V1.0 of my Creator Monetization Framework

(2 min read) How your specific blend of audience x reach x content determines what monetization strategy works best for you

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe

I’ve been thinking a lot about how Creators monetize. What determines whether a Creator successfully makes money or not? 

This is Version 1.0 of my Creator Monetization framework. Let me know what you think!

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

Takeaway: Based on your Audience x Reach x Content blend, you can determine what monetization types will work best for you. The recommendations emerging from these combinations make up the 1.0 version of my Creator Monetization Framework!

I’ll break down the different combinations and resulting recommendations below, but first - let me know what your Audience x Reach x Content blend is! Then keep scrolling for V1.0 of my Creator Monetization Framework.

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!

If you found today’s article interesting or valuable, please forward this email to a friend. Our mission is to enable a million people to find freedom in the Creator Economy, and every time someone new subscribes, it gets us one step closer!

For feedback, advice, consulting, sponsorships, speaking engagements, or anything else, reach out anytime - [email protected].

If you’re not already subscribed, please do - it’s free:

See you next time!

Like what you see? Subscribe Now or Partner With Us

Written by Avi Gandhi, edited by Melody Song,
powered by TheFutureParty

Reply

or to participate.