How Content Creators Make Money…Lots of Money

In short, content creators make money by delivering content to their fans and receiving reimbursement through direct monetization, donations, brand partnerships, sponsorships, etc. While the process of monetizing your content can be easy, to make it sustainable you have to grow your audience.

To cut through the noise, a lot of the top digital creators with massive followings strategically place their content across various platforms. Because the creator economy is constantly growing, and due to the range of available platforms, there is room for even more creators to get paid.

So, how do content creators make money? By driving audience growth and utilizing the right platforms.

The answer varies. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a content creator is $51,043 per year. But that doesn’t offer a holistic outlook on the entire profession, because being a “creator” can mean many things.

Creators can be influencers and brand ambassadors, podcasters, writers, social media managers, photographers, videographers, streamers, and anything else where content (in any form) is posted on the internet.

However, saying a content creator has a yearly salary may not be entirely accurate. Some make millions of dollars per year from sponsored content, partnerships, and ads. Others make little to nothing because their audience size isn’t as broad. But, no matter what, creators should choose the platforms that will support their content and them as a creator.

The following is our list of the best platforms for creators to make money and bolster their content.

Obviously, every social media platform wants to host creators’ content. But to tell which platform is serious, just look at the ones who are putting their money where their mouth is.

After investing $1 billion in 2021, Meta has continued pushing initiatives that make it easier for creators to get discovered. Recently, they upgraded their apps to make on-platform Reel editing seamless, and they’ve also introduced a new ProMode that helps creators get discovered with educational tools and resources.

Plus, they’ve added more ways to gather insights and monetize content overall. Their ProMode dashboard gets really into the nitty gritty with audience data and insights, which can help you guide the content you create. Besides testing branded content across Instagram and Facebook, they’re also reducing partnership eligibility requirements and inviting creators to earn more with incentive-based Performance bonus programs.

The Meta social media platforms are two of the biggest in the world. Because of that, creators are poised to grow their audience and make some serious money if they use the platform correctly. Yet, at the same time, creators are playing catch up to the platform that hosts the creators who make the most money.

The insane amount of money YouTubers make is not a secret. Top earners with millions of subscribers are reported to make tens of millions of dollars per year from ads, partnerships, sponsorships, etc. But the opportunity for steep earnings comes at a steep cost. People have long complained that there are too many ads on YouTube, and if you’re looking to make money on YouTube, then that’s just part of the deal.

However, YouTube tries to make up for it. If you have more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of viewed content or 10 million public Shorts views in the last 12 months, you can be a part of the YouTube Partner Program. This gives you at least some control over the ads that appear in front of your videos. But for creators who have a more niche audience and don’t qualify, there’s almost nothing you can do about ads on YouTube.

Plus, YouTube has been known to not be as creator-friendly as some other platforms. From constantly changing guidelines to stricter monetization policies, to the competition from other social media platforms, YouTube has seen an exodus of creators.

Where have they turned? Well, subscription-based platforms like Patreon have seen an explosion of new creators. In the past two years, the number of creators on Patreon has grown by 37.31%. While people are still craving the content they got from YouTube, it’s just being delivered through a new medium now, where audiences can decide who they want to support, rather than the algorithm deciding for them

TikTok was an early adopter as they worked to answer the question of how do content creators make money. Instead of ads or subscriptions, they came up with the TikTok Creator Fund. ​This program distributes funds to users who are:

• Over the age of 18
• Have a minimum of 10K followers
• Have a minimum of 100K views in the last 30 days
• Are legal residents of the U.S., Germany, Italy, France, or Spain
• Are in good standing with TikTok’s user terms and community guidelines

Despite the narrow restrictions, TikTok creators shared their excitement, which led to TikTok’s promise that they would grow the fund to over $1 billion and pay it out over the next three years. It sounds like a massive win to help content creators make money, but there have been various reports about confusion over how the fund distributes money, frustration with the unclear factors determining which videos are successful and which aren’t, and growing speculation that joining the fund leads to lower video engagement.

It didn’t take long for Snapchat to respond with a similar incentive program that was clearly designed to take aim at TikTok’s inadequacies. Through the Spotlight feature, Snapchat creators had the chance to earn a slice of the $1 million that would be shared between the most popular creators on the app per day through the end of 2020. Forget all of TikTok’s qualifiers. Snapchat distributed their daily $1 million pot between the most viral videos at the time. No matter the number of subscribers, the amount of money Snapchat creators could receive was primarily based on unique views compared to other snaps that day.

And honestly, the Snapchat Spotlight program worked out initially. Over 2,000 Snapchat users earned $42 million in the first six weeks of its launch. Unfortunately, the success hasn’t been sustained. Rather than handing out $1 million per day, Spotlight creators are divvying up their earnings from the now millions per year given out by Snapchat. However, the minimum payout for a spotlight creator will remain at $250 per Spotlight.

Ultimately, for creators to truly make money, there has to be some level of transparency across platforms. That’s where Endavo can help.

So, how do content creators make money? With Endavo, the answer is clear. Choose which of our various monetization routes is best for your content, and we’ll help you make it happen. You don’t have to wait on an algorithm to decide if your content deserves to make you money. You can control the show.

Advertising

Monetize your content with banner ads, commercials, previews, and much more.

Direct Sponsorships

Partner with brands that are fans of your content and want to support you as a creator.

Subscription Services

Offer your fans an exclusive viewing experience that also helps you reach your goals.

One-Time Purchases

Not ready to subscribe? Sell tickets to live events, on-demand content, nightly rentals, and more.

Virtual Tip Jar

Enable direct donation features on your page so people who like your content can contribute and show their support.

Syndication Partnerships

Want to go the network route? Deliver your content across many different OTT platforms effortlessly. We’ve already got a number of partners you can start streaming with immediately.

Channel Subscriptions

Create one or more channels on your platform and start gaining subscribers.

PPV Live

Whether you’re gaming, playing music, streaming a sporting event, or just trying to entertain the masses, give fans direct access to your livestreams and PPV events.

Hybrid OTT Models

Want to offer Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD)  and ad-supported content? Want to offer premium rentals to paying subscribers? Want to offer freemium models? We got that!

If you’re still asking yourself “how do content creators make money”, the answer is simple: they do what’s best for their individual content. With these features, Endavo can help you build an unfiltered home for your content, without the interference of the pesky algorithm and with more monetization options than you could ever wish for. To learn more, contact us or get started with our free 30-day trial.

How Do You Get Paid as a Content Creator?

Creators earn money through multiple avenues: monetizing their content with ads, securing brand sponsorships, offering subscription models, receiving donations from fans, and partnering with social media platform creator engagement programs. Diversifying income sources is key to maximizing earnings for creators.

How Do Content Creators Make Money on Instagram?

Creators on Instagram earn money through brand partnership posts, affiliate marketing, social commerce stores, and recently, by sharing IGTV ads and using the Instagram Shopping feature. But most importantly, creators can make money by posting entertaining and valuable content that gets shared and gains wide popularity.

How Do TikTok Content Creators Make Money?

TikTok creators make money through the TikTok Creator Fund, brand partnerships, donations, and selling merchandise through their TikTok Shop. The Creator Fund directly pays creators for their content performance, brand partnerships involve promoting products or services, and TikTok Shops allow creators to sell merchandise and monetize their personal brand.

How Much Do Content Creators Make per Post?

Although there is a ton of variance among content creators on how much they make per post, HypeAuditor claims that the average creator earns $2,790 from their account, and can charge anywhere from $1,000 to $15,000 per sponsored post.