Is It Still Possible to Make $10,000 a Month as a Content Creator?
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β This week we want to focus on ways you can MONETIZE properly as a Creator and diversify you're income streams. One of my personal goals for this newsletter is to help more of you become full-time content creators who are able to earn $10,000 a month or more from your online ventures, and that will become more of a focus with the newsletter content, and my content overall. You'll still of course, be learning how to grow your audience with Content Strategy since it's very hard to monetize without anyone to actually support you! We will also be focusing on how you can build a stronger relationship with that audience by building your personal brand on authenticity and authority. Also, be sure to Watch How to Stand Out on YouTube in 2024 one of my latest videos! (Trying to upload 2-3 times a week again!) 96% of Creators Earn Less Than $100K a Year from their ContentβThe 2024 Creator Economy Report from Kajabi had some interesting data points including how few Creators earn a livable income from their content and business ventures. On Social Media we can constantly see the success stories but for every one of those outliers there are 10,000 people who didn't make it. One of my goals is to help Creators through this newsletter, our FREE Email Course, and Awesome Creator Academy Pro Group, so that more Creators can be in a position to earn $10,000 a month a become full-time content creators. Ideally with some sort of proper work-life balance. In the Creator Economy Report it says that 66% of the Creators surveyed, made most of their revenue from just one revenue stream... Brand Deals. While Brand Deals are a huge part of monetization as a content creator, most Creators don't have a long-term strategy for brand deals and constantly have anxiety about whether or not they will find enough sponsors. I teach a different approach to this, both in terms of becoming a UGC Creator if you're under 100,000 Subscribers on YouTube or under 20,000 on Instagram, but also for larger Creators, the importance of long-term partnership contracts. If you'd like to work with me 1-on-1 specifically around coaching when it comes to Brand Deals and Sponsored content, you can reach me here. To become a 6 Figure Creator, the secret is to actually have 5+ different sources of revenue. But I also believe you should earn multiple streams of income across multiple platforms. Each platform should be an opportunity to promote your own Membership, Digital and Physical Products, and affiliate links. All of these will increase your off-platform revenue and make you less dependent on social media beyond growing an audience, and allow you to grow an actual business. How to Earn $10,000 a Month as a Full-time Content CreatorYouTube is ultimately the best platform for Monetization and for building your personal brand. However it can feel hard to grow on YouTube and very competitive and many Creators are trying to get their start on other platforms like TikTok, Twitch, Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) to build an audience and bring them to YouTube long-term. The reason behind this is that YouTube offers the most ways to monetize on the platform directly through their YouTube Partner Program YPP. While I do talk about how you can Increase this Revenue, its still very unreliable. However, the problem lies in the fact that once Creators are monetized with YPP they become very dependent on the platform and sponsors for most of their living income and don't diversify enough. At best they might start getting into creating merchandise and print on demand products. As a Content Creator I have been very fortunate in that I have always tried to diversify my revenue streams and I have been earning over $100,000 a year as a content creator for nearly 8 years now (since 2016). HOW TO EARN $10K PER MONTH BREAKDOWN: This breakdown is not how I earn $30,000+ each month as a Content Creator, but a more reasonable set of target goals for diversifying income, that I would try to set for myself if I was trying to become a full-time content creator today. The links below also go to individual videos that can teach you how to earn more with these income streams.
Currently I earn more than $18,000+ a month from brand deals because of long term sponsor relationships with 6-12 month contracts. This is something we train on in the Academy Pro Group consistently. What most don't realize is that you can combine brand deals and affiliate marketing in many different ways and increase your revenue and earning potential. In my case I currently average roughly $6000+/month in affiliate commissions, many of which overlap with my sponsorships. By comparison if upload infrequently to YouTube I will earn $30,000 to $40,000 from YPP if I upload roughly 50 times in a year. YouTube earnings are on the lower end of my income streams, with my coaching business and sponsorships being on the higher end. Currently the Academy Pro Group earns roughly $5000/month in recurring monthly revenue, making it a more reliable income stream with our 90 Members than earning from YouTube, with a much lower weekly time commitment to earn that revenue. Diversifying these income streams means that I don't have to focus exclusively on how many views I gain each month or each upload, don't have to prioritize growth at all cost, and can control the amount of time I have to spend in my Creator business.
My INSIDERS Take on Diversifying Creator MonetizationCreators continue to rely heavily on platform revenue like Adsense and the YouTube Partner Program, and the Creativity Program on TikTok, but these revenue streams cause Creators anxiety and help lead to burnout. Many full-time content creators have turned to working with brands on sponsored content in order to have a reliable income but have trouble with reaching out to brands and pricing themselves properly. To help with brand deals we created resources like The Brand Deals Starter Kit but also free content like this Live Deep Dive into Brand Deals and Sponsorship. However this still puts creators in a position where they lack control over their income and where it is less reliable and still dependent on their reach and overall relevancy. I have always believed that Creators should be diversifying their income streams and their income sources. Currently I earn from 20 different websites each month that pay me in some capacity. There is a lot less anxiety when you know you have so many sources of significant income ranging from $500-$5000 each month. It's why I am a part of multiple Affiliate Programs and not just the Amazon Influencer Program and why I go out of my way to be monetized on as many platforms as possible and cultivate multiple long-term brand partnerships. One of the issues I see many Creators facing is that they look at this as too overwhelming, which is understandable. But all of this can be built up overtime by not focusing so religiously on growing views and followers. Creators worship at the alter of "attention at all cost", and while it can in the short-term make for a career around viral content, explosive growth, and big paydays, it is not even close to being sustainable long term. I believe that more Creators should be building off-platform income streams that don't rely on constantly being on a performance treadmill of maintaining relevancy and popularity with an audience that might jump from trend to trend. We are seeing this with Creators that blew up during that pandemic who struggle to be relevant now that people are returning to school and the office, and just overall normalcy. In the long term for Creators to have reliable income and long term careers they need to be able to have an audience that doesn't just support them with their eyeballs, but with their wallets, and they need to be prepared to build products and services in order to accomplish that. CREATING MORE RESOURCES FOR YOUβ Check out our Academy Member Pro Group! We offer 2 Office Hours Sessions Every Week. You Will Get Access to All of Our Current and FUTURE Digital Products and Courses as long as you are a paying monthly member! On top of all of that, you will be part of a community where you can get feedback and accountability partners! CREATOR NEWS AND UPDATESHere are some great videos and other content #TeamRoberto has for you!
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[Some of the links mentioned are affiliate links and if you purchase with them I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.] SUPPORT FOR CREATORS If you have more questions, I will respond the fastest on Twitter. I frequently check Tweets using #AskRoberto, and I host Twitter Spaces each week where you can ask questions on different topics. Ask Me Anything @robertoblakeβ Stay Awesome! -R |