{"id":18226,"date":"2022-05-25T10:34:52","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T17:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/?p=18226"},"modified":"2023-05-25T03:25:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T10:25:26","slug":"creator-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/business-and-marketing\/creator-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Creator Economy: History, Trends & How To Be Successful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After being accepted to the prestigious Parsons School of Design, and earning a merit scholarship worth over $100,000, Sharon Yeun Kim was barraged with messages from social media users who wanted to know how to submit a winning application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim\u2014a graduate of Springboard\u2019s UI\/UX Design Career Track<\/a>\u2014soon decided to start her own YouTube channel<\/a>, where she shares videos offering advice on how to ace a design challenge, build UX case studies, and choose a bootcamp. The purpose of her channel, she says, is to create transparency around what it takes to become a successful UI\/UX designer<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Kim recently landed a summer internship at Amazon, she posted a video detailing how she walked the hiring manager through her UX portfolio<\/a>. \u201cI want to show aspiring designers that whatever they\u2019re struggling with, I have been in that position, too,\u201d said Kim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim is part of what\u2019s known as the creator economy and is an excellent example of how creators are carving out a new niche in the digital landscape. Want to learn more about how the creator economy works, how creators like Kim make money, and why this billion-dollar industry is only getting bigger? Then keep reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is the Creator Economy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The creator economy is comprised of the side hustles and independent businesses built by content creators, social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers. According to venture capital firm Signalfire<\/a>, over 50 million people worldwide consider themselves independent creators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creator economy also encompasses a broad swath of businesses that support creators, including companies that provide content creation, web analytics platforms, and website hosting services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does the Creator Economy Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The creator economy represents an ecosystem of creators, consumers, and advertisers. Creators rely on people to consume their content so they can attract advertisers, who pay them in exchange for promoting products to their audience through sponsored posts, product placements, and shout-outs during live streams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that millennials don\u2019t respond to traditional advertising<\/a>, which makes influencer partnerships a crucial part of a brand\u2019s marketing strategy. Creators can also sell content such as ebooks, courses, podcasts, and newsletters on their own website in exchange for a monthly subscription, pay-per-view, or donation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media networks remain the primary conduit for creators to distribute and monetize their work. Creators receive a percentage (anywhere from 55-100%) of ad revenue<\/a> generated by their content, and many \u201ccreator-first\u201d platforms have emerged to help influencers pocket more of their earnings. For example, a creator-first platform like Patreon enables micro-influencers to accept subscription fees, donations, and crowdfunding. These platforms take a small cut (typically no more than 20%) of a creator\u2019s earnings in exchange for publishing, hosting, and paywalling their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, publisher advertising networks and influencer agencies broker deals between advertisers and influencers for sponsorships, referrals, and endorsements. These partnerships allow advertisers to build brand awareness with audiences they wouldn\u2019t otherwise reach through traditional advertising, while also enabling creators to earn commissions for sales they helped generate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Does It Mean To Be a Creator?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creators produce videos, blog posts, photography, artwork, audio content, and other digital<\/a> assets. Being a content creator can be a side hustle or a full-time business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most effective creators provide their audiences with candid advice they won\u2019t find elsewhere. For example, Rahil Jetly<\/a>, a former Springboard employee, started a podcast called The Actual Job to raise awareness about lesser-known jobs, such as being a corrosion engineer or a lighting technician.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Podcasting\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ways To Make Money<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a creator, the first step to earning money is to post high-quality content and build a base. Creators can upload their content to social platforms to receive a share of ad revenue, accept donations on creator-first platforms, or monetize content directly on their own website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Podcasting<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For podcasters, sponsorships are the most common way to make money. This means creating an ad spot to promote an affiliate offer or including a mention of a product or service as part of regular content. Brands provide a tracking link or coupon code so the influencer receives credit for sales they generate. Podcasters can also accept crowdfunding and donations through podcast hosting platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Influential podcasters can charge a subscription fee for exclusive content, such as additional interviews, behind-the-scenes content, or an ad-free version of the podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blogging<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Bloggers can make money through ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and selling other services. For example, freelance copywriter Elna Cain runs a blog<\/a> about freelance writing, which she also uses to promote her copywriting, SEO<\/a>, and email marketing services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloggers with a sizable following can join an ad network to host ads on their site. Most of these networks use targeted ads, meaning the ad changes depending on the viewer\u2019s recent site activity, which is tracked using cookies. Bloggers can also join affiliate networks to promote a company\u2019s products using a tracking link. The blogger then receives a commission when someone makes a purchase via their link. Professional writers can also offer paywall-restricted newsletters on their own website, or through content platforms like Substack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Videos<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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One of the most common ways to monetize video content is to upload videos to YouTube. Creators must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past year to apply for YouTube\u2019s Partner Program<\/a>, which allows creators to monetize their channels through ads, subscriptions, and channel memberships. YouTube takes a 45% cut, and the creator gets the rest. Video creators who specialize in tutorial videos or video lessons can monetize their content directly by putting videos behind a paywall on their website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Influencers<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Influencers<\/a> are social media personalities whose authority has the power to affect their viewer\u2019s purchasing decisions. Brands hire influencers to create sponsored posts or to serve as brand ambassadors. Instead of promoting a brand through a one-off sponsored post, brand ambassadors regularly discuss the brand\u2019s products to generate brand awareness, usually in exchange for a monthly stipend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art & Design<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) marketplaces and stock image sites allow creators to sell digital art, photography, and video in exchange for royalties or commissions. While homeschooling her five children, generative artist Melissa Wiederrecht made extra income by contributing seamless patterns to stock image sites. Selling art online is a \u201cnumbers game,\u201d says Wiedderecht, a graduate of Springboard\u2019s Data Science Career Track<\/a>. She currently has over 24,000 images<\/a> for sale on Shutterstock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Melissa<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s totally possible to make a full-time income creating, uploading, and selling seamless patterns on Shutterstock,\u201d said Wiedderecht. \u201cI’m not there yet, but it’s totally possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Money Can a Creator Make?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the top 1% of influencers earn six figures for a single sponsored post, just 41% of creators make a living wage ($69,000 or more annually), according to Stripe<\/a>. Major influencers<\/a>\u2014typically celebrities, like soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo or actor Dwayne Johnson\u2014can command over $1 million for a single post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Creator<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A creator\u2019s earning potential largely depends on the type of content they create (lifestyle content<\/a> is the easiest to monetize), the size and demographics of their audience, how regularly they post, and which platforms they use to distribute their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do You Become a Creator?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before thinking about monetization, start by creating and posting engaging content about a topic you care deeply about. Formulate a content strategy and use a mix of content categories such as courses, newsletters, podcasts, and short-form videos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe real secret sauce is finding the kind of content that people want and getting it out there,\u201d said Roger Huang, director of growth at Springboard. \u201cThen there’s this layer of understanding the algorithm and learning how to grow your audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, finalize a posting frequency and schedule for increased visibility. Once you\u2019ve reached a certain follower threshold, join an affiliate program or apply for an official creator account on the platform of your choosing. This gives you opportunities to access creator funds, partner with brands, and increase exposure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creators Worth Following<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Top creators offer relevant content in a specific niche, post regularly, and find ways to start conversations with their audiences. Here are a few examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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