Creator Income: Boost Your Earnings
Creator Income: Boost Your Earnings
GUIDE TO
CREATOR
INCOME
02
IN-PLATFORM MONETISATION
03
USER GENERATED CONTENT
04
AFFILIATE MARKETING
05
MEMBERSHIPS
06
PRODUCTISE YOUR CONTENT
07
MERCHANDISE
01 BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
What are they?
Let’s begin with a hot topic, shall we? Brand Partnerships. If you didn’t already know, a
brand partnership is when a creator partners with a brand to promote the brand's product
or service to the audience of the creator. The brand's ideal audience is likely you or your
audience; they want to connect with you to connect to your audience (the brand wants
your audience to feel like their a friend of a friend). Many creators use brand partnerships as
an important source of income.
If you answered yes to any of these questions, your audience is likely engaged with your
content and you are a good candidate for a brand partnership (woohoo!).
How much
can you earn?
Many creators can and do make a full-
time income solely from their brand
partnerships. However, many creators
also work their way up to these points,
and the amount they are
compensated varies depending on
different industry factors. These
factors include but are not limited to:
1. Your audience engagement (how
many people respond, like, and
comment on your posts).
2. Your audience size (the number of
followers and influence you have
on social media).
3. Your niche (what category your
content specialises in).
Is it difficult?
Can it be difficult to land brand
partnerships when starting out? Of
course! However, a healthy social
media presence, an engaged
audience, as well as strategising
Ease of use:
when and how to pitch, can help you
land regular brand partnerships -
regardless of the size of your
audience! While it’s not the easiest
thing on the planet, it’s also not the
hardest, earning this a solid 3/5 on the
ease of use scale.
HOW TO GET STARTED:
Once you have committed yourself to your social media journey, you may
be asking yourself, where do I begin? How do I get started? Well, brands
work with creators for a multitude of different reasons, such as:
When looking where to start, ask yourself: which of the above can you offer
a brand? What value do you bring to the table? Are you bringing the meat
and potatoes or are you bringing the fancy hors d’oeuvres? A brand
partnership is a partnership, it’s not just about you collaborating with the
brand, but also about the brand collaborating with you. So, what makes
you an asset?
Also, be sure to pitch to brands - don’t wait for brands to come to you! If
you want something, you have to ask for it. Your goals are never going to
appear to you on a shiny silver platter (though it would be amazing if they
did). Approach brands, and let them know you’re interested in them and
why you appreciate them as a company. You’ve got the make the first
move!
What to put in your pitch:
Now that you’ve picked a brand to pitch to, and understand
the value you bring to this collaboration, it’s time to make
the pitch! Here’s a shortlist of everything to include:
When you’re negotiating a fee, it’s important to look out for these
components of your contract:
1. Content rights
a. If brands ask for the right to use your content across their
marketing, ask them for a higher amount of compensation.
Otherwise, this could lead to them running larger-scale
advertisement campaigns with your content without you being
properly compensated, and you definitely deserve to be
compensated for your hard work.
2. Exclusivity
a. This will restrict your ability to work with similar brands (and
potentially limit your income!). Be careful and evaluate whether
the brand deal is worth having other opportunities limited.
Marketplaces:
As brand partnerships become creators'
main sources of income, marketplaces
have popped up over the years that make
it easier to connect influencers and
brands. This helps you to see who is
looking to work with creators at the
moment, instead of blindly pitching
yourself to brands who might not be
looking to collaborate at the moment.
These marketplaces include Tribe, Aspire
IQ, Instagram Marketplace, TikTok Creator
Marketplace, etc. I also collate a monthly
list for all members of The Creators Club
that goes over what brands are currently
looking for partnerships!
How to scale:
So, how do we scale brand partnerships to your main source of income? One
way is to create long-term brand partnerships. This provides a stable income
for you, and better results for the brand. Always maintain relationships with
your brand partners and track the results of your partnerships. Re-pitch to
them in the future with the insights of your success and secure a longer-term
deal!
Another way is to diversify your channels. The more channels you have, the
more income you become eligible for from brand partnerships. This allows
you to package up your offers. For example, there's a big difference between
offering 1 sponsored Instagram post, vs offering 1 sponsored Instagram post,
a TikTok post, a Youtube video, etc. The more channels you have available to
collaborate with, the more income you become eligible to receive. When it
comes to channels, the more the merrier!
02 IN-PLATFORM MONETISATION
What is it?
In-platform monetisation is a way for creators to earn money for creating original content
on different platforms. Some platforms have multiple ways creators can earn money
directly in their app (ex. TikTok), while others only have one main source of income (ex.
Pinterest). Keep reading to see a breakdown of how each app funds its creators!
TikTok
Creator fund - To earn money through the TikTok Creator Fund, you must be 18 years of
age or older, have 10k followers, and at least 100k views in the last 30 days. Creators
eligible for the TikTok Creator Fund currently are creators living in the U.S., UK, Germany,
Italy, France, and Spain. You must be posting consistent content that aligns with TikTok's
community guidelines. The amount of money made per video changes daily based on the
performance of your videos day to day.
Video gifts - You must be part of the Creator Next program to be eligible for video gifts.
Video gifts allow your followers to show they appreciate your content; these gifts then
translate to diamonds, which are redeemable for money. To be eligible for this you must be
at least 18, have created your Tik Tok account and new Tik Tok content over 30 days ago,
and have a following of 100k.
Live shopping - Through Lives (which you have to be 16+ and have over 1k to host), you can
sell products directly. As you showcase a product, a pin will come up with a link directly to
the product purchase point.
Instagram
Badges - When you go live, viewers can buy badges to support you - these badges are
money that goes directly to you. You need to be 18+ and have 10K minimum followers to be
eligible for badges.
Bonuses - through bonus programs such as Reels Play, Instagram will provide you with
bonus funds based on the popularity and success (views and watch time) of your Reel.
Once you’ve earned a minimum of $100, you can cash out and start again!
Subscriptions - Here you can set up a subscription service with a custom fee, in order for
your followers/subscribers to receive exclusive content from you.
Pinterest
Creator Rewards - To be eligible for the Creator Rewards program, you’ll need to have a
Pinterest business account, use the Pinterest app on your mobile phone, be 18 years or
over, be a legal resident of, and located in, the 50 United States or the District of Columbia,
have at least 250 followers, have created at least three Idea Pins in the last 30 days, have 150
saves of your published Pins in the last 30 days, and create original content. Creator
Rewards is a program for creators to earn money for creating original Idea Pins in
response to monthly reward goals created by Pinterest. Pinterest will pay creators for their
most inspiring, quality content and organic engagement.
YouTube
Partner program - The YouTube Partner Programme (YPP) provides creators with
resources, enables revenue sharing, and provides exclusive features for monetisation. To
be eligible you must have more than 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months, and more
than 1,000 subscribers. In this program, any money accrued from advertising is split with
YouTube.
Memberships - This membership feature allows your biggest advocates to support you
through purchasing a membership in exchange for exclusive content such as badges,
emojis, videos, etc.
Super chat & super stickers - This allows users to purchase live chat messages from you so
that they have a higher chance of getting noticed by you.
Shorts fund - you could earn between $100-$10k USD depending on your shorts popularity
and where your audience resides. You must upload a short in the last 180 days, original
content only, 18+, and respect the YouTube community guidelines in order to be eligible
for this fund.
Pinterest and Youtube, on the other hand, are the ideal place to try and earn money
directly from the platforms. With their revenue share pay set up, this allows for
uncapped earning potential as more people view your content over time. This is
because these platforms also benefit from views on, and engagement with, your
content. This earns Pinterest and YouTube a 3/5 on the earning rating.
Is it difficult?
These are definitely suited towards creators with developed audiences. You need to
qualify to earn money, and in all instances already have a set amount of views and
followers already in place. It is not set up for beginners, but rather people who have
already spent the time developing both their content and their viewership. This
earns this section a 1/5 on the ease of use scale.
Ease of Use:
How to get
started:
So, how do you, as a beginner,
become eligible for these different
creator programs? You need to
focus on building a high-quality
audience first. A high-quality
audience will help you not only
qualify for these programs but also
has the potential to increase your
earnings once you are in these
programs.
03
Set a posting schedule and stick to it. Consistency is key
when it comes to growing a brand!
Brands are constantly in need of new content and support for their products, so they
recruit influencers to create their content. In many aspects, these partnerships can be even
more successful in comparison to high-budget commercials and shoots, which require
much more money and time for promotion. The brand pays less money, and that money
then goes into your pocket, it’s a win-win for everyone.
Earning Potential:
Is it difficult?
This is geared towards creators
with solid cameraperson skills. You
Ease of use: don’t need a large following, you
just need the ability to create
quality accessible content. AKA - if
you're handy with a camera and
you’ve got the time, give it a go!
The accessibility of UGC earns this a
4/5 for ease of use!
HOW TO GET STARTED:
Step One: Find Your Niche.
Ask yourself what area of content and topic of interest you want to focus on. You’ll see a higher
and quicker amount of success if you pick a product category that you are a) passionate
about and b) have some knowledge in. For example, if you’re comfortable talking about
beauty products, focus on beauty brands. It doesn’t matter what the niche is, so long as it
speaks and connects with you!
One way to scale UGC income is to try and commit to long-term deals.
An example of this would be to offer a discount to work with a brand to
produce content for them for 3 months or more.
Lastly, you can charge more money for higher quality content. Level up
your skills and/or equipment and you’ll be scaling your rates in no time.
04 AFFILIATE MARKETING
What is it?
Another source of income for content creators is called Affiliate
Marketing. Essentially, creators promote a product or service using a
special personalized URL; this URL is trackable and allows creators to
earn a commission off of every sale made from their promotion of the
product or service.
Earning Potential:
Is it difficult to succeed?
Similar to the answer in the previous section, while affiliate marketing
is open to everyone and accessible for beginners, to make a livable
amount of money you need a larger dedicated audience. This earns
affiliate marketing a 1/5 on the ease of use scale.
Ease of use:
How to get started:
TO GET STARTED EARNING INCOME FOR
AFFILIATE MARKETING YOU NEED TO:
A pro tip and trick to know about for creators looking to make income off
of affiliate marketing is cookie windows! A cookie window is a form of
documenting how someone visited a website and when. Let’s say someone
clicks on your affiliate link but does not end up making a purchase until a
week later. A cookie window will alert the brand to the fact that someone
visited their site using your link, and you will still earn the commission
from the purchase made 1 week later (depending on the length of the
cookie window). Not every brand includes cookie windows, but some do
up to for as long as 180 days! Cookie windows are my second favourite
type of cookie, the chocolate chip being the first.
HOW TO SCALE:
To scale your affiliate marketing income, I would suggest you join
an affiliate network. This allows you to manage multiple affiliate
links in one place and also broadens the range of items you can
promote.
For creators with a dedicated audience, a solid way to earn income online is through
memberships. A membership site gives your biggest followers the opportunity to
access exclusive content, events, and a private community in exchange for a
monthly fee. This generates recurring revenue for your business, which is great for
creators! I have firsthand knowledge when it comes to this as I run my own
membership program, The Creators Club. The Creators Club members pay a monthly
fee for access to valuable content related to how to market your personal brand,
exclusive lives and masterclasses, a platform to network with other creators, and
more!
Earning Potential:
Is it difficult?
Unfortunately, starting a membership
program is difficult. You need to be
continuously uploading, promoting, and
creating content worthy of your subscribers'
hard-earned money. This earns memberships a
1/5 on the ease of use scale.
Ease of use:
How to get started:
To get started, you’ll need to first define your value offering.
Once you’ve defined your value, the next step is to pick a platform.
I recommend one of the following:
Earning Potential:
Is it difficult?
This isn't difficult at all! With the right
guidance, these are super easy to
create. You don’t need a huge
audience to get started. It does help,
however, as bigger audiences often
equate to more sales (as long as the
audience is high quality!). Overall, its
accessibility for beginners and those
without high-level copywriting or
design skills earns this a 4/5 on the
ease of use scale.
Ease of use:
How to get started:
Ready to take the leap and productising your content?
Follow my 5 step plan:
What is it?
Merchandise is another way to produce income from creating
online content. Merchandise is the process of creating a branded
product and selling it to your audience. Products can vary from t-
shirts with your favorite phrase to kitchen equipment, specialty
coffees, and more. If you can put your logo/face/etc. on it, it can be
merch!
Earning Potential:
Is it difficult?
Merchandise is something that people
have been dabbling in for years. Because
of this, there are many established
merchandising companies that will
create and store your merchandise for
you. They will even also ship your
merchandise to your customers when a
sale is made in exchange for a percentage
of your income; this makes the process
super easy! Since this is well-established
and generally accessible, merch earns a
4/5 on the ease of use scale.
Ease of use:
How to get started:
To get started with merchandise, select a product that aligns
with your audience/niche. If you always have a cup of coffee in
your YouTube videos, why not sell branded coffees? You don’t
always need direct alignment, but merchandise that is related to
your personal brand in some way will likely perform better than
something pulled out of left field.
Spreadshop
Printful
Icon
Merch Labs
How to scale:
To make the most out of merchandise, you need to promote it!
Link your merchandise to your social channels - Instagram
shopping, YouTube merchandise (connect your merch with your
channel, must be over 18 and have 10k+ subscribers), or TikTok
shopping are all great places to promo your products. This will
allow merchandise to be a built-in part of your online business as
a creator and a part of your marketing strategy, as opposed to
something you're trying to promote with no real structure.
In conclusion...
As you’ve just read, there are many different ways to create income for
yourself online. Pick which ones resonate with you, your brand, and your
passion, and give them a go! If you now know how to make money online,
but need the audience to back it up, I encourage you to look into joining
my membership program The Creators Club.
The Creators Club encourages creators of all sizes to level up their social
channels, provides private networking, exclusive masterclasses, and open
forum questions and answers for
J Lany
N N Jinformation
KJL you could need when it
comes to growing your social media.
Ready to work together?