Are you a digital creator who wants to earn by doing what you love? Thankfully, there are many ways on how to make money as a content creator.
The opportunity to get paid to create content is abundant, from subscriptions to online consultations. Some provide a passive income, while others may be able to replace your full-time job.
So, how do content creators make money? Let’s discover the possibilities in this article!
How to Make Money as A Content Creator?
As a content creator, there are several ways to monetize your content and make money.
One common method is through advertising revenue, where you can earn money by displaying ads on your website or YouTube channel. Another option is through sponsored content, where brands pay you to create content that promotes their products or services. Affiliate marketing is also a popular method, where you earn a commission for every sale made through a unique affiliate link.
Additionally, some content creators offer premium content or exclusive access to their community for a fee. Finally, merchandise sales, such as t-shirts or mugs with your brand or logo, can also be a source of income.
Of course being on a content membership platform such as Gank also helps tremendously.
To be successful in monetizing your content, it’s important to create high-quality content that resonates with your target audience, build a loyal following, and engage with your audience regularly.
Let’s learn more about each below!
1. Sponsored Content
Doing sponsored content is what it exactly means: you get paid to create content.
Businesses usually look for content creators who already made a name to feature their brand or product. The feature can be as simple as a shoutout or more hard selling as a product review.
In return for your service, businesses will pay you an amount that both parties agree with. Though the amount may differ in each country, there are some factors that affect it, including the number of followers (social media) or monthly visitors (blog), content format, and engagement rate.
How to make money as a content creator through sponsored content? We suggest that you accept partnerships from brands whose offerings relate to your niche.
For instance, if you make content around skateboarding, it will make sense to partner with brands that offer products related to that sport since it will appeal to your target audience.
By doing that, you will not only recommend the right product to the right consumers but also bring them to the business you work with. Thus, they will be happy to strike other deals with you.
Read : Best 15 Content Creator Apps
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the easy methods when it comes to making money as a content creator who is just starting out.
In short, affiliate marketing requires you to promote products in your content by providing affiliate links. You will get a certain amount of commission for each purchase that happens through those links. Therefore, it is a quick way to get paid for content.
There are a few ways to attract followers to click on your affiliate links. The obvious one is putting them on your content, but you may also show it during interactions. For example, you may give the link to someone in the comments section who asks about your flashy new shirt.
So, how do you get affiliate links? You only need to join an affiliate program that major marketplaces and businesses offer. Amazon Associates is one of the popular examples.
Once joining, you can choose among the products eligible for the affiliate program, and the company will give you the affiliate link. These links are unique for each product and member, so no one else can take credit for your marketing effort.
3. Social Media Advertisement
How to make money as a content creator passively? For video creators on social media, one of the standard methods is to allow ads on their content.
On YouTube, for example, you may register your channel with AdSense to let advertisements play pre-roll or mid-roll. Every subscriber who watches those advertisements until the end will get $0.018.
Other social platforms that have video content, such as Facebook and Twitch, also pay creators that allow ads. Even though the revenue may vary in each platform, they generally split the amount of money creators get in half.
The bottom line is that social media ads can be a source of income that requires your patience. As your following grows, the possibility of earning more from ads will also get bigger.
Read : How to Manage Social Media Content as a Content Creator
4. Sign Up for TikTok Creator Fund
Creators on TikTok can get paid by the platform itself through its Creator Fund program. If you want to get paid for content on TikTok, you must meet the following criteria:
- Must be based in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy.
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Must have at least 10,000 followers
- Must have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days
- Must fit with TikTok’s community guidelines and terms of service
Once you are eligible for the Creator Fund, registering is very simple. You only need to tap the “Creator Fund” menu on the app’s Creator Tools and wait for TikTok to notify you.
What’s more interesting, TikTok claims there is no limit on how much you can earn through the Creator Fund. Your earning will be calculated through the number of authentic views and engagement rate. So, TikTok’s Creator Fund may be a competitive way how to make money as a content creator.
5. Start An Online Course
According to McKinsey, the number of online learners from 2011 to 2021 increased from 300 thousand to 220 million and will grow even more. With that said, teaching online courses is an ample opportunity for creators.
Not only that, online teaching is also a profitable way how to make money as a content creator. Popular learning platform Skillshare even claims that its top creators make up to $100 thousand per year.
What’s more, you do not need a teaching degree to sell courses online. You only have to be well-spoken in the fields you are passionate about. By being able to do that, your audience will surely regard you as a thought leader.
You can start online teaching using any platform. Nevertheless, a learning platform will be more beneficial since you can sell courses quickly and offer interactive content, such as workbooks and quizzes.
6. Offer Private Consultations
If you are knowledgeable in your field but do not wish to create online courses, offering private consultations can be a great choice on how to make money as a content creator.
For example, photographers, musicians, and other types of artists may give tutorials for aspiring followers who want to improve their artistic skills.
On the other hand, you may also offer consultations for other content creators. It can be in the form of a content strategy discussion or portfolio review.
The best part of one-on-one consultation is the ease of setting it up. You can even use video call tools like Google Meet or Zoom to provide the service while selling it through a content monetization platform like Gank.
Read : Getting Paid to Play Video Games
7. Content Syndication
Content syndication is another passive method on how to make money as a content creator. In short, it is the act of giving another party the right to republish your existing content on their platform in exchange for a fee.
To do content syndication, you may pitch your content to a publication within your niche that has a good reputation and large audience. However, it is not uncommon for these publications to contact creators to give the offering as well.
Once reaching a deal, the publication will republish your content and include a link to the original post. Due to that, content syndication is not only a way to get paid to create content but also opens a potential to grow your reputation and following.
8. Offer Exclusive Content
One of the simplest ways to get paid for content is turning an already established audience into paying fans. You can offer them a steady publication of exclusive content to do that.
What kind of content can be considered exclusive, you may ask? It can be any material that provides more value or compliments the free content that you regularly publish.
From extra videos and behind-the-scenes to early access to new songs and private Q&As, many types of content creators can get paid to create content.
When it comes to how to make money as a content creator with exclusive content, you need to post them behind a paywall that you can set up using platforms like Gank.
These platforms allow you to offer a monthly subscription that your audience needs to pay. Alternatively, you may use them to set multiple subscription plans with different perks.
Some content creators sell their exclusive materials for as little as $2 to $10 per month, but some others charge more than that, depending on the production value.
Let’s say you start low by setting a $2 subscription plan. Even though it may not sound much, having hundreds of paying followers enables you to earn up to more than $1000 per month!
Read : Understanding Content Licenses
9. Accept Donations or Tips
Your passionate followers on social media know that maintaining a high-quality content stream at a steady pace takes money. Due to that, many of them are willing to give back in the form of donations or tips.
So, even if you have not thought of how to make money as a content creator, it is still a good idea to set up a donation platform. Once done, you can put the link on your profile description or content.
Some social platforms, such as Twitch, provide a built-in donation feature. However, they usually take a portion of your earnings as a service fee.
If you want to be able to keep 100% of your audience’s tips, registering for a third-party platform like Gank is a better option.
10. Sell Your Original Products
The methods on how to make money as a content creator does not always have to include making content. Instead, you may sell original products and merchandise.
Take a look at Emma Chamberlain as an example. With the comedic vlogs she has uploaded on YouTube since 2016, she has gathered more than 12 million subscribers.
Along the way, Emma launched her coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee, which has also expanded to selling tea and accessories. Long-time fans are probably not surprised about Emma’s choice of products since she often talks about caffeinated drinks in her videos.
What if you have no means to produce non-consumable goods, such as materials or manufacturing plants, though?
Do not worry! You can also sell products with more accessible materials. Visual artists, for instance, can sell shirts or hoodies with their design. Meanwhile, bloggers may offer ebooks related to the topics they usually cover.
There are a few ways on how to make money as a content creator by selling products. First, you can use the marketplace feature on certain social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Though, those social platforms usually charge you as a seller.
You may also set up your own website. However, it may cost you a lot of money and time if you are unfamiliar with the tech behind it.
If you want to start selling physical or digital goods easier, creating your page on Gank is a great idea. What’s more, you can sell up to 10 products without a platform charge.
11. Sign-up on Gank
Gank has always been dedicated to helping content creators earn a living from their passions. We are constantly creating new features to improve the quality of life of content creators.
This means making earning more from your content easier, whether through tips and donations, exclusive memberships, pay-per-view content, or even your own digital store. Gank, as a content membership platform, gives you control over how you want to monetize your content.
Gank is at the forefront of turning the content creation industry into a sustainable and effective career for those who want to walk this path.
Read : How to Be a Content Creator
How to Make Money as A Content Creator: Which Ways Excite You The Most?
There are many ways to make money as a content creator. In this article, we have explained some of the popular methods, which include selling original products, exclusive content, and online courses.
Apart from sales, you can also get paid for content through sponsored content, affiliate marketing, and content syndication. Each will not only generate cash but also boost your reputation.
So, which way on how to make money as a content creator that you would like to do? Whichever it is, we wish you luck!
