The top 10 types of creators and their go-to platforms for scaling up (+ real-world examples)

Writers, teachers, filmmakers, artists, and other types of creators have always existed.

But unlike in the past, creators are taking business into their own hands, connecting directly with their audiences and finding innovative ways to earn a living from their passions.

In this guide, we examine the 10 main types of creators and see which tools and resources they use to build and scale their businesses. If you’re a creator looking to grow your business, you’ll find many practical tips to help you.

What is a creator?

A creator is someone who produces, invents, or makes things. For example, physical products like journals, books, and subscription boxes to digital products, such as educational resources, email courses, paid newsletters, and templates.

Creators are artists, authors, musicians, writers, podcasters, course creators, coaches, bloggers, cooks, bakers, and designers. 

They’re typically experienced and passionate about their work. As a result, creators share their process and products on their website, e-commerce store, social media, and email list, which naturally helps build a community and grow their business.

Types of creators #1: Artists and makers

Artists build their online presence to promote and/or sell their art. This category includes painters, photographers, filmmakers, fabric designers, digital illustrators, and cartoonists.

Despite the starving artist trope, the creator ecosystem is full of thriving artists who bring joy and beauty to their audience through their art and make a living doing so.

Which social media platforms do artists and makers use?

Unsurprisingly, artists make the most of visual platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. These platforms let artists showcase their work in great detail and color, and they also make it easy to sell art thanks to the shopping features available on the platforms.

Some artists also use Facebook Pages to build their fan base and share their work with a wider audience.

Do artists and makers use email marketing?

Many do. Although some artists’ tech stack is limited to their social media profiles, a website, and an online shop, others leverage email marketing to reach their audience in their personal inboxes.

Artists often use email marketing to:

• Share new stock with their audience
• Inform their audience of seasonal discounts
• Form personal connections by sharing life milestones

Email marketing often allows artists to automate valuable emails that keep their online business going even while they’re not working.

Examples of artists and makers

Check out these artists as great creator examples:

• Bonnie Christine, fabric designer
• Chris Legaspi, artist and educator
• Danny Gregory, artist, and writer

Types of creators #2: Authors and writers

​​ Authors—self-published authors, traditionally published authors, first-timers, and seasoned authors—have one goal: to publish their book to anticipating readers.

Writers, on the other hand, are creators who write for a living and do not always need to collect their works into books or publish them.

Writers are an intriguing type of creators because you can almost always sort them into other categories mentioned in this article. They often work freelance for other companies or news outlets and may dabble in other categories by hosting podcasts, running online courses, or coaching other writers.

Which social media platforms do authors and writers use?

Authors use a wide mix of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and TikTok.

On Facebook, authors can create their author page and run a Facebook group for their readers and fans to connect. X/Twitter is excellent for discussions with readers and for participating in X/Twitter chats. Instagram and TikTok are the go-to platforms for showcasing behind-the-scenes, day-in-the-life type content, as well as tips, jokes, and book recommendations.

Writers make the most out of platforms that let them easily share their words with the world. This is where X/Twitter and LinkedIn take the cake.

That doesn’t mean you won’t find writers on Instagram from time to time—their images will often be words rather than photos, and their captions might be long.

Do authors and writers use email marketing?

Yes! Newsletters are a common marketing strategy for authors. They use email marketing to:

• Share book release news with their audience
• Connect with their audience and host book giveaways
• Remind their audiences of forthcoming events and appearances

Even authors publishing books for decades have a newsletter signup form on their website.

Examples of authors and writers

• Ryan Holiday, author and founder of Daily Stoic
• David Perell, writer and podcaster
• Helene Sula, author and blogger

Creator type #3: Bloggers

As the name reveals, bloggers are creators whose core content lives on their blogs. Blogging became popular in the 2000s but remains a huge creator subset—the second largest creator type, according to Kit’s report.

Fashion, travel, food, books, and fitness are common blogging categories. Their blog posts usually focus on their own formulas and experiences, like recipes, workouts, book recommendations, outfits, travel guides, and shopping lists. Bloggers want to serve as inspiration and motivation to their readers.

Which social media platforms do bloggers use?

Instagram and Pinterest are often the social media platform of choice for most bloggers.

Instagram adds to the visual nature of categories like food and fashion. Pinterest acts as a great visual and topical search engine and can be a huge source of blog traffic.

Take Merrick’s Art as an example—with over 200,000 followers and more than 10 million monthly views on Pinterest, it’s a valuable place to invest time as a blogger.

Do bloggers use email marketing?

Nowadays, most bloggers do. Larger, more established blogs often have a signup box in the blog’s sidebar, a pop-up opt-in form, or a free downloadable built into their blog posts. Newer blogs may not use email marketing (yet) but usually add it to their tech stack as they grow.

Examples of bloggers

• Maurizio Leo of The Perfect Loaf
• Afoma Umesi of Reading Middle Grade
• Liz and Tyler of The Clean Eating Couple

Types of creators #4: Coaches and consultants

Coaches are another subset of creators that focus on education. The subtle difference between coaches and educators is that, unlike educators who release pre-recorded courses, coaches tend to teach in a live, personalized format—whether through 1:1 coaching, group coaching, or masterminds.

A coach is an ideal solution for an audience who needs hand-holding and a targeted approach to a problem they’d otherwise struggle to solve on their own.

Which social media platforms do coaches and consultants use?

The platform of choice will depend on the coaches’ niche and audience, but it’s safe to say that X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are the usual choices—in most cases, only one out of the three.

For example, a career coach will focus their content efforts on LinkedIn, while an online business coach might thrive on X/Twitter or Instagram.

Do coaches and consultants use email marketing?

Yes, email marketing is how coaches connect with potential clients and build a waiting list. Coaches are limited on the number of clients they can take in a week, month, or quarter, so letting future clients sign up to hear about free coaching spots is essential.

A coach might also use email marketing to:

• Share free coaching tips that show off their expertise
• Advertise new events and offerings
• Share testimonials with potential clients

Examples of coaches and consultants

Here are some examples of coaches:

• Courtney Chaal, a coach for service providers and creatives
• Tiffany Uman of Peak Performers
• Austin Church of Freelance Cake

Types of creators #5: Course creators and educators

Educators focus on distilling everything they know about their expertise into content their audience can easily learn from.

They create step-by-step guides, templates, and plug-and-play formulas and deliver them in various formats—blog posts, newsletters, free email courses, Instagram captions, YouTube videos, X/Twitter threads, webinars, and paid courses.

Regardless of the content format and platform, these creators aim to become the go-to person for tips and insights about a specific topic, including creativity, online business, nutrition, personal finance, and more.

Which social media platforms do course creators and educators use?

Educators create content on every platform, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok.

Do course creators and educators use email marketing?

Yes—big time. It’s how educators bring their followers into a platform where they don’t have to rely on social media to deliver valuable content. Educators use email marketing to:

• Share tips and resources that aren’t publicly available
• Build a deeper relationship with their audience
• Sell directly to a nurtured audience who trusts them

Examples of educators and course creators

Here are some examples of creator educators:

• Jo Franco, Language and travel coach
• Angela Fehr, Watercolorist and educator
• Katie Steckly, YouTuber and creator educator

Creator type #6: Marketers

Marketers help other businesses sell their products by crafting and revamping marketing strategies. There are many kinds of marketers—including content marketers, affiliate marketers, and SEO experts—each focused on different marketing channels.

What makes marketers unique is that they have a well-rounded knowledge of one or more marketing channels and are hired to grow businesses for other people. Unlike, for example, bloggers and content creators who often focus on their own blogs or channels.

Which social media platforms do marketers use?

Marketers use any social media platforms their audiences use. Depending on their niche, you could find them on Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok, and even Facebook.

For example, marketers selling to C-suite executives may prefer to spend time selling on X/Twitter and LinkedIn, while content marketers focused on small businesses would rather be on Instagram where their audience hangs out.

Do marketers use email marketing?

Absolutely! Marketers are some of the biggest users of email marketing because it provides valuable features like automation that frees them up for strategic thinking.

Some ways marketers use email marketing are:

• Sharing marketing tips with potential customers
• Nurturing subscribers to booking retainers using automated sequences
• Selling digital products that show off their expertise

Examples of marketers

Here are some examples of marketers:

• Chanel Basilio of Growth in Reverse
• Vannesia Darby, Entertainment Marketer
• Ashley Cummings of Content Connect

Creator type #7: Musicians

Musicians make music, whether as physical products (e.g., vinyl, CDs, etc.) or digital or intangible products (e.g., streamed music, live music, etc).

Although not every musician will have as many fans as Taylor Swift does, it’s increasingly possible for many musicians to make a living from their passion.

Which social media platforms do musicians use?

Most musicians use video-friendly social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to share their art and connect with fans. Some also use Facebook for live streaming and hosting pages or fan groups.

Do musicians use email marketing?

Not as much as they should. Fortunately, more musicians are recognizing the need to form personal connections with their fans, instead of only having them as social media followers. With email marketing, musicians can connect with fans—even those without social media—to:

• Announce show and tour dates to fans directly
• Promote merch and other physical products
• Segment subscribers to provide location-specific offerings
• Offer other services, such as music coaching

Examples of musicians

Here are some examples of musicians:

• Drew Holcomb
• Christian Howes, musician and music coach

Creator type #8: Newsletter creators

Newsletter creators are writers who majorly (or only) write for their newsletters. Typically, these creators do not have blogs or write on other platforms, and their main way of connecting with their audience is by sending a regular newsletter.

Since for these creators, email newsletters are their main focus, they often monetize the platform by offering:

• Paid newsletters
• Paid membership communities
• Digital products for sale

Which social media platforms do newsletter creators use?

Newsletter creators usually favor text-based social media platforms like X/Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram (with text-heavy graphics as their posts).

Creators with a more career-driven message might prefer LinkedIn and X/Twitter, while other lifestyle, art, or design-based newsletter writers may feel more comfortable on Instagram and X/Twitter. Here’s newsletter creator Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Instagram as an example.

Examples of newsletter creators

Here are some newsletter creators worth knowing:

• Sara Hildreth of Fiction Matters
• Anne Laure Le-Cunff of Ness Labs

Creator type #9: Podcasters

Podcasters create audio media chock-full of tips, entertainment, and stories in a way no one else can. These creators usually have a significant overlap with other creator types; you’ll find podcasters who are also educators or coaches, book authors, or writers.

But one thing’s for sure: their podcast is the main way they create their core content and build their audience.

Which social media platforms do podcasters use?

It’s safe to say: all of them. Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok are loved by podcasters big and small. It’s a matter of the creator’s preference and the podcast topic.

For example, business podcasts often dominate X/Twitter and LinkedIn, while wellness and entertainment podcasts do well on Instagram.

Do podcasters use email marketing?

Yes! It’s the most reliable way to let your listeners know there’s a new episode coming their way. Otherwise, you’re relying on their podcast app and notification settings, which means they might miss out on a podcast episode they’d otherwise choose to listen to.

Podcasters also use emails to:

• Share their upcoming episode schedule
• Remind listeners of past episodes they may have missed
• Survey their audience for future topics
• Send tailored content based on listeners’ preferences and email clicks

Examples of podcasters

Here are some examples of podcasters:

• Jay Clouse, host of the Creator Science podcast
• Tim Ferriss, host of the Tim Ferriss Show

Creator type #10: YouTubers

YouTubers are creators who have built their creative business by publishing videos on their YouTube channel regularly—once or more per week. YouTube is how they got started and where their creator journey evolved from.

YouTubers crave connection with their viewers, so they use their videos to get personal and dive deep into a topic week after week.

Which social media platforms do YouTubers use?

The choice of social media platforms for YouTubers largely depends on their area of focus. You might find beauty YouTubers on Instagram and TikTok, while productivity YouTubers might focus on X/Twitter or LinkedIn.

It’s usually about one or two platforms in the mix with YouTube. However, don’t be surprised if you see YouTubers who aren’t active anywhere other than on their channel, blog, and newsletter.

Do YouTubers use email marketing?

Yes and no. Some YouTubers rely on their email list to support their goals. This is often the case with YouTubers who sell digital or physical products or even have free downloadable resources that complement their video content well.

On the other hand, plenty of YouTubers don’t have a newsletter or email list and direct their viewers to subscribe to their channel or visit their social media profiles.

Examples of YouTubers

Here are some YouTubers to follow:

• Ali Abdaal, author, doctor, and YouTuber
• Jules Acree, vlogger and productivity YouTuber

Earn a living from your passion with Kit

Now you know: the creator economy is here to stay, and creators are a diverse bunch. Whatever you thrive at, you can make a living online from it through blogging, coaching, podcasting, and so many other ways.

With the right toolkit, you can reach and exceed your goals. Kit, with its landing pages, opt-in forms, automations, and commerce features, can help you turn your readers, viewers, and listeners into lifelong fans and loyal customers.

Sign up for a free Kit account.