Social media has the power to take you from nothing to everything on various online platforms. A content creator produces engaging content to entice their audience with original and creative subjects. Content creators not only pursue it for the following, but also to earn money. Yes, any individual can earn lakhs of rupees in a month by consistently producing high-quality content on social media platforms.
If you’re a newbie in this field, you can use various methods to generate a stable income source as an influencer. All you need is strategic marketing skills and branding efforts to increase your earning potential. This article helps you learn about various ways to build a steady career in your content creation.
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a passive income way where content creators can promote third party products on their platform. It allows them to generate organic leads and earn a specific commission on every successful conversion. You can attach unique affiliate links to your content and earn commission on 2 bases: percentage or a specific amount.
The approach involves partnering with brands that align with your niche and utilizing your audience to generate revenue. An affiliate marketing platform is a reliable place where you can start your passive income journey.
You require strong sales skills to persuade people to trust your recommendations. The content can be in the form of engaging links, and you can automate the product’s links, such as people mentioning “comment to get links in your dm”. It makes the work easy, and the reel content gains better attention.
2. Brand Sponsorships
Brand sponsorship occurs when companies pay content creators to feature their products or services on the creators’ social media platforms. Creators with a strong following and influence on apps like Instagram are the ideal choice – brands are willing to pay them for promoting products to their audience.
This type of brand exposure is achieved through reels, in-feed posts, and long-form videos. Most content creators use brand sponsorships as their primary source of income– particularly those with a decent following. Creators can collaborate on sponsored posts, product reviews and brand ambassadorships. They usually earn Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 25,00,000 from brand sponsorship in a month.
3. Influencer Collaborations
Content creators post content on various platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook etc. Influencer collaboration includes creating content for brands and posting them on their online channels. This niche works as a type of partnership where you work with brands that have established trust that align with the audience.
For example, Swiss Beauty collaborates with beauty or lifestyle influencers to reach the right audience for conversion. Influencer collaborations can lead to longer-term relationships if your organic content is attracting great attention. Nano Influencers with following under 10k can earn money ranging from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 7,000. Mega Influencers can easily earn Rs. 5,00,000 per month through collaborations.
4. Selling Merchandise
If you’re a business owner, you can become a content creator and promote your brand to gain the attention of the global audience. Build an Instagram store and start selling merchandise via creative content posting. For example, various individuals are selling handmade items on Instagram through reels, offering an excellent earning potential.
Show your business journey from scratch to build an audience before starting the selling activities. This way, you can already have a good word of the month in the society. Apart from this, you can also sell learning courses as an educator to help children and earn a substantial income. There’s no specific income range in this niche for creators.
5. Consultation Services
Experts in a specific field can utilize social media and digital space to double their income. They can provide specialised guidance and strategic planning in their niche. For example, various educators for competitive exams like CAT can provide advice on Instagram.
They can attach booking links for users to book one-on-one sessions. You can help them analyse strengths, weaknesses, and gaps for improvement opportunities. Such creators help beginners in the same field by creating a comprehensive plan to support their objectives. Charges can be applied on an hourly basis for online/offline meetings.
6. Include Ads in your Content
After gaining a certain number of subscribers or followers, content creators can simply run ads on their content to earn passive income. They can employ ad networks on their YouTube videos and earn on a per-viewer basis.
The payout usually depends on the audience size and content type. A low-effort way to get ad revenue, this method can be pursued easily by joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). This prgram allows you to share ad revenue generated from your videos.
This program follows an eligibility criterion: You must have at least 1000 subscribers on your YouTube channel with watch hours or short views threshold. Your ad revenue from YouTube can depend on factors such as audience location, video topic, and viewership.
7. Offer Specialised Services
Content creators can use their expertise to earn money from digital platforms. They need a high-value portfolio of their offerings to stand out in the crowd. For example, makeup artists can create an account on a platform like Instagram and post the looks they’ve created in their reels.
This strategy can help them find potential customers for makeup booking. It broadens your customer horizon and helps you gain recognition for free. Apart from this, you can excel in a particular niche, such as finance, and market your expert skills to related brands to diversify your income source. The most popular specialized niches include technical content, healthcare, Fintech, E-commerce, and others.
8. Subscriptions
This subscription model enables content creators to offer exclusive content to their fan base. This money-earning way as an influencer involves offering benefits to your loyal fans for a recurring fee. It can be included in platforms like YouTube Channel Memberships, Instagram’s new subscription feature, and Twitter’s subscription service.
Content creator need to provide unique content to their audience so that they are willing to pay for such photos or videos. It can include exclusive posts, private communities, and behind the scenes content. For example– the Instagram subscription feature allows creators to offer exclusive live videos or other visual content on a monthly recurring charge. The subscription fees can range from Rs. 89 to Rs. 890 per person.
9. Podcasting
Podcasting is a simple method of creating digital videos for your followers in episodes. It can also involve individual content in some cases. It is offered in downloadable content or streaming-on-demand by the creator. It consists of creating an audiobook on a specific topic with an accessible entry point.
This can help build a deep personal connection as you can share relatable stories for your followers– building trust through experience. You can invite other creators on your podcast to discuss specific niche. For example, a lifestyle creator can invite beauty specialist to create a podcast on beauty-related topics.
They can promote their services or products related to the topic to earn money. Podcasting is an easy entry point to make money because you don’t need any specialisation to get started with this method.
10. Social Media Campaigns
Don’t let the heading fool you; this method involves offering social media services to other Instagram accounts and using yours as a portfolio. For instance, you have 100k followers and free time on your hands. You can contact fellow brands to manage their social media accounts to help boost their audience.
You can use your content as a portfolio and convert leads into clients with metrics. Run social media campaigns on their page and ask for the desired rate that reflects the value of your efforts. A unique way to earn money, social media campaigns can help you brush up your skills and diversify your resume. It can even help you get a job if you’re bored with content creation.