How to make money from content creation -simplified
A 4-step guide from content creation to monetization
I’m no guru in content creation or content marketing. I don’t think I like that word.
What I do know is that you don’t need to be a guru to make money. You may need some knowledge of marketing though, and marketing is about creating value, something that others are willing to pay for.
Today, people consume all sorts of content, and when you are able to position yourself as a content creator with a relevant following, you can either make money from your audience yourself, or make money from businesses who want to advertise to them.
The problem I have with marketing or even content marketing gurus today is that they make content creation look like such a daunting task that maybe only businesses, with the right resources, can do correctly. That’s not true.
If you’re interesting in making a few bucks on the side, you need to start now. And content creation, even as an amateur, is a sure way of making money when done correctly and consistently.
In this post, I’m not guaranteeing you that you will begin to earn immediately. However, if you want to build your online revenue base over time, you need to act now. So, here are four steps you must take to use content creation to build your income streams:
1. Create value. For free.
The free part is just at the beginning, chill.
And by value, I don’t mean a product. Value is what you give or show people that makes them want to be associated with you or be part of your audience. For instance, value could be creating entertaining videos on social media. It could also be reviewing hair products for natural hair so that your advice could help people make a purchase decision.
It also doesn’t have to be only social media. You could do it through a blog (what I’m doing right now) or through podcasts, or videos, whatever. The most important thing is that you start with one single proposition of value, that is, the type of information you want to give your audience. And the rule is you should never start by asking people to pay for something. Nobody knows who you are yet.
Why would they pay you when they don’t know the value you offer yet, and they can probably get something similar for free?
Remember, your value should not be a physical product. These steps are applicable when you have no physical product or service to offer yet, just what you know or what you can do, delivered in a way that is useful to an audience.
2. Gather a loyal fan base (and focus on what they want).
After creating value for a while, you’ll notice a certain group of people tend to resonate closer to you than others. For instance, If you document your fitness habits through videos and post on YouTube, you’ll notice that over time, only people who are really into fitness (or want to be) will consistently engage with your videos or watch them. If you act in time and with the right strategy, you could turn them into a loyal fan base.
So how do you do that?
First, you must be consistent. Tell your followers when you will release content (how frequently? when next? when a new offer is coming out, etc.) and stick to it. We’ve already established in point 1 that you need to give them something of value. Do they want effective ab exercises? Do they want to know what equipment you use to get rid of hip dips? Tell/show them, in a way that other people refuse to or ask them to pay for.
Secondly, figure out if there is a need to narrow down even more. A friend of mine started her YouTube channel creating travel vlogs, fitness content, and personal documentaries. She later realized that fanbase engaged with her fitness content more, and she decided to stick with that alone after a year or so. It makes things less hectic, and it helps give you more clarity for the next step.
Maintaining our fanbase also require you to be authentic. According to a post I read on The Tilt,
“Compelling customer experiences build trust and loyalty”.
The difference between marketing a product traditionally and trying to make money from an audience is in how trustworthy you are. Marketers tell you whatever will make you buy a product. You, the value creator, will give them something they need-information- in the most genuine way possible. No lies. No faking. Answer questions genuinely, and don’t be afraid to display your unique personality when creating content.
3. Choose your monetization method
You can start to monetize only when you have created sufficient trust among members of your audience, and your content has become valuable enough to make people want to pay. In February, when I talk more about money habits and monetization, I’ll discuss five case study brands that have moved me to the point of passively consuming their content to paying for it (or a product they sell), and how you can adopt any of their models.
There are many ways to monetize content, and I will outline a few below:
Paid subscriptions — You could decide that you want people to pay a certain amount for a certain time period to have access to your content. For example, Forbes and New York Times have gated access to their content after a few free articles.
Online Advertising — Because you have a sizeable audience now, you can help brands promote their products on your site (Instagram channel, blog, Youtube video) and they pay you for it. Obviously, you should have a formal agreement with the brand about how much they will pay you for it.
Online Products — This could be an e-book, webinar, e-learning series, audio book, training course, etc. that people can buy from you.
Registration fees — This can be used when you are organizing an event that people have to pay for, like a unique training session, a Whatsapp Class, or a webinar.
Note that not all monetization methods may apply to your type of content (audio, video, blog, ebook) and channel you use (website, e-mail, social media). Select the ones that will work best for you, and I advise you start with one first before moving to others.
4. Design your long term plan
Making the shift from just creating content to monetizing it means that you will also have to learn about content marketing, not just content creation. One awesome resource I’d love to recommend for making this shift is Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi. This book will help you understand the various types of content goals, and which ones you’d like to achieve for yourself. You will be better equipped to create your own content strategy.
Your content strategy is intersection of your business/personal objective and the information needs of your audience.
You’ll also learn more about the components of a content plan and how to create one based on your type of content. Do let me know if you’ll need assistance from me breaking this down in my future blogposts.
In the end, anybody with determination can create valuable content and eventually make a living off it. I hope this post has given you a bit of clarity on how that can be accomplished.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section.
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