There are two ways to make money, at a high level:

1) Selling a product or service. 

For example:

• Coaching

• Consulting

• Courses

• Community Memberships

• Content Memberships

• Digital products

• Merch

• Tickets

• Consumer products

2) Marketing others’ products and services.

For example:

• UGC

• Advertising

• Sponsorships

• Affiliates

• Referrals

The specific blend of these that work best for a given content Creator depends on a bunch of factors, including but not limited to:

• Content topicality - from niche to mainstream

• Content length - longer content is often leads to deeper audiences

• Content depth - from detailed to high-level

• Creator credibility - greater expertise means deeper content

• Audience engagement - from passionate to passive

• Audience size - larger audiences tend to be less engaged

• Distribution mechanism - discovery-focused platforms have broader audiences

• Content modality - audio & written are deeper mediums than video or photo

However, you can distill all of these down to three simple variables:

• Content Depth - how niche or “mainstream” a Creators’ content is

• Content Reach - how large the audience the content can reach is

• Audience Depth - how intense the audience’s passion for the content is

Poll

V1.0 Creator Monetization Framework

To maximize revenue potential, Creators and content entrepreneurs should consider their Audience x Reach x Content blends and implement monetization tactics that are recommended for their specific combination as follows:

• Casual Audience, High Reach, Broad Content

  • Why - Mainstream brands will want to partner with you for exposure and brand lift, even though you probably won’t be able to convert sales directly.

  • What - Advertisements, sponsorships

• Casual Audience, High Reach, Deep Content

  • Why - Niche brands will want to partner with you for exposure and brand lift, even though you probably won’t be able to convert sales directly.

  • What - Advertisements, sponsorships

• Deep Audience, High Reach, Broad Content

  • Why - You can probably move a lot of product because your audience loves you. Brands will want to partner with you, but you should also sell stuff - probably lower-price, high volume stuff that is broadly appealing since your content is broadly appealing.

  • What - Ads, sponsorships, affiliates, merch, tickets, content memberships, consumer products

• Deep Audience, High Reach, Deep Content

  • Why - You can probably move a ton of product in your category.  Brands will want to partner with you, but you should also sell stuff - ideally higher-price stuff that hits your niche and scales well.

  • What - Ads, sponsorships, referrals, courses, content memberships, consumer products

• Casual Audience, Low Reach, Broad Content

  • Why - You’re going to have trouble monetizing - you don’t have reach and you don’t have depth, so you can’t bring much awareness to a brand and you can’t move much product.

  • What - Don’t try to monetize yet - instead, focus on doing ONE of the following: growing your reach, deepening your content, or deepening your audience relationship.

• Casual Audience, Low Reach, Deep Content

  • Why - Your audience won’t buy and you don’t have many to promote to, but you’re probably an expert (or just making really great content) in your niche. As a result, the content you make is inherently valuable and could be used in marketing with different distribution mechanisms, like paid ads.

  • What - UGC

• Deep Audience, Low Reach, Broad Content

  • Why - Your audience is passionate about you and your content, but you don’t have many of them and your content consists of broader, lower-value topics. You want to sell high-price products to this audience that serve their passion for you, rather than any particular niche.

  • What - Community memberships, merch

• Deep Audience, Low Reach, Deep Content

  • Why - You’re creating niche content for a passionate but small audience. You’re probably an expert or respected voice, so brands and your audience may be willing to pay a premium for access to you and/or your expertise.

  • What - Sponsorships, referrals, courses, coaching/consulting, community memberships, consumer products

How does this framework resonate with you? Feel free to respond with feedback!