Since I started my coaching business — vp wright international, the home of The Creative’s Corner™️ — I’ve learned a lot about content creation and how to level up the way your content looks as you scale your creative business.
One of the most common comments I’ve gotten from my community members is about my content has always been:
“Your content always looks so professional, how do you do it?”
A lot of prayer and practice.
In all seriousness though, a significant amount of research from YouTube University, and a lot of time spent on the tools, apps, and systems I use to create the content that has gone viral week after week (and even when I don’t post for weeks at a time).
We ain’t got time for that here, though. You want to learn how to change the game for your content creation process now. I feel you, fam.
Here are a couple of nuggets I want you to reflect on before we get to this tech list:
- Remove all assumptions that your content creation process has to involve fancy, expensive equipment, and a full-fledged team.
You are building a business, my lovely human. Your content creation process will include all of that and then some when the time comes. For now — while you’re solo — you can add a combination of any of these tips no matter your budget to make your ‘ish pop, mad tough.
2. Get super clear on what kind of impact you want your content to leave on your community members.
For me, I wanted my community members to feel like they were getting the most quality and intentional content, no matter how much money my company was making. So, I figured out how to use the tools that I had — such as my iPhone and a set of amazing apps — to create content that didn’t just entertain and educate my community, but helped build trust that an investment in themselves by working with me would be worthwhile. Once I was able to upgrade, I did, but because I knew what tools I had, I allowed myself to pace myself as I added more equipment to my set-up.
As you dive deeper into your identity-led content creation process, ensure you’re taking the time to reflect on:
- Who you’re speaking to: get super clear on the identity factors of your target community member and the experiences they could be going through.
Side note: This is deeper than just race, gender, and sexuality. You’ll want to dive deep into the intersectionality of your target community member, you can learn more about intersectionality here and can grab my workbook Inclusive Strategies for your Coaching Business to dive even deeper into how intersectionality can influence every aspect of your business, your personality, and your clientele.
- What you want your content to do: do you want to educate, entertain, inspire, or inform your community members?
- Where your content is being distributed: because *content* can literally be anything in any format, the platform that your content is being shared at can leave a different impact on your target audience depending on where it’s being shared. This requires doing some research for yourself as you’re figuring out where you want to show up the most as you’re marketing your business, and I can let you know from experience: just because one piece of content may go viral on one platform does not mean it will go viral on all of them.
- When you share your content: having a consistent posting schedule on your platforms in combination with sharing your content when your community members are active is going to be key as you grow your platforms. Does that mean you have to post three times a day, every day? Hell naw. Does that mean you have to share three YouTube videos a week for a year? Hell naw. However, having a schedule that you can stick to and your community can expect you at is the first step at building a loyal following.
- Why are you creating this content in the first place: Get to the root of your purpose here. Not just the purpose of your content, but the purpose of yourself. Yes, you want to make money in your business, but anyone can make money. Anyone can market themselves and what they do. Reflect on what makes you, your business, and your content unique as you start developing your creative flow and flavor.
Now that we’re crystal clear on removing content creation assumptions and adding elements around identity-led content creation that can help embellish your creative flow, here is my list of content creation tools I use in my content creation set-up.
Disclaimer: the linked products that are Amazon links are affiliate links. If you use these links, I will get a portion of the sale as a commission. I would also like to add that I personally don’t like Amazon as a company but their affiliate program is convenient, so if you do plan on purchasing any of these items via Amazon, then please use the affiliate links below so you don’t give Amazon their full cut of the sale. :)
After my first ring light died on me, I knew I needed to have something that wasn’t only reliable, but powerful. I walked right into my local Best Buy, looked at the options they had in stock, and this Vlogging Kit option was what immediately caught my eye. It comes with multiple camera and smartphone adaptors, two on-body microphones, and a case to keep everything together. My husband also uses a ring light from Black-Owned Smart Light Company Charmed Lighting and it’s beautiful and Bluetooth enabled as well!
2. 21.5-Inch iMac + the Mac Mini
I cracked the screen of my laptop four months after I started my business and right when I went full-time in my business, I literally thought I was going to die. I had to run my business with nothing but my phone and apps for three weeks — which you can check out which those were here — and I felt like I didn’t have control over my creative process. My husband and I stepped into Conn’s and bought our 2017 17-Inch iMac on a year-long payment plan. The Investment was worth it.
Now, we’ve been able to not only build up my work station to support my creative and coaching business, but we’ve built a makeshift iMac desktop for my husband with the 2020 Mac Mini for half the cost of an iMac and a more powerful hard drive system than the current iMac we have.
This was one of my favorite investments I made in 2020 for my business. I am obsessed with creating on the go. Creating in the car, on a Lyft, creating in public, creating wherever. I knew I wouldn’t be able to finance a new iPad because my credit was shot, but I could get one through my cellular provider — I have t-mobile — on a payment plan. This ended being great for me, because unlimited data was only $10 additional dollars a month for me to be able to do whatever I needed to do and saved me some money on not having to purchase a whole new Computer since I also got the Apple Pencil and Apple Magic Keyboard with it (this is literally the most amazing case I’ve ever owned. You can charge your iPad with it, basically use it as a computer with a mouse and all).
4. iPad HyperDrive 6-in-1 Hub Adaptor
To really get the most out of my iPad, I grabbed up the Hyperdrive 6–1 Hub Adaptor, so I can podcast, edit photos on my sim card, charge my phone, use wired headphones, and basically use my iPad Pro like a touch-screen laptop wherever I wanted. My entire setup once completed was still less expensive than getting a Macbook pro and I have a better quality camera and sound for my coaching calls.
Another purchase was only achieved because of a payment plan. I have filmed everything on my iPhone (and when I started this venture, I had an iPhone 9) up until the relaunch of my eCourse The Sustainable Startup happening at the end of this quarter. A combination of my phone, the Canva app to create my post, the inShot app to edit all my videos, and Planoly to schedule my content out in advance, everything was done on my phone. People have asked how I was able to make my videos look so professional, and it was honestly me using the highest quality settings in combination with my ring light and some editing within inShot and Canva for graphics that made things stand out. I’m going to be giving an Identity-Led Content Creation™ Workshop at this year that explains my creative workflow process — and you should get on my email list if you want to be the first to know when that happens — but the process is easier than people make it seem. It just takes time and practice.
This isn’t a necessity, but honestly, the phone stand was where I did my lives from before I got my ring light. I still have it currently on my desk to put and charge my phone at during the day so it’s not on my body buzzing all day long.
This was my most recent purchase and I actually bought it pre-owned from a Coaching Industry colleague of mine because #sustainablity. I use my DSLR camera for a Clean HDMI Output and create a super professional-looking live video feed as for my coaching calls, live streams, webinars, and course content. Since I purchased this camera, I found out that my specific Canon camera doesn’t offer an easy Clean HDMI Output setting — and the overall hack took me a while to figure out — so I’ll most likely be upgrading shortly to a pre-owned Sony Alpha a6400 since it already has the capability to do that and give the Canon to my husband to use in his business for professional content creation.
8. El Gato CamLink 4K Video Capture Device
Most Cameras require a Clean HDMI Output (if you need a list of cameras that do or don’t as well as how to set a Clean HDMI up, click here). In order to make that happen is by getting a Video Capture Device. The one I use is the El Gato CamLink 4K — yes, the same one your favorite gaming live streamer uses — and it is super easy to use. Literally as easy as plugging in a USB.
You’ll need this cord to link your camera to the CamLink 4K if your camera has a USB-C. You may need a micro-HDMI or micro-USB in order to connect with your camera. Figure out your outs and find what works for you.
This podcast microphone is high quality, multi-directional, and has a USB input. There’s no need for any additional cords or additional equipment — like an audio mixer — to get your podcast or better quality audio calls going. You can plug this microphone in, log into your Anchor.FM account or pull up Garageband, and record your podcast, easy peasy.
11. JLab Studio On-Ear Headphones
These cute, stylish wired headphones are to check your levels as you record. This is super important as you record your podcast episodes, webinars, live streams, etc. and want to ensure you’re not blowing out the ears of your community members.
I know this list was massive, but again; you don’t need every single item on this list to be a badass content creator. Great content takes practice and time to create. I’ve been making content since I was 12 years old — I’m 26 — and I’m still taking time to practice and hone in on my expertise as a content creator every single day. The tools I use daily have been accumulated over the last three to six years, I didn’t get them overnight.
Everything has its own process and journey, and the only person that can make your journey as inspiring and engaging to watch is you.
If you want to dive deep into your content creation process specifically for Instagram, I would highly suggest grabbing my workbook bundle Instagram® for Creatives. You get a five-chapter breakdown on how to use the app, a creative entrepreneur’s hashtag bank to keep your post relevant and attract community members through an identity-driven methodology, all of my and my colleagues Chijioke Emeka content creation tips and hacks, and forever updates for as low as three monthly payments of $48.
If this article resonated with you and you want to connect with me, you can find me on Instagram, check out my podcast, The Creative’s Corner™ Podcast, or visit my website at www.vpwright.com to learn more about joining the community!
