Do content creators make money? Yes, they do!
The top content creators have found effective ways to make money online. Whether it’s by teaching a course online or offering exclusive content to their subscribers, influential online personalities have been able to turn their hobbies into money-making activities.
Want to do the same? This article looks at how content creators make money to help you build a thriving online career.
What Is A Content Creator?
A content creator is an individual who creates appealing and awe-inspiring material for their audience. The content can be educational or simply entertaining to grab the attention of a visitor who previously didn’t know about your brand. But after looking at your content, they develop a certain interest and follow you on social media.
Different Types of Content
You can create many types of content for your audience, but you want to focus on something that brings out the authentic version of yourself. That said, here are the popular forms of content you can consider for your online career:
- Videos for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
- Blog posts, Pinterest Boards
- Podcasts or audio content
- eBooks, courses, and infographics
- Instagram stories, reels, and guides
- Gaming and live streaming
- Music and art
But First, Prime Yourself for Success with These 5 Simple Steps
- Find out what you are passionate about, what you are good at, and what defines you as an individual.
- Determine the content niche that best suits you. The space that allows you to shine as a content creator.
- Choose the platforms that are relevant to the type of content you will be creating.
- Create content that adds value for your audience.
- Monetize your content appropriately based on your skills and goals.
Get these right and brands will not be able to resist collaborating with you.
Top Tips For Making Money As A Content Creator
Here are 12 ways content creators make money online.
Tip #1: Teach online
Skillshare, an online teaching site, reports that the highest-paid content creators on the platform earn as much as $100K annually. This is a pretty decent amount to earn doing what you love, and that’s why we advise you to consider online teaching to monetize your content. As an experienced content creator and digital marketer, your skills are in high demand by other creators who want to monetize their content. You can create a comprehensive course that teaches them how to appeal to their target audience. Lucky for you, many online platforms allow you to sell your content, such as Udemy, Skillshare, and Teachable.
Follow their lead
Maggie Stara is an experienced digital marketer who sells her content on Skillshare. She has created several courses on social media marketing and digital advertising to help marketers reach their target users. She has been rated as a top teacher on the platform, and her courses attract thousands of students.
Tip #2: Consulting Services
Besides selling your content on online teaching platforms, you can offer consulting services to help social media users find solutions to the problems they face. With online consultation, you don’t have to sign up with any platform. You can advertise your services on your social media account and use Zoom for your consulting video calls.
Follow their lead
Christie Ressel (@christieressel) is an image consultant and coach. She offers image consulting services to help women transform their lives through style and coaching. Interested users can sign up for her program to get tailored advice on how to improve their image.
Tip #3: Sell Exclusive Content
Your audience follows you for a reason – they love your content. If you have such committed followers, you can sell them exclusive content, and they’d gladly pay for it.
Segment your content and apply a different monetization strategy to each category. For example, you can have free content available to everyone and premium content that users have to pay to access. The premium content, in this case, can be bonus podcast episodes, behind-the-scenes videos, special vlogs, and so much more.
Follow their lead
Evans Ranft is a photographer and YouTuber. Besides the free content he publishes on his social media pages, Evans offers exclusive content to help users learn more about photography.
Tip #4: Subscriptions
How do content creators make money on YouTube? By serving ads to users who view their content. But social media users don’t like having their viewing experience interrupted by ads. In this regard, you can give your audience the chance to subscribe to your channel for an ad-free viewing experience. Users can also subscribe to your channel to access exclusive content that isn’t available to other users.
Follow their lead
Jim Sterling is a video game critic who became popular due to his Jimquisition video series. The videos were so addictive, and viewers would feel bad when ads would pop up mid-stream. Jim introduced a paid plan that allowed him to run his show without advertisements, which many of his followers subscribed for.
Tip #5: Selling Merch
How much do creators make selling branded merchandise? Quite a lot — according to the influencers who have converted their audience into customers for their branded products. If you have an established online community, you can do the same and start selling merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and totes. Your followers will see this as an opportunity to support your brand, and most will place orders for your products.
Follow their lead
Alisha Marie (@alisha) is a lifestyle influencer with 3.4 million followers on Instagram. She has an online shop where she sells branded merch such as T-shirts, face masks, and hoodies.
Tip #6: Branded Sponsorships
Another effective way for content creators to make money online is through paid partnerships. With social media users more likely to trust recommendations from their influencers than brand advertisements, paid partnerships have been on the rise as brands seek to reach their target users in a voice they trust. With this arrangement, you promote a brand’s products on your profile for monetary compensation.
Follow their lead
Sydney Nicole (@sydneynicolleadams) is a makeup and fashion influencer. She has partnered with Heinz to promote the Heinz Tomato Blood Ketchup that can be used for Halloween decorations.
Tip #7: Public Appearance
You can also earn money by appearing at events and interacting with fans. Event organizers often invite well-known content creators who have earned celebrity status to their events to attract huge crowds. You can interact with your fans and pick up your cheque at the end of the event!
Follow their lead
Kelly Cardens (@therealkellycardens) is an inspirational speaker who hosts live events on success and financial well-being. He earns money through ticket sales and selling merchandise at the events.
Tip #8: Content Syndication
Content syndication is when you give other parties exclusive rights to use and distribute your content. Making money through content syndication is suited for animators and filmmakers who have the type of content TV and film producers are looking for.
Follow their lead
Mohannad Haikal (@trueartistpro) is a graphic designer who creates 3D animations. He works with film producers to create animated characters for their shows.
Tip #9: Affiliate Marketing
Do content creators make money on Facebook? Yes, they do! Influential content creators generate income through affiliate marketing, where they earn a commission for every completed purchase made through their links or codes. To succeed with affiliate marketing, ensure the products you are promoting are in your niche and of good quality. This way, your followers will be excited to buy the products to take advantage of the discounted rates.
Follow their lead
Kristy Ann is a beauty influencer who partners with beauty brands for marketing activities. She often shares referral links on her Facebook page that give shoppers a discount when buying products using her link.
Tip #10: Donations
Donations are one way content creators make money on TikTok. Your followers can donate money to express appreciation for the amazing content you create. Users can buy virtual coins that they will share when you go live on the platform. When you collect enough coins, you can trade them for real cash at predetermined rates.
Tip #11: Direct Advertising
Direct advertising on your website can help you earn additional income through clicks and impressions on the ad content. If you receive a lot of traffic on your site, advertisers will pay you to host their content.
You can also insert advertising into your YouTube videos to help marketers reach your audience. This way, you can earn income for views on the ads on your videos.
Tip #12: Social Media Advertising
When selling products on your social media pages, you may promote your posts to reach more people. Social media platforms have advanced targeting capabilities to help you reach the right people with your posts. You will have to pay for the ads, but this will help you attract many unfamiliar people to your work and content.
Follow their lead
Eliza Maris (@elzmrspisalbon) is a food blogger on Instagram. She uses social media ads to attract more buyers for her products.
3-Way Cheat Sheet
There are three ways to make money: Sell Products, sell services, sell advertising.
There are three ways to grow your business revenues. Add new customers. Sell new products to existing customers. Raise prices.
Now that you know how content creators make money, you are all set to achieve multiple income streams and build a thriving online career. But bear in mind that the same approach doesn’t work for everyone, and you will have to try some of the methods to figure out what works for your unique skill set.
When you finally figure out the best method that works for you, wouldn’t it be nice to have a reliable partner to help you amplify your efforts? Meet Atisfyre, an AI-driven influencer marketing platform, designed to help content creators like yourself make more doing what you love! Be your own CEO – and connect with leading brands worldwide to explore collaboration opportunities.
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