"How do you make money from that?"
This is often peoples' first question when they're new to content creation.
Here are the main answers:
- Sponsorships
- Brands partner with creators and pay them to promote their products and services.
- Ads
- Some platforms (like the YouTube Partner Program) let creators earn a percentage of the revenue made from displaying ads on their content.
- If you run websites, like me, you can also show ads to earn money directly from the business, or via what's called an ad network, like Mediavine.
- Affiliate marketing
- Creators promote a business' products/services and make a cut of any sales they generate.
- Paid communities
- Platforms like Skool let creators set up online communities that members pay to join.
- UGC
- User generated content.
- Creators get paid to make videos of themselves using a brand’s products. The brand uses those videos in their marketing.
- Patreon/Buymeacoffee
- These types of platforms allow fans to support creators directly.
- The creator often provides additional value (e.g. content you won't get anywhere else) to incentivize these types of paid subscribers.
- Products (physical and service)
- Creators design, produce, and sell their own product or service. A product can be anything. This eBook is a product, for example, I just don't charge for it.
- Online courses are a common example. Videographers might sell something like a LUT pack.
- Coaching/Consulting/Mentorship
- Creators are often experts at a certain craft, such as writing or video editing, and, of course, content creation.
- You can productize yourself and sell that skill as a service, working directly with clients who want to learn from you.
- Merch
- Some creators design and sell merchandise relevant to their personal brand. Shirts, hoodies, jewelry - it could be anything.
- Contracting/Sell your skills (Done For You)
- Companies want the skills you have. If you can write, edit videos, set up email campaigns, do killer designs, or whatever, you could work for them as a freelancer.
- This is an excellent way to monetize before you have an audience.
Most creators make money from a combination of these sources, especially brand deals, ads, and affiliates.
Selling products is less common as a beginner, but the biggest names in the space recommend doing it as early as possible (i.e. you could make and sell one now).
Then you can promote that product/those products in your content.
It's a way to make good money without having a giant audience.
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