Making income as a creator
As a full-time creator, it is tough to balance the number of hours you invest in a project compared to the return on investment you receive.
You could put hours and hours of time into research, strategy, and editing. However, especially if you publish your content on social media or blog platforms, it’s hard to earn from this.
This can lead creators to feel disheartened, or their audience to feel like they want to further support you in some way.
Our thoughts
We have compiled a list of 5 ways that you can source some additional support from your audience as a creator.
1. Patreon
If you haven’t heard of Patreon, it is a fantastic way to build an engaged community of people that care about what you create. Relationships are key.
Through Patreon, you can create bespoke tiers allowing your audience to support you each month. In return for fun and exclusive perks!
Alter your tiers gradually to ensure that the value of each package is clear, giving your audience fun ways to support your work!
If you work in video content creation for example, this could be additional content or behind the scenes.
Or, you are a digital artist, perhaps exclusive downloadable content or tutorials.
The options are endless.
The best part is it is fun for both you and your audience, you can also build a community allowing your audience to meet one another.
Patreon is an excellent way to reward your audience and secure extra income each month as a creator.
2. Sponsorships
The power of word of mouth is invaluable, especially for businesses that are trying to cast their nets further afield.
A great way to gain a little extra income is to form sponsorship deals with businesses, promoting their products or services for an agreed price.
Often businesses will reach out to large influencers that realistically won’t see the message they’re sharing.
Smaller creators often have better engagement with their following and advocate more trust than big influencers with their direct messages turned off.
Resources such as Buzzsumo and Heepsy are great ways for brands to find creators in their field. Add your contact details to your social bios to be clear that they can contact you.
3. Giveaways
Giveaways are a fun way to organically build your following whilst offering something rewarding back to your existing dedicated followers.
Reward engagement such as likes, follows, comments and shares with the chance to win an exclusive creation or prize.
By sharing and promoting your giveaway, followers can engage with your account and boost interest, all while offering a small incentive for their time.
It also frames your prize as something exclusive and bespoke to you. Clearly identify your unique selling points as a creator.
4. Creator Newsletters
In the same vein, inclusive exclusivity is the way forward. Offering your followers the chance to be part of an exclusive community is a brilliant way to share the love back.
You could create a unique monthly or weekly newsletter offering updates from yourself, or exclusive discounts and links to extra content that wouldn’t be shared elsewhere.
Something a little bit different to get to know you on a more personal level.
5. Ko-fi
Kofi is a great option for creators to gain a small bonus for the content they share. By signing up to Ko-fi, you are giving your audience a profile where they can tip you for content they especially enjoyed. The idea is that you tip them the cost of a cup of coffee!
What about Crowdfunding?
And all of these things are valid for crowdfunding too. If you are looking to build a dedicated crowd of backers, offering exclusive rewards for joining your inclusive community is great!
Offer an exclusive discount or special reward tier for super early bird backers in order to reward them for their valuable early contribution to your crowdfunding journey.
Food for thought
Hopefully these ideas are useful to you. These are our top tips as a creator looking to earn a little bit more money whilst giving back too.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about building an engaged database of followers, please get in touch.
