Have you been pondering the idea of becoming a content creator? We have 10 fun and profitable content creation niches for you to explore on your journey.
When I first tested the online content creation waters as a family blogger about **checks watch** 17 years ago, I was immediately hooked. Like so many creators out there, I loved the opportunity to share my unique perspective with readers, and within just a few years, I was a regular blogger for an award-winning parenting magazine.
These days, I still write family blogs, but I’ve also transitioned into a full-time freelance content creator, where I share my expertise on a few of my favorite topics, like travel and TV, through feature articles, news pieces, and YouTube videos. One of the best things about my job is helping other aspiring creators get started in the business.
I often talk to folks who would love to enter the world of content creation, but they’re worried they’re starting too late and everything has already been done. But one thing I’ve learned is that it’s not just about what you say but how you say it — if you have a unique voice, there’s a profitable niche out there for you.
Here’s a short and sweet intro to the world of content creation, followed by a list of 10 great content ideas to help you get started.
Quick Primer on Content Creation
For all of the years I psyched myself out over whether I had anything valuable to contribute or if anyone would go for my pitches, one thing I learned pretty quickly is that it’s not that hard to get into content creation once you get a handle on a few basics.
1. Understanding and connecting with your target audience
This is one of those things that probably sounds like a no-brainer but is too often overlooked by beginning content creators. That’s because it’s all too easy to get hyper-focused on just trying to get something out there when you’re just getting started in the content business.
Whether you’re creating makeup tutorials for YouTube, posting on social media, or developing 3,000-word features for an entertainment website like I do, connecting with your target audience is always the first reason for doing it. Not only does that mean thinking of ways to make your content interesting, fresh, and accessible, but it also means putting together well-organized content in an approachable voice that your readers or viewers will take something away from, not to mention want to come back for more.
Anytime you’re creating a new feature, post, or video, one of your greatest investments will always be the time and energy you spend thinking about how your audience will receive it.
2. Integrating search engine optimization
Whether you’re shopping pitch pieces as a freelancer or developing your own YouTube channel, search engine optimization (SEO) is the bread and butter of your business. In a nutshell, SEO refers to the things you do to make your content more visible to search engines, which in turn drives traffic to your content.
Whether your monetization strategy centers around affiliate marketing, where you earn a commission for every customer that clicks through from your content, or your host website earns money through ad revenue, all roads lead to SEO.
In the writing world, it’s usually just a matter of including a certain number of keywords, headers, backlinks, and external links. For video and social media, it typically means including the right keywords and tags in your description. I recommend watching a handful of videos from SEO specialists to gain a grasp of the concept.
The good thing is that you don’t need a degree in marketing to understand the basics of SEO, especially since what’s considered SEO best practices one day can change with a single Google algorithm update. And if you’re freelancing, SEO strategy can vary from one publisher to the next.
3. Elevating your content quality
One of the best things you can do as a content creator is to consider your content quality a work in progress and commit to constantly honing your craft. Even though I’ve been writing professionally in one capacity or another for decades now, I’m constantly pushing myself to produce better content.
For me, this means reading and consuming content from content creators I consider to be better than myself and considering what makes their work stand out. It also means learning as much as I can about the topics I cover and taking the time to perform high-quality research anytime I present new information.
A Few Words on Publishing Content
To a certain degree, the type of content you’re creating will inform the medium and platform (or platforms) you choose to publish on. While it’s important to consider things like monetization potential and digital marketing when you’re a full-time self-published content creator, don’t let overthinking keep you from getting started.
My first blog was literally just a low-grade Blogspot page. In complete transparency, it wasn’t great, and I even got a handful of snarky comments from time to time. But I would do it all again because it gave me a venue to learn about uploading content and to experiment with the type of content I wanted to create until I found my voice and niche.
Most importantly, it gave me a place to show that I could do it, which eventually led to other jobs down the road.
If you’re in the “almost” phase I once was, here’s a short and by no means comprehensive list of ideas for where to get started publishing your content:
- Blog Platforms: Platforms like Blogger, Medium, Substack, WordPress, and even Tumblr are all great places to post blog posts or even share sample content if you’re an aspiring freelance content writer, particularly since most publishers want to see live links before hiring you.
- Live-streaming Platforms: My teenage gamers love watching other gamers do walkthroughs on sites like Twitch, Discord, and Steam.
- Short Video Platforms: Shorts are one of the best ways to pick up an audience, since most of us love endlessly (and often mindlessly) scrolling through them on sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. And producing shorts is a heckuva less investment than long-form video content.
- Podcasts: If you’d love to start a podcast but you’re not sure how to go from the idea phase to Apple’s Top 10, start by releasing it on YouTube or Substack.
Choosing a Profitable Niche
I can’t overemphasize the fact that just about any niche topic has the potential to be profitable if you have a unique voice and are committed to putting in the work. And it’s okay to shift gears if what seems like a great idea at first doesn’t turn out to be the most profitable niche — several of my favorite YouTubers started off making one type of content before moving on to find success with another.
I genuinely believe that the best content will either be something you’ve got a strong expertise in or it’s just one of your life’s passions — a claim that comes from my own experience taking deep dives into fandom TV shows like “Severance” and penning Disney travel advice.
Still, some content niches just always seem to have room for a steady stream of new creators. Here are 10 of the best of the best content creation niches, along with a few links to creators I love in each category to inspire you:
1. Personal Development
The personal development umbrella is a pretty broad one, encompassing a wide range of topics, but all of them have to do with improving your audience’s lives in an area like finances, entrepreneurship, career, or relationships. If you’ve always had a gift for motivating others or a general interest in self-improvement, this can be a fantastic field to get into.
One of my favorite content creators in this category is Caleb Hammer, a hilarious and plain-spoken YouTuber who has hard conversations about finances with his guests to help them get free from debt. Or check out Midwest Magic Cleaning, a YouTube account that shares videos of themselves cleaning people’s homes, along with encouraging content.
2. Home Decor
As someone who spent most of the mid-2010s obsessing over my Pinterest feed, I know all too well the endless allure of home decor content. It’s an area that people can’t seem to get enough of, probably because it offers great escapism, and we could all use a little help with our homes. It helps to have a background in architecture or interior design, like Cliff Tan, the architect behind Dear Modern, a YouTube channel that uses feng shui principles to help people design their interiors. But you can also find loads of great content on the web from folks who just have a keen eye for design.
3. True Crime
There seems to be almost no limit to how many true crime creators can fit on the internet. Three of my favorite creators actually started off producing something more benign only to shift into producing sensitive, victim-centered, true crime content because it was something that interested them personally. And I’ll say it again louder for the folks in the back, the best content is content you’re interested in.
Take Bailey Sarian, who started off doing makeup content that eventually led to her ‘Murder, Mystery & Makeup’ series, which in turn led to more true crime content. There’s also Mike Oh of That Chapter, who started off creating conspiracy theory content and now has a true crime YouTube channel and podcast, and Stephanie Soo, a true crime creator who got her start producing mukbang (eating food) content.
4. DIY Projects
Whether they’re watching it to unwind after a long day at work or actively attempting to learn a new skill, people love DIY content. Home renovation and repair creators like Home RenoVision DIY can teach you to become your own contractor. But plenty of folks (myself included) just love following someone else’s personal journey through a DIY renovation. Check out Skote Outdoors to see a couple who rebuilt a home in Newfoundland.
Or you could share other types of DIY content, teaching folks how to make anything from DIY home decor to dollar store projects.
5. Fashion
Fashion content is a great niche for aspiring bloggers, Instagram creators, and short form video creators to get into. People love accounts that show them how to style outfits, like Andrea’s Fashion Galaxy. And there’s always a market for snark accounts that poke fun at over-the-top runway fashion like Refashioned Hippie.
6. Travel
I love writing travel content for Explore and Islands because it gives me a chance to learn (and share) the very best travel tips with my readers. It’s also another area that seems to do well, no matter how the economy is doing, because even if folks can’t afford a vacation, they can still get loads of enjoyment out of reading or watching videos about it.
7. Animal Content
I can’t tell you how many hours of my life I’ve lost (and loved losing) to watching other people’s pets. In a time when the world is increasingly divisive, there’s just something absolutely soul-soothing about enjoying the simple sweetness of our animal friends. Whether you’ve got tiny cows or a talking dog, somebody out there would probably enjoy your pet content.
8. Product Reviews
People love product review content because it gives them a chance to learn about how a product works and holds up without actually having to lose their own money. It’s a great job for someone with a really analytical mind like my husband, who reviews tech products for SlashGear.
Whether you’re into makeup, online clothing stores, toys, or even something like art supplies, I can almost guarantee there’s someone out there looking for that type of content. There’s even a market for creators who buy huge lots of Amazon returns or weird, unrealistic AI advertisement products. It’s me. I’m that market.
9. Wellness
If this category makes you cringe and think of pseudoscience, fear not. There’s a world of content in the wellness sphere that deals with things like workout routines and general self-care. I’ve got a family member who creates absolutely lovely mindfulness content and affirmations on her Instagram account, Slow Mel Wellness.
10. Food
This is another niche category where you don’t have to be an expert to consistently create good content. Sure, you can share recipes like my favorite food history professor, Max, over at Tasting History. But you could also do things like compare every single brand of orange soda at your local grocery store or examine questionable online recipes like Tanara Double Chocolate Productions of “Everybody’s so creative!” fame.
Content Creation Niches Wrapup: Time to Make Content Magic
Now that your head is hopefully swimming with ideas for the next best profitable YouTube channel or blog, I can’t wait to see what you create! Remember, the hardest step is just choosing to get started, so what are you waiting for?
Are you a creator with a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel you’d love to share? Let us know in the comments, and happy creating!