When you went to career day at your school, you probably didn’t remember seeing a table for content creators. Yet in 2024, the digital content creation market was valued at 32.28 billion USD, and this number is expected to grow as well. Anyone who creates content online is technically a content creator, but not every creator reaps the benefits of monetizing their content. Earning consistent income and creating a business from content creation is possible with the right strategy and mindset. Here’s how you can do so in 2025.
What is Content Creation?
Content creation is developing digital content such as videos, photos, blog posts, newsletters, emails, etc., and sharing this content with a specific audience. Therefore, content creators are the people who make the content and can identify as bloggers, creator educators, digital marketers, photographers, videographers, influencers, vloggers, and podcasters.
Business Models for Content Creation
Choosing a business model is an important step starting your content creation business. Depending on the type of content creator you are, there are various business options for you.
Subscriptions: This is when you create content specifically for people who subscribe to see your content. Popular platforms such as Patreon, Gumroad, and Substack have capitalized on this type of business.
Brand collaborations: Working with brands to create content around specific products or services is another way many content creators, especially influencers, build a business.
E-commerce: The number of merchandise or products sold online has grown. With TikTok Shop and Instagram, you can sell personalized merch or other products through social media. You can also use social media and other platforms to promote your online shop.
Ads: If you have a shared audience with a particular company, they can pay you to run ads on your platform
Affiliate marketing is when you receive a commission for selling a product on behalf of someone’s business.
Promote services: A more indirect way to make money, but you can use content creation to advertise and promote your specific service.
Revenue sharing: Some platforms share a part of their revenue with you. The most well-known platforms include Medium and YouTube.
User-Generated Content: If you like creating content but don’t like being front and center for it, you can do more behind-the-scenes business with user-generated content. This is when you create content, whether social media content, photos, web copy, etc., for businesses to use on their platforms.
Create a Business Plan
A big part of creating content for a business is starting with a business plan. Your plan will include the following topics to help you run your business.
Encapsulate your mission and vision. Your mission is your reason for creating content. Likewise, your vision is your aspiration for your business. Where do you see your company in the next five to ten years?
Define your target audience. Your target audience is all about who you’re making content for. Knowing your specific audiences, you can create content around their pain points, joys, and aspirations.
Choose a niche and format type. Having a niche is all about who you’re creating your content for. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to create relatable content for a particular audience. Some niches to consider are
- Lifestyle: Health and wellness, personal development, parenting
- Travel: Luxury travel, budget travel
- Entertainment: Pop culture, music
- Hobbies: Sports, crafts, gardening
Evaluate your competitors. The content creation space is growing, so you will have some competition. That’s ok. Studying your competitors, copy their tactics, not their content, and learn how to get ahead of the game.
Identify income sources. This is all about how you plan on monetizing. Do you want to work with brands? Are you planning on subscriptions? Identifying how you plan to make money with your content creation will help you from aimlessly posting.
Define Your Income Goals
Once you start generating income from your content creation, celebrate yourself and start setting some goals. Start by earning enough money to cover specific expenses, such as your phone bill or car insurance. Once your content creation income starts covering the bills, set an income goal to cover your basic needs. As you hit your goals, you can continue to create income goals to meet your financial needs, such as saving for an emergency fund, hiring help, upgrading your equipment, etc.
Plan for Consistency, Sustainability, and Growth
Focusing on sustainability is what will help you scale your business. Creating vlogs is fun when you’re making videos when you want, but creating full-time can lead to burnout. Therefore, creating a content calendar is essential for creating a posting schedule. Additionally, schedule breaks for yourself. Have a digital detox and spend time away from screens.
Stay motivated by networking with other content creators, interacting with your audience, or other means. View metrics as guides, not judgment. It’s about understanding your analytics, but don’t judge yourself based on how many likes you get. Remember to look at your metrics through a business lens of what’s working and what’s not. It’s not a judgment of your character.
Develop Your Skillset
Lastly, never stop learning. Whether you take a digital marketing course, learn about SEO, or get a mentor, ensure you keep growing your skill set. Some skills to develop include:
- Video and photo editing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Graphic design
- Email marketing
Remember that growing a business doesn’t happen overnight. The key is to create a plan and stick to it. Adapt to changes, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Before you know it, you’ll be monetizing like a pro.
