How do Content Creators actually make money?
Here are 10 ways:

A THREAD
#threadsbyAP

If you are an aspiring Content Creator or just curious to know how Creators actually sustain themselves, read on.

Disclaimer: I have tagged a few creators ONLY as References & examples for the points mentioned.
1. PLATFORM REVENUE: YouTube runs ads in the videos uploaded by the creators & shares a part of the Ad-revenue with the Creators!
Lately Facebook has also started doing this.
This model provides good revenue for the creators.
Ajey Nagar @CarryMinati & Amit @iAmitBhadana are two of the top YouTube earners (owning to the volume of subscribers) and Aakash Chopra @cricketaakash & Nas @nasdaily are two of the top creators on Facebook.
2. BRAND DEALS: The most common & also the highest revenue generators for Creators - BRANDS! Brands pay creators to promote or integrate their products in the content released on public platforms.
Ironically, most audiences try to avoid branded content... while this is most important for the Creators’ survival.
Ashish @ashchanchlani & Gautami-Abhyudaya @SlayyPoint are among the popular creators often engaged by brands.
3. LICENSING CONTENT: This is predominantly applicable to Music!
Creators are able to generate royalties from platforms where the music is published.
Bilal Shaikh @emiwaytweets & Raghav @raghavsachar are independent artists who license their content.
4. MERCHANDISE: Some Creators are also able to create a brand themselves & monetise it by selling Merchandise as an extension of their personality / content.
Youthiapa is the merchandise brand of @Bhuvan_Bam launched with @Rohitonweb .
Mumbiker Nikhil @emNikhil launched Label MN & more recently Prajakta Koli @iamMostlySane launched her Mostly Sane merch!
5. E-BOOKS: Creators share their knowledge or a modified version of their content in the form of an eBook.
They are able to sell this to their audience.

@gumroad is a popular platform used by many creators for selling their eBooks, etc.
6. COURSES / WEBINARS: Creators share their skills / knowledge / expertise by creating Courses in their niche!
These are delivered to the audience in the form of cohort-based courses, pre-recorded courses, etc.
Saloni @salonisriv , @AliAbdaal & @rajshamani are some of the creators who have been hugely successful in this regard... by creating valuable courses loved by the audience.
7. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Certain creators separate their content into Premium & Regular(if I may divide it that way). The Premium content is offered at a certain Fee.

You often see a JOIN button below a YT video, which is subscription for Premium content.
Twitter is also testing the ‘Super Fans’ feature where creators can charge a fee for premium content. @Twitter
8. AFFILIATE MARKETING: You will often notice that there are LINKS / URLs mentioned in a video or the description. These links take you to an external website of a product mentioned in the video.

If you click on such a link & make a purchase, the Creator earns a % of the sale.
Please note that as a customer there is no additional cost or charge to you. You get the product at the regular cost itself... while the Creator is able to make a small % for their contribution.
Ankur @warikoo & @rachana_ranade are two of the best Affiliate marketers who organically integrate affiliate links in their content.
Ankur recently used this mode to generate good money for a girl’s education! #respect
9. SELLING DIGITAL CONTENT: NFTs, photos, digital art, etc. are all examples of pieces that a Creator can sell to make money.
10. TIPPING: Yes you read that right! Creators make some money, albeit very little, through Tipping! And there are platforms like @buymeacoffee who help creators with this.
Tipping is also seen during Gaming streams. Audiences contribute during the stream. @mythpat & @UjjwalGamer ‘s streams are evidence of this.
While there seem to be many options for Creators to make money, it is NOT EASY!
You first need to BUILD A COMMUNITY! An audience that engages with you, interacts with you & makes you a part of their lives.
I had earlier written a Thread on Content Creation as a Career.. check it out if you haven’t read it yet 👇🏻 https://t.co/CEhc6kfs4M

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