Content creators today generate massive revenue through various income streams today. There are many questions floating around about the different streams that they make their income through and their legitimacy. 

If you are a content creator online, there are multiple streams through which you can legally and safely monetise your content and build, manage and grow your community.

To start on your creator journey as a content creator and make money, follow these basic steps. 

The following principles are applicable across platforms and serve as some general guidelines you can follow to become a professional content creator.

#1 - Start uploading valuable content consistently.

Your content needs to be easy to consume and overall, providing massive value to your consuming audience. Your value addition over time will help gain the trust and loyalty of your audience, whatever category it may be. 

Even if you are a creator in the Entertainment category, providing their daily dose of laughs or creative content is providing value to your audience. In the COVID-19 pandemic, these creators saw a massive influx of followers consuming their content especially due to people staying indoor and constantly on the lookout for entertainment.

The content needs to resonate with a certain section of audience before it goes viral and the value you provide is the number one cause for it gaining popularity. Many famous or even viral content creators give the same advice, to focus on quality content, and the audience will follow in due time.

#2 - The Loyal 1000 Principle

When starting out on any social media platform, one can easily get discouraged by the lack of engagement from people. This is usually because people don’t pay attention to smaller accounts.

A certain amount of herd mentality takes over after a certain point and people deem your account to provide them the content that they are looking for.

Gaining the first 1,000 or 10,000 fans or followers can often be the hardest part, after which people gain a steady stream of followers, provided there is consistent content being posted.

Apart from this too, it is important to have a 1,000 member group who are extremely loyal and engage consistently. Many expert creators say that this is the key contributing factor to succeeding and earning consistently as a creator.

These 1,000 members engaging on your content often provides a solid foundation or base to grow bigger. Their activity also encourages others to engage on your posts as well as triggers the algorithm of the particular social media platform to send more traffic to your content.

This Loyal 1,000 member principle is applicable across social media platforms and can be applied anywhere.

#3 - Make Your Personality Your Brand

Audiences today mostly flock to creators that showcase their personality. They are more likely to subscribe or follow content from those that they deem genuine rather than just trying to use them to get views or market products for brand deals.

Putting your face on camera is something many are not willing to do due to personal reservations or fear of backlash hitting them, but doing so comes with many benefits.

Statistics show that a YouTube channel run by a known face or one that shows a recurring member is more likely to grow organically and succeed. Of course, ultimately, things depend on your content, but if you are comfortable with sharing your personality to the world, things only get easier for you. 

#4 - Collaborate with brands 

Once you have established yourself as a creator with a certain amount of followers and have a solid foundation of people who like and engage with your content on any platform, you can always look forward to brand collaborations. 

Brands are now more likely to use influencer marketing than ever before. This is partly true due to the previous principle mentioned wherein influencers today are accumulating more trust than many other kinds of celebrities. Brands use this trust and loyalty that they have to leverage their own products or services.

You will see big creators on different platforms promoting products either as a one-off or as a recurring collaboration.

Creators also now possess the responsibility to inform viewers that something is a paid collaboration so that there is no misinformation or disguised advertising in their content. Platforms such as YouTube and Instagram now let you mark your post as a ‘Paid partnership’ or that it ‘Includes Promotional Content’.

These brand collaborations often help creators make a living and also fund future projects.

The projected earnings of the biggest influencers are so huge today that they can even be considered as small business owners as their brand and reputation precedes them on their social media platforms.

Start following some of these steps to start earning as a creator today. 

Also Read :

How To Monetise A YouTube Channel – A Beginner Guide