The first 5 steps that helped me become a 6-figure content creator

• Zulie Rane is making six figures as a content creator.
• She said she works as little as possible and loves her life more than working a 9-to-5 job.
• Rane recommends choosing two platforms and tracking your time to get clarity on your return on investment.

I'm a freelance content creator living my absolute dream. I'm working as little as possible, but I love my life so much more than I did when I was working 9-5.

Since getting laid off from my tech job in 2018 and starting my journey as a content creator, I've made over six figures doing what I love.

If you want to know exactly how to turn your passion for creation into a career, keep reading.

1. Choose two platforms to post your content to

To start your journey to becoming a full-time content creator, you don't need more than one platform to publish your work.

For me, my primary home is YouTube and blogging platforms.

For you, those might be Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Quora.Explore your feelings — where do you get most excited about doing something? many for work?

Consistency is not the key factor. What I am particular about. If you can post on your platform every week for a year, you're much more likely to succeed than if you give up after a month.

For example: If you are very resourceful and have a good grasp of trending topics, Twitter is the place for you. If you love creating sophisticated visual content, check out Instagram and YouTube. If you like games, go to Twitch.

2. Create a profile

The second most important step is to create a profile. you Control the story. A place where you can post content according to your own rules, without worrying about the distribution of platform algorithms, his SEO, etc.

There are many free options, so we recommend starting with one. For example, I created this in less than 2 minutes on Wix. Your website should look like this:

• cheap. Don't spend money unless you're ready to commit to something full-time.
• Easy to manage. There's no need to waste time and energy learning how to manage a website when there are easier options.
• You can easily customize it later. Give yourself room to grow.

You will also need social channels. You may have already selected one of these as your platform, in which case we recommend choosing another one. For example, I use Twitter and Instagram purely as part of my activities. profilewhere I post my contact information and the odd post in a completely unprofessional capacity.

Social media here needs to be different from social media in real life.

3. Design a content plan

This is the essence of the problem. A content plan is the backbone of a content creator's income. Find your niche early on and don't worry too much about sticking to it. This may change as you grow.

Choose 4-5 topics that you would enjoy talking about. For example, I love writing about travel, pop culture, freelancing, and writing. I love creating videos about freelancing and blogging.

What you absolutely have to remember is that your topic should be:

• something of value to the audience (entertainment, information, or both), otherwise no one other than your family and friends will consume your content.
• interesting to youotherwise you will burn out.
• what you have experiencedotherwise you will lose the competition.

The most important factor here is a schedule that you can stick to.

Be honest with yourself. Can you post twice a week on your platform? If not, scale back once.

There is always a misconception that more is better. I think he is wrong about this for two reasons. First, we found successful content creators. every Platforms (yes, including TikTok) where you don't post as often as you “should”. And they're still killing it.

4. Track your time

When you're doing something you love, you often immerse yourself in it for hours and never look back. Track your time to avoid falling into that trap.

This is important for two reasons.

1. You'll have a better understanding of where your time is going. When you look back, you'll know if your efforts were worth it.
2. Once you start earning an income, you will be able to value your time more. For example, you can see that this month she spent 20 hours on YouTube and earned $500. That means my YouTube viewing time is worth $25 per hour to him.

I use the free tool Clockify to track how every minute I spend creating content, whether it's responding to emails, meetings, or actually writing, filming, and editing. This will help you see what you're actually spending your time on and find your return on investment.

For example, when I tracked all my work hours in November 2020, I found a surprising breakdown: I was spending more time on YouTube and less time writing than I thought.

Many platforms, such as YouTube, provide revenue through ad revenue sharing. As an alternative to YouTube monetization, there are other ways to earn money, such as subscriptions.

By tracking your time, your return on investment becomes completely clear.

5. Start building your mailing list

It's such a cliché, but let's be honest: the rules of email still ring true. Email is a way to reach your audience without using algorithms or her SEO. Everyone wants to hear your opinion.

Choose a platform that you are comfortable using. Don't overthink it at first! Many email lists are free and easy to use, like ConvertKit's basic plan (up to 1000 free subscribers before paying a single penny).

There are two approaches I suggest.

1. “If you want to hear more from me, sign up here.” We can provide weekly content summaries. Post this call to action at the end of every piece of content you post with a hyperlink to your email list.

Pros: Very easy to set up. People who sign up have no incentive to participate other than to hear from you, so they're eager to hear from you.

Cons: Probably not many subscribers.

2. “Join my mailing list to get X.” You offer downloadable freebies like my 5-day starter kit on Medium.

Pros: Significantly increases sign-up rates and starts the relationship by providing real, exclusive value to your subscribers.

Cons: A little difficult to set up and requires some advance work.

If you're not sure where to start, here are three options for beginners.

• rule of 3: What you write, what you read, and questions you ask your followers. This helps build relationships between you, your fans, and your colleagues, but it never hurts. It's also a good way to start talking to your fans and understand how you can serve them.
• round up: A list of all the content you created this week. It's an easy way to keep your fans informed.
• letter to a friend: This is how I started. I wrote what I wanted to receive. I talked about what I was doing that week and discussed some of the challenges I faced and how I overcame them.

we live in incredible times

In 2023 and beyond, becoming a content creator has never been easier for anyone who literally has one creative bone in their body. The platform exists, the audience and appetite for content is huge, and there is a huge amount of free guidance out there.