10 Content Creators to Draw Inspiration From in 2024

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10 Content Creators to Draw Inspiration From in 2024

Marisa Murgatroyd

Creating engaging content consistently is hard… and it’s easy for the creative well to dry up 🙁

So where do you turn when that happens? Google? ChatGPT?

Sure… but I’ve got something that’s even quicker and better!

Below, I’ve compiled 10 of the best in the biz to give you a burst of fresh, innovative content ideas to spark your creativity in 2024!

From the laid-back, relatable approach of YouTube fitness creators to the sharp, witty email copywriting finesse, these are the entrepreneurs who are redefining the content creation landscape.

In search of inspiration to boost your social media presence?

Ready to refine your copywriting skills?

Or maybe you’re looking for a fresh perspective on content marketing?

Use this list throughout the year as your go-to guide 🙂

Sam Sulek’s unexpected rise on YouTube, Laura Belgray’s conversational copy magic and Shea Serrano’s unfiltered social media presence only scratch the surface of what you’ll discover. And for each content creator, I’ll give the biggest takeaways and their best content examples.

So, if you’re ready to be inspired and transform your content strategy in 2024… keep reading 🙂

1. Sam Sulek

Platform: YouTube

Fitness creator Sam Sulek posted his first video on YouTube on January 19, 2023. And now? He has over 3 million subscribers! You might think he’s the second coming of MrBeast — you know, the flashy editing style, scroll-stopping thumbnails…

But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Sulek has exploded on YouTube despite breaking all the rules with his thumbnails, video length and low production quality.

So, if you’ve struggled to make headway on YouTube, this might leave you scratching your head — “How is this working for him?!?”

Well, he’s abandoned MrBeast’s overly fast-paced, edited style and adopted the more casual vlogger style. He posts consistently — every single day — and flaunts the discourse around length (a lot of his videos are 90+ minutes!)

He’s also not your typical fitness influencer. He doesn’t come off like a drill sergeant lifting heavy weights to go to war — he’s just filming his life. And he narrates the journey in what feels like one long conversation. So he stands out in a sea of sameness!

Biggest Takeaways: Be yourself, do what makes you happy on your preferred channels and stop trying to copy creators who have massive audiences and views. This is the only way to stand out from the crowd in 2024 🙂

If you watch this recent video of Sulek’s, you’ll notice the casual, personal style:

Fall Cut Day 25 – Arms and Grocery Trip 230.2 Lbs

2. Laura Belgray

Platforms: Email & Instagram

As the founder of Talking Shrimp and co-creator of The Copy Cure with Marie Forleo, Laura has a knack for creating compelling, conversational copy that connects with her audience. Her insights into writing and creativity are invaluable for entrepreneurs looking to craft messaging that cuts through the clutter and turns lurkers into buyers.

Biggest Takeaways: Use relatable and fun stories to connect with your audience. Pretty much every email Laura sends starts with a story from her life — and I’m not talking gut-wrenchingly sad stories or tales of how she’s overcome adversity (which do have their place)

I’m talking about everyday happenings in her life — told in a casual, personable way… like she’s telling a story to her closest friends.

This relates to one of the biggest copywriting and marketing lessons I’ve learned over my 12+ years growing and scaling my business — write like you’re talking to one person.

She also uses relatable anecdotes and stories — largely injected with humor — to connect with her Instagram audience.

Notice how Laura’s relatable humor shines through and how she effectively uses her captions:

3. Shea Serrano

Platforms: Twitter

Known for his work in sports and pop culture, Shea takes a super casual approach to content creation and gives his followers on Twitter an inside, unfiltered look at his work and life.

Shea’s unique take on storytelling offers valuable lessons in building a dedicated following by using relatable humor, showing ‘unfiltered’ views into your life and work and being willing to turn some people off.

Biggest Takeaways: Be your unedited self! Far too many entrepreneurs are still presenting a buttoned-up, perfect and polished version of themselves — this is the opposite of what your audience wants! They want the real you… so avoid playing ‘pretend’ on social media.

Shea also takes a two-way street approach to social media — regularly engaging and replying to his followers. This is a guy who writes books, has multiple podcasts and even created a TV series for Amazon Prime. So if he can take the time to engage with his people, so can you and me 🙂

Shea’s clearly passionate about his audience and loves being on Twitter (I still refuse to call it ‘X’… lol). So, choose a platform you enjoy being on, be super real and authentic, and most importantly, engage, and don’t be afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way.

Take a look at 2 of his best tweets and notice the humor and authenticity:

One of his ongoing bits is posting when he finds new VHS tapes and then engaging in the replies.

He holds impromptu Q&A sessions with his followers… and his answers are always honest and usually funny.

4. Amanda Natividad

Platforms: LinkedIn

Want to blend authenticity with strategic thinking in your content strategy? Amanda’s your gal.

She’s the VP of Marketing at SparkToro, an audience research startup. But marketing is actually her third career. She was previously a tech journalist and a test kitchen cook. With her unusual background, she brings a unique perspective to content marketing and brand building.

Her content approach fits perfectly with LinkedIn’s focus, as the platform is actively looking at ways to elevate value.

She doesn’t post typical “value” — you know what I’m talking about — the vague, dime-a-dozen advice you can get anywhere. Instead, she focuses on actionable insights that are highly relevant right now.

Biggest Takeaways: Use your life experiences to inspire your content. You might have been a full-time employee before you ventured into the wild world of entrepreneurship (or maybe you’re currently working a 9-5). Whatever the case — you’ve built up unique experiences and expertise — use those insights to help your content stand out.

You also want to cater your content to each individual platform. LinkedIn is increasingly focused on industry-specific content and knowledge sharing… so give them what they want.

Let’s say you’re a freelancer who writes email campaigns for small online businesses. Instead of focusing on general marketing advice, create content that specifically addresses the common problems small online business owners face with their email marketing.

And with LinkedIn’s more long-tail approach, you don’t need to post multiple times a day. You can make headway with just 2-3 highly thought-out and valuable think pieces a week.

It’s definitely clear why she’s gained traction on LinkedIn!

5. Neville Medhora

Platforms: Everywhere, but particularly his Blog & YouTube Channel

Neville, the brain behind the Copywriting Course, has mastered the art of making copywriting an enjoyable journey. His approach to content creation on his blog and YouTube channel is a testament to how education and entertainment can merge to demystify the often daunting world of copywriting.

Neville’s straightforward and humorous style breaks down complex concepts into digestible, actionable advice, making it easier for entrepreneurs of all levels to improve their writing skills.

Biggest Takeaways: Use the power of personality and humor to make your educational content stand out. This makes learning more enjoyable AND more memorable for your audience. Try this:

– Break Down Complex Ideas: Simplify your content to make it accessible to beginners. Use analogies, metaphors and stories to explain difficult concepts.
– Inject Humor: Don’t shy away from adding a touch of humor to keep your audience engaged. It makes your content more relatable and enjoyable.
– Be Straightforward: Cut through the fluff. Respect your audience’s time and attention spans.

Check out Neville’s blog and YouTube Channel for his straightforward approach:

His main blog which is the epitome of ‘short and sweet’ while still providing actionable tips: https://www.nevblog.com/

This YouTube video is a great illustration of his direct yet value-packed approach to content creation: https://youtu.be/KLr2fsWH2zU?feature=shared

He also regularly posts his interviews with other experts as both long-form YouTube videos and 60 second Shorts (so if you don’t want to be the primary face and only expert of your business on social media… you might consider adopting the interview approach!): https://www.youtube.com/@kopywriting/shorts

6. Wes Kao

Platforms: Newsletter, Twitter & LinkedIn

Wes is a marketing executive, entrepreneur and advisor who offers a wealth of insights to high performers and executives. Her knowledge and approach are particularly valuable for those in the online education space, entrepreneurs who serve bigger brands and employees and freelancers who truly want to make a difference in their organizations.

Her primary content engine is her newsletter, and she masterfully uses her LinkedIn and Twitter accounts to drive awareness and subscribers.

Biggest Takeaways: How to effectively promote on social media. Kao has built a large and engaged audience on LinkedIn and Twitter by consistently providing valuable insights on the current state of business and actionable takeaways tailor-made for her target audience. Her content isn’t surface-level — she’s willing to call out the regular mistakes and missteps she sees in the workforce and how to combat them.

By building this trust, she’s been able to use these channels to promote her newsletter while never losing sight of her audience and the content that’s gotten her to where she is.

If you’ve built up that trust… go ahead and promote your newsletter and paid products or services.

Check out how she promotes her newsletter and the creative way she spreads goodwill (which might give you a new idea for promoting partners!):

Notice how she spins a common workplace complaint on its head and provides an actionable solution while promoting her newsletter!

After you subscribe to her newsletter, she recommends who else to follow and subscribe to in her industry. This could be a way to build relationships and partnerships and grow your audience.

Then, you get this pop-up to share her newsletter — a super easy way to get more eyeballs on your content.

7. James Clear

Platforms: Everywhere — but let’s focus on his 3-2-1 Newsletter and Twitter

James Clear’s work on habits and performance improvement, particularly through his book “Atomic Habits,” offers foundational lessons for entrepreneurs looking to build sustainable routines and improve their productivity.

Biggest Takeaways: Conversation is king on social media, and a simple approach to content creation is often better… so try not to overthink it (if you can help it) 🙂

Clear focuses on posting questions, quotes and insights that effortlessly encourage replies on Twitter and Instagram.

But where he really shines is in his 3-2-1 Newsletter. He’s crafted a simple formula for success and has got it down to a science! Each edition includes 3 short ideas from Clear, 2 quotes from others and 1 question for readers to ponder.

So, if you’re thinking of creating a weekly or even monthly newsletter — or if you already have one — look to Clear for inspiration on how to create one that’s both value-packed and easy to write and deliver.

Check out how Clear drives engagement on Twitter by asking questions:

I won’t copy and paste his entire newsletter here (I highly recommend you subscribe) 🙂 BUT here’s a question to ponder he shared in a recent edition and the nifty way he encourages you to share.

Once you hit the ‘Share this on Twitter’ link, it’ll open up a tweet draft that tags his handle (genius!):

8. Ann Handley

Platforms: Her newsletter Total Annarchy (clever name!) and her Twitter and Instagram accounts

A pioneer in digital marketing and content creation, Ann’s work emphasizes the importance of personal and engaging communication. Her newsletters and books offer indispensable advice for entrepreneurs wanting to elevate their writing and marketing strategies.

Biggest Takeaways: While she doesn’t post on Instagram as often as others on this list when she does, it’s pure gold. Hey, sometimes, less is indeed more on social media (don’t tell the experts… lol). The lesson here is don’t kill yourself trying to post hourly — post what moves you AND what matters to your audience.

Also, humor is such a valuable commodity on social media, and you can expertly blend humor with value in the same post — it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

Check out how Handley expertly uses humor on Instagram to drive engagement:

This one’s especially great because it was paired with a trending topic — the start of a new year.

The power of simple storytelling 🙂

9. Brock Johnson

Platforms: Instagram

The founder of InstaClubHub and an Instagram expert who focuses on helping entrepreneurs and creators leverage their platform. Brock has built a highly engaged community by keeping his content fresh and relevant while remaining incredibly consistent. He never seems to miss a beat!

Biggest Takeaways: There’s something to be said for having a singular focus — taking a one-main-channel approach. Sure, Brock has since expanded to other channels, including TikTok and YouTube, but his bread and butter is Instagram, and that’s where he spends the majority of his time and effort.

He’s clearly passionate about Instagram and the community he’s built there. So hang out where you’re most passionate!

Brock heavily focuses on Reels but keeps it fresh with value-focused and humorous carousels and feed posts.

This simple graphic is the perfect blend of relatability and humor. You’ll also notice both the question and the CTA to share.

The comment-to-DM strategy is gold on Instagram (and Facebook, too!). If you have a Manychat account or something similar, give this strategy a try. I’ve found that comment-to-DM works best with my Reels, but Brock does it with all types of content. So, test it out and see which types work best with your audience.

10. Lisa Nichols

Platforms: Facebook and Instagram

I couldn’t end this list without featuring my dear friend and mentor, Lisa Nichols!

Through her company, Motivating the Masses, Lisa offers a wealth of resources, including workshops, programs and keynote speeches designed to ignite passion and drive individuals ready to make significant changes in their lives and careers. Move aside, Tony Robbins (just kidding!), because Lisa is an absolute powerhouse of motivation and transformation. Her journey from a struggling single mom to a globally recognized motivational speaker and best-selling author is nothing short of inspirational.

Her approach to storytelling, deeply rooted in personal experiences and resilience, teaches entrepreneurs the power of authentic communication in connecting with their audience. Lisa doesn’t just share her story — she empowers others to believe in their potential, making her content a goldmine for entrepreneurs who are seeking to inspire and lead.

Biggest Takeaways: Leverage your unique journey and experiences to foster a deeper connection with your audience. Share your struggles, successes and lessons learned. This level of authenticity can transform your content from simply informative to deeply inspirational and impactful!

As they say, variety is the spice of life, and if you head to Lisa’s Instagram, you’ll notice that she doesn’t just stick with one content type (like Reels). She engages her audience with a variety of Reels, quote graphics, carousels and candid photos. And every single piece of content has the same thing in common — it’s authentically Lisa!

Check out 3 of my favorites: