Monetizing content: 8 trending ways to make money as a digital content creator
The creator economy is booming, and content creators are increasingly looking for ways to monetize their content. The 100 billion-dollar creator industry includes more than 200 million creators worldwide, out of which roughly 46% of creators consider themselves full-time creators. 42% are part-time creators and the rest identify as ‘amateurs’. Then they are further subdivided into micro, macro, nano, and celebrity influencers.
Regardless of the various categories and subdivisions, the possibility of earning money through various social media channels is expanding. The real kicker is that, in addition to social media channels, many other SaaS and decentralized portals are thriving, providing a potential source of income, particularly for middle-class creators and micro and nano influencers.
However, content monetization is about more than just making money; it is also about developing relationships with your audience and providing them with value. Understanding the needs of the audience allows you to create content that will resonate with them and drive revenue.
Let’s look at the 8 best and treading online revenue streams available to digital content creators.
- Start a YouTube channel: YouTube has opened up monetization channels like never before. There are many ways one can earn from YouTube Apart from ad profits from the long-form content, YouTube creators will now have the option to earn from the YouTube Shorts program. Those with an inclination towards short-form content can utilize this opportunity to earn from Shorts, provided they conform with the set criterion.
Apart from Shorts, YouTube creators can earn from premium subscriptions, channel memberships, selling merchandise, and a variety of other options. So without further ado, it’s a great time to be on YouTube.
- Brand sponsorship: Brand endorsement will never go out of style. They are still the most important source of income for social media influencers all over the world. The higher you are up on the totem pole, the more likely you are to land lucrative brand deals. Take, for example, Instagram. The lowest fee per transaction is $100, and the highest is millions. Experts believe that Indian influencers can earn anywhere from 15k to 500k per sponsored post, depending on the category they fall into (micro, macro, or nano).
As an Instagram creator or influencer, you can charge according to the 1% rule, i.e., $10 for every 1000 followers, which makes sense only if you have thousands or millions of followers. For micro and nano influencers, it’s better to charge depending on the time, number of deliverables, expenses, quality, and exclusivity of the content.
1)Start a blog: Although blogging may seem a little dated, it is timeless, much like classic cuisine. Blogs still are the best outlet for information, a lead generator, a traffic drawer, and the best access to gated content offered to fans. Once you have gathered a substantial following through your blogs, money can be earned through affiliate marketing, merch sales, and ad placements.
2)Sell digital products: There is no death of the types of digital products creators can sell online. They are a great source of passive income, require low investments, and give higher returns than physical products. Some of the hot sellable are
- Ebooks, newsletters
- Stock photos
- Graphics and templates
- Digital art, Music, Audio
- NFTs
- Games, and software
3)Sell e-courses: Digital courses have been in-trend and in demand since the beginning of the pandemic. They are great another great source of passive income. In fact, the projected revenue from online platforms is expected to reach US$57.42bn in 2023. Platforms like Teachable, Skillshare, Podia, etc., provide a platform for educators to create digital courses and give a designated percentage in profits each time students purchase a course. On particular events or festivals, you can develop bundles and limited-time deals to draw in additional customers.
Facilitating online courses is another feature that our platform Spreadd plans to introduce. This will serve as a major means of income generation for the online educators and creators that make up our ecosystem.
4)Sell digital services: Just like digital products, services sell like hotcakes. The following are the best online services for creators to consider.
5)Online consulting: If creating online courses is not your area of expertise, you can consult up-and-coming creators for an hourly fee, which you may determine based on experience and subject matter expertise. You can also help budding creators develop content strategies and even appraise their work.
6)Subscriptions and memberships: Whether they cater to a global or local audience, the biggest OTT platforms make millions of dollars in income from subscription models. Take Netflix as an example. The biggest source of revenue for the streaming goliath is subscriptions, where they attracted 7.6 million additional users and made nearly 3 million more dollars in revenue last year.
Taking a leaf from OTT platforms, as a creator, you can also earn from subscriptions and memberships. For example, as a YouTube creator, you can invite your followers to become channel members. By charging a $10 per subscription fee, you can easily make $1,000 from 100 potential subscribing members. Similar to this, numerous secondary platforms, such as Patreon, OnlyFans, and Substack, offer subscription tiers and memberships for fans while also providing creators with higher profit margins.
7)Creator programs: They burst onto the creator economy scene a couple of years ago and since then, creator programs have rapidly gained ground. Funds worth millions of dollars were allotted to digital creators across popular social media platforms such as Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram, and so many others, in the hope that they create stellar content and make money from it. Platforms like Snapchat and Facebook have launched specialized programs for BIPOC creators (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour), providing them with funds, stipends, mentorship, and other resources to encourage them to create content and level the playing field for them in the creator ecosystem.
Capitalizing on the success of monetization programs, many other platforms have jumped on the bandwagon developing similar programs to include the middle class and creators of colour. Some of the most promising programs include Tiktok Pulse, YouTube Shorts program, and Meta’s Dale tu. Given the success of these creator programs, even companies like Walmart launched a creator program last year designed to help creators monetize their social media accounts. If you’re a content creator, whether you’re well-established or just starting out, It’s time to sign up for a creator program.
8)Influencer Marketing campaigns: No matter how big or small, every brand needs to advertise its products and services. Furthermore, each brand will lose out if they don’t include social media influencers in their marketing campaigns, based on the fact that influencer-generated content gives 8 times more ROI than branded content. More so, IM campaigns are efficient, cost-effective, and goal-oriented. From the perspective of an influencer, these campaigns are a fantastic source of money.
You can participate in a variety of campaigns, which are frequently promoted across media channels. Additionally, you can learn about current and prospective projects by word of mouth or from other influencers. However, networks like ours that facilitate influencer marketing are the greatest method to secure the best deals. Spreadd’s goal is to link brands with influencers while assisting them in designing and executing KPI-based bespoke campaigns. To learn more about these campaigns, get in touch with our team.
A word for the wise
Regardless of the platform you select, success can only be achieved by producing top-notch content that is compelling, authentic, and connects with the audience. Remember, today’s audience is getting smart, so you must be smarter to get a one-up, which means creating well-researched, value-based, yet entertaining content. Post your content across multiple platforms to generate pockets of sustainable income and leverage the booming creator economy for all its worth.
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