Our recognition and consumption of products, services, and personalities make the world go round. 

First there were TV advertisements that paved the way for the consumer economy. Then came the internet, which gave rise to social media platforms where people sought the attention of each other. In the mid-2000s, brands tapped so-called influencers to build online trust and awareness.

Recently, with the availability and affordability of technologies and easier access to connectivity, many people have become content creators. Those creating content today can tap into their own circles, and practically anyone online, to build engaged communities that can help them earn and sustain a decent living. 

Crazy Creator Economy Numbers

The creator economy is a step closer to Web 3.0, where anyone can create or post anything. There’s no absolute control, which remains true to the very essence of why the internet was created. 

Media is decentralized, and we can find the content we want to consume created by ordinary people. We can also earn income while creating content about things we love, be it cooking, biking, travel, or cars – the options are endless. Here are some astounding numbers that show how creators have turned unique content into their own brands and businesses:

• Number of Creators: According to a report from Influencer Marketing Hub, there are 50 million people who consider themselves creators. About 46.7 million are amateurs, while more than 2 million are professional creators. 

• Platforms for Visual Creators: About 30 million amateur creators share their work on Instagram, around 12 million on YouTube, and 4.7 million on other platforms such as Twitch. Meanwhile, 500,000 professional creators are on YouTube; 500,000 on Instagram; 300,000 on Twitch; and roughly 200,000 on other platforms. Just to highlight the sheer amount of content, people upload more than 500 hours of video on YouTube every minute. And every day, we watch more than 1 billion hours of video on the Google-owned platform.

• Earnings of Creators: A survey revealed that 78% of full-time creators earn around $23,000 per year. Forty-three percent claim they earn a livable wage from content creation. About 77 percent of creators have brand deals, while venture capitalists have poured $800 million in investments into creator startups since October 2020.

The creator economy can be pretty lucrative – especially if you know how to monetize your content properly.

7 Ways Content Creators Make Money

Content creators, just like traditional brands, produce content that can address the needs of their target audience. Below are some of the most popular revenue streams that content creators explore:

1. Advertising Revenue

Direct advertising is one of the most traditional ways to earn money as a content creator. If you are into digital publishing, you can insert ads on your blog posts or display banner ads. The brands behind the ads will then pay you depending on the number of clicks or views per month. YouTubers can also place ads on their videos, and payment will be made depending on the number of views.

Social media ads are another way to rake in some attention and extra cash. If you are a Facebook or Instagram story creator, you can push out some ads to promote your content. This way, you get more traffic and earn more cash. 

2. Sponsorship and Affiliate Marketing

You can make some extra money through sponsorship and affiliate links. 

With branded sponsorships, you feature or review specific products on your blog, vlog, or social media, and the brands pay you for that. 

You can also promote products and earn through affiliate marketing. Brands will give you a portion of the earnings when people click your link and purchase items. 

3. Content Syndication

Content publishing gives you the opportunity to syndicate your creations. For example, you can allow a third-party online publisher to publish your content on their site for a fee. In addition, the deal can include redirecting some of their traffic back to your website. 

4. Subscriptions and Donations

The creator economy puts you in control. You can do pretty much anything you want with it. If you do podcasts or you’re into digital publishing, you can use a website paywall so only paying visitors can access your content. Many creators also offer an ad-free experience to subscribers. At Issuu, for example, you can sell digital access to your digital publications to anyone in the world, using a hassle-free and secured payment channel. Issuu digital sales is commission-free, so creators keep every dollar too.

Likewise, you can ask for donations as a content creator. Streamers mostly rely on donations and tips, but this can be an inconsistent revenue stream depending on the composition of your audience. YouTube and Twitch encourage donations on their platforms, but they also take a portion of the proceeds.

5. Merchandise

If you have built a loyal following, the easiest way to earn a regular stream of cash is through selling merchandise. You can develop your own products and sell them directly to your followers, or channel your merchandise sales through an e-commerce platform. 

6. Public Appearances

Many content creators enjoy their celebrity status. When you achieve popularity, you can be invited to events, product launches, or even private functions. You can be paid for just being at a venue, or you can be tapped as a subject matter expert.

7. Consulting Services

If you are the type who wants to teach and share your skills, running a consultancy service is a good way to earn money as a content creator. It takes some extra work, but it is a good way to extend your reach further while you influence followers and budding content creators.

Now that you have an idea of how to earn money as a content creator, let us point you in the direction of working smarter – not harder. Savvy digital publishers today use these techniques to make the most out of their creative juice.

7 Ways to Repurpose a Well-Designed PDF File

Not all content materials are created equally. There are those that you’ll publish once and leave at the mercy of the search engines. Then, there are those exceptional pieces that deserve to be seen on multiple content marketing platforms.

At Issuu, we have engineered our digital publishing platform to help you repurpose content quickly and easily. With a few clicks of the button, you can produce derivative materials that are optimized for posting on several different platforms. 

Below are some ideas on how you can use Issuu to repurpose content that you can republish elsewhere:

1. Articles

Using Issuu, you turn your PDF into a flip-style magazine that brings an immersive experience to your audience. However, the life of your content does not end with conversion. Issuu allows you to easily reformat the same content for consumption on even more platforms and devices. 

As an example, from your online magazine, you can select portions of it to create a standalone article that you can use on your blog. The converted story will be mobile-friendly and scrollable. 

2. Podcast Episode

Your published content may have a solid body of text that you can convert into a script. If you have enough materials for repurposing, you can start your own podcast. It will be another great stream to boost your online presence – and your income – as more and more people are listening to them. In 2020, for example, 100 million people listened to a podcast every month. This number is expected to grow to 125 million by 2022. And with so many people flocking to the platform, expect ad revenues opportunities to increase as well.

3. Infographics and GIFs

Did you know that infographics can help boost your website’s traffic by 12% – and that they’re one of the most used forms of content today? According to a study, 65% percent of brands use infographics for their marketing push. This is why Issuu makes sure you can easily lift content from your PDF file and turn it into infographics. People love to share infographics, which can help contribute to the virality of your brand.

Issuu also allows you to pick visual elements that you can turn into GIFs. You can use these GIFs as a preview of your content, or to improve engagement.

4. YouTube Videos

Similar to how you can use the material you upload to Issuu as a script for a podcast, you can also repurpose it for YouTube videos. All you need is a quick edit to add interesting infographics or visual elements, so you can keep the eyes of viewers glued to their devices.

5. Email Newsletters

From the text of your work, you can also create an email series consistent with the content you have on your blog, social media, and other content marketing channels. This can help build your email list, which you can use later to generate more income streams.

6. Tweets

Grab quotable quotes from your published work on Issuu and repurpose them as tweets. Tweets are easily shareable and can help boost brand awareness and increase your followers.

7. Social Posts

You can also create visually engaging assets for social media from your published PDF on Issuu using Social Posts. You can share these snippets on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat – and they’ll be automatically optimized for each platform.

The content you create opens a treasure trove of opportunities if you know how to recycle it into meaningful new formats. Just make sure you have clear goals in mind when you begin, and comb through your existing content for materials that can help you achieve those targets.

Create Once, Distribute Content Everywhere with Issuu

Sign up with Issuu today and discover how you can quickly and professionally repurpose your content to help you achieve your goals as a content creator.

Create great content and share it with the rest of the world. Repurpose your design easily with a few clicks of the mouse.