What Kind of Content Creator are You? (TLDR)
Topic: 9 Content creator archetypes, including the unique strengths and common challenges of each, and how to use your archetype to show up more authentically in your marketing and messaging.
What you’ll learn: No two content creators are wired the same way. Knowing your content creator archetype helps you lean into your natural strengths, recognize the specific patterns that hold you back, and stop fighting your own instincts when it comes to creating and sharing. This post covers nine archetypes: the Reformer, the Caregiver, the Achiever, the Individualist Creative, the Investigator, the Problem-Solver, the Enthusiast, the Heroic Leader, and the Peacemaker. Each comes with a description of their natural content strengths, their most common pitfalls, and practical tips for showing up more fully as themselves.
Who this is for: Entrepreneurs, coaches, service providers, and small business owners who want to understand their own content creation patterns better and find a more natural, sustainable, and authentic way to market themselves and their businesses.
Written by: Emily Aborn, Small Business Copywriter and Host of the Small Business Casual Podcast, based in NH.
What is an Archetype?
By definition, an archetype is: “A very typical example of a certain person or thing.”
In other words, it’s a quintessential or “textbook example” of something.
While we truly are one in eight billion and no one can put us in any one box…
Knowing the patterns of your content creator archetype can be extremely helpful! It can show you your strengths, help avoid pitfalls and speedbumps, and overcome obstacles that get in the way of sharing your message.
In this episode of the Small Business Casual podcast (formerly Content with Character), we’ll cover nine content creator archetypes so you can bring MORE of yourself into this world and overcome the challenges you face around marketing and messaging.
In the episode and the article below, you’ll learn the gifts and hangups of each archetype, and some tips to help you show up more fully in your content.
Note: the names of these archetypes have been compiled from a few different places and sources, some Enneagram-based and others, for which I came up with alternative names. If you want my Enneagram-specific content creation blog, you can check it out HERE!
The Reformer
You have a knack for making sure things are stunning, polished, meticulous, and refined before sharing them with the world. You’re detail-oriented and focused on improving things. You might be a person with strong thoughts and opinions, and have a natural ability to teach and educate others in those perspectives you bring. You may feel it’s your personal mission to help others discover truth, and the right way to do something. You have a strong sense of purpose and tend to be very practical in nature.
Challenges for the Reformer:
- You may hesitate until you or conditions are perfect before getting visible.
- You might be overly critical of your work or. You might never feel quite satisfied that you’ve done enough or done it as right as it could be.
Tips for using your strengths:
- Stand up for what you believe, and try to keep an open mind that there are also other perspectives and ways of being. Be open to new modes and methods of doing things and recognize that things tend to be far more gray than black and white
- While you may be an incredible refiner and editor, sometimes there’s a little bit of play around and find out. Can you ease up on the perfectionism and find instead your FLOW when creating? Tap into your emotions, speak from your heart, and be the light and goodness you want to see in the world.
The Caregiver
This content creator archetype is friendly, compassionate, empathetic, warm-hearted, and supportive. They’re natural nurturers and thrive on connection and helping people.
Challenges for the Caregiver:
- You can get embroiled in helping others, serving clients, engaging and cheerleading for people, and running around replying and loving on everyone that you put your own content creation to the side.
- You can neglect self-promotion because you fill your content buckets up with overgiving and giving and giving
Tips for Using Your Strengths:
- Your natural empathy, nurturing, and ability to see others and love them no matter what is a superpower, don’t leave it at the door as you share from your authentically beautiful heart!
- Use time blocks to focus on YOUR content, make a plan and don’t be afraid to promote
- Give yourself breaks and timeouts when needed and restore by taking time away from social media. Self-care and boundaries are KEY.
The Achiever
This archetype is a real go-getter! Innovative, forward-thinking, inspiring, and visionary at heart. They tend to be playing at a high level, accomplishing and achieving high levels of success, and want the same for others. Their content tends to focus on goals, success, productivity, frameworks, and strategies for impact.
Challenges for the Achiever:
- Not really showing YOU, and instead just showing what you’ve accomplished or what your goals are
- Can be overly self-promotional and disconnected from audience/ideal clients
Tips for using your strengths:
- Don’t forget that you’re speaking to other human beings, not doings. Sometimes reading everything you do/did/want us to do can be exhausting.
- Tap into your FEELINGS and emotions, tell stories, don’t be afraid to show the real you and not just hide behind success and accomplishments
The Individualist Creative
This person creates from a place of being unique and different from pretty much everyone else. They might highlight uniquenesses, show up artistic, and share deep and personal content. They have no problem delving into the highs and lows of life – all the while showing beauty, emotions, and paying attention to aesthetics.
Challenges for the Individualist Creative:
- Can be a little too focused on self-expression and forget that they’re also running a business
- May use “vulnerability” to air all their dirty laundry and to some, it can but offputting.
Tips for using your strengths:
- Do keep on embracing vulnerability and sharing personal stories, but focus on the transformation in the story or the transformation you bring, not just the pain
- Focus on connecting emotionally with OTHERS, while showing them your original, authentic self!
The Investigator
As an investigator, you like to make sure you have the relevant facts straight before sharing. You value information and might want to be sure to include every detail in a blog, email, or podcast episode. You tend to be more analytical, informative, and research-based and speak to inform and share your expertise.
Challenges for the Investigator:
- May go down rabbit holes of seeking knowledge and facts before creating. If you don’t have all the answers or know something inside and out, you may hold back on sharing anything at all.
- You may provide a bit of information overload when sharing content.
Tips for using your strengths:
- There will always be more to learn, and you’re not an imposter when you show up and share what you DO know NOW
- Share your knowledge, insights, and information, but try to avoid diving into too many details in your content, and remember sometimes the best way to see if something works, or how it works, is to set it in motion and watch it rip!
The Problem-Solver
Problem-solvers love helping people get solutions and solve problems as content creators. They see lots of grey and less black-and-white, so this isn’t the person who’s going to just give you a carte blanche reply; they will listen in detail and give you solutions for your unique situation. They’re responsive, responsible, consistent, and relatable.
Challenges of the Problem-Solver content creator:
- Overthinking and self-doubt/questioning. This can stop you before you get started.
- Can worry at every turn about how things will come across to others, and not having the exact right solution to someone’s problem.
Tips for using your strength:
- Trust your gut and instincts and use it to have your own back and go all in on YOU!
- Use your problem-solving skills to help people feel seen, heard, understood, and give them HOPE that they can overcome their challenges
The Enthusiast (the party bus driver of content creators)
This creator archetype is whip-smart, curious, daring, fun-loving, and invigorating! They have a great sense of humor and love taking you with them on their journey to enjoy the finest parts of life and be ever-inspired. They’re lively and diverse and do enjoy entertaining as a key element of their content.
Challenges of the Enthusiast:
- Can lack structure, organization, and focus in their content and their business as a whole!
- May have so many ideas but struggle to follow through and stick to something long-term
Tips for using your strengths:
- Keep doing what you do best and creating fun content filled with positivity and out-of-the-box thinking
- Don’t overcommit to the point where you can’t be consistent, and outsource the things that are mundane and drain you
The Heroic Leader
These folks take a bold, direct approach to content creation. They focus on empowerment, making an impact, and showing up as a leader. They are confident, determined, and inspiring as they take a very motivational tone in their content.
Challenges of the Heroic Leader:
- Content can exclude who you are, avoid vulnerability, and fail to create an emotional connection.
- The high level of confidence can come with a lot of self-promotion, sometimes even where it’s not quite appropriate.
Tips for using your strengths:
- Be a little more vulnerable. We want to know what you overcame… but we also like to be reminded you’re human.
- Slow is fast and fast is slow. Know that all the best things take time and intentionality to build and grow, including your marketing and content. Be patient and consistent.
The Peacemaker
The peacemaker content creator loves creating harmonious, inclusive, and empathetic content. They’re always aiming to bring different perspectives together, see the good in all, and foster connection and understanding. They can make every day into poetry. In general, this archetype isn’t probably a wildly big fan of self-promotion, social media in general, and content creation. It feels hard, noisy, and frustrating to stand out and find their unique voice.
Challenges for the Peacemaker:
- Hesitant to rock the boat or upset anyone which means they may struggle to find their own voice and perspectives
- Struggles to put things into action, self-promote and stick to a plan that feels too “hard”
Tips for using your strengths:
- What do YOU think and feel? That’s what we want to know! You don’t need to agree with everyone and everything or see eye to eye with them. You can express and have your own thoughts, opinions, and perspectives even if others disagree!
- Break things up into chunks so that it’s less overwhelming when you sit down to create and set up your creative workspace in a soothing, cozy way that inspires creativity and time for yourself
And now I’m SO curious if you saw yourself in any of these. Is there one that jumps out at you?
- The Reformer
- The Caregiver
- The Achiever
- The Individualist Creative
- The Investigator
- The Problem-Solver
- The Enthusiast
- The Heroic Leader
- The Peacemaker
Shoot me an email at Emily@EmilyAborn.com or book a Strategy Session with me if you’re struggling with some of the challenges I mentioned in your archetype – I’m the problem-solver and would LOVE to help you overcome this by using your strengths and bringing them to life.
Content Creator Archetype FAQ:
What is a content creator archetype?
A content creator archetype is a pattern of tendencies, strengths, and challenges that shows up consistently in how someone approaches creating and sharing content. It’s not a rigid box or a personality label, but a useful lens for understanding why certain parts of content creation feel natural and energizing while others feel hard or draining. Knowing your archetype can help you lean into what comes easily, anticipate where you’re likely to get stuck, and build a content strategy that works with your nature rather than against it.
What should I do if I recognize challenges from multiple archetypes?
That’s completely normal. Most people see themselves most strongly in one or two archetypes but can recognize patterns from several others. The archetypes aren’t meant to be mutually exclusive categories. Think of them as a collection of tendencies, and pay most attention to the ones where the challenges feel most personally familiar. Those are usually the patterns worth examining most closely.
How do I use my content creator archetype to improve my marketing?
Start by identifying your strongest archetype and reading both the strengths and the challenges honestly. The strengths are what to lean into and amplify in your content. The challenges are where your strategy needs to compensate or build in support. An Investigator who tends toward information overload, for example, might benefit from a strict word count or a rule about limiting tips per post. An Enthusiast who struggles with follow-through might benefit from a content calendar and a commitment to one platform done consistently rather than many done sporadically.
