For creators, the key step to taking your content creation, as a business, to the next level is to monetize your content. This monetization can happen in a variety of ways. For example, when your followers pay to consume exclusive content or subscription-based content. Or when you share ads on your platform along with your content or when you partner with a company to market their brand or products. Currently, subscriber-only exclusive access to your content is gaining traction within the creator community and is considered an effective way to earn income via your followers. When a third party is involved, there are options such as affiliate marketing, product integration, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
There are several monetization tools available in the market that can help to leverage your content. In this article, we’ll cover how you can monetize content in different ways.
How to Make Money as a Content Creator
There are various platforms for you to earn money by selling your content and giving access on a pay-to-consume basis. Brands or third parties pay creators to market their products/services, which is one of the most popular ways of earning money as a creator. When you sit down to make a content monetization strategy, always have two or more monetization tools in your bucket to ensure a comprehensive approach.
Content monetization can be done in three ways:
1. ADVERTISING
Advertising is an easy way to earn income as a content creator. There are three ways to earn money via advertising:
a) Product placement: Product placement, or mentioning of the product in between the content, happens when there is a new product launched and the brand wants to market it using your channel. The brands pay you directly to place their products in between your content.
b) Affiliate marketing: With affiliate marketing, you can make money off of directing your consumers to a landing page, typically for a product, via links. This is in a textual format. The payment is calculated according to the number of clicks and purchases made.
c) Pay-per-click: Pay-per-click, also known as PPC, occurs when, instead of integrating products in your content, you integrate ads. So when consumers skim through your content, they come across the ads. You are paid on the basis of ad views and the number of clicks.
2. EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
While all your content should be valuable, exclusive content is the content that you put that extra effort into and can be accessed by followers after paying a certain amount of money. There are many platforms such as Retrieve, Patreon, Skillshare, etc. that allow creators to publish content that is exclusive. Followers who typically consume your content for free have to pay on these platforms in order to get access to your exclusive content. Another option to sell your content is via eBooks and guides.
3. CONTENT MONETIZATION PLATFORMS
Content monetization platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc., pay creators based on the algorithms. Under this method, advertisers first pay these platforms, later when the creator publishes their content, the platform pays the creator to run ads.
Now that you know what are the three ways of earning money as a content creator, it’s time to determine whether your content is ready to be monetized!
Are you ready to monetize your content?
Monetization can happen if the content you create has enough value for people to pay in order to consume it. There are several factors to consider while you decide your eligibility to monetize content. How well do you know the niche? Are you an expert or do you have in-depth knowledge about that topic? Do you have a volume of sub-topics under the main topic? How frequently are you planning to create content? These are the basic questions that help you get started with the main question.
What new creators assume is that only people with big followings can monetize their content. However, even if you’re a small business owner sharing the processes behind making your products or a fitness trainer sharing your best tips and workouts, you can use content monetization platforms and start earning. While having a large follower count is a big bonus, what really matters is having an audience that engages regularly with your content and that you have an authentic connection with. If you’re a content creator who has a presence on platforms that have built-in services like YouTube or Instagram, you can consider monetizing your content straightaway.
Final word
Creators today look at content creation as a career and full-time revenue stream. The flexibility that content creation can offer, along with the availability of monetization tools and platforms such as Retrieve, YouTube, IGTV, Skillshare, etc., has completely changed the perspective of this field over the years. By mixing two or more monetization methods we previously mentioned, any creator (including you) can enjoy generating income from multiple streams.
Retrieve.com is a content monetization platform that allows creators to earn money without needing to fulfill an algorithm or reach a certain number of views. Ready to move forward in your content creation journey? Get in touch with Retrieve today!
