Digital creators are creating the world we consume online. These are the new writers, painters, and storytellers--the renaissance of creative people who shape the digital world.

In this article, we'll share:

• What a digital creator is

• What digital creators do

• Essential skills that digital creators should possess

• Some of the pros and cons of being a digital creator

• How to become one!

If you’re thinking of becoming a digital content creator, this guide is for you!

A digital creator is a person who conceptualizes, produces, and shares original content in electronic mediums; common digital creation formats include writing, videos, text, photography, and animation.

Unlike people who make physical creations, digital creators have more flexibility with digital tools and can leverage massive distribution networks online to reach an audience, gain fans, and sell their digital goods.

There's a split with online content. Some content is created by independent creators, while other content is created by brands and organizations. These are the same idea, but often have slightly different goals:

• Individual creators often create content for artistic expression, education, to grow a following, and to monetize their work.

• Brands and organizations often hire digital creators to educate customers, grow membership, make sales, and increase brand awareness.

Digital creators shape our engagement with tech. Many of our favorite apps like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or LinkedIn would be nothing without digital creators to populate them. And even the birth of AI is launching a new wave of human creators working alongside the new tech.

These mind-bending statistics show that digital creators aren’t going anywhere anytime soon:

• At least 300 million users of social media platforms regularly post content as digital creators.

• 30% of 18-24-year-olds consider themselves creators, while 40% of 25-34-year-olds consider themselves content creators (Hubspot).

• 40% of Gen Z value influencer recommendations for purchases more than friends or family (Hubspot).

• The global value of influencer marketing is estimated to be $21.1 billion dollars.

• 46% of digital creators earn less than $1k in annual revenue (Linktree).

• 66% of digital creators consider themselves part-time (Linktree).

• Although AI is upending content creation, only 26% of people trust content created with AI (Hubspot).

These stats are both inspiring and sobering.

There are so many active and dreaming digital content creators. But most of them aren’t earning much. We’ll talk below about some of the most profitable forms of digital creation.

Digital content creators don’t always do it all. But if you actually look at the skillset of the average creator, it’s nothing to sneeze at. While your parents might not get it (you post pictures online? Is that hard?), being a digital creator isn’t easy.

Digital creators often…

• Look at the digital content playing field and see opportunities.

• Build digital content using analogue and digital tools: design, create, build, edit.

• Have incredible creative technical skills (e.g. photography, video editing, writing, digital marketing).

• Know how to leverage social media, email, communities, etc., to get their creations seen by the world.

• Navigate interpersonal relationships (with followers, members, sponsors, brands, etc.).

If you thought the Italian Renaissance was the peak of human creativity, it had nothing on this. Millions of independent creators can do the work that they love, getting it in front of people with no gatekeepers.

And thanks to the internet, there's a market for pretty much anything. No matter how niche. You can find an audience.

That makes it a fantastic time to be a digital creator. Because you can pretty much express yourself any way you want.

20 years ago, making it as a writer meant getting published in a big publication. Becoming a photographer probably required a dark room, a lot of expensive equipment, and a gallery show. Painters would probably need the same thing.

But now, there are so many careers for digital creators. Whether you work for yourself and build a thriving digital business, or take your skills to one of the millions of companies that needs them, you've got the makings of a flexible career.

Digital creators made up many of the first digital nomads, taking advantage of the freedom their work offered to explore the globe.

When you're creating stuff to put online, it often doesn't matter where you live. That means that not only are there great career opportunities, but you often get location independence.

You can write blog posts from Philadelphia, Paris, or Phuket. You can take Instagram pictures on any continent–your feed would probably be better for it.

A lot of digital creators just need a laptop and they can go anywhere.

Digital content creators are in demand. With so much volume online, people who can make things that translate into views, likes, and subscribers are valued. It could be directly monetizing your digital creations; there are lots of ways to do this. But it could also mean working for a company that wants digital content–most companies are creating content to put online.

Here are some examples of some types of digital content.

• Written: Blog posts, ebooks, social media, newsletters

• Multimedia: Photographs, vector graphics, memes, GIFs, AI Art

• Video: Long-form video, shorts, livestreams, video templates, webinars, online courses, AI video generation

• Audio: Podcasts, music, sound effects

• Digitized art: Paintings, graphic designs, logos, NFTs

• Ecommerce: Product listing, knowledge base articles, reviews

• VR & Gaming: Roblox worlds, in-game purchases, game apps, quizzes

• AI: Prompt generating, storytelling, copywriting, etc.

Content creation usually happens best in a niche. Even creators that eventually hit mass appeal usually start out with a specific topic or audience.

For example:

• PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg): Started with video game content and expanded to other topics.

• Lilly Singh: Started with skits about cultural identity and daily life, but expanded into acting for mainstream movies, and hosting a late-night show.

• John Green: Started as “The Vlogbrothers” with Hank, his brother. They talked about life and science, but eventually John branched out to other things–including a best-selling novel: The Fault in Our Stars.

• Issa Rae: Started the web show The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl. The success of that show led her to eventually create the HBO series “Insecure.”

Niching down helps creators focus on being good at one thing and building a following around that one thing.

For digital creators with a digital business in mind, the niche also helps you be more successful than trying to appeal to everyone. When we see people launch courses and communities, they always do better with a well-defined niche.

There’s no ONE way to find your niche as a digital creator, but here are a few tips to get you started:

• Write down the topics you could talk about for hours. Or, ask yourself, what subject could you give a ten minute talk on without preparation?

• Ask friends and/or family what they look to you for advice or insights on.

• Look at the creators you already follow. We often follow people like us doing that stuff we care about. Do you see a space for something you could build among those people? (And don’t let imposter syndrome get you down! It’s always scary at first.)

The word craft might not always be one that people jump to when they think about digital creators. But, just like all good art, digital creation is a craft. It takes excellence and expertise. And most creators have a craft they’ve honed that helps them stand out.

For example, musician JVKE exploded to TikTok stardom during the pandemic. For each of his early videos, he would pretend he was getting his mom to create a song for him. Then he’d build amazing song mashups that “his mom” had created. One of his first hits was the song “Upside Down”--which included samples of the song Hood Baby, by KBFR.

The song exploded in popularity (With a lot of commenters expressing outrage that JVKE was getting famous when it was really his talented mom “creating it all.”)

The thing is, JVKE didn’t get lucky. He was an incredibly talented musician before he started. But instead of just releasing the songs on TikTok, he created a fun hook format that always featured him asking his mom to play songs (with clips of her making music). By combining instrumentation, vocals, music production, and fun videos, JVKE went viral and is now producing Billboard hits like Golden Hour.

Whatever your content creation will be, there will be craft involved. Whether you’re writing, making videos, singing, acting, or teaching people how to use Excel, honing your craft is what will get you to content that’s good enough to get seen.

NOW, you can develop your craft sitting by yourself somewhere. But one fantastic way to develop your craft is really just to start creating stuff. If you look back in the archives of most YouTubers, you’ll see that over time they’ve improved in production, presentation, and video concepts.

So you don’t need to wait until you’re a pro. You can use content creation to experiment and learn as you go.

Every type of digital creator needs a certain type of skill set.

When we see people launch thriving online communities, they often have leadership skills to bring people together, plus the skill to create and share a vision that others catch. They have the skills to make members feel like they belong, plus the organizational skills to chart a course for the community to move forward.

Now, you don’t necessarily need all these skills right now. Learning by doing is a legitimate way of getting them.

But whether through hands-on learning or dedicated learning, most digital creators learn some skills.

• Some might take classes: for example, copywriting classes to teach you how to build writing that sells.

• Some might need to learn how to use gear: like a camera or microphone.

• Some might learn video editing, or keyword research for blog content.

There are different, valuable skills for each type of digital creator, and learning them will help you put your best stuff forward.

At some point, you’ll choose an outlet for your content creation. The list of “types of digital content” above gives you some examples of what kind of content to create, but each of these fits somewhere.

• If you love hosting conversations and engaging with members, maybe a community is the right choice. These online community website examples will get you inspired.

• If you love creating and editing entertaining videos, maybe you’re destined to be a YouTuber.

• If you have a great photography eye and you want to take beautiful photos, maybe Instagram is your place.

• If you want to spend the day writing about politics, giving analysis and opinions about what’s happening in the halls of power, maybe you’re better suited to starting a blog (or even pitching op-eds to major publications).

• If you’d love to bring a certain brand onto social media and create a space for it there, maybe you need to apply to be a social media manager.

Find the content outlet that’s going to fit what you want to create.

Your content isn’t just a flash in the pan. Digital creators who post for a week and then stop will experience… nothing. Nothing will happen.

It takes consistency, and you need to stick with it, whether you’re building a community of members, subscribers to a mailing list, or a following on social media.

And the people who stick to it are the ones who see the growth with time.

Whether you’re an individual digital creator OR you work for an organization, sometimes it helps to have a content strategy! For example, when we create content for the Mighty blog, we usually have big-picture content goals for a quarter. Then, we’ll do our keyword research to see what we need from an SEO perspective, and we plan out the upcoming content on a Monday board.

This helps us keep track of what content we have on the go and keeps us accountable for building it!

Whatever type of content you’re building, a content strategy can really help. But do be realistic about your content strategy. For most new creators, it’s probably not realistic to say: “I’m going to create 10 YouTube videos a week.” Plus, you’re more likely to get discouraged with such high goals.

Instead of volume, make it a priority to stick to a content strategy over a long period of time–even just one video, post, etc. a week can add up. And building consistency is the thing that most would-be creators don’t get to.

What metrics should I track each week to know my content strategy is working?

“Community” is a word that gets thrown around a lot with digital content. And we’re a little biased here–as a community platform–but not every engagement on the internet is community. If you’ve got a Twitter troll adding snark under your posts, is that your community? If you’ve got the same three people liking all your Facebook posts, is that community?

HECK no!

Anyway, here’s what passes for community on many corners of the internet.

For many online brands and creators, community is:

• People consistently commenting on your posts.

• People showing up to your livestreams.

• People joining your mailing list.

• People asking questions in the YouTube comments.

• People responding to a Twitter poll.

It’s weak, but many creators are searching for this. More subscribers. More followers. The desire to watch a vanity metric climb, without ever necessarily building real human connection.

When we think about community, we think about REAL human connections. Not the surface comments, but the chance to go deep and really build meaningful engagement with people.

When we think of community, we think of:

• Members who don’t just consume your content, they create their own.

• Members who answer other members’ questions with their experiences.

• Members who make friends with each other–without you being there.

• Members who care enough to show up day after day, so that your community becomes a part of their identity.

True community isn’t the one-way relationships of fans or subscribers to a creator. True community requires connection and belonging between members.

And that’s what we’re looking for.

If you’re a digital creator, you might be looking for the first kind of community. When you’re starting, it’s exciting to get subscribers and comments. But eventually, the dopamine hits from the likes wear off. Or, you say the wrong thing and your subscribers turn on you–because they never really knew you to begin with.

Building a community of engaged members lets you do less. You still get to be a digital creator, but you’re now hosting conversations instead of performing. And your members find something better than a dopamine hit; they find belonging.

That’s what communities do. And that’s why we love them. And–as we talk about monetization–a community can become a thriving digital business without millions and millions of followers. In fact, we’ve often seen 6- and 7- figure businesses grow out of a handful of engaged members.

Most–not all–creators want to monetize at some point. If that’s you, you’ll need to figure out a monetization strategy that works for you and your brand. Obviously there are a lot of different ways to do this, from advertising to selling digital products.

You’ll need to find the right thing that works for your brand.

Do check out the creator calculator, that can help you figure out how much you’ll earn monetizing on different platforms.

We’re using the word digital content creator in this article, but what’s the difference between a digital content creator and an influencer?

If you want to know a really simple way to think about digital creator vs influencer, it’s this: digital creator is a description of input for digital content, while influencer is a description of someone’s output. In other words, a digital creator is anyone who creates digital content. An influencer is someone who’s content gets a lot of attention and followers, building enough social capital that their opinions and creations can influence the thoughts and behaviors of others. This is why influencers can earn money from their brands; while many digital creators might not yet have monetized.

To keep it really simple, you could say this: Every influencer is a digital creator, but not every digital creator is an influencer–because influencers are measured by their following.

There are so many amazing examples of digital creators, let’s look at some of our favorite digital creators who have built communities on Mighty!

Martinus Evans: Grew his Instagram following of “back-of-the-pack runners” to 95,000 people, and launched this into a community of 20,000+ people.

Ashley Fox: Left her six-figure Wall Street job to teach financial literacy to the 99% of people big finance doesn’t help. She launched a movement called Empify that reached thousands around the world and taught financial literacy in over 50 different schools, and The Wealth Builders Community.

Sadie Robertson Huff: A best-selling author, speaker, TV star, and one of the world's most influential voices for young Christian women today, with over 4.6 million Instagram followers, national speaking tours, and a top-ranking podcast called, WHOA, That’s Good. She runs the community LO sister.

Drew Binsky: A travel YouTuber with over 5 billion views, launched a branded app–Just Go–to help people fall in love with travel.

As we’ve said in this article, it’s easy to overthink becoming a digital creator. Often the best way to do it is just to get started.

If you’re looking for a platform to build on, come build with Mighty! We bring together content, courses, community, and commerce. Mighty is G2’s top-rated community platform, and it’s the perfect place to launch your digital content and grow a business around it.

Try it free for 14 days! No credit card required.

The sobering statistic is that 46% earn less than $1,000/year. That’s rough.

There are differences, obviously. Some of these things can affect how much you make:

• Niche: Different niches pay differently–usually because people have different amounts to spend. Creating a digital product for unemployed teens is very different from creating a digital product for successful CEOs.

• Platform: Different platforms earn differently. A platform like TikTok can get you a ton of views, but it’s tough to monetize. YouTube has more ways to monetize (once you’re approved), and some cool SEO features, but they’ll take a big chunk of earnings. A private community can earn an average of $48/member.

• Revenue stream: Selling a $7/mo Substack subscription brings in different income from a $48/mo community. Selling a $300 course can be a great revenue stream if you can keep moving it. Different products have different outcomes.

• Time: The top creators you see didn’t usually start last month. Often they’ve been going for years, mastering the craft and building their audience.

Do you keep going? You’ll hear a lot of successful creators say it. “Don’t quit! You’re only one video away! Don’t quit, it takes time!” The story of social media monetization is always, “If you work harder, it will come.” But it doesn’t always. MOST creators will never earn enough to live off of. You probably need a better strategy than riding the social media cycle until you burn out. Check out this masterclass. It will help you think differently about creating.

Not necessarily. Especially since you can sink a lot of money into gear and not see the payout. Most creators are better off working with a phone or laptop until they can prove the concept. Here are a few low-cost things you could consider getting to up your game (again, if you can afford it).

• A mic: You can get a low-cost lapel mic to boost your sound. It doesn’t cost much and it makes a big difference.

• A light: Some creators will invest in a simple ring light or light box. But you can also use a window. Stick your face toward the glass (not in direct sunlight) and you’ll get great videos.

But you can find free video editors, photo editing, post makers (e.g. Canva), and lots of other fantastic tools!

Let’s set some realistic timelines for this. A creator’s journey to success can take anywhere from a few months to many years. And as we said above, some people will never arrive.

That’s tough.

If your goal is to build a following, consistency helps. But it’s not the only thing. You’ll need great content that serves a need, either entertainment, teaching, or interest. It needs to be well-executed in a way that gets people to not only watch, but to click “follow.”

Your platform matters too. TikTok’s algorithm is notorious for helping people grow quickly, and it has a bit of a search function so people can keep finding you. YouTube is strong in both discoverability AND SEO traffic.

All that to say, even with the variables, it takes months and years for most creators to build a following.

If you scrolled social media today, how many of those creators do you remember? How many would you trust to tell you something? How many would you buy from?

Not many!

A community isn’t built on flash and attention. It’s built on deep trust and real relationships.

Social media can be a good start for building this kind of trust. We see communities developing in comments sometimes, when content is authentic and real and people want to connect more to it.

But the ultimate win is bringing those people into a space where they can build real relationships. Have real conversations. That’s the benefit of community.

There are a few questions you should ask:

• What content do I love to create? If you love writing, don’t become a YouTuber. Find a medium that matches the content you enjoy making.

• Research where your target audience spends time. There are very real age and gender differences between platforms.

• Consider monetization options. For example, Instagram doesn’t have much for monetization. And it’s notoriously tough to get people off the platform to other sites or email lists. That doesn’t mean it’s not the right platform for you. But consider these things as you build.

That said, choosing one platform to start on can be a good strategy. Trying to be everywhere at once is a recipe for burn-out, and very few creators get here (usually it’s with a team).

The answer you usually hear is “keep going.” And sometimes that’s right. But if you’re not getting ANY engagement at all, there’s a bigger chance it's your content. A lot of creators look for algorithm or AI hacks.

But the real truth is, your content probably just isn’t good enough… yet.

• Check your niche. Make sure you’re creating content that one type of person could identify with and enjoy.

• Study content. It’s a skill like anything else. Don’t just produce. Learn the craft. How to write a hook. How to keep people engaged. How to get better audio or video.

• Test everything. While top creators make it look effortless, they are ALWAYS testing and adapting as they go.

After you’ve done this, keep going (for a while). But not forever. Don’t forget, you can also adapt your model. While views and engagement are great business metrics, they aren’t a real measure of success. And they certainly aren’t money in your pocket.

What about thinking differently? If you have 100 followers, how could you get more value out of those followers–instead of believing that you need 10,000 to be successful?

Of course you can! Since 66% of creators consider themselves part-time, many probably have day jobs. The great thing about being a creator is that you can do it in your hours off.

But a couple things to consider:

• If you’re making content that could risk your day job, be prepared for what might come. For example, if you make videos dissing your boss or dishing company secrets there will probably be consequences.

• Don’t make content on company time. If you’re huddling in the bathroom filming your next Instagram Reel, there’s a good chance there could be consequences.

• If you make risque content that’s edgy, it might not sit well with some employers. That’s something to consider.

Here’s a thought. For some people, the content they create aligns perfectly with a day job. For example, the YouTuber Rene Ritchie is YouTube’s creator liaison! That’s a cool job for a content creator. If you share expertise in a way that makes your company look good, your boss will probably love it (check first). Or maybe you become your company’s social media manager.

Ultimately, digital creation is a skill that many brands need too. If you can find a way to use your talents for good, it can really complement your day job!

There isn’t one successful creator who hasn’t dealt with negative comments and criticism. It’s hard to deal with. And–for every creator–it can hurt your mental health and the joy of creating.

Here are a few strategies to help deal with it:

• Take breaks from reading comments. You could install a blocker on your phone or computer that helps you unplug for a while.

• Know when you’re most vulnerable. Maybe you can handle a bit of negativity in the morning, but right before bed it will keep you up all night.

• Block freely. You’re under no obligation to engage with trolls. And you probably won’t change people’s minds. But you can cultivate the energy you want in your comments, which might mean blocking people without remorse. Go for it!

• Get yourself a sounding board. As you grow, you might have some people you bounce ideas off of. Talk things through with them. Having people in your corner makes a big difference.

• Network with other creators. You’ll find that the creators you admire most still get negativity. Build relationships with them (as you get the opportunity), and ignore the haters!

• Get mental health support. If the online world is having a detrimental impact on your mental health, a qualified mental health professional can be a great person to have in your corner. Your journey as a creator is about your growth too. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

For most people, focus is key. There are just way too many platforms and only so many hours in the day. And each platform has its own logic. Even platforms that seem similar aren’t necessarily–TikTok and YouTube Shorts feel the same, but they work differently.

It’s probably best to focus on winning one platform. There might be a few ways to cross-pollenate (e.g. a livestream on Streamyard that goes to multiple platforms), but win one first.

You can’t do everything. Here are a few ways to keep moving without burnout:

• Launch a community! It’s our jam, but it bears repeating. Communities don’t run on a creator’s neverending posts. In a community, you’re a Host. You invite members into conversation, and they meet each other and create a network effect. It’s a great way off the treadmill.

• Create a content calendar. If you’re working on a traditional social media platform, organizing content and lining up future work helps keep focused and organized–preventing burnout.

• Hire help. If your following is growing quickly, you could consider hiring out parts of the work you don’t enjoy or aren’t good at. For example, this could be video editing, photography, or social media management.

• Take breaks. It’s easy to feel like if you stop it all goes away. Usually this isn’t the case. Your followers will still be there. If you need a break, take one.