Through documenting, strategically sharing my travels, and creating passive income streams over the years, I’ve gained first hand experience about the business side of content creation. It is through my own journey that I have been able to create a roadmap to help ask the right questions, grow my brand and business, and continuously create value for my audience. This focus has helped me leverage my platform, thereby attracting brand collaborations and sponsorships I never in my wildest dreams would have expected. So after receiving countless messages and emails from others who want to do the same, I’ve decided to start sharing more strategic resources for you: an aspiring content creator at the beginning level of your journey, who is ready to take a leap of faith and build a business that is rooted in passion and purpose.
Next in this series: a detailed breakdown on how to identify your niche as a content creator!
How can you use your unique perspective, skills, and life experience to approach different subjects, services, or products? As the saying goes, it’s not what you do but how you do it. What makes you special? What separates you from those around you? I don’t believe you have to be the loudest or most dramatic person in the room (I’m certainly not), but tap into what sparks people’s curiosity and draws them in to you. I identified that I have a unique way of telling visual stories (particularly in the travel space). I also love adventure, take risks, and live an unconventional life. I’m a natural problem solver, I travel to places most people can’t identify on a map, I do things most people would find too daring, and I’m not scared of trying new things. Most importantly, I know how to fail forward and pivot quickly.
By identifying and assessing these characteristics about myself, I've been able to cultivate them to help differentiate me as a content creator:
I focus on traveling to unique destinations off the beaten path.
I inform others how to experience the best of the destinations I visit.
I style myself in a way that helps others want to purchase products I like.
I capture people, places, products, and moments in ways that are aspirational, approachable, and inspiring.
I am constantly taking risks and trying new things along the way, so I have built up a unique skill set and level of experience others can benefit from.
The key is to really self-assess.
Your personal style, personality, sense of humor, natural talent and artistry will all play a role. Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t start off knowing what your sweet spot is; as it will become evident in time. What’s most important is that you begin to do the work to identify it, and then cultivate and develop it once you do. Step one for you is to just start. Done is better than perfect, so focus on taking the first step and becoming comfortable being uncomfortable.
Everyone starts as a beginner, so the sooner you begin the sooner you’ll develop the skills and community that will propel your business forward. Finally, set a date on the calendar (it can be as early as tomorrow to as far out as years from now) and focus on taking daily steps to get there.
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