5 Ways to Make Money With Content Creation

 

Content creation illustration | Image: digitalexperts.ae

A few years ago, people created content online as a sport. Fast forward to today, online content has become an incredible way to earn a living. We now see people build careers and million-dollar brands/businesses around content creation. Most people want to join this trend, but they don't understand how people make money from posts or videos.

This article is dedicated to thoroughly explaining how one can make money with content creation. But first, who is a content creator?

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Who is a content creator?

Everything you see online is content. Therefore, a content creator creates what we see online, including pictures, graphics, videos, text, etc. In formal terms, a content creator is someone who creates appealing and entertaining or informative content directed towards a target audience via a medium/channel. Every content creator has a target audience, and most or all of their content is directed towards that audience. 

Content bridges the gap between creator and audience | Image: digitalmarketing.org

For example, Tiktok's parent company, ByteDance, says that Tiktok has 1 billion monthly active users—most of whom are inarguably content creators. One of such is gabe_delvv, who makes proof videos about celebrities and "The Illuminati." His audience would most likely be religious, curious, or spiritism-inclined Millenials. 

Content comes in various forms, like:

• Text
• Video
• Pictures or Graphical images
• Audio
• Infographics, etc

And can be passed through various media like

• Social media 
• Blog
• YouTube

How can you make money with content?

There are several ways to answer this million-dollar question, but I'll be listing just a few.

1. Sell your content

This is probably the most obvious answer you'd think of. Selling your content is the most common form of content monetization and can be done in various ways. You can work as a remote or freelance writer, graphic designer, video content editor, etc., on many platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. 

On the other hand, you can also sell your content as a PLR product on various PLR websites and give the Private Label Rights to millions of people for cash.

2. Affiliate Marketing

This is another common method of monetizing content—driving traffic to other people's products for a commission. If your content is engaging and accumulates lots of traffic, this would be one of the best options for you. Some ways to get involved in affiliate marketing are:

• Signing up on an affiliate marketing platform like ClickBank, Expertnaire, etc., and promoting their products. 
• Joining ad networks and hosting their ads on your blog for clicks
• Collaborating with brands to write sponsored posts or make sponsored video content for them
• Joining AdSense and hosting ads on your YouTube channel for clicks and so much more.

3. Offer exclusive content

The world of content creation is developing at a fast pace, and exclusive content is one of the perks of that development. Offering exclusive content implies making some of the content you create special or exclusive. This is done so that for viewers to access such content, they'll have to perform an action or pay a fee. Platforms like Ko-fi, Patreon, and the notorious OnlyFans offer such services. 

Features of ko-fi | Image: ko-fi.com

The blockchain world also provides this perk in the form of NFTs. You can read about NFTs in this article.

4. Accept tips and donations

Content creation builds authority and followership. This means that if your content appeals to lots of people, they'd most likely become your fans, followers, or subscribers and would be glad to "tip", " buy you a coffee/whatever", or donate stipends to you as appreciation for your good work. Platforms like Ko-fi and BuyMeACoffee allow you to accept tips and donations from people who love your work. In addition, you can set the goals for which the donations would be used, like a new template for your blog, a new camera, and so on.

5. Become an influencer

Lastly, becoming an influencer is the celebrity path of content creation. When your content shows your authority in your niche and appeals to your target audience, you will gain fans. And this will ultimately direct you towards becoming an influencer. Being an influencer will bring in the cash through partnerships, sponsorships, endorsements, etc.

Influencer Marketing illustration | Image: brandspurng.com

Conclusively, content creation can earn you a living in so many ways, but it has to be done rightly with the audience in mind. Good market research, content strategy and sufficient knowledge of your niche will guarantee success.