Creators (creator economy) are the new digital disruptors. This new economic force is changing how we shop, sell, and consume media. The creator economy is being driven by an exponential increase in accessible technology, especially the growth of the internet. Today, anyone with a smartphone or a computer can become a creator. Creators can be anyone from independent artists to entrepreneurs selling homemade crafts online. It’s no longer necessary to own a shop or studio to be able to make money from your unique ideas.
Creators can also be anyone from independent artists to entrepreneurs selling homemade crafts online. It’s no longer necessary to own a shop or studio to be able to make money from your unique ideas. All you need is access to skills and tools to help you turn your creative vision into something tangible. Whether writing an ebook about your passion, making a cozy video for viewers on YouTube, creating professional graphics for LinkedIn as part of a freelance business, or working as an indie designer selling handcrafted goods on Etsy, there are a lot of things you can do as a creator. Read on to become a creator in your own right and start earning money from your ideas.
What is the Creator Economy?
Many years ago, the entertainment and information industry was heavily dominated by the “big boys” of the industry. People only depended on newspapers, radios, and TVs to get the information they wanted. The creation of the World Wide Web created a massive shift in power. Today, people don’t depend on the old “big boy” for the information they need because they can get whatever they want, whenever they want, on the internet. Individuals can now create content, share it with their followership, and gradually build communities. With this kind of power, many individuals have now become producers, which has led to the existence of the creator economy.
In the simplest of terms, the creator economy is an economic system brought to life by independent content creators that connect well with their followerships via the internet. It has been a long time coming, but the current state of the economy has begun to shift as the digital landscape continues to change. Platforms like YouTube and Facebook have been the backbone of the creator economy for the past decade, but that is rapidly changing. In the last five years, we have seen the rise of new platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, which have begun to disrupt the traditional television and film industry. The impact of these platforms has been profound, not only in the industry's continued evolution but also in how creators can connect with their audiences.
The key feature of the creator economy is that people, not corporations, power it—the most well-known platform for creators in the creator economy. YouTube has over a billion users across the globe and is a powerful platform for distributing videos and other content. The creator economy is characterized by the rapid rise of automation, which has displaced traditional jobs.
The internet has changed how we consume media but hasn't changed how we create it. The internet has given us access to information, but it hasn't changed our thinking. The internet has connected us, but it hasn't changed how we connect. On the other hand, the creator economy is a system where creators can leverage the internet and their relationship with their audience to build a business that supports their families.
The most prominent examples of this system are YouTube stars and Twitch streamers, who use their platforms to share their work, receive feedback, and build their brand. But the creator economy is much bigger than just YouTube and Twitch. It also includes online publishers such as Medium, Quora, and Reddit. It also has traditional media companies such as The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post.
The creator economy's main distinguishing feature is the creators' ability to connect with their audience and generate income without relying on traditional gatekeepers or agents. This creates a more direct and authentic relationship between creator and audience. The creator economy has the potential to disrupt the current system, which has become increasingly centralized and automated, and empower the individual to create, connect and share in a way that was never possible before.
This chart shows the number of amateur individual creators available through different platforms. The chart was created using the information provided by Signal Fire, and it shows Instagram is the leading platform for amateur creators, with 30 million amateur creators having between 50-100k followers.
How Does It Work?
If you’re going to explore your chances in this industry, you might as well get familiar with how it works. Five major players in the ecosystem contribute to the creation, distribution, consumption, and monetization. Let’s check them out below.
Creators
In the creator economy, creators are the ones that create content, whether inspiring, informative, or entertaining, for the consumption of their audiences. The majority of the economy today is focused on the creators, but the past few years have shown a shift in focus to the consumers. Companies like Netflix and Facebook have begun to focus on the audiences and the revenue they generate rather than the creators. This new focus on the audience has led to a new way of understanding the economy, where the creators and consumers are equal, and the value is shared between them.
This allows creators to be better equipped to provide the best product possible to meet the needs of their audience. For example, if a creator is passionate about helping people lose weight, they can create content around weight loss and direct their audiences to a particular diet or exercise program. This practitioner-based approach to creating content allows creators to be more effective and efficient, as they can tailor their content to meet the needs of their specific target audience. Also, this approach will enable creators to be more responsive to their audience, as they can respond to their audience’s needs and feedback quickly and efficiently.
According to Feedough, creators are categorized into four main types - entertainers, vloggers/bloggers, guides and experts, and celebrities. The most common types of creators are entertainers, who are most often the public faces of their platforms, and vloggers/bloggers, who provide a personal, more intimate platform for viewers to connect with their content. The third type, guides and experts, provide a platform for viewers to learn about a topic or subject, often through an educational format.
The last and most rare category is that of celebrities, who are the platform’s biggest stars and are often the primary reason people come back. Their influence on their audiences can often be compared to traditional media, such as actors and athletes, who can directly influence their audiences' decisions.
Consumers
In the creator economy, consumers also play a massive part in keeping the industry relevant. They’re the creators’ target audience and engage with the content created by the creators. Some may even go as far as donating gifts to their creators to keep them afloat. This shows that consumers are becoming more and more vested in the success of the creators in the industry.
This also shows that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the ethical implications of the products they buy and the services they use. This is a significant step forward for the industry, as consumers are becoming more and more discerning regarding the products and services they use. This, in turn, helps to improve the industry's image as a whole.
The truth is, the creator economy is a symbiotic relationship between consumers and creators. The consumers keep the industry growing, and the creators keep producing quality content. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.
Platforms
Another thing you can’t ignore in the success of the creator economy is the role of platforms. They’re tasked with creating, distributing, and consuming content by creators for consumers. Without platforms, creators would have limited access to consumers, and consumers would have no way to gain access to the content they want. The most well-known platform for creators is YouTube, which has become a central hub for many creators to share their work. But platforms, in general, have become a critical component of the creator economy. They help make content accessible to a large audience, help creators reach their audience, and help them grow.
The platforms that have come to dominate the digital landscape today are the social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, as well as newer platforms like Instagram and Twitch. Some of the most successful creators today build audiences directly on these platforms, where they can share their content with their audiences. This means that creators now have a direct line to their consumers. The creator economy is not only decentralizing the way that content is created, distributed, and consumed, but it’s also democratizing the ability of creators to reach their audiences.
Commercial industries
When a creator builds a large community of followers through high-quality content, businesses will want to market their products/services to such a community, which means a partnership will be struck. This partnership will lead to an increase in the economy for both parties. The creator receives a steady income stream, and the business gains a customer base that is likely to spend. This partnership also enables the creator to continue producing high-quality content, attracting even more followers and strengthening the community even further.
The creator will be paid for their work, and the business will receive a new customer base. This is the foundation of the Creator Economy, and it is already emerging in many industries. Creators can now receive tips from their fans, allowing them to fund their passion, while the fans connect with their favorite creators and receive a reward for their time. This symbiotic relationship will continue to grow in the coming years.
How Can You Become A Creator?
In a world where creators are consistently creating sustainable wealth, wanting to become a creator is no longer seen as far-fetched, as long as you have the passion and the right tools to begin. According to Economist, the creator economy industry is now worth over $100 billion in 2022, so there’s enough money to go around as long as you play the game right. To become a content creator is not as hard as you may have heard from some creators. Two successful creators interviewed by Later Blog highlighted some things you need to do to become a creator, and they’re as follows;
- Choose a niche you’re passionate about
- Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve
- Have smart goals
Choose a niche you’re passionate about
If you ask any expert content creator what you can do to be successful in the industry, one of the things you'll get from the first is to create a niche you're passionate about. This means that you must create genuinely unique content so that your audience can immediately relate when they see your content. Once you have a clear sense of your audience's needs, create content that is relevant, useful, and, most importantly, of good quality. For that, you must create content that answers questions and solves problems. Use these content-creation tips to produce great content, and your social media following will grow naturally.
Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve
In the creator economy, you'll lose out before you even get in the game if you don't have a clear vision of what you want to achieve with your content. Your audience can tell if you're just trying to make a quick buck off their time or if you're genuinely committed to producing high-quality content. The higher quality of your content, the more likely your audience is to trust you and share it with their networks. This is the ultimate goal of content marketing: to build a large and loyal audience that can't wait to hear from you next time you have a new piece of content they can benefit from. It takes time, hard work, and perseverance, but if you approach content marketing correctly, you'll reap the rewards.
Have smart goals
Surviving in the creator economy needs you to have smart goals. That means planning where you’re going and how you’ll get there. It also means making decisions to get you where you want to go. And it means being willing to fail to learn from your mistakes and improve. The same applies to your marketing efforts - you have to be willing to fail to learn from your mistakes so you can improve.
Others include;
- Create an engaged community
- Sustainable systems
- Writing, editing, and design skills
- A good content calendar
- More than one revenue stream
- Genuinely want to help people
How You Can Make Money
To make money as a creator, you need to be able to create valuable content. The goal is to connect with the large community you’ve built from nothing. The most important thing to do is create a niche you are passionate about. Let’s explore some of those niches below.
Blogging
For many years, blogging has been a good way for content creators to make money. It has been a good niche for the creator economy. As a blogger, you can earn money through sponsored posts, ad revenue, and affiliate marketing. You just have to choose a niche you know people will love and consistently create valuable content that will help solve real-life problems or keep your audience informed.
Podcasting
Another way to make money as a content creator is through podcasting. Podcasting is recording audio files and sharing them through various platforms and social media accounts. With podcasting, you can upload your audio files to a website or online app and have them hosted. Your podcasts can be accessed from anywhere and listened to at any time. You can also share your podcasts with others, which can expand your reach even more. You can get paid through ads if you post your content on YouTube or by directly advertising businesses on your podcast.
Art
One of the hottest things you can do to make money in the creator economy era is to design digital arts and sell them on NFT marketplaces. One of the best ways to learn how to sell digital designs on the NFT market is to study the art of fine art photography. Fine art photography is an art that is practiced by professionals who capture the beauty and emotion of the moment, often with a unique angle or style. Fine art photography is a great niche market, but it has proven to be a great way to make money in the NFT market. The best way to learn how to do this is to study the best fine art photographers on the NFT.
How To Get Paid
Now that you know everything there is to know about the creator economy, maybe you might want to get familiar with how to get paid since that’s the ultimate goal. Most creators have fallen victims to businesses that conned them into doing free jobs for them without getting paid. As a creator, that should be your number one fear.
You probably have nothing to fear if you’re displaying direct ads from Google, Propeller Ads, or Adsterra. You can receive your money through several international payment providers like PayPal, Payoneer, and Venmo - some will even let you receive your payments via cryptocurrency.
Dealing directly with businesses has been a major heartache for freelancers because there’s no real way to ensure guaranteed payments. To avoid this, IntaSend is the provider you should trust. The company has an invoicing system that allows you to easily create invoices and send them to your clients with the details of the payments and due dates. In the invoice, you can also include your preferred payment method (IntaSend has flexible payment methods, including card payments, Bitcoin, ACH, and mobile money payments).
You’re probably wondering why you should choose IntaSend. It’s your best bet if you’re operating from Kenya or any country in East Africa. And you should choose IntaSend because you’ll get to enjoy the following benefits;
- 2-3 days settlement period
- 24/7 customer support
- Fast payouts
- Flexible payment methods
- Fair pricing
Conclusion
The creator economy has been more than a blessing. Now worth $100 billion dollars, you don’t have to be an Albert Einstein to realize how lucrative it is to be part of it. If you’ve always wanted to be part of the creator economy, we’ve discussed everything you need to know about it in this article. We also understand how getting paid externally can be difficult as a content creator, and we’ve created the solution you need. IntaSend will help you generate quick invoices to send to your clients with your preferred payment method. To get started on IntaSend, visit how to sign up page. Registration is completely free.
Photo by ConvertKit on Unsplash
