How I Became a Self-Taught Content Creator (You Can Too!)

2.5 years of hard-earned lessons in under 2 minutes

Becoming a content creator was never on my radar.

My transition from being a 9–5 person to a content creator happened very organically. You can find the story here.

Here’s how I became a self-taught content creator and you can too.

Step 1: Know Your Current Location

All of us are standing at a specific point in our lives. Before you decide to become a content creator, ask yourself: Where am I right now?

Not in a deep, philosophical way. I mean in terms of ‘skills’.

• Are you good at writing like Dan Koe or Matt Gray?

• Do you design visuals like Lizandmollie?

• Are you curious like Nuseir Yassin?

Knowing your current skill level gives you direction.

Once you have a clear knowledge about where you stand in terms of your skills, start brushing them.

Don’t overcomplicate it. You’re not trying to become world-class on Day 1. I mean, you can’t.

Aim to go from 0–1. Do your homework and find a person who’s a few steps ahead of you, someone who can take you from a novice to decent.

That’s it!

Pro Tip: Watch creators. Learn from them. But don’t idolize them blindly. You’re not trying to be them. You’re just trying to learn from how they operate.

Step 2: Forget the 10,000 Hour Rule

There’s this notion floating across the web that you need 10,000 hours to learn.

Let me burst that bubble — you don’t need that. Josh Kaufman (author of The First 20 Hours) said it best:

You don’t need 10,000 hours to learn a skill. You need around 20 hours of focused, intentional practice to get decent at something.

Honestly, decent is enough to start. Start with 1 skill. Give it 20 hours. Track your progress. Use Notion. Watch yourself improve.

Step 3: Execute

Execution is everything.

You can spend hours learning, watching tutorials, saving carousels, and reading blogs or newsletters, but if you’re not doing it, you’re not moving.

Remember: Thinking doesn’t build skills. Doing does.

So, do.

Start with a very small goal. Big goals aren’t always good. Of course, they look super fancy on paper but they feel heavy in your chest. I don’t want you to do that for yourself (at least as a beginner)

Have a very low-effort number in your brain. Why? Because your brain won’t resist it.

Let’s say you want to become a writer. If I tell you to write a 1,000-word blog on Day 1, you’d be wrecking your nerves. Staring at a blank screen. Struggling to write even the first para. Ultimately you’ll shut the laptop and go.

Scenario 2.

If I tell you to write only 5 lines for your blog, you’ll do it. Why? Because your brain loves doing things that are comfortable and inside your limit.

Use this psychological hack to your advantage. Slowly, increase the level of complexity and work as we do in games.

Step 4: You Won’t Get it Right

As a first-time creator, you might not know everything. You’ll get stuck in different stages: researching, writing, compiling, designing, marketing, sales, etc.

The list is long. Actually many people think that content creation is just like a ‘make a post and publish’ thing. It’s NOT.

It’s a big ecosystem that works on systems.

There’s going to be friction.

• You’ll spend 2 hours designing a carousel and still feel shit about it.

• You’ll spend 3 hours trying to write a blog but can’t get to even the mid-section.

• You’ll launch a product and hear crickets.

Be OK with all these things.

Treat them like data points. Plus, pay attention to the algorithm of the platform in which you’re operating.

Step 5: Connect the Dots

Ahh! I’m in love with this speech by Steve Jobs, the pioneer for this connect the dot mindset.

According to Steve:

You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward.

And it’s so damn true.

When you're just starting as a creator, nothing feels connected. The reason is evident: you’re trying different platforms, testing formats, learning tools & strategies, and writing ideas that feel half-baked. In short, you’re a juggler.

To make sense of everything, you need to have a zoom-out view.

Have a look at your analytics. Pay attention to content that drives your engagement. Find profitable patterns. Build your strategy based on those patterns. Then, double down on each one of them.

Step 6: Document — You’ll Thank Yourself for This

As Gary V said:

Don’t create. Document.

Documenting is by far one of the most rewarding habits that I’ve developed over the years.

Try to keep note of everything that you’re doing as a creator. It’ll act as your ‘reference point’ when things get messy. I use Notion for this.

Screenshot by Author (Source: My Notion workspace)

Now, you might be wondering — why should I waste my time writing everything when I can save it in my brain? Boy, it’s a misconception.

You won’t remember half the things you tested 3 months ago. You’ll forget:

• what tools you use

• what formats performed well

• what strategy clicked

But if you’re documenting, you can always go back to the same doc. Trust me it saves you a lot of energy.

P.S. How did you get this idea of becoming a content creator? Any corporate story like me?

💡 Stuff That Blew My Mind This Week

• 🔎Mentor I Found: I’m learning a lot about freelance writing from Elna Cain, like literally making notes. She is an absolute gem!

• 🤖 Tool: Kittl (A one of a kind design tool that’ll help you level up your creations in minutes.)

• 👀 Content I loved : How to Simplify Complex Decisions By Cleaving the Facts

Until next time,

Stay amazing 💌

Sweta