What users want versus what investors and creators define as ‘useful’ content

Google, Bing and others rank useful content—we know this by now.

But, if you’re not creating it or serving it up on your niche investment, then chances are you will struggle to gain attention and thus, traffic.

So, what is useful content anyway?

Useful is:

1. relevant
2. timely
3. implementable – even better if it’s immediate
4. sustainable
5. evergreen
6. reliable
7. scalable
8. relatable

Looking back, weren’t we – bloggers, content creators, digital property owners, and commentators – always concerned with that anyway?

As far as I can remember, we always understood that we needed to get users’ attention with something they needed or desired.

So, what’s this ‘useful content’ then, how is it different?

Well, it boils down to applying those exact descriptions to niche-specific topics.

Creators are still providing solutions to specific problems. But here’s the thing – now we need to get more ‘narrowed down’.

Creators need to uncover pain points (still) and be even more strategic about the niche within the niche – or things that were never obvious or mapped out before.

But, besides knowing how to do this – yes AI is there to help to an extent – creators and investors also need to (post-hustle-culture) decide whether they want to create that content and product in the first place.

We get to decide whether we want to get involved with it or not.

It’s not always about money and your target audience – your limited time (I’m including mental bandwidth in there too), investment, and money, matter as well.

You need to create content and products for a business or brand that makes sense for you too, ie. Your business values and even personal ones if you’re an epinomous personal brand.

So, what do our users want now as of December 2025?

And how does it compare to what creators and owners are willing to invest their time, effort, and money into?

Well, I did some research on this notion for this article.

First, I’ll list and explore topics and keywords considered most ‘useful’, and then compare the needs and aspirations of users, creators, and investors together. The results are interesting.

In my commentary toward the end, I talk about where we could tweak content and digital products so that ‘what-users-want’ still rings clear, while keeping us creators in an energising space too. Users read content and buy products that the seller is passionate about too. It shows. Users are too evolved not to know who’s fake and who’s authentic.

Top useful topics and keywords for creators and investors

These topics (also used as keywords and phrases) are based on trends, market demand as well as monetization potential:

Sustainability and mindful living

Why are sustainability and mindful living topics ranked as useful content by Google? 

Establishing yourself as an authority will increase organic reach because expert advice is what users look for naturally.

What’s good for the consumer – knowledge that promotes sustainable living, lowers carbon footprint, conscious living – is also good for Google because it’s part of their business values.

So, as a creator or owner, you win on both sides. It’s also evergreen, relevant, and implementable right now, making it a top ‘useful content’ topic.

The question is, are you into it?

Personal Finance & Investing

A timeless, popular in that it consistently targets a very human pain point. Think budgeting, saving, spending patterns, retirement, investment strategies for individuals, financial planning, and advisory service for the ‘every’ man and woman. Remember, this market is not just for the affluent – the idea is that wealth-building and financial stability are for all. It’s a no-brainer – think of all the digital products, services, and SaaS business and content creation opportunities available. Yes, it’s already a flooded market, but everyone conveys the facts in a different way. Financial clients are not all the same, each has varying circumstances and nuanced goals. 

Luxury

Quiet, low-key luxury (concerned with self-pampering irrespective of monetary value) is as desirable as the flashy billionaire’s aesthetic, for both lifestyle and fashion goods;

Online education & E-Learning

We’re in the thick of the knowledge trend where intellectualism is the new status symbol and a self-initiated curriculum is the new ‘it’ accessory. Thanks to AI data culling, synthesizing is now faster than ever, making deep research easy to access – if you know how to prompt well.

Inclusive Clean Beauty

The title conjures up branding designed to portray diversity in race and cultural stereotypes, but we’ve moved on by now. Here, we’re talking about accessibility (sight and sound), skin types, gender fluidity, sensory needs, physiological disadvantages, and more. It’s exciting, progressive, and innovative to think of all the things we took for granted in products and content before…now being catered to. As a graphic designer, potential client briefs for packaging or product design are more exciting and thoroughly thought-provoking.

As a creator, creating content has become more far-reaching which also means the potential customer base has become broader. The same applies to investors – you’re talking to more people, so there’s an opportunity to serve (sell to) more people, provided you can research what they want and how they need it presented to them, really well.

An innovative mindset is key here, so if you can let go of stereotypical solutions, the possibilities are endless.

This niche no doubt overlaps the Wellness one – it focuses on celebrating flaws, amplifying what makes our skin ‘human’ and unique to our ethnicities most positively, truly understanding the implications of sustainable ingredients and ‘eco-friendliness’, and making the language accessible (no pun intended), relatable, and believable. This kind of beauty is human-centred, not perfection-obsessed.

AI Video Generators

These are basically apps that produce ready-made, polished videos based on text prompts, images, or existing footage. The investment has a huge ROI because of the potential for scale.

These AI-powered tools use machine learning models to automate storyboarding, motion effects, editing, and voiceovers. In this industry, traditional motion or film production techniques are leapfrogged for instant clips and action sequences. Iterations can be churned out within seconds or minutes without the cost of film crews and production artists.

For the creator and investor, production costs become more budget-friendly. For the creator aspect in particular, more is possible to experiment with, in a shorter time frame too.

Agentic AI and automation

This is the advanced version of AI that can basically ‘think for itself’ (not literally because AI is not sentient, but it can reason on its own based on its tool usage) without the help of direct prompting and steering from the user.

It’s generally built into systems that use large language models for instance and operates autonomously, capable of reasoning, formulating options, and contextualising information.

Non-Toxic Products

Think conscious living, mindful living, healthy living, or culinary nutrition. In terms of products and lifestyle content, air fryers are a great example. This cooking technique has caused a surge in recipe searches for it. So naturally, there’s an uptick in search for products that align with appliances used to cook with them, eg. paper liners for the air-fryer trays, ingredients, content about working people using the appliance, content about moms using the appliance for their kids’ lunches, the list goes on.

Don’t think of the physical products in isolation – look adjacent to the lifestyle aspects as well – where there is a story to be told, there’s an opportunity to frame a promise, ie. The selling of a product or content.

Immersive Experiences

You may be familiar with the outrageously funny TikTok videos of kids and parents crashing into walls, TVs, and furniture while experimenting with augmented reality – that’s basically what this topic is about. Not for the visual mayhem, but for the tech at least.

Augmented experiences are commonplace home gadgets now. It can be entertaining and used for educational purposes. Its main purpose is to be multi-sensory. Allowing for a type of engagement with an idea or product on levels that access sound, spatial perception, where the visual becomes fully interactive and experienced as real-world.

It changes the way we can sell physical three-dimensional products as well as experiences (think travel vacations or wellness retreats) making it more visceral than words or static images can.

It’s a user-centric device but it gives creators and investors real strategic and innovative insights into how to talk to potential customers. 

Remote Work

Now, an evergreen topic with content that’s just as in-demand as job postings getting updated throughout any given day.

Whether you’re posting content about job applications, trends in how we choose to work, how companies are evolving working styles, how careers are evolving with AI or how transferable skills are challenging career stereotypes, it’s kinda hard to run out of content ideas here, especially if you’re a systems thinker. Hello, cascading content.

Digital Nomadism is another career and travel-inspired niche that’s evergreen.

Fast Marketing Strategies

For social media & influencers – community insights and naturally captioned videos/reels will drive what users expect in 2026. Raw transparency and UGC are also here to stay.

Creators and investors will see users looking for deeper, more niche, and even smaller, high-quality communities and connections via sites like Reddit, Bluesky, and private groups. These are just examples.

Authenticity is what users still want. Needless to say, if AI is not going anywhere, then the need for more raw, human, and in my opinion, imperfect interactions will increase in tandem.

Creators and investors – focus on the way storytelling is handled, especially tone of voice.

Side Hustles & Online Work From Home

This is an evergreen topic so you may feel like it’s overdone. But, remember, for users, creators, and digital investors, the story around this niche can be told from different angles all the time. It’s not a static topic as the narrative around how we make money, the cost of living, job creation, evolving economies as well as climate are moving targets. So, the information around it will be conveyed from varying angles.

Users latch onto the content that resonates personally and feels like it was made for them. Creators and investors need to pay attention to that and build from there. 

Content Monetization

Users will always be searching for the best ways to monetize whatever it is they’re creating or intend to. They will look at what’s easy to implement and scale.

Think affiliate marketing and making one quality digital product and selling it over and over again (while they sleep) without having to chase traffic and the algorithm.

Digital Product Creation

This niche is all about intellectual capital, the knowledge business & informational products.

As mentioned above, for a creator this can be as simple as producing one high-quality, digital product to sell multiple times in perpetuity. Best part? The creator or investor owns it – if it’s on their content site.

For users, there’s no better investment than education and knowledge-building. Yes, users can exploit self-educating with AI but that requires a lot of self-directed learning and curation. But, why do that when you can make a once-off, upfront payment of a few dollars for someone else to do the thinking for you and to tell you exactly what you need to know?

Keyword substance and user search intent

Know what your user is thinking to know what they want. SEO techniques and content site optimization for multiple monetisation funnels still hold, but focus on what users want and what they’re literally typing in.

Prompting any search engine; its smart search is quick and easy, but try to get more specific with tools like Answer the Public (not sponsored) – it can give you spreadsheets with data on what users type in searches based on a single concept or keyword. 

Video and motion

Visual storytelling, DIY motion self-portraiture (creators don’t even know they’re performance artists), guerrilla filmmaking, cinematic film techniques applied to home videos are the new TV channels – Video Content & YouTube Growth

Mental Health & Resiliency

Timeless and always relevant, this niche could straddle both the Wellness and Clinical Health niches.

For creators, there’s not only clinical health content to be offered, but the storytelling potential – from an empathic and compassionate point of view – could be epic, especially in terms of motion (film or vlogging).

Truth is, the topic cannot be oversold.

It’s not a trend, it’s probably one of the most human-centered topics out there, and tapping into this, whether through a product, service, or intellectual content actually serves humanity.

There’s so much content and product currently out there that users naturally expect the story to be told from a fresh angle because… excuse the cliché….there’s no one size fits all. Creators and investors can potentially offer something new and innovative that hasn’t been done before.

Personal branding

How to make brand ‘you’ stand out – the evolution of the personal brand is more relevant now than ever as users are looking not only for authority but authenticity as well.

The personal brand is no longer about the personal blogger or motivational speaker.

These are now epinomous brands – more trendy now than ever – that establish authority and leverage the idea that you will get the ultimate personal experience. One backed not by false company tactics but meaningful engagement and a willingness to support you – the user.

The powerful and influential personal brands are adept at making the user feel as if they’re the only one they’re talking to.

For creators and investors, you can still have a company behind a frontman (no insincerity implied) as long as the message is singular and the brand is focused on the authentic message of its founder, ie. the person behind the name.

Now let’s get into the data.

Keywords regarded as the most ‘useful’ for creators and investors

These are based on trends, market demand, and monetization potential:

Topic	Example Keywords	Why Useful for Creators & Investors
Sustainability & mindful living	Sustainable living; zero waste	Growing audience prioritizing environmental impact
Wellness	Fitness tips; mental health; wellness	High demand for health-related content; lucrative niches
Personal Finance & Investing	Budgeting; crypto; stock investing	Financial literacy is crucial; creators simplify complex topics
Technology & AI Innovations	Artificial intelligence; AI tools	Explosive growth area; high interest and market expansion
Luxury	Luxury travel; designer fashion	Smaller but high-value audience; sponsorship opportunities
Online education and e-learning	E-learning; skill development	Massive growth in self-improvement content
Inclusive clean beauty	inclusive beauty; skincare reviews	Large audience; emphasis on authenticity and diversity
AI Video Generators	AI video creation tools; deepfake tech	Cutting-edge tech creators capitalize on AI content automation
Agentic AI and automation	AI automation; chatbots	Automation tools for productivity content
Non-Toxic Products	non-toxic air fryer; eco-friendly tech	Health-conscious consumer products rising rapidly
Immersive Experiences	virtual reality; metaverse	New frontier for immersive content experiences
Remote Work	remote jobs; digital nomad lifestyle	Increasing remote work market; productivity and lifestyle advice
Fast Marketing Strategies	TikTok growth; influencer marketing	Core platforms for creator exposure and monetization
Side hustles /Online work from home	passive income; gig economy	Popular content as many seek supplemental income sources
Content Monetization	affiliate marketing; Patreon	Crucial for creators to sustain income
Digital product creation	online courses; ebooks	High scalability and low cost of digital goods
Keywords and user search intent	keyword research; content optimization	Essential for discoverability in organic search
Visual storytelling and DIY motion	YouTube growth hacks; storytelling	Most engaging content format with monetization potential
Mental health and resiliency	stress management; resilience	Increasingly important wellness angle
Personal Branding	brand storytelling; LinkedIn tips	Builds long-term creator and investor reputation

Sources

The 10 Trending Niches for Creators Right Now (2025) https://www.teleprompter.com/blog/trending-niches-for-creators-right-now

Top Trending Topics (November 2025) https://explodingtopics.com/blog/trending-topics

71 Powerful Creator Economy Stats To Know In 2025 https://keywordseverywhere.com/blog/creator-economy-stats/

What users want versus what creators and investors want

This table lists what users want compared to what creators and digital investors are willing to invest in – for both product and content.

Aspect	What users want / find useful	What creators want to produce	What investors are willing to invest in
Content Type	Short-form videos; interactive content; UGC	Personalized; AI-enhanced; dynamic content	Scalable formats: AI tools; digital products
Personalization	Hyper-personalized experiences tailored to tastes	Continuous personalization based on data	Platforms enabling advanced customization
Engagement Format	Interactive; immersive (AR/VR); real-time polling	Live streams; Q&A; voice-activated content	Tech for immersive and interactive experiences
Content Focus	Authentic creator stories; mental health; wellbeing	Niches like finance; tech; AI innovation	High-growth niches: AI; finance; wellness
Media Platforms	Social media; short video platforms	Social media; YouTube; podcasts	Social and streaming platforms with AI targeting
Monetization	Value; trust through UGC and recommendations	Affiliate marketing; subscriptions	Monetization platforms and creator economy
Format Preferences	Video (92% watch videos weekly); podcasts	Video-heavy; podcasts; digital courses	Platforms supporting video and audio monetization
Content Freshness	Real-time; dynamic; evolving with user interactions	Content adapting with user preferences	AI-driven content generation and optimization
User Control	Ability to influence and interact with content	Interactive content that builds community	Tools for engagement and audience analytics
Trust & Authenticity	User-generated content trusted over ads	Authentic storytelling and personal branding	Verified creators and authentic content models

Conclusion – what users want 

‘What women want’. I love that movie.

It highlights a simple point – done light-heartedly – that we don’t know everything and that stereotypes tell us nothing about what people are really thinking.

So where’s the gap in all of this collectively?

Personalisation seems to be the dominant theme.

Coupled with that the ability to interact – whether through immersive experiences, quizzes, or apps – is also the ability to influence in that process.

Focussing on this window, are there other ideas or opportunities – that haven’t been done before – for users to influence an outcome of an experience or product, while interacting with it?

If you get them to play a part in it, they get the benefit and it makes it more personalised for them.

The trick for creators and investors is to choose well – the thing that’s not going to burn you out but also garner the highest ROI that makes sense for the business and its philosophy.

If you liked this article you’ll love this one.

Subscribe below for article updates and domain drops.

Disclosure: While this publication uses AI tools for data collection and analysis support, the research questions, hypotheses, and core insights are the human author’s original work. AI assists with information processing, but all conceptual thinking, interpretation, and conclusions reflect the human editor’s and human writer’s professional expertise.