By Vivek Yadav
In today’s age of social media, content is the greatest currency, and content creators are modern entrepreneurs. Like never before, talent is not just appreciated but can also be encashed.
Anybody with a skill or talent can make good money by simply starting a blog, making a video, launching a website, or starting an online course. The rise and rise of digital India has been a great enabler for content creators to create an economy and thrive in it.
The ecosystem is producing revenue for the creators as well as adds to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to data released by Google, YouTube’s creator ecosystem alone contributed over Rs 10,000 crore to the Indian GDP and supported more than 750,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the country in 2021.
The number of creators today in India runs in millions. A Kalaari Capital report pegs the number at 8 crores. Reports suggest that the country’s influencer market is currently valued at Rs 1,275 crore and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25% in the next five years.
However, only 1.5 lakh of the 8 crore creators are effectively able to monetize on their content, the Kalaari report stated. That’s less than 0.19% of the total ecosystem. Why’s that? I think a majority of content creators are not fully aware of the tools at their disposal to effectively monetize their content.
Many tech-enabled platforms are offering free and paid tools specifically created and curated for the creator economy. Every day, these platforms along with the creators are working on innovative solutions to crack the problem. Here are six such innovative tools that can help you effectively monetize your content:
Ad server: Yes, it’s the oldest trick in the book and still innovative. Set up your own ad server and get better control over the ads that appear on your website. You can not only manage your ad inventory but also get better ad insights with your own ad server. There are several open-source options where you can create your own ad server.
Affiliate marketing: This may sound complicated but it is quite simple. You can join the affiliate programs offered by brands. Now you feature or endorse a product by that brand in your content. Affiliate marketing gives you the chance of earning a commission every time one of your content consumers purchases the product. You can simply do a product review and leave a link in your post. If your audience clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.
A/B testing: Today, there are multiple tools at your disposal to test what content or ads works in which location and in which format. Simply put, these tests are called A/B testing where you can set up A/B experiments for your content/ ads. These tools help you create different variations of your page with different ad locations and sizes. By splitting traffic between these variations, you can determine which works best for your audience.
Heat maps: Content consumers are key to your business. Therefore what they do whenever they are on your website or how they engage with your content is useful information. You can use this information to curate better content for your followers. Heat maps are a great tool for gathering this information.
Gifts: Many content aggregators have launched a ‘gifts’ feature that content creators can encash on. The gift or star option allows content consumers to appreciate the content with a monetary ‘tip’ or gift. Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook have already launched these tools for content creators. So if you are a creator on any of these platforms, it is time to enable the gift icon for your content.
Reduce bounce rate: Not all your content consumers are buyers. So many will leave or ‘bounce’ from your pages without ever clicking on the link you provided. This is especially challenging if you are endorsing a project offer and doing a paid promotion. Digital tools can help you reduce this bounce rate by adding pop-ups on discounts and subscriptions. This significantly increases the probability of the viewer making a purchase of your product or a product you endorse. In either case, it’s a win-win for you.
There are many tools in the market that can help content creators make better money. A knowledge of these tools can give you an edge over your competitors. If this seems overwhelming and you want to focus solely on your content, you can always onboard or use a management platform that enables access to these tools.
The author is the co-founder of Cosmofeed
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