjoy then there are most likely others who are also passionate about the same topic too, and depending on where you will be putting your content, this could be your chance to connect with those like minded people and create a community. While at the same time also helping you attract new viewers who are interested in what you have to say.
Tip 2: Do your research
Once you’ve chosen a niche, it’s important to do your research. Is anyone else covering this topic? What are they doing well? What could they be doing better?
By doing your research, you can learn from the best and create content that is even better than theirs by adding your twist to the topic. If you’re passionate about your subject then why not make your voice worth listening to as well.
Tip 3: Create high-quality content
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth repeating. If you want people to come to your content, you need to create good quality content.
(If you’re creating video content) This means having good audio and video quality which will get better through the process, as well as having interesting and engaging content. The amount of people I’ve heard giving the advice of, make your first 100 videos. But what should your first 100 videos look like, I think, you should always be trying to make your next video better than the last one, whether that’s a small improvement to how you deliver your content, or a new piece of equipment you’re trying, something where at the end of the process, you can say, that was better.
If I were to compare my first video to my latest video, there has been a vast improvement and I’m proud of that and the 180 videos in between from the starting point to now, it’s about progression and my journey, which is still continuing now in every new video I make. Just remember you don’t need expensive gear to create, everything you do can be done on your phone, from planning, to recording, to editing, to uploading, all on that piece to tech that fits in your pocket. Remember, as you improve, you might want to upgrade your gear as your skills get better and you can justify that better gear.
Tip 4: Promote your content
It can be quite daunting once you’ve made your content, to just leave it where it is and just let the algorithm deliver it to the masses, but what’s wrong with giving it a helping hand. Once you’ve created it, something that you’re proud of, you need to promote it. Share your videos on social media, and reach out to other creators in your niche. The more people who see your content, the more exposure you’ll get.
Tip 5: Be patient
Creating great content takes time and effort. Don’t expect to become an overnight success. Just keep creating great content, and eventually you’ll start to see results. It might not be financially rewarding but even personal improvements should be celebrated.
Patience is an essential virtue for anyone who wants to be creative. The creative process can often be long and unpredictable, and there will be times when things don’t go as planned.
But being patient allows you to take the time to explore your ideas as well as your thoughts and feelings, and to experiment with different ideas. If you’re impatient, you’re more likely to rush through this process, which can lead to you missing out on those great ideas you haven’t had the chance to explore yet.
It helps you to overcome setbacks, which are normal parts of the creative process. You’ll have ideas that don’t work out, you’ll make mistakes, and you’ll probably get discouraged at times. If you’re patient, you’ll be more likely to persevere through those setbacks and keep working on your ideas.
Patience allows you to let go of control. Sometimes, the best way to be creative is to let go of that control and allow the process to unfold naturally. If you’re too impatient, you’re more likely to try to force things, which can stifle your creativity. Patience is not the only ingredient for creativity, but it’s an essential one. If you can learn to be patient, you’ll be more likely to achieve your creative goals.
Bonus Tip: Enjoy the process
The bonus tip, which I said at the start, is probably my most important one, just enjoy the process, try not to make it a chore, keep it fun, if it’s something you do at the weekend, make it that thing that you look forward to, the thing that puts a smile on your face. The thing that drives you and you never know where it could lead to. If you need to take a break, that’s fine, it’ll still be there when you’re ready.
I hope these tips help you to create better content. If you’ve got any suggestions for tips that could help others reading this or if any of these tips help give you that spark, leave a comment and as I mentioned earlier, if you haven’t read my article on creative motivation, check that out.
Be sure to share this article with anyone you think could benefit from these tips.
If you want to see the video version of this article, check out the YouTube link below.