WHAT DID I DO BEFORE?

Since leaving my corporate job as an art director at a print company more than 12 years ago, ( omg did I just reveal my age haha ) I knew that I wanted to work for myself. Coming from an entrepreneurship family, my father has always had his own business along with my mother being extremely creative and crafty growing up, I was always surrounded by a super duper “do it yourself” type of environment.

After leaving my job in the corporate world, my first baby business was a branding biz called “SignatureOne”, snazzy name eh? What did I do? Well, I remember cold calling and emailing businesses asking if they needed help with their branding, website, logo & marketing. I was and still enjoy to make a brand look aesthetically pleasing, professional and consistent. I coded websites from scratch, designed logos, marketing material, spent hours on photoshop and basically helped businesses deliver a brand that they were proud of.

SHOP THE LOOK

I GOT BURNT OUT

I got burnt out with the long hours of branding work, and slowly made the transition to another love of mine, design and photography. Fast forward 2 years, I entered the wedding industry by storm, professionally photographing weddings, had my work featured in Style Me Pretty, Bride Magazine, and more. I also eventually added a team and more services like floral and event design! After 7 years of wedding industry work, I retired my hat and thought hard on this new “content creator” career I kept reading about.

If we go back before I did any of the above, from 15 years old to around 22, I was in the music industry as a singer/songwriter, I signed with a record label, recorded a full length album too! So you can see how I have worn MANY hats.

NEW CHAPTER, NEW CAREER

I loved the idea of a content creator, it combined everything that I loved and my experience into one job, and it made complete sense to me. I was finally excited about something again, and I’m the type of gal that when I am ready to move forward with something I’m full speed ahead. So I did, and after a lot of self discovery, hearing many podcasts, reading, designing my own brand, photography and countless editing hours, here I am finally with my lifestyle brand, as owner and creative directer, Andi Mans.

So, now that you’ve got that out of the way. You can learn a little bit about what I do!

WHAT IS A CONTENT CREATOR AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

In the Digital Age that we live in, you’ve probably heard the term “content creator” thrown around all over the internet. But what does that mean exactly? And how can people make an entire living by being a content creator?

The truth is, pretty much any form of artistic expression is content creation! The difference between a “content creator” and an “artist,” though, is content creator’s market is exclusively online – they don’t publish tangible products. But they can, if given the opportunity or doing it yourself through online courses, workshops, products, etc!

By definition, a content creator is someone who is responsible for the contribution of information to any media and most especially to digital media. They usually target a specific end-user/audience in specific contexts. A content creator can contribute any of the following:

• Blog posts
• Creative Direction
• Styling
• Social media copy
• Email newsletters
• Video marketing and editing
• Graphic design
• eBooks
• Photography
• & more!

LET’S DIG DEEPER

In short, a content creator is someone that creates content for the purpose of furthering and marketing a brand. They not only market brands but they also flourish their own brand name by creating content that reflects their personality, talents, interests and aesthetic.

Remember the good ole’ days, where big brands would hire advertising companies to create marketing material for them? Well, content creators are the new generation of micro advertising agents all done by one person, a content creator. All the above listed and potentially much more!

WHO CAN BE A CONTENT CREATOR?

Absolutely anyone! This isn’t an overnight career but you can start educating yourself in many ways on how you can turn it into a full time career! One of the best things about content creation is all you need is some time, self motivation and creativity and you’ve got all the tools that you really need. If you run into any situations where you think you could benefit from learning more about a topic, chances are there’s a killer online course that you can access for a low price or free or a podcast to listen to!

That’s right, you don’t need to have a marketing degree, graphic design degree or even a fancy digital camera! There are tons of hacks and resources on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and other content creator’s blogs to help you get started today.

WHAT DOES A CONTENT CREATOR DO?

There are 5 main things that a content creator does.

1. DEVELOP A BRAND

Even if you have a great brand and a killer website to go along with it, content is what you need to instill brand loyalty in your followers. When a content creator helps develop a brand across different platforms on the internet, it helps to tell a story that gets people to take action.

2. VALUE

Content Creators want to be resourceful, inspire, educate and get you moving in the direction to help you in whatever pool of interest you fit in. Whether that’s fitness, lifestyle, beauty, health, business, etc! Content Creators look out for their audience and have a passion for sharing the content that could potentially benefit you!

3. CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE

When content creators are able to pinpoint what makes a brand special and tell their story to their audience, it allows them the opportunity to connect. This involves sharing what makes you unique, personal stories, hardships, triumphs and more. Your following will get to know the unique you, and that’s what makes you stand out!

4. INCREASE TRAFFIC ON A WEBPAGE

Whether you’re creating content for a store that sells goods or an influencer that makes money depending on how many people view their content, the main goal for the hired brand is to get those numbers even higher. Content creators are trained in SEO, photography and design skills to make a brand not only stand out, but make sure it shows up on the first Google search page. Yup, there’s some technical skills to be had here.

5. PROMOTE ACTION

While a good website with SEO content is great, it means nothing if there’s no call to action. Content creators are excellent at showing off an amazing product and then telling viewers exactly what they have to do next to make that product theirs! Writing skills, and inviting + warm conversations are crucial for promotion in an authentic voice for your community.

Even if content creation is just a hobby for you right now – or you want it to be full time – there’s no reason that you can’t make it something that you’ll “quit your day job” for! Content creation can be quite lucrative if you practice, practice, practice. Now get out there and create some content of your own! Please make sure to email me or DM me with any questions you may have, I’m here to help!