How to Become a Cycling Content Creator (A Cycling Influencer Guide)

Have you ever wanted to become a cycling content creator?

You could blog like me, become a cycling YouTube creator, or stick to social media platforms like Instagram and X/Twitter. The options are endless.

There are many benefits to becoming a cycling content creator, too.

It helps you. It helps the cycling community as a whole. It can also help your own community, too. You’d actually be surprised how helpful it could be for everyone involved.

Becoming a cycling content influencer isn’t that difficult, either. In this guide, I’m going to tell you what you need to do.

Find Your Niche to be a Cycling Content Creator

The first thing you need to do is find your niche. A niche is a specific topic about which you’ll create content. The niche “cycling” is too broad and generic. There are too many creators covering the cycling topic as a whole, and that will make it hard to compete with. You should niche down, which is when you choose a more defined and specific topic to create content about. For example, “bikepacking in the Midwestern United States” would be niching down.

You should make sure whatever niche you choose is something you’re passionate about. If you’re passionate about a topic, you’ll never get sick of creating in it. If you choose something solely on it being a trend but you know nothing about it, those who are passionate about it will always be ahead of you and you’ll have to work extra hard to get close to them. If you create on your passions, you can be the competition everyone tried to beat.

Your niche needs to have marketing value. You want a visible audience for it. Check social media, online communities, and other internet platforms to see if your audience exists. It helps if there are other creators, too. You want competition because that will indicate that an audience actually exists for your niche. This is especially important when you niche down.

Before you choose a niche, make sure you can monetize it. Even if you don’t really want to make money, it’s important to have that option. You can at least make enough to let it pay for itself. If you ever get in a position where you want to make money, the option will be there for you.

Cycling Content Planning and Strategy

As a cycling content creator, it’s important to stay organized with your content schedule. This can be accomplished using a content calendar. First, you’ll need to create your upcoming content or plan its creation. Then, you can make a calendar with what content you’ll post on a certain date and time and where you will post it. A simple Xcel sheet (or something of that nature) will be best for this task. You can use a to-do list reminder service like Todoist to help you stay on task.

You want to make sure you’re constantly researching your niche and the trends within it. You can do this by subscribing to similar interests. Subscribe to mailing lists, follow other blogs, follow industry news sites, watch videos, and take courses. If you can experiment with your bike about the topics you create content for, that real-life experience will also be helpful. The more you stay up-to-date with your niche, the easier it will be to act as an authority of the niche. Research and learning never stop, either.

There are many different types of content that you can create. You can start a cycling blog and write about your niche topics. You can start a YouTube channel and vlog about your topic. You can do a podcast if you prefer a radio-like approach. You could also do social media. I suggest you do a few different things. I would probably do practically everything listed above at some point. The more cycling content you put out, the more likely you’ll be noticed, and you can further build your brand.

Consistency is important. However, many content creators fail to understand the true meaning of consistency. Consistency doesn’t mean you have to post a certain number of content submissions. It means you need to post at the same time every time. I post on this blog every Wednesday at 10:00 AM CST. I do that every week. That’s how I stay consistent. Consistency shows your audience when they can expect to see new content from you. It builds trust and loyalty, which is very important.

Cycling Content Creator Tools of the Trade

As a cycling content creator, you need to have platforms that you can call your own. Social media is important, but it’s rented space at the end of the day. If social media suddenly closes or bans you, then you lose it all, and most of the time, you can’t get it back. But you own your own platforms, and you need to make sure you create on them. Create a website and blog. You can accomplish this using WordPress, which is free. You can get cheap web hosting and a domain name for less than $150.00 a year. You should also start a newsletter. Mail Chimp offers a 1,000-subscriber newsletter for free. A website and a newsletter are yours. Social media algorithms can’t stop you from using them or get in the way of you and your followers.

I said social media is a rented space, and I meant it. However, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be on it. You need to go where your audience is at. Social media is likely where they’re at. Research each major social media network and determine which ones are the most active in your niche. Join them and start to build up your page and form relationships. You should create pages that reflect your cycling content brand. I recommend YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and X to start with. Pinterest has also been a good platform to create.

You’ll want to get a good camera and accessories for your camera as a cycling content creator. My camera equipment is very simple. I use a GoPro 12 with all sorts of different mounts and my iPhone. My primary YouTube video footage is done with the GoPro, and my social media footage is typically gained with my iPhone. I also recommend getting good microphones. I use wireless mics from RODE, which are a little more expensive but very worth it. As for editing photos a videos, I use Adobe Photoshop for photos and Adobe Premier for videos. There are multiple free options available, as well.

There are many online services available to help you with being a cycling content creator. You can even get apps for your phone. For example, there are apps available for all social media platforms, WordPress, and even your newsletter platform likely has an app. If you can manage things on the run with your phone, in most cases, you’ll save time. You should also take advantage of automation. I use a service called Buffer (nice free plan with it) to schedule my social media ahead of time so that I can focus on engagement while my content posts behind the scenes. As a content creator, you should stay up to date with the latest in apps and services that can help you create more effectively.

Creating Engaging Cycling Content

You should focus on mastering your skills in photography and filmmaking. The better you are at editing your photos and videos, the easier it will be to acquire new audiences. My suggestion is to find a good cycling photographer and make them your mentor. Learn what they know and apply it to your creations. You should do the same with a cycling video creator or YouTube channel. It isn’t copying; it’s simply learning from those whose content you admire. You should always do it in your own unique voice and make it yours.

For content creation in the form of writing or blogging, you need to learn storytelling and copywriting. Storytelling will help you hook your audience and keep them interested in your content. Everyone loves a good story. I master my storytelling skills by listening to storytelling podcast shows like The Moth or This American Life. Copywriting is like storytelling but more sales-orientated. Even if you are not selling anything, copywriting can still help you get an audience. This is because copywriting relies on an emotional response from the buyer based on the wording that is used. A few of my favorite copywriting strategies are AIDA and PAS. I recommend learning more about those strategies and using them in your own work.

Engagement is essential to any cycling content creator. You must engage and talk to your audience. Reply to every comment on your blog. Reply to every comment on social media. Do this while you’re small because it’s easier to do. As your brand grows, it’ll be harder to respond to everyone, but you should do your best to try to. There more you engage with your followers, the more loyal they will become because you’re building a relationship with them.

Consider being as active as possible. You should pass at scale. You should post 1 to 5 days a week on your blog. You should post a few times every day on your social media pages. The more content you publish, the easier it will be to grow your audience. It gets harder to publish at scale, but if you’re organized and batch-create your content, it can get a lot easier. Choose the best days to create at scale and schedule things ahead of time so that you can stay ahead of the content game.

Growing a Cycling-Friendly Audience

Social media is going to be your best audience builder. That’s where most cyclists are at. You should join the top social media platforms and also include sites like Strava in there, too. You should then post stuff every day. Post organic content, not just promotional external content. Join social groups, befriend others, post on your page, and be active. Be helpful and be nice, too. The mission is to use social media to become a known expert in your niche. Help your audience with their needs and wants, and you’ll grow in no time.

Create a mailing list and plan to send a newsletter frequently. A mailing list is a direct line to your followers and customers. Search engines or social media can’t get in between you and your mailing list. It’s essential to have one of these. You should create a lead magnet to encourage people to subscribe to your list. A lead magnet is a high-valued freebie that subscribers can get. It can be a guide, eBook, application, or even a huge discount on a product. The lead magnet should be as awesome as possible so that people actually want it. After you gain subscribers, then you need to focus on keeping them.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a good skill to acquire as a cycling content creator. SEO is a practice of strategies used to help get your content on the first pages of search engine results. Most searchers don’t go past the first page, so it’s ideal to get on that page. However, there is a lot of competition for the first page, so SEO helps you get closer to it. Learn keyword research first. There are great tools for it to help you learn it including Uber Suggest, Keywords Everywhere, and SEM Rush. Then, you can learn about keyword placement and use in your content. SEO sounds intimidating, but it gets easy once you get the hang of it.

While written content is still important to do, video is another area you should get involved in if you can. Video is trending and very popular. It has been for a while and is only increasing even more. Short-form video is what has been trending lately but there is definitely a place for long-form, too. Both short and long-form videos are popular among cycling content creators these days. The more video you use, the easier it will be to build a loyal audience.

Profiting as a Cycling Content Creator

Some of the best ways to earn money as a cycling content creator are through affiliate marketing and product reviews. There are a lot of cycling products and services available. You can help companies sell their products and services by linking to them and reviewing them. In exchange, you earn a commission for it. This can add up if there are a lot of sales made. You should definitely try this out when your content and see if it helps you earn more profit.

Try to create your own products and services to sell. It can be digital products and services, too. You could offer cycling coaching services online. You could create a new cycling app and sell it. The possibilities are endless. The great news is that when you sell products and services, you get all the money made from them. There isn’t a middleman like there is with affiliate marketing. While you might make pennies with affiliate marketing, you can make hundreds with your own products and services.

Consider creating a membership community or even online courses. These are great ways to offer your own products and services and get more compensation for it. You can create a private online cycling community and charge a fee to join. You could also make cycling courses, masterclasses, and webinars for profit. This is why it’s important to choose a niche that you’re passionate about because you’ll be able to provide services like these better and make more money from them.

When you start making money as a cycling content creator, you must pay taxes on it in most cases. You should treat your brand as a business. Start putting back enough money to pay your federal and state taxes (pending where you are located) so that you don’t get into trouble. It feels good to turn your brand into a business, too. There are many benefits and write-offs that you can get, too. You can actually save money with your brand when you treat it like a business.

Enhancing Your Cycling Expertise and Authority

You want to become an expert in your niche. It will rapidly grow your audience and make you more money if you’re monetized. The best way to be an expert is to know a lot about your niche. The best way to know a lot about your niche is to learn something new about your niche every single day. Whatever your niche is, look at all the components and sub-niches that make it up and learn each one at an expert level. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to grow.

As a cyclist content creator, you’re still a cyclist. You should be ensuring that you’re constantly improving your cycling and bike handling skills. The better of a cyclist you are, the more serious people will take you. Ride to ride better. Improve your skills. Beat your PRs. Try racing and group riding. Get good at your bike riding, and make sure you tell your audience about it.

YouTube is awesome. It has tons of cycling videos. You can even watch races and race recaps on it. This is something you should be consuming at least once a day. Watch cycling videos, reviews, tips, and races. It’s free to watch all that. It will also master your knowledge of cycling. The more you watch, the more you’ll know, and the more you can create content about.

As a content creator, you want to help cyclists. Get an understanding of their needs and wants. Understand how they like to consume information. Then target those needs and wants with information formats that they enjoy consuming. Answer the hardest questions with the easiest answers, and you’ll grow significantly. Always be nice, polite, and extremely willing to help. Be okay with answering the same question more than once, too.

Common Challenges of Being a Cycling Content Creator

One of the most common challenges as a cycling content creator is burnout and lack of motivation. The best way to deal with this is to slow down. If you’re posting a new blog post every day and starting to burn out, slow down and post every other day instead. Find your balance and rhythm in content creation. Stay organized and consistent with a content calendar. Give yourself time to relax and do your own thing by scheduling stuff ahead of time. You’re only human, after all – make sure you act like it.

It takes a while to get an audience and make money. It usually takes about a year or two to start developing a returning audience. It takes three or more years to start making money. You have to work for it. The internet is too big for things to happen overnight. There is no such thing as overnight success in content creation. I focus my first year on content so that I have proof of my work. The second year is about marketing so that I can build an audience. The third year is dedicated to making money. Have a 3-to-5-year business plan and strategy because goals will help you accomplish what you want.

If you feel like the market is too competitive, then you need to further narrow down your niche. This blog focuses on beginner cyclists. But if I felt it was too competitive, I’d pivot to beginner gravel cyclists or beginner road cyclists to narrow down my niche. You could even go with a local niche to narrow it down further. You just need to make sure there is an audience and a way to profit. You want some sort of competition. No competition is usually not a good thing. It means there isn’t an audience. If you need to narrow down your niche to feel better about what you’re doing after researching it, go for it.

You’re going to get negative feedback, and people will not like you. This is something you need to accept now so that you can get over it quickly. Don’t let it drag you down. Some negative feedback is good and can help you build a better brand. Some are just there to troll you and should be ignored. Block them. Ban them. Take away their ability to troll. As you grow, so will the trolls. There is really nothing we can do to stop them.

Final Thoughts About Being a Cycling Content Creator

Becoming a cycling content creator is a good idea. You can do a lot for your own cycling needs, the cycling community, and, of course, your ability to make more money.

You just need to make sure you follow the advice above and other advice that you’ll learn as you go.

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