What’s stopping you from becoming a content creator in 2023?
I’ve done it next to my full-time job and my kids. If I can do it, you can do it.
Here are 5 free tools to help you get started:
#1 Plan, organize, manage, create
Obviously, number 1 is Notion. I’m a Notion guy.
The first free tool every creator should try at least once is Notion. With Notion, you can create your content, organize it, plan it out, and archive it at the same time. For free, on desktop and mobile devices.
Notion is actively developed, gets new features all the time, and works on every platform and device.
Notion is the no-brainer choice for creators to organize the entire business, from a small one-man show that has just begun to a large-scale business with numerous employees.
And best of all, you can also make money with Notion by developing and selling templates, giving advice to other Notion users, and becoming an expert or consultant.
I have a comprehensive writing system in Notion called WriteOS which I sell online. It helped me stay organized and productive. It’s also on sale until Dec 31 with the promo code “hello2023”. Wink wink. Get it here!
#2 Write & publish
If you’re a writer or blogger, the next no-brainer platform to use is this one.
It’s free. Yes, you don’t need to pay for the membership to publish content and get paid. I recommend becoming a member, but it’s not necessary.
Medium is super easy to use, available on the web and mobile apps, it has a good payment model and comes with a large user base in place for you to reach.
In combination with Notion, you can perfectly create, store, and organize your written word.
#3 Selling
Multiple free options are available online if you plan on selling digital products like templates, designs, courses, e-books, and more.
Number 1 used to be Gumroad for me, but since they decided to increase their fees significantly, I’ve switched to another very similar alternative.
On Payhip, you can sell digital products, courses, memberships, coaching, and even physical products for free with a reasonable 5% fee on each sale (until the end of Feb 2023, there’s no fee at all!).
Payhip also offers paid plans with lower to no fees for high-volume sellers.
Payhip gives the option to customize your store, add a blog, and multiple sections and pages. All for free. Even a custom domain can be connected on the free plan. It’s brilliant.
Additionally, Payhip handles all VAT requirements for your customers from the EU or UK, a necessary, yet often overlooked feature.
#4 Sharing
Social media is a must for content creators, in most cases. What you don’t need is every single social media network on the planet.
Pick one or two and create high-quality content. I use Twitter. But you should pick the content format that’s most natural and fitting to you. For video go with YouTube shorts or TikTok, for images take Pinterest or Instagram, for audio use Twitter Spaces, a podcast platform, or again YouTube Shorts or TikTok.
Whatever you do on social media, there’s another important tool you need to grow a following and share your content.
The email list or newsletter.
Don’t overcomplicate it. Just pick a free platform and collect your first email members. It’s no rocket science. I recommend Substack. If you need simple email automation, look into EmailOctopus.
That’s it. You can always move platforms later on.
#5 Next level
With those 4 aforementioned free tools, you’re good to go as a newbie creator.
Obviously, there’s more you can do, though.
You might want your own website. It isn’t necessary, but it does have a lot of benefits. You can start free in many places with a subdomain. Or you purchase a domain and set up your own site.
For free options, I recommend a few depending on your needs and skills.
- Simple landing page builders like Bio.link, Linktree, Carrd, or Milkshake
- Shop platforms like Payhip that offer blogging and website functionality
- WordPress.org and Ghost.org (free developer version)
Good paid options are:
If you need a truly comprehensive list of tools and services for content creators, I have a free Online Writing Resources template available on Payhip. Download that and take a look at all the options.
The bottom line
That’s the list of free tools you need to become a content creator in 2023. I’ve used many of those tools to build my writing business, my shop for designs and Notion templates, as well as a couple of YouTube channels.
And I still don’t pay a cent for these tools, other than a very reasonable $6 a month for my domains and $5 a month for Medium. Which would both not be necessary.
You can start for free. And still earn money.
Make 2023 your year! Start and don’t give up. 100 days can change your life.
