The first time I heard about the creator economy was when I gathered my courage and did something I had never done as a writer before. I wrote a marketing influencer and told them I was very interested in learning about the newest social media platform, Clubhouse, and wondered if they knew how I could get an invitation to join. Clubhouse was exclusive, and to keep the environment one of fruitful discussion, not flame wars or contentious political arguments, the founders only allowed people to join that were vouched for by those already part of the community.
Influencers (those who have thousands of loyal fans who follow their blogs, video chats, and buy their books) dominated Clubhouse. To my great joy, the influencer responded he would be happy to send me an invitation. He not only did that but also gave me a free intro lesson, which saved me a lot of learning time.
The first meeting I attended on Clubhouse discussed how to foster and grow the creator economy. I discovered I had some learning to do. During the four months since I participated in that meeting, the term creator economy has gained wider recognition. Many claim it is the beginning of a new era for authors.
What is the creator economy?
The creator economy allows a new generation of writers to build communities to create their brands using content subscription services like Patreon or Substack. These services enable writers to sell directly to fans without spending money on advertising. The advantage is that writers can support themselves based on selling to a small, very loyal fanbase. Rather than spending time and money chasing likes and retweets, the creator economy emphasizes strong connections with fans.
The creator economy grew out of the Internet’s early beginnings.
I worked for the first and largest internet service company in New England during the early 1990s. At that time, the prevailing thought was if you started a company and gave away free content, you would make your money by later charging for your service once you proved that your new online service was valuable. This approach had flaws. First, you have to convince someone to give you money to start a company with no revenue. The Internet had unknown potential, so investors existed who were believers in this model. Some of those investors made billions of dollars. Many lost their investment when Internet stocks collapsed between 1995 and the year 2000. Most of the companies that survived were those like Amazon that charged creators to use their service to sell their work.
Bloggers and podcasters likewise have seen some millionaires among their ranks. Still, by far, most writers have lingered in near poverty, pouring hours into trying to build a social media following or competing with writers who made their name in traditional publishing and then transitioned to self-publishing. Some authors attempted to gain fans by offering free stories or novel excerpts on their author websites. Others tried a hybrid approach: provide free stories or excerpts to entice loyal followers to get hooked on a story, and then hopefully, the fans would buy the author’s books from online retailers.
70% of the revenues is no longer good enough
The Creator Economic offers a new approach: make money for yourself rather than make money for others. We are going back to the days when artists sold what they created to those patrons who loved their art. How do we do this? By using our imagination.
Rather than being tied to online retailers like Amazon, writers are selling their work through services that provide the community-building tools creators need to reach fans.
Some writers are transitioning their fans away from Facebook and Twitter to their websites where they sell their work. Others are creating apps to connect with fans. In a previous blog post, I talked about additional selling options, such as
Kickstarter projects. Writers are also experimenting with growing teams and using tools to develop businesses that focus on connecting with fans to sell more books. Their goal is to connect with loyal fans and encourage interactions that result in fans supporting individual writers rather than the older model of the large publisher.
Younger fans embrace the idea of supporting writers through innovative uses of Patreon accounts, joining niche communities that are arising through social media giants like Twitter or even apps that the writers are developing independently.
We are entering an age where the most creative business people will be the ones that succeed. Writers are an imaginative bunch. The content economy allows us to use that creativity to support ourselves and continue to write our stories.
Did you know that writers can support themselves on sales to 1000 loyal fans through the Internet? If you can sell your work through a subscription to those 1000 loyal fans for $5 a month, you will earn $60,000 a year. Loyal fans are willing to buy everything you write, such as your eBooks, print books, audiobooks, and even read graphic novel editions of your work. Don’t believe they will buy everything you write? Visit the Facebook or websites of some famous authors like Diana Gabaldon or Lee Childs and read the comments of fans who talk about how they own every type of book their favorite author has published.
We are sitting on the brink of a new way of selling our work. As previous new ages have shown, those that explore and test the possibilities are the ones who will enjoy the most success.
Want to investigate whether this new economy might help you connect with your fans?
Check out these resources to start exploring how to join the creative economy and a description of Patreon for writers.
Further reading:
Creator Economy – tons of resources for learning how tobecome part of the creator economy
https://influencermarketinghub.com/creatoreconomy/
SignalFire’s Creator Economy Market Map
https://signalfire.com/blog/creator-economy/
How writers use Patreon to grow your fan base:
https://www.patreon.com/c/writing