Tips for Monetizing Your Superfans on Multiple Platforms
We briefly introduced the many ways you can monetize your art and why they matter in our article: Ways to Let Superfans Become Investors of Your Creative Success. Now, it’s time to explore the tips to succeed in taking your content to the next level.
Always Diversify Your Revenue Streams!
It’s times like these that you must protect yourself at all times. A slight algorithm change could temporarily suspend or even reverse the windfall on creator profits. That’s particularly bad for independent creators who rely on their fans to earn a livable wage. That’s why it’s important to launch multiple monetization streams! Diversifying your monetization options helps you to create a more stable financial foundation and reduces the risk of losing all your income when one revenue stream is completely upended.
So, let’s dive into some of the best monetization platforms and tips to help you succeed.
Digital products and merchandise
This is a fantastic way to diversify your income and give your fans a tangible way to show their support for your work. By selling digital products and merchandise, you can create a steady stream of passive income and reach new audiences who may not have found you otherwise. Plus, once you’ve created your products or merchandise, you don’t have to put in constant effort to maintain it. Win-win!
Tips for success:
Know your audience: Ask them what they want and what they’re willing to pay for. Surveys and focus groups can help.
Choose the right products: Pick what you’re skilled at and what your audience needs.
Create quality products: Build trust and increase repeat purchases with high-quality offerings.
Market effectively: Use your website, social media, newsletters, and other channels to promote your products.
Offer bonuses and incentives: Exclusive content, early access, personalized perks, and more can boost sales.
Make the purchase process easy: Use a reliable ecommerce platform, offer multiple payment options, and provide clear instructions.
Provide great customer service: Answer questions, resolve issues, and provide refunds if needed.
Memberships and subscriptions
This is a great way to receive a recurring income from fans who are dedicated to supporting your work. It also allows you to offer exclusive content, personalized perks, and a more intimate relationship with your fans. This can help you grow a dedicated and engaged community around your brand.
Tips for success:
Offer exclusive content: Give your members something special like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to new work, or personalized merchandise.
Personalize your memberships: Offer different levels of membership with different perks and benefits.
Define your goals: Determine what you hope to achieve with your donation page.
Engage with your members: Ask for feedback, run polls, or host Q&A sessions. One route to succeed in this space is to offer personalized benefits, such as monthly sketch requests and access to a private Discord channel.
Make sign-up easy: Offer different payment options and make it clear what members will get in return for their subscription.
Keep members informed: Regularly update them on new content and events, and let them know about any changes to your membership program. For example, Cartoonist and YouTuber TheOdd1sOut (18.7M subs) uses his website to keep his supporters informed with an email newsletter with exclusive content and new merchandise.
Donation platforms
Donation platforms like Patreon allow you to build a direct relationship with your fans and foster a dedicated community of supporters who are invested in your work. It can also be used to provide you with feedback and inspiration!
Tips for success:
Choose the right platform for you: Do your research and compare different platforms, considering factors like fees, payment options, and support offered to creators. For example, Patreon is a popular platform for artists because of its mainstream recognition, but Ko-fi is a simpler platform that takes a 0–5% cut of funds received (and 0% on tips) compared with the 5–12% Patreon takes from your profits.
Define your goals: Figure out what you want to achieve with your donation page. Do you want to support your ongoing work, offer exclusive access to new work, or cast a vote for your fans? Having a clear goal in mind will make it easier for your fans to see the impact of their support.
Create compelling content: Engage your fans with exciting and appealing content that they’ll want to support. You can offer perks like shoutouts or sneak peeks behind the scenes to incentivize them.
Build your community: Connect with your fans on a regular basis and encourage them to participate and support your work. By engaging with them, you can create a sense of community and increase relatability, making it easier for fans to feel invested in your work.
Events
Events are a fantastic way for content creators to monetize their work and offer a unique and immersive experience for their fans. These events not only help to build a strong community around your brand but also provide a new source of income. Moreover, events are an excellent opportunity to engage with your audience, gather feedback, and gain insight into what your fans want to see more of in the future.
Tips for success:
Determine your audience: Identify the types of events that your audience would be interested in attending. Consider hosting a meet and greet or a workshop related to your style of work.
Choose the right venue: Select a venue that is accessible, affordable, and able to accommodate your event’s specific needs. Take into consideration factors such as size, location, and amenities when making your decision.
Plan out the logistics of your event: Develop a clear plan that outlines the logistics, budget, and timeline of your event. This should include everything from the event’s structure and format to food, drinks, and other amenities. Eventbrite can help you manage guest lists, RSVPs, ticket sales, and communication with attendees. Eventup can help you find, compare, and book suitable venues for your event.
Promote your event: Utilize social media, email marketing, and other channels to reach as many fans as possible. Offer incentives or discounts to early adopters to encourage early sign-ups. If you want to get ambitious with your email campaigns, consider using an email automation solution such as Mailchimp to access a library of email templates and send up to 1,000 emails a month for free!
Engage with your fans: Encourage interaction and engagement between fans and with you during the event. Consider live Q&A sessions, photo ops, autograph signings, and networking opportunities.
Collect feedback: After the event, ask for feedback from attendees and use it to improve future events. Offer incentives such as discounts on products or merchandise in exchange for completing surveys.
Running Ads
Running ads on their content platforms can provide content creators with a steady stream of revenue. This monetization option is best suited for creators with large audiences and high engagement levels.
Tips for success:
Define your target audience: Identify the type of audience that is most likely to engage with your work and tailor your ads to their interests and preferences. To help with this, you can use market research tools such as Google Trends to gather data on your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Choose the right platform: Decide which platforms your target audience is most active on and advertise on those websites or social media platforms. Some popular platforms for running ads as a creative artist include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google Ads.
Create eye-catching visuals: Use high-quality images and videos that showcase your work and grab the attention of your target audience. If you don’t want to spend too much time on crafting the perfect ad, Canva is an online graphic design tool that offers templates and design elements to help you create visuals with ease.
Write compelling copy: Write clear and concise ad copy that clearly communicates the benefits of your work and why your target audience should engage with it. Try tools like Grammarly and InstaText to help brush up your copy if you need help in this department!
Optimize your landing page: If you are linking to your own website, make sure your landing page is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and includes clear call-to-action buttons.
Track your performance: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your ads and make data-driven decisions about how to optimize your campaign. Additionally, you can use marketing automation software like Hootsuite to optimize your ads for maximum impact and efficiency.
Affiliate Links and Sponsorship Deals
Affiliate links and sponsorship deals provide content creators with a way to generate revenue by promoting and selling products on behalf of brands. This monetization option is best suited for creators with a significant following.
Tips for success:
Choose the right products or services to promote: Make sure the products or services you promote align with your brand and values and would be of interest to your audience.
Be transparent: Let your audience know that you are an affiliate for a particular brand or product. This will build trust and credibility with your audience.
Utilize affiliate tracking links: Make sure to use unique tracking links (such as Google Campaign URL Builder) which will be provided by the affiliate program so you can accurately track your sales and earnings. Regularly review the performance of your affiliate links and sponsorships. Make adjustments to your strategy as needed to optimize your results.
Remember these tips when monetizing your passion. It will take time, effort, and a strong commitment to find the recipe for your success with your fans. Stay patient and don’t be afraid to experiment and adjust your strategy as you go. So, what are you waiting for? Start monetizing your success today!
