This is Part I of a series. Part II is coming next week. Subscribe to make sure you get it. Here's what we're covering today.
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Why do we buy from creators?
(We can call them 'influencers' if we prefer.)
What do they give us?
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We live in an age of abundance. That's lead to the commoditization of information and products.
That's problematic for consumers, because purchasing a commodity:
- Grants no status
- Allows for no self-expression
Those are things we crave as humans.
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Creators solve this problem. By purchasing from an admired personality you create status and express your beliefs and allegiances.
Buying face cream says nothing about me. But if buy face cream from Gwyneth Paltrow, I'm making a statement about who I am.
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So, creators solve a valuable problem for consumers.
But what is the best way for them to monetize? What options are available?
There are three core strategies.
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Model 1: Promote.
This is what we're most used to. Creators use their audience to sell someone else's products.
Advantages:
- Customer bears no monetary cost
- Requires little extra effort from creator
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We see it across mediums and platforms.
- Podcasting
- Newsletters
- YouTube
- Twitch
Interestingly, little infrastructure helps creators monetize through *affiliates*. There's an opportunity here because this model has clear advantages (passive, evergreen).
Aside:
I thought @gaby_goldberg's piece on "curators as creators" was an interesting companion to the thought about affiliates.
Instead of selling someone else's products, creators are starting to sell their own.
Advantages:
- Ability to focus on their own content/products
- Capture more upside
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These products can be digital or physical.
Digital
- Courses
- Ebooks
- Software
- Communities
Physical
- CPG
- Conferences
- Books
Many of the creators listed below do both, resulting in diverse revenue streams.
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Model 3: Invest
This is much less common. But some creators use their audience to build ownership. They do this by:
- Using audience as a selling point (distribution)
- Using audience as an ownership magnifier (syndicate)
- Using content as a trust and intimacy builder