Professional Content Creation Tips

In high-stakes testing environments prevalent in many formal learning institutions, the focus is on standards and standard-mastery. ‘Globalization’ is a haughty kind of ‘pie in the sky’ idea thought about only when watching one of the “Shift Happens” videos on YouTube, or daydreaming on the drive home from a challenging day in the classroom where there is time to honestly reflect on—in solitude—the kind of education teachers can only dream they could provide students.

Byadmin

OnAugust 10, 2020

InUseful

Once you know what type of content you want to create and for which type of industry, it’s time to get yourself out there and in front of potential clients. Here’s how.

Create a Portfolio
Sure, you can show potential clients your social media accounts (and you should if they’re awesome). But the pro move is to create and share a digital portfolio that features your best work. Don’t have work to show yet? Create some for imaginary clients!

Network
Forget what anyone else says. It is who you know. Get yourself in front of the types of clients you want, whether at tradeshows, conferences, launch events, or any other gatherings and make friends in the right places. Online networking counts, too. Follow and comment on social media accounts you admire. Offer to collaborate. Feature and tag brands you want to work with. Keep it up and relationships will grow.

Pitch Yourself
Don’t wait for jobs to come to you. Instead, actively pursue opportunity. Know a restaurant that could benefit from social media help or a boutique brand with mediocre newsletters? Offer to help boost their engagement (without stepping on toes).

Don’t Give Up
Growing a business and a solid client base takes time. Give yourself at least six to eight months of hustling before expecting results.

Get Paid
AI takeover aside, there will never be a time that content creation is obsolete. Any investment you make into your skills now will pay off continuously. Content creators can charge any number of ways: by the project, by the hour, or by the month as an independent contractor. They might also be a salaried employee.

Fees range widely depending on skills, local market rates, medium, and subject matter. In fall 2020, Glassdoor reported the content creator salary range as $35,000 to $73,000 per year, while freelancers managing social media accounts for clients can charge anywhere from $15 to $120 per hour.

Ask around to get a sense of rates you can reasonably charge and don’t undersell yourself. You can anticipate that as your skills grow, so will your salary.

Most importantly, get out there and start creating. The more immersed you are in the skills, tools, and community of content creators, the better you will get at creating epic content. Soon enough, you’ll discover that as a content creator, you hold the key to the engagement universe—and to making a living using your creativity.