Become A Content Curator And Start Building Your Audience Right Now
Internet content is eating the world. And it needs curators.
The power of the internet is that code and digital media have a zero marginal cost of reproduction. This means that creators in the creator economy can “build once” and distribute to millions of people worldwide without any extra effort.
This has created a whole new way to sell your creativity online and make a living doing it. Here’s why:
“A few $100,000/year revenue streams, for inspiration:
- 300 customers @ $29/mo
- 6 sales/day @ $45 each
- 1 sale/day @ $270 each
- 50 students/quarter @ $500 each
- 15 hrs/week @ $125/hr
All achievable part-time as a one-person business.”
That doesn’t look so daunting! It’s not easy, but with persistence and a little luck, it’s totally doable. Most people just don’t know how to get started.
If you don’t already create content online, you should start now. And the easiest place to start is to become a content curator.
What Is A Content Curator?
A “content creator” creates original content.
A content curator, though, curates content that’s already out there in the domain, organizes it, shoots it through their unique perspective, and then publishes it to build an audience.
Content curators exist because there’s so much content coming online. The average consumer can’t keep up with everything happening in their niche. It’s too much stuff!
So, content curators collect, organize, and summarize the happenings in their niche, so it’s accessible to the average reader. And as they do it, they start building an audience interested in the same things they are.
I only recently realized I was a content curator thanks to this thread from my friend, Nick (follow him @commute on Twitter!). I didn’t know there was a word for what I was doing with Wealest until now: I curate the mental models of wealth creators and deliver them to you.
Examples Of Content Curators
Once you know what to look for, you realize these content curators are everywhere! Some of your favorite blogs and authors could be content curators.
Shane Parrish & Farnam Street Blog
Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street blog served as a major inspiration for Wealest when defining what it was.
FS explores “mental models” from great thinkers and summarizes them for readers. Their goal from their website is to: “help you master the best of what other people have already figured out.”
This is content curation! Shane and his team summarize the big ideas from various disciplines, so you don’t have to search out and read all the source material yourself.
And, they’ve built a massive audience doing it.
Tim Ferriss & His 5-Bullet Friday Newsletter
If you don’t subscribe to Tim Ferriss’s Five Bullet Friday newsletter, you should check it out. It’s basically a weekly email with a curated list of:
“the five coolest things I’ve found (or explored) that week.”
Tim - one of “Fast Company’s ‘Most Innovative Business People’ and one of Fortune’s ‘40 under 40’” - is curating content!
If it’s good enough for Tim, it’s good enough for me.
The Ideas Of Wealth Creators At Wealest.Com
Wealest is a perfect example of content curation. I filter and reorganize the ideas of wealth creators that already exist around the internet, shoot them through my unique perspective and writing style, and publish them online. And the site gets 10,000+ pageviews/month doing it.
Content Curators Start With What They Already Consume.
Content curation is the easiest way to start publishing content online because you can begin with what you already consume. You can start just where you are!
All you have to do is figure out how to turn what you already spend time doing or consuming into accessible content.
That’s how I started. Wealest came about because I was consuming everything I could about wealth building. I had no idea how people got rich, but I was intensely curious.
As I was reading, I thought that I might write down the most important parts of what I learned for two reasons:
1) So I could come back and refer to these ideas whenever I wanted, and
2) Others may also want to read my notes to save time.
That’s how Wealest began. I started with what I was already curious about.
And curiosity is exactly where you should start. Here’s Naval Ravikant on the power of curiosity to guide your creativity in a Clubhouse conversation about “The Creator Economy:”
“It’s really that self-directed curiosity and passion. Everybody has it. Sometimes it gets drilled out of you, or you’re convinced it’s in the useless domain... Everyone has some personal curiosity and obsession that's driving them. And the beauty of the Internet is no matter how bizarre and strange that is, there are a bunch of people out there who are really into it—and probably large enough that you can form a small business or audience around it.”
You can use your curiosity to build an audience. That’s what I’ve done, what Shane Parrish has done - even what Joe Rogan has done with his podcast.
The secret is to start with what you already consume for fun.
For those interested, here’s the complete Clubhouse “Creator Economy” discussion with Naval Ravikant, Sahil Lavingia, and Ben Thompson:
There Are No New Ideas, Only Ideas Reframed.
People think they need “original ideas” to start creating content. Get that out of your head. Most “new ideas” are just old ideas with a new paint job.
And the sooner you start curating content in your niche, the sooner you’ll realize this! After spending years researching and writing about wealth creators' ideas, I’ve noticed there are only about 5-10 ideas in the domain that matters. Everyone is just talking about them in different ways!
You Don’t Have To Be The Best, Just Be Specific.
If you’re worried about being too “specific” in your niche, don’t be.
The power of the internet is that no matter what you’re interested in, there’s a group of people out there who are interested in the same things you are. And the internet will connect you to them.
This means you don’t have to be “the best” writer or the “the best” curator to start building an audience. You just need to be talking about something no one else has yet explored in full detail—the more specific your topic, the better.
Here’s Ben Thompson in the same “Creator Economy” conversation:
“It’s funny how many people miss the idea that the internet inverts everything… Everyone’s like ‘you have to differentiate by being the best writer or the most clever,’ and actually, you can also differentiate by virtue of this niche you’ve built.
If no one is talking about a particular topic, or no one is covering a particular subject, that by definition is differentiation, even if you’re only average at it. Just by being the only one doing it is a real opportunity.”
So don’t worry about going too niche in the beginning. Start curating content in whatever it is you’re passionate about. Then, over time, if you want to expand and open up the niche a little, you can. But specificity is great. It’s the perfect place to start.
Content Curation Is The Easiest Way To Eventually Become An Internet Creator.
Creating is hard. It takes time, iteration, and tinkering to find something that works.
While curating isn’t easy, it’s far easier!
It’s the perfect place to start. And once you build a habit of consistently creating and shipping your content, you’ll naturally move onto content that’s more unique to you. You’ll move onto “original” content.
But you have to build the habit of creating first. And that takes practice.
Here’s Naval Ravikant on what it takes to be a creator:
“To be a good creator, you have to be creative and creative means that you’re constantly creating things… Your creativity is who you are and what you do. You're always creating things in your domain. Nonstop. Constantly…
You just try a lot of stuff. You get feedback from the world and from the market and you see what works and you stick with what works. That’s just it. There’s no shortcutting that process.”
Start curating content that lights you up - the stuff that captures your interest. Experiment. Tinker. Start building your audience.
And then, once you’ve strengthened your creative muscle, move onto original content.
If you want to learn how to become a Content Curator, I wrote a free e-book for those who want to:
Write online but don't know where to start.
Create connections and grow an audience of peers.
Build a digital asset that gets more valuable over time.
Tap into a consistent flow of ideas to serve you forever.
Produce quality content and publish consistently online.
Transform your content consumption into content creation.
Jumpstart your online writing journey - no experience needed!