How to monetize your career as a content creator

Have you ever had that feeling of looking at people who did very well financially doing things that you could do the same or better? I put myself in your shoes as a content creator and I suspect this has already crossed your mind. My idea, with this article, is to get you out of the position of thinking that this ideal world is inaccessible. Yes, you can monetize your content on the internet and I’ll tell you how.

There are a lot of people in the world creating content and that’s a good thing. Operating in a market that, although new, already has muscle, increases the growth perspective and opens up other fields to explore. Think that we are the ones building this story!

According to Factworks for Meta, there are 300 million creators in the world. In Brazil, we reached 20 million – and we won well! Husky did a study and found that, on average, “influencers” receive US$6,316 per month. The best positioned can earn more than US$100,000 per month.

Of course, this reality did not emerge overnight – no matter how new the market may be. It was built and I’m going to talk a little about how it all started, because only then will you understand why it’s so important to know how to talk to brands and, above all, be aware of what they expect from you.

What today we know as creator economy It was born on YouTube, where people started posting videos, initially for the pure personal pleasure of expressing an idea, a new way of playing the guitar or an incredible way of doing makeup. But these videos engaged and entered people’s lives, and no one expected that.

Smartphones became more integrated into the internet universe and platforms started to launch mobile versions. The growth in the volume of people creating videos began to attract the attention of these platforms, which began to monetize creators to encourage them to create more, actively including brands in this process. Content creators, platforms and brands made a great match and, in a few words, this initial “push” made the creator economy was born.

Do you realize how innovative this business model was and, in just over ten years, it forever changed the relationship between people and brands? The queue that YouTube pulled grew. Various platforms, such as TikTok, Kwai and Twitch, bring content to millions and millions of people every day. But the face of this ecosystem that changed the way we consume information, entertainment and products is that of the creator.

Digital content occupied the open TV space. It’s no surprise that Luciano Huck and Celso Portioli, among other presenters, are bringing influencers to their channels to try to save their audiences. Brands, in turn, want to hire creators to use their products and represent them.

Content creators are part of brands’ daily lives. The Eletronic Hub study shows that Brazilians spend 9h32 with their cell phone in hand consuming content, with 22% on social media (TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. We are only second to South Africa, with 9h38min.

Having said all that, now let’s get to the tips:

– This is very personal advice: if you are starting out, have a fixed source of income. It’s not overnight that you’ll be able to pay the bills with your creative work.

– Invest in your career as a digital influencer, buy peripherals, review what you bought to improve the scenario.

– Combine different monetization strategies. Try to make a combination with affiliate programs, selling products, courses and so on.

– Study possible partnerships with brands and the use of advertising. Think of yourself as a product and why companies might want to hire you.

– Don’t wait for brands to come after you. Create your proposal and present your product. Even if you haven’t worked on any partnerships yet, make a proposal to the brands. To do this, create attractive proposals.

– Balance the amount of advertising with content so as not to harm yourself. Always have an interesting storytelling to ensure good engagement and not turn your channel into a classified ad – which would become very boring.

– Sale of digital products, courses, ebooks, photo editing, etc. The market is big and good products are in demand. This will attract people to your website with banners from other companies you are advertising. In short, create digital products and create a valuable experience.

Engaged audience

When a brand hires an influencer, they are not as concerned about the number of followers. What matters, in fact, is the engagement number. Imagine the following situation: a brand wants to speak to a smaller audience and realizes that you have engagement, people comment on your posts, you interact and your likes are consistent with the number of followers. This is what will get this company’s attention.

What I mean by that is, even if you only have a thousand followers on Instagram, you can be a micro or nano influencer. Another good situation: if you live in a rural city and have 3,000 highly engaged followers on your social network, a local business may be interested in your audience and make you a proposal. I bet you would increase the store’s revenue, which would open up horizons for being hired to talk about other products there.

Of course, viewing on YouTube or TikTok is important, but it’s not the way to go if you’re starting to monetize as a digital influencer. Cultivate relationships with the public, respond to comments. Leaving laziness aside will be worth it! Promote products authentically and study affiliate programs.

It’s not that difficult to monetize on the internet, but you need to create strategies, understanding the importance of analyzing product data and engaging your social network. This is how you will see more clearly what needs to improve.

Look at the scenarios, explore ChatGPT to ask questions, for example, about how to monetize with the affiliate program or which products are most used by the Brazilian public on Amazon. A lot of tips will inspire you and help you find the path that works for your channels. And, remember, that new products and companies arrive in this market every day. Even Twitter recently announced that it will start monetizing content creators!

To close, here’s my main piece of advice: don’t fall for the story that content creation and monetization is only for those who have a lot of followers. Believing that it is possible is essential to achieve it!

* Luis Gustavo Evangelista is an advertiser, master’s degree in international business from University Canada West, postgraduate degree in business management from ESPM and in User Experience Design from TERA. He currently lives in Canada, is a partner and Head of Business Development at Husky, international payments fintech for corporate professionals and content creators. Recognized by ABCOMM in high-performance digital marketing management, he has more than 11 years of experience working with online marketing and communication in marketplaces, technology companies and fintechs.